Refill 16oz Propane Canisters?

[jedens]

Can the small 16oz propane canisters be filled. These are the ones that are usually green metal canisters and are used with lanterns, small camping burners and small portable heaters. It sure would be less expensive if I could refill them from my 20lb bottles. Thanks for any help.

 

[beenthere]

I suspect they can be filled (someone did it the first time) some way, but also think that if I had to ask how, then I shouldn't be doing it. Understanding what the limits are in the container to be filled would be very important, and understanding what the potential is for over-filling and over-pressurizing would have an impact on your safety.

The apparent reason for the OPD valves on the 20# tanks was because people were over-filling them, making them potentially dangerous. I'm not 100% buying this reason, and think it was a move to replace all the old tanks that may have deteriorated due to age and abuse. But it gives food for thought.

At under $2 per canister (thought that was what I have been seeing), seems to me that filling them with any degree of hazard might not be worth the trouble. But I'll try not to speak for you, and wish you luck finding out how safe it might be to re-fill them.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Can it be done, yes. Is it more of a pain in the butt than it's worth, definitely.
Chances of overfilling are minimal since tank pressures will equalize with about 1/3# of propane in the small cylinder.
The biggest problem comes from small particals of rust from inside the 20# cylinder getting into the 1# cylinder.
Better solution, use a 6# cylinder on appliances with a hose and adaptor. 6# cylinders can be refilled at a refill station.

 

[bgott]

I've seen adapters advertized for refilling small bottles from a #20 bottle, I just can't remember where.

 

[chim]

Pretty much the only way to overfill a bottle is if you use a pump to transfer the propane. Either that, or have the "mother" bottle over a campfire. The liquid boils off into gas till the pressure reaches the point it won't boil anymore. It will stay in that state till you open the valve. As you draw gas off the top, more liquid boils off to form more gas. The pressure in the "baby" bottle won't reach a pressure greater than the bottle it's being filled from.

I'd just buy a bunch of 16 ouncers when they're on sale though...................chim

 

[heehaw]

i've had one of the adapters for 20 years, no telling how much $$$$ i've saved, and its worked fine, until a couple months ago, for some reason its not working now, but i haven't taken the time to check it out and see why.
heehaw

 

[Wingnut]

I see them in the Harbor Freight catalogs all the time

 

[Corm]

I also have one of those adapters that allows me to fill the small 16oz tanks from a 20lb tank. Works great! Has saved me a bundle of $$ thru the years. I've learned that if you put the small tanks in the freezer for a few hours before you fill them, then you can pretty much fill them up. Has something to do with the temp differential between the room temp 20lb tank and the cold 16oz tank. All I know for sure is, it works! It's also real easy to do. I generally refill about 30 small tanks a year.

Corm

 

[Tractorgirl]

The canisters can definitely be filled. We camp quite a bit and are able to avoid contributing to the local dump using this method. Someone mentioned Harbor Freight having the connector. Cabelas also carries the connector in their camping section.

 

[wallysue]

I got an adapter form Northern Hydrauilics to fill the 16 oz tanks. Think it was about $12 a few years ago. Refilled a bunch of times with no problems. I have used the freezer to chill the small tank but usually don't anymore. If you don't get the small tank completely (80%) full its no biggie to refill it sooner and there is less chance of overfilling. The real ripoff to me is the 20lb bottles where some places want $12.99 to exchange and everybody wants $9.99. There is a little over 3 gallons of propane in one so you get to pay 3 or 4 dollars a gallon for what you can buy for 69 cents a gallon in bulk delivered to your home.
I made an adapter to fill the 20lb bottles from my 500 gallon home tank. You can have a 20 pounder full for a little more than 2 bucks.

 

[centex]

Now that you brought it up, what are the economics of using propane as a fuel for your home? I would like to use a gas range, water heater, and central heat but natural gas is not available so propane or butane are the only options that would be available to me. How does the cost of these fuels for home use compare to electric service? I know that natural gas is much more efficient than electricity for water and space heating but the cost of fuels is no longer related to the cost of production and delivery or at least it is not in this area. I used propane for outdoor cooking until they obsoleted all my tanks and it did seem to be a very expensive fuel. A 20 lb tank did not seem to last very long at $7/refill and I am sure the price has gone up. If bulk propane costs about $.69/gal, how long does a 500 gal ($345 + taxes, delivery, surcharges?) last? I assume rural delivery is a very expensive proposition like having dirt delivered. It cost me $120 to have $80 worth of dirt delivered. Fuels seem to be magnet for all sorts of taxes and fees like telephone bills.

 

[woodchuckc]

Propane costs around here (middle TN) are considerably more than 0.69 a gallon - I just had my tank filled for 1.68 a gallon! I have a friend who got a group of residential propane heat users together and managed to get a contract price for 0.99 a gallon, but that was a one time thing and was told to expect to pay at least 1.20 later this winter, and possibly even more than that. I don't know how propane prices vary around the country, but last winter it was about 0.20 a gallon cheaper than the current price.

-Chuck

 

[DUMBDOG]

I just had my tank filled at .709 per gallon, plus about 2% for tax. It was a summer special, but some reason did not get filled until September.

The 500 gallon tank lasts all winter for the shop to maintain a minimum temperature. If I used it more in the winter it might not last. They charge a dollar a year for tank rental.

 

[deadstick]

I'm in Dripping Springs, just outside your neighborhood of Austin. Last time I filled it was around $1.35 a gallon and I have a 500 gallon tank. During winter it lasts about 2months if I'm lucky. I have the furnace, water heater, range and gas fireplace on propane. For the rest of the seasons I can get by on the one tank, so for the whole year I'm probably using 3 tanks full.

If I had to do it again I will try all electric next time....

 

[centex]

Wow! That is some expensive heat. My winter electric bill for an all electric house is only $150/month. I was thinking about using propane for my new house and shop near Lampasas but I think I will stay with all electric. This makes the cost of a waste oil heater seem more reasonable for shop heat.

 

[wallysue]

Centex, Around here the dealers quote a delivered price for a 300 gallon minimum. Last year I think it was .74 a gallon. I have two tanks so I can get em filled late summer or fall to get the cheap price and then I can go until the next year. They also have a contract keep full deal that lets you lock in a price. I like having more than one place to get the gas, lets you shop for the best price. The tanks can be fun too, here one is painted like a watermellon and the other a holstein.

 

[diggerjim]

In my neck of the woods the "Meth labbers" use propane bottles to transport anhydous amonia used in the stew or whatever they call it. Having equipment in your possession that allows filling of propane bottles not only raises eye brows and questions but is prosecutable. Add guns, ammo, camo, coleman fuel, etc. makes for a long discussion with the local law enforcement, especially if you have allergies as I do and have allergy medication on hand, another ingredient. I know in some areas this is not a problem, it is in mine. I also would like to fill my little bottles ( with LP) for our camp heater, haven't due to the stated concerns. I catch em on sale and hopefully avoid some legal problems.

 

[MDblackd]

Here in So MD the price is $1.29. Just filled my tank with 309 Gals, but that was for the whole year. We had a warm winter. I have a new all gas house (medium size) - heat pump (gas backup), water heater, clothes dryer, and cooking. $400 for the year in my book is not at all bad. It certainly is cheaper than what I spent in my old house, $89/mo, for natural gas.

My neighbors in all electric houses are running @ $150 - $225 /mo. Bottom line for me is that the propane is cheap enough to afford and the convenience of never running out of hot water worth it!