30#, 20# propane tanks, my foot...

[Art-n-Marge]

Well, it was time to refill all the propane tanks I have including the ones in the Montana. I do this about this time of the year. Just top off every tank I own in bulk, besides on an as needed basis throughout the year. Besides the two big ones in the RV, I use others for patio lights, BBQ, heaters, and camping gear. I love the bulk tanks last forever until it's refill time, then whew!

This year, man did those tanks get heavier, or so it seemed. Just for kicks, I figured, I'll just weigh them. A full 20# tank weighed 39 lbs, and a full 30# tank weighed 53 lbs. Holy cow, no wonder I got tired especially the 30#s I struggled back into the rig and into their tight quarters and lugging the rest into my garage. I realize the number is for the weight of full propane by average, but this means these empty tanks already weigh about 20 lbs empty.

I can imagine you 40# owners are now lugging over 60 lbs into place. Watch your back, your hands and your fingers folks and don't cut anything with those sharp edges. I'll not whine about my 53 lbs Honda generators any more because they have rounder handles but I use a furniture dolly to get them to the truck bed. I guess I'll also do this for the propane tanks I carry from now on.

[bncinwv]

Those 40 pound tanks are exactly why I have to stay at the fit age of 29, Art. Heck, if I was in my 50's (), I would probably have to have DW lift them in place or something drastic!!
Bingo

[mhs4771]

Come on you Guys, I lift our 40 pounders in and out of our SOB by myself!!

[Phil P]

Try my 50 lb tank for the fork lift. On top of that it sits upright on top of the counter balance.

Phil P

[bncinwv]

quote:Originally posted by Phil P

Try my 50 lb tank for the fork lift. On top of that it sits upright on top of the counter balance.

Phil P

I would have to have the daughters help DW with that one Phil, that is if I was not stuck at the young age of 29!!!!

Bingo

[Irlpguy]

Some useless but interesting facts about propane tanks.

Art if you want to know what each of your propane tanks weigh empty look at the stamped letters and numbers on the tanks. You will find TWxx
(xx) being numbers. That is Tare Weight, the average 20# has a TW of around 18 lbs.
The other combination is WCxx That is the weight of water in lbs the bottle is able to hold. Divide that by 8.3 lbs to determine the gal of water it can hold.
Since federal laws require propane bottles not be filled to more than 80% capacity the weight of the propane will always be less than the weight of the water capacity.

Liquid Propane weighs about 4.2 lbs per gal.

I have 40 lb bottles, the TW on mine are 34 lbs, add 40 lbs of propane and that is a pretty good lift, especially out of the back of my 4x4 which is pretty high and then into the propane compartment. I manage to do it alone but it is a heavy lift.

[Flymutt]

Several months ago I got both of my tanks filled and the guy who filled them had arms as large as my thighs and was wearing a t-shirt that was at least 2 sizes too small. Never seen such a phenomenon! Anyhow, when he got done filling the first tank he kinda lifted it up with one hand like he was doing a barbell curl. Good thing the DW wasn't there...I might have embarrased the poor guy

[Art-n-Marge]

Good info Irlpguy. I was aware of the date code since that is checked prior to refill but the rest was foreign to me. BTW, I go to a welding shop to refill my tanks and the attendants are very good at checking out the propane bottles (date codes, fitting, etc.) - I had two 30# and five 20#. Just a reminder that the bottles are only good for about 10 years and this MUST be checked each time they are refilled. I've been to many refill places where they are NOT checked so this might require some self-policing. I certainly don't want a mishap with my propane bottles.

I've only had one problem with a 30# where the safety valve locked shut and the bottle could not be refilled after it had gone empty. Fortunately, I had the rig for only 2 months at the time and it was replaced under warranty (otherwise it's about $99 for the propane bottle plus the propane). It could have been worse and locked up with propane still in it. In this case, the RV dealer kept the faulty tank. I don't know what happened to it.