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Old 11-09-2015, 10:18 AM   #1
Levi777
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Propane cylinders

Little known fact: if you look on the collar of the propane cylinders, if they are newer, you will see verbiage that says "Must be requalified after 10 years" or "twelve years" depending on when the cylinder was made, and the federal laws in play at the time.

Most propane fillers do not know about this, however, if you run into someone that does, the cylinder will have to be requalified before it can be filled. Now, the Federal law requires this, but no one EVER checks to see if you are in compliance, since the cylinder cannot be FILLED until it is recertified, but if it is filled and goes out of certification, it can still be used until empty. All you have to say is that it was filled before it went out of certification and you paid cash. Yeah, it's a lie, and some people lie, especially to the government, but make no mistake. I would never encourage anyone to lie.

So, the reason why they need to be requalified is for insurance purposes. If you have a propane event, and your coach burns down or you get injured or worse, the insurance company will look at the date on the cylinder. If it is not current, or is out of date, they can deny your claim based on the issue that the cylinder may have had a problem that would have been detected if it was recertified. Get it?

So, here's the thing. There is a number called a "Re-Tester's Identification Number (RIN number) On a compressed gas cylinder, it will appear between the month and year of the retest date. THIS NUMBER IS NOT REQUIRED ON PROPANE CYLINDERS. This means YOU can retest your own cylinders!!!

All you need is steel stamps for the month and year of the retest. Don't wait until you have an incident to do it, but when it's out of date. Stamp it into the collar of the propane cylinder right below or next to, or above the original date in the format of month (dash) year. These must be number stamps, and not a screwdriver tip for if you have a propane incident, the Insurance company investigator will pick up on it and declare it invalid. To do this, you will need to brace the inside of the collar by either holding it up and laying it on a table, or placing a wood block inside the collar cut so that it braces the inside of the collar. Using a steel hand mallet, holding the stamp with a gloved had, you'll have to strike it pretty hard. Or else, you can just pay the $20 bucks or so to have it professionally recertified.

Only, do yourself a favor. Conduct a thorough inspection of your propane cylinder. Inspect the welds, the base of the valve, and the valve itself. If you go to fill it and detect a leak at a seam, the cylinder is junk and cannot safely be filled. And please, do not put duct tape over a split or weld break. That's just dumb, but you'd be surprised what propane fillers see.
 
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Old 11-09-2015, 02:25 PM   #2
Drifty1
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Our tanks were recertified last year in Yuma and the cost was $9.99 each. The only problem I see with my case is they install a decal on the tank itself with the info. I have been checked about 50 % of the time.
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Old 11-09-2015, 07:36 PM   #3
Artemus Gordon
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I am not worried. Mine were stolen, second time. Guess it's the thiefs problem! Lol
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Old 11-10-2015, 12:23 AM   #4
kdeiss
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Ours are checked every time they are refilled and have been Recertified
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:19 AM   #5
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Levi777



So, the reason why they need to be requalified is for insurance purposes. If you have a propane event, and your coach burns down or you get injured or worse, the insurance company will look at the date on the cylinder. If it is not current, or is out of date, they can deny your claim based on the issue that the cylinder may have had a problem that would have been detected if it was recertified. Get it?

Just curious, does anyone know first hand of an example where this has happened? Jim
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:28 AM   #6
dieselguy
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I've never kept an RV or barbecue grill long enough to envoke the 10 year propane tank dilemma.
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:52 AM   #7
DQDick
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Ours are checked every time we refill at a propane dealer, seldom or never at a campground. We don't use campgrounds, however, except in emergencies since they usually cost more. So in effect your paying for a certification in the additional price.
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Old 11-10-2015, 02:59 AM   #8
richfaa
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We keep ours up to date. We have seen some pretty bad looking cylinders at our local refill dealer. It is a s mall price to pay for safety.
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Old 11-10-2015, 03:43 AM   #9
Levi777
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by jimcol

Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Levi777



So, the reason why they need to be requalified is for insurance purposes. If you have a propane event, and your coach burns down or you get injured or worse, the insurance company will look at the date on the cylinder. If it is not current, or is out of date, they can deny your claim based on the issue that the cylinder may have had a problem that would have been detected if it was recertified. Get it?

