Propane Tank for gas grill : refill-exchange programm or fill-it-myself?

[woodturner]

To be refilled, tanks do need to be new or certified with a certain number of years. IIRC I think its 12 years.

I was thinking of welding gas tanks when I posted two years - sounds like the time is longer for propane tanks, several people have mentioned 12 years.

[atgcpaul]

I did find some propane refillers in my area. Uhaul has it like someone mentioned for $4.19/gallon + tax. An equipment rental place nearby also does it for $17 and they call it a 20lb refill--not sure if they'll charge me less for a partial tank. They're only open until 5:30pm M-Sat and closed Sundays. I guess if I plan accordingly, I should be OK with them. Only problem with not exchanging at HD is that I can't stop in and buy something else.

[JimD]

I still need to find a place that charges by the gallon. I got a couple tanks filled just a week ago at a local hardware store. They refill to the overflow goes off for $15.50. It doesn't take any longer than swapping a cylinder at Walmart and I get more gas for a little less money. You tell the cashier what you want, she calls for a guy to fill them and charges you and you go outside and fill them. Each tank took maybe a minute to get 3-4 gallons. There is a Uhaul that does it in the area but they are 10 miles or so away. There are a couple propane distributors closer that probably do it. I have 5 tanks but with two full I am OK for now, at least. Need to see what the dates are on them. The swapping place is a good deal if your tank is expired or about to. But the guy at the hardware store wasn't checking the date, at least that I noticed.

I think the swapping tanks are all fairly full. They just fill to something like 16 lbs, however, to maintain plenty of margin against overpressure. You can get a few more lbs in going somewhere else but they aren't a bad option.

[d_meister]

As CapnCarl notes, it is possible to refill small propane bottles. Surprisingly, our friends at Harbor Freight have the adapter:
http://www.harborfreight.com/propane...kit-61555.html
A real Harbor freight Gem!

[cwsmith]

Here in our area, I find it a lot more convenient to have the tank refilled, rather than doing an exchange. Though the refill place is another mile or so up the road, I simply drive in, hand the guy the tank and then go into the store to pay for it. When I come back, the tank has been filled and is setting at the back of the van. Basically, it's a full service gas supplier and they have a guy who's dedicated to just filling tanks, so no waiting except for the rare occasion when there maybe a customer just ahead of you.

An exchange, takes me into the store (Walmart, HD, or whatever), where I have to wait in line to pay for it, wait for someone to then come out, get my tank, open the cage and hand me the new tank. Nobody is ever where they should be and it always takes much longer.

CWS

[capncarl]

Might not apply to this thread but I've seen full cylinder swap out centers at HD or Lowes in Atl that had their own credit card swiper where you swipe to pay, the individual door pops opens with your full (16 lb) cylinder. I believe you replace the full with your empty cylinder. No go inside and wait in line and wait for the dude to open the cage and give you a fresh cyl. They might be at your store and you never noticed the new high tech system!

[ballard770]

I previously posted in favor of buying your own tank rather than the tank exchange. I am still very much in favor of owning your own tank. As I have natural gas available for my grill at home I don't keep a 5 gal tank for home use. I do have a small 2.5 gal tank for the RV and it fits nicely in a vented compartment on the opposite side of the 30+ gal built in tank - the smaller compartment has a propane connection for connecting to a grill or stove. I have a mast with three connections for a lantern at the top and two for grills/stoves, etc. Unfortunately the smaller tanks cost about double the cost of the 5 gal (20#)tanks - economiy of scale I guess.

I opted to use the 2.5 gal tank for several reasons:

1) it fits the vented compartment
2) I already have the mast with three connectors
3) The external connection in the RV (on the curbside) is after the coach regulator and my since grill already has a regulator/control valve the pressure would be further reduced according to an RV tech I checked with. Using that connection would require a grill/stove without a regulator. To use the coach propane would require a second connection on the drivers side compartment and then either running a hose under the RV for the grill or running a second pipe to the passenger side compartment with connections for a propane hose to the grill/stove. If I had an unregulated grill/stove I wouldn't be able to use it with my 2.5 gal tank. If anyone has info to the contrary please advise.
4) with the 2.5 gallon tank I can connect my propane crab cooker whether at home or on the road
5) I had thought of getting a small oxy/accetylene torch for silversmithing but whenever I decide to spend the bucks for a Smiths Little Torch I will get an oxy/propane torch as accetylene is lighter than air and could work its way into the RV but propane is heavier than air and would go out the bottom vent in the compartment and would disapate into the air (unless it got onto the exhaust which is 20' to the rear - fat chance!).

Some have posted here about refilling the 'non-refillable' Coleman 1# bottles but I prefer to not go that route. Instead I have a Flame King 1# refillable bottle for that purpose but being a Norwegian I bought the Flame King refillable before the filler connection was available (I can refill it at the propane dealer when I refill the RV tank) but I am working on that. They are a little spendy, about $20+ for the bottle and $30+ for the adapter but once you have them with a little care they will last for a long time. That way I can use a second lantern at another location in the campsite. When I get availability info from Flame King I will update my post.

Some posters mentioned there not being many places to get propane but I think that if they really looked they will find them at ACE, Do-it-Best, other hardware stores, farm stores, gas stations (particularly those serving RVers such as Pilot FLying J) etc,etc and not just at propane dealers. That has been my experience on the west coast, arizona, nevada and new mexico but the east coast metropolitan areas may be different.


Lee

Lee

[Doctor Jeff]

The propane tank on our RV (Itasca Nation) is enclosed, so we get it filled. I usually just exchange the tanks but have gotten them refilled on occasion.

If it hasn't been mentioned above, a full-service U-Haul place often has propane. Here is the midwest a lot of co-op gas stations also have propane, particularly in rural areas, because it's used for farm equipment.

[radhak]

As a final update, I ended up buying a 20lb tank at BJs for $29 (it has a gauge attached that tells me how much propane is within), and filled it up at their station for $13.

Seeing that this location of BJs is real close to home, the fill-up barely took a few minutes, and they promise to fill it even if I'm not a member (for $16), I should say this works out best for me.

Thanks y'all for all the comments and suggestions!