Propane tank seal question (30 lb)

[Richard]

I've use 30lb tanks as my primary tanks for my propane fireplace. They're much easier to toss into my trunk compared to the 100lb tanks.

Other day, noticed a hisssssssssssssss when I installed one. Slight hiss, but there none the less.

Just now looked at it and it seems there is a rubber O ring inside the mouth of the tank where my pigtail screws in.

This O ring is... well... how to say, it simply looks like it's deteriorating. I looked at another tank and it has a pristine looking O ring so that showed me right off the bat what my problem was.

Are these O rings user changable and if so, where does one get them?

To swap out, just use a little dental pick to pull old one out and snap new on in place like you would anything else?

 

[tommu56]

I've never had to change one on a rv or grill bottle but we regularry have to change them on our forklift tanks.

tom

 

[ArTrvlr]

I suppose you have more than one tank, since you looked in another one. Just swap out the good o-ring from the other tank until this one is empty. Just pull it out like any other o-ring. Then just exchange it for a full tank at wally world, Lowe's, Home Depot or wherever is close. Or, if you have them refilled at an LP dealer, have them replace it for you at the next fill up. If it's where you get your tanks filled all the time, them may even replace it for free.
jp

 

[Skyco]

I've never seen the 30lb size up for exchange anywhere....I have a few of them myself and a 40.

 

[Egon]

If you have access to a store that sells Propane appliances and also fills the bottles they should have the proper o-rings available.

Many hardware stores may have o-rings that will fit but the compatibility of the composition may not be proper.

 

[Richard]

for those who say swap the tank out, I paid for these and am a bit reluctant to swap them out, giving away my ownership (as I understand the deal)

they are 30 lb tanks as mentioned and I also, have never seen 30lb tanks on the swap program, just the 20's.

I personally think for my needs, the 30lb tanks are perfectly sized! I've got a dual manifold with a 100lb tank hooked to one side and my 30's connected to the other side of the switch.

I use my 30's and fill them every week or so. If I run out of 30's (lazy and don't refil), I flip switch and have my 100lb to rely on. also, if soemthing happens and we get DUMPED with snow like happened a decade ago, I've got my 100's as my backup and can't be caught with them at 10% fill because of having been used prior to the snow.

I'll stop using the 30's about the middle of February and start to lean on the 100's to work them down, using the left over 30's for my grill in the summer. (I have 3 30lb tanks)

 

[MikeD74T]

Take your regulator to any welding supply -they've got what you need. MikeD74T

 

[CurlyDave]

for those who say swap the tank out, I paid for these and am a bit reluctant to swap them out, giving away my ownership (as I understand the deal)...

I don't think you are giving away anything. I have had no trouble getting propane tanks refilled no matter what the label on the outside says. I have maybe 10-12 tanks mostly 20 pound, but some 30s. (My hunting trailer has a propane generator, and I use a Mr. Buddy heater inside it, so I go through a lot in a two week trip.)

It used to be that whenever I had one that needed recertification I would just swap that one for a full one that had a recent recertification date stamped on it. No trouble at all getting that tank refilled.

In fact, on a lot of them, the name of the company that refilled the tank was just on a wrapper. Tear it off and you have a nice, freshly-painted generic tank.

Last year I found a place that will recertify & fill for less that the cost of exchange, so now I only exchange when one gets rusty...

 

[ArTrvlr]

Sorry, dummy me overlooked the 30 lb part. But I stand by the suggestion to get a good o-ring from another tank and have the bad o-ring replaced at the next fill up. Or, If you don't want to swap o-rings around, just take that tank on back to your LP dealer and get him to replace the o-ring.
jp

 

[Richard]

Crud... I went to a propane place today (without tank). I specifically told them I had a 30lb tank over phone and he said he knew exactly what I was talking about.

The good news is, he simply gave me the gasket, the bad news is, it doesn't seem to fit NOR, can I seem to be able to get the old one out.

Have they changed these designs and I have an old design that isn't replacable or am I doing something wrong, in my effort to extract the old one?

 

[CurlyDave]

Take a good hard look inside every tank you can get your hands on.

I suspect they gave you the wrong seal.

Take the tank with you next time. And take as many empty ones as you have, so you at least give the guy some business.

 

[ArTrvlr]

Crud... I went to a propane place today (without tank). I specifically told them I had a 30lb tank over phone and he said he knew exactly what I was talking about.

The good news is, he simply gave me the gasket, the bad news is, it doesn't seem to fit NOR, can I seem to be able to get the old one out.

Have they changed these designs and I have an old design that isn't replacable or am I doing something wrong, in my effort to extract the old one?

Is that an o-ring or a flat gasket? It looks like he gave you a gasket for a 30# forklift cyl. which uses the acme thread like on your tank, but has a different male fitting on the hose. The difference is your tank is vapor withdrawal, forklifts use liquid withdrawal.
I looked into one of my tanks today, the oring appears to be made onto the valve, not retained in a groove. Now that I have looked at it, it doesn't look replaceable. Just a guess.
jp

 

[Skyco]

I happened to look into some new tanks valves yesterday that were at eye level on a shelf. It is neither an O-ring or a flat ring. Not only is it a special shape but it has to compress a certain amount to allow the hose fitting to activate the release valve in the tank. I have no idea if they are replaceable or not.