Just curious, does anyone know first hand of an example where this has happened? Jim

This is the mantra put forth by the Fire Protection Industry. I would think it's only to justify their requirements to have cylinders recertified so they can earn money, but then what are the chances that we would know if it's happened or not, unless it's happened to us specifically? Rare are the incidents caused by faulty cylinders. Still, I would say to have them recertified according to schedule, as it's just safe and responsible.
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Old 11-10-2015, 04:51 AM   #10
drknapp
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We just had this happen to us with the propane bottle that we use for our fire pit. Uhaul wouldn't fill it because it was past date. I just bought a new one at Lowes and took the old one to hazardous waste. (Uhaul wanted $10 to dispose of it. They did not do recertifications there apparently)
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Old 11-10-2015, 05:17 AM   #11
DarMar
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We don't keep our rv for anywhere close to 10 years so the 30 lb. tanks are not a problem.

With our two 20 lb. tanks for bbq if a tank gets close to the 10 year date we simply do a tank/refill exchange somewhere and let the tank exchange business worry about doing the recert.
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Old 11-11-2015, 01:40 AM   #12
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I bought a 20 lb. Blue Rhino cylinder at Walmart for my camp stove and the tanks all looked old and rusted and badly painted and the one i bought had a date of 1998 and the valve would not even close and it find out it was filled with leak detector from the previous owner and it filled my regulator full of oil and it ruined the stove and they still filled it so i took it back got my money back and Walmart said that they are not responsible for my stove being ruined its the gas company that i had to deal with them directly, so being the stove was old. i went and bought a new one and then went and bought a new tank and now i have it filled. so i find the re-certification just to be B.S.
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Old 11-12-2015, 04:31 AM   #13
randye
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Hi I have been filling Propane tanks since 1969. Not every year but some where around 15 yrs or so. I was not concerned about checking dates, until a worker of mine. Related this story. Some where in 2011 he was filling a tank for a customer and found it to be out of date. The customer told him he was completely out of propane and had a sick wife and was needing to keep her warm. If he would just fill it and he would buy a new tank as soon as that one was empty. My worker said he protested but was worn done by the customer. Just as soon as he was done filling the tank. The customer pulled out a badge and gave my worker a fine for I think he said $500. I have been diligent in checking dates on the tanks since then. So the powers to be will do stings for propane in some areas.
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Old 11-12-2015, 07:17 AM   #14
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Does anyone know where to get tanks recertified?

I called every propane dealer in the area and asked even oil companies. No one here will recertify tanks. The last time My gas grill tank went out of date. I asked how much a new 20# tank was at true value and it wasn't worth it.

I went to home depot and did the cylinder exchange for $5 more than what it would of cost me just for the fill at true value.

The 30# cylinders are more expensive so I would like to find a recertifier in the MA / NH area.
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Old 11-12-2015, 11:07 AM   #15
davidaf
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uhftx, I couldn't find anybody in So Cal to do a re-cert on one of mine either. I ended up buying a new one.
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Old 11-12-2015, 12:34 PM   #16
Clays390
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I worked for a company called Maine Oxy for 11 years before I retired in Oct. they have locations in ME, NH, MA,CT & VT. Find one of their locations, they can get it done.
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Old 11-12-2015, 03:33 PM   #17
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I had worked for a national propane company in Canada for 9 years delivering propane, filling and recertifying cylinders. Some people would do their own stamping of the cylinder as mentioned earlier but in Canada, to recertify a cylinder the valve had to be changed. On the side of the valve is a year of manufacture date stamped into it. Inspectors would see the valve date and the new date stamped on the cylinder collar and if they were out by more than a year, they would know that the cylinder wasn't properly recertified. We also had to keep a record of every cylinder recertified by the date when it was done and the cylinder's serial number along with other information.
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Old 11-16-2015, 08:42 AM   #18
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Clays390

I worked for a company called Maine Oxy for 11 years before I retired in Oct. they have locations in ME, NH, MA,CT & VT. Find one of their locations, they can get it done.
Thank you Clays390 for the Tip, It just so happens, one of their stores is located in the town I live.

I've bought welding supplies there a few years back.

I never would of even considered them for tank recerts though.
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