Propane tank seal question (30 lb)

[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.