 

[Egon]

After seeing the picture please delete any silly comment I may have made on this seal as it it obvious that I knew not of which I spake!

 

[SimS]

Check out these guys they may have parts. If not the valve is 20 bucks. You would think that the rubber washer was replaceable though.
propaneproducts.com: OPD 30# Grill Cylinder Valve

 

[Richard]

Speculative question: Since it is appearing as though this gasket is not user replacable... I see the logic of simply replacing the entire valve as opposed to just buying a new tank (though I might do that instead).

Here's the question... right now, this tank is full. If I need to replace the valve... let me reword that... if I pay someone ELSE to replace the valve, how do they deal with the fact that the tank is full of LP?

Would this infer the $30 worth of LP in this tank is simply going to get wasted?

What if I waited until a nice and very cold Saturday, hooked this tank up and tried to use it up? I know I'd be bleeding propane to the outdoors but this is not an enclosed area and maybe I could burn 80% while bleeding out 20%?

Just looking for ideas.

 

[tommu56]

The gave you a seal for a 30 lb forklift tank

tom

 

[Skyco]

Speculative question: Since it is appearing as though this gasket is not user replacable... I see the logic of simply replacing the entire valve as opposed to just buying a new tank (though I might do that instead).

Here's the question... right now, this tank is full. If I need to replace the valve... let me reword that... if I pay someone ELSE to replace the valve, how do they deal with the fact that the tank is full of LP?

Would this infer the $30 worth of LP in this tank is simply going to get wasted?

What if I waited until a nice and very cold Saturday, hooked this tank up and tried to use it up? I know I'd be bleeding propane to the outdoors but this is not an enclosed area and maybe I could burn 80% while bleeding out 20%?

Just looking for ideas.

I believe I'd teflon tape the crap out of the threads and try to use up the LP I bought...THEN get it fixed

 

[ArTrvlr]

Speculative question: Since it is appearing as though this gasket is not user replacable... I see the logic of simply replacing the entire valve as opposed to just buying a new tank (though I might do that instead).

Here's the question... right now, this tank is full. If I need to replace the valve... let me reword that... if I pay someone ELSE to replace the valve, how do they deal with the fact that the tank is full of LP?

Would this infer the $30 worth of LP in this tank is simply going to get wasted?

What if I waited until a nice and very cold Saturday, hooked this tank up and tried to use it up? I know I'd be bleeding propane to the outdoors but this is not an enclosed area and maybe I could burn 80% while bleeding out 20%?

Just looking for ideas.

You said you use this for a fireplace, so I am guessing that when in use the tank is outside. Things to consider are: How close is the tank to a crawl space vent, if any? You may be on a slab or basement and not have vents to worry about. What about vented eves or soffits? You don't want propane to accumulate in the attic. Another thing to consider is how close the tank is to a window. The point is to be sure any leaking gas doesn't find it's way into the house.

The best day to pick would be a windy day, to disperse any gas that leaked.

Does your hose use the Acme thread on the outside of the valve, or the POL thread on the inside? If you use the POL thread on the inside, then Skyco's idea of teflon tape on the threads might help. It might help as well on the Acme threads, but I doubt as much.

Like you, I am just looking for ideas.
jp

 

[Richard]

You said you use this for a fireplace, so I am guessing that when in use the tank is outside. Things to consider are: How close is the tank to a crawl space vent, if any? You may be on a slab or basement and not have vents to worry about. What about vented eves or soffits? You don't want propane to accumulate in the attic. Another thing to consider is how close the tank is to a window. The point is to be sure any leaking gas doesn't find it's way into the house.

The best day to pick would be a windy day, to disperse any gas that leaked.

Does your hose use the Acme thread on the outside of the valve, or the POL thread on the inside? If you use the POL thread on the inside, then Skyco's idea of teflon tape on the threads might help. It might help as well on the Acme threads, but I doubt as much.

Like you, I am just looking for ideas.
jp

Not on a slab. I've attached a picture. You can see little silver/white things on the left center that are circled. Those are the pigtails that go to the manifold and this is where the two tanks are located.

For anyone who observes and realizes a 100lb tank is a lot taller than a 30lb tank, I've got a cedar log that I set the 30lb tank on so the pigtail heights are the same. This way, if I NEED to connect both 100lb tanks, the pigtails will reach both of them at this height.

Back to the point...there's the nearest window. The block wall on the left is the top of the garage. What you can't see in the picture is, if it panned left a little bit, the ground would fall away fairly quickly and lead down to the driveway which is to the left of the photo. I can't seem to find a pic showing that.

The garage door is usually closed, especially during winter so if propane did leak and fall down the hill, it would still have more room to dissapate at the driveway than necessarily blow into the garage.

As for POL thread and that stuff...? I'm clueless. The tank itself is a female receiver and the thread is opposite of usual to tighten or loosen. I don't know what that makes it to be.

I found some other pics that might let you piece it together.

One is the one I referenced above, the next one was taken further back and you can see the corner of the house. This is right where it starts to fall away. The last picture shows the driveway but you can just barely make out a bush or something on the hill.

It's a fairly steep drop that we have planted flowers and stuff in.