Propane

Papi Chulo

Banned Permanently
Jan 30, 2006
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I think that the filling of 20Lb propane tanks is a scam, since it is done by weight, not volume.

I was thinking of picking up a 43Lb tank (industrial, forklift tank) & an pigtail adaptor to QC.

I think the big tank is about $150

I know it only cost about $16.00 to fill this large tank (about the same cost as a 20Lb / common BBQ tank)

Would I save enough in the cost of propane over the lifetime of the tank to justify the cost of the tank?
 
nothing beats charcoal or wood
 
Barbeques and appliances run off of "vapour", so 20 lb tanks have the port to take vapour from the tank, forklifts & cars etc use Liquid, so the port of the tank is such that liquid is taken from the tank.
Liquid expands something like 20 times when it becomes vapour, so if you fed a bbq liquid propane, you'd have some spectacular shows, and likey have a very serious situation on your hands.
Consider going natural gas, thats my next bbq

Edit: taken from http://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=1139

Expansion rate = 270:1 (expands in volume 270 times from liquid to ambient pressure vapor)
 
Gentle Ben said:
Barbeques and appliances run off of "vapour", so 20 lb tanks have the port to take vapour from the tank, forklifts & cars etc use Liquid, so the port of the tank is such that liquid is taken from the tank.
Liquid expands something like 20 times when it becomes vapour, so if you fed a bbq liquid propane, you'd have some spectacular shows, and likey have a very serious situation on your hands

Edit: taken from http://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=1139

Expansion rate = 270:1 (expands in volume 270 times from liquid to ambient pressure vapor)


Whether it is a 20 or 43Lb tank, the LPG is still in a gaseous state

I KNOW it is possible to run a BBQ off of one of these tanks because I use one to power a counter-top stove (4 burners) in South America.

and it is possible to use & store the tanks (43Lb) indoors (with proper ventilation)
 
Thats true, but propane under pressure is liquid(with vapour at the top of the tank, thus why you cannot fill a tank to more than 80% full) where the propane is taken from the tank varies, the tow motor tank is feeding liquid propane to the mixer (whatever its called) then turned into vapour, you could (theoretically)turn the tank in such a way to get the vapour rather than the liquid, but to orient the tank as it is on the tow motor would feed liquid propane to the BBQ, very unsafe situation
Also, propane contents varies by climate (amount of butane & other gases)
 
If you have access to natural gas at your home, break down, hire a competent technician to install the piping and a bar-b-que disconnect, and get a NG barbeque.

As far as using a "forklift" type cylinder, it could be done as long as the cylinder was operated in an upright position, so you would be taking the fuel from the vapour side, not the liquid side. You would also need another regulator with a pigtail to drop the pressure down to 11"w.c, and then the barbeque regulator would reduce it further down to 3.5"w.c.
 
The Cunning Linguist said:
As far as using a "forklift" type cylinder, it could be done as long as the cylinder was operated in an upright position, so you would be taking the fuel from the vapour side, not the liquid side. You would also need another regulator with a pigtail to drop the pressure down to 11"w.c, and then the barbeque regulator would reduce it further down to 3.5"w.c.

Something like this??

http://www.baproducts.com/asccustompages/products.asp?ProductID=682
E-Z hose with 11" low pressure regulator. Connects low pressure appliances to a bulk tank. Length of hose is 12'