20lb Propane tanks - Can you fill from your home tank?

[DanD78]

I have done this for years and feel safe doing so. I made my own fill hose with parts from my propane dealer. There is one valve at the tank and a 1/4 turn ball valve on the end of the hose before the cylinder fitting. My 500 gallon tank had the liquid outlet on the top and my 1000 gal tank has it on the bottom. On my 500 gallon tank the dealer installed the valve in the top while there was still propane in the tank. There is some kind of built in check valve that gets pushed down when the special outlet valve is installed.

To fill a cylinder I open all the valves to the cylinder and open the bleeder on the side of the cylinder valve. This lets head pressure out so the liquid will flow in quicker and when you get liquid out the bleeder the tank has 80% level and should be considered full. Always leave a head space when filling these cylinders. As it is filling you can lift and slosh the tank. You will be able to feel the liquid slosh around and see it spit out the bleeder when it is getting close to full.

Propane liquid when released to the air will freeze before flashing off. Keep your hands out of the liquid.

Dan

 

[schmism]

there are 2 devices out there to allow you to fill small(ish) containers of propane.

the "non-refillable" kind for camping and sodering work can be filled with the little $20 adapter thingie from HF. but there is a catch. you need to fill LIQUID propane. the ONLY way to do that from a 20lb tank is to turn the 20lb tank on its side (or upside down) to allow the liquid to be in contact with the valve. well there is a "safty" feature, a ball in a seat that floats in liquid propane. and guess what if you tip one over, you wont get ANYTHING out of it.

the other method for filling 20lb containers (and the like) off of a large 500 gal tank is done with what they call a "wet tap". You need to come up with the series of special fittings that connect to the "wet suction" side of the tank. This is the port the drivers use to suck most/all the propane out before they transport a tank. It has a tube attached to the bottom of the valve that extends to the bottom of the tank (to the liquid).

You connect your 20lb tank, set it on a bathroom scale, and open the wet tap. the pressure from the big tank forces liquid up through the hose and into the the smaller tank. When you get to 45lbs your done.

as with anything else potential dangerous around the farm. Your going to need to take personal responsibility for your own actions. So ya your dealing with a flammable gas. The good news is it takes roughly a 2% gas mixture to be flammable, and per my hazmat training, most people start feeling dizzy and nauseous when breathing a 1% concentration.

 

[rdbrumfield]

On the main valve there is a screw in the side of it. take a flat screw driver and loosen it a bit. It will vent, when it starts to fog your tank is full.

 

[CurlyDave]

I don't think you are going to save any money filling 20lb tanks from your large home tank.

Around here most companies charge ~$4.00 per gallon delivered vs. ~$2.25 if you take a small tank in to their facility. I called around and found a company which didn't charge a delivery premium, but it was hard. Most will tell you the market price when you ask how much to fill the tank you rent from them, but then ask them how much for the second fill and they will give you a much higher price.

Convenience is a different thing. I resolved this issue by buying several 20 lb tanks (you can get them for ~$20 each if you look around). Instead of investing $80 in a special hose, invest it in tanks. When I put the last one in service, I take all of the empties into town & get them filled at once.

This is a lot more convenient than getting them filled one at a time.

And it works out a lot better in a power outage. I can put 2 of them with propane trees and Coleman lights in the house, and still have one on the grill for cooking. Are the bottles in the house dangerous? Probably, but I light them outside and carefully move them in. When the power comes back i shut them off.

 

[Egon]

Thanks for the tank filling information.

 

[SPYDERLK]

You dont have to fill from an immersed supply tap. You can fill a tank from the supply vapor side just by keeping the receiver tank cooler than the supply tank. The bigger the T difference the faster the fill. The vapor condenses in the cooler tank. Keep a scale under the receiver and stop before it gets too full of liquid. If it does get too full heat it gently while still connected until it lightens to the right weight.
larry

 

[schmism]

I don't think you are going to save any money filling 20lb tanks from your large home tank.

Around here most companies charge ~$4.00 per gallon delivered vs. ~$2.25 if you take a small tank in to their facility.

Again a good example of how things are different regionally. If i take a 20lb tank or even my large 100lb tanks to any of the area propane dealers they all have a set price to fill them. Roughly the same price for a 20lb tank as is "exchange" price at the hardware store. (and yes the price to fill my 100lb tanks was just under 5 times the price of a 20lb tank)

Last price i paid for propane delivered to my 500 gal home tank was 2.09 a gal. at ~4 gal per 20lb tank = about $8 worth of product. The cheepest you can get a 20lb "fill" at any dealer or exchange at hardware store is $17 or twice as much. The numbers get even more crazy for the little camping cylinders or torch bottles.

 

[George2615]

I agree with MrWoodChips. Why take a risk.
In my area you take your 20# tank to any propane the company and they refill it. Usually less than 5 minutes. There are also many places that have exchange tanks all filled and ready to go, just bring in your empty and exchange for a full one for the price of the propane.

 

[newcountry]

BUT unless you own your tank your supplier may not allow you to modify their plumbing for your connection..

Brian

Very good point Brian. I'm renting - I'm sure I would be getting a phone call as soon as my next delivery came 'round.

 

[newcountry]

Last price i paid for propane delivered to my 500 gal home tank was 2.09 a gal. at ~4 gal per 20lb tank = about $8 worth of product. The cheepest you can get a 20lb "fill" at any dealer or exchange at hardware store is $17 or twice as much. The numbers get even more crazy for the little camping cylinders or torch bottles.

Same prices here in Ks. Ideally I could just run a line to my grill, but that would cost even more, which I don't have. Plus, I have pretty frequent refills for my mosquito killer, goes through about a 20lb tank/4-6 weeks.

I enjoyed the discussion. This is why TBN is the best!