Propane Mangement In A FWC?

[Wallowa]

Wife asked if our Hawk would have a propane volume gauge. I know you can buy them to place on tank and to my knowledge FWC does not have any way to determine how much propane you still have on-board.

My less than sophisticated way would be to run out one tank and then we will know that we are at 50% before turning on second tank. Again, no info on-line that I saw at FWC, so I assume the tanks are plumbed independent of each other.

How do the rest of you determine how much propane you have left?

Thanks...Phil

 

[alano]

The stock FWC has a hose for the propane appliances and you hook it up to one tank at a time. I use your "sophisticated" method. When the first tank is empty I switch and keep an eye out for propane filling options. Don't go through it very fast so never had a problem with this method. YMMV.

Alan

 

[Stalking Light]

That's what I do, run out one, swap and refill. I also carry a luggage scale that I can use to weigh a tank to see how much I have left. I use that if I think the connected tank is getting low and it will be a cold night.

 

[nikonron]

There is a tank gauge that screws on, don't know how accurate they are. Do a search on Ebay, they're fairly cheap. Ron

 

[LookyLou]

To give you an idea of how long a 10# tanks lasts, we ran one 11 days before switching tanks between December 20th and New Years Day. Every night was below freezing so we set the thermostat on its lowest setting, 50 degrees, when going to bed and turned it up to make it comfortable for morning coffee and hot chocolate before exiting. We cooked part of dinner inside, usually pasta, veggies or mac & cheese. Meats and smelly stuff are cooked outside.

The only drawback was changing tanks at 4:30 am when it finally emptied. I've thought about those gauges but decided they were unnecessary.

 

[Taku]

the gauges seem to not present the most accurate reading. the propane suppliers I have talked to about them say what do you expect from a plastic gauge that costs less than 10 dollars. That being said, I still look at it, but the weight is the easiest way I know of to be a bit more sure. Never have run out of propane either.

 

[Wallowa]

Yes....on tank gauge is possible...saw one at the Tigard dealership where we are buying our Hawk.. always, an option as is weighing tank. Propane is a sneaky gas and even though it is scented I would like to keep the lines and connections to a minimum.

Thanks for the input folks...of course I could have waited the 26+ days before the Hawk arrives..but I am getting antsy; hell even started reading the appliance manuals I found on-line; not knowing what appliance manufacturers I will end up with due to running changes in FWC production.

Thanks again...Phil

 

[Ted]

Like others have said, the propane lasts a long time, so if you have to switch tanks you don't have to worry about finding a place to refill the empty one right away. However, I do like to know at the start of a trip approximately how much I have in the current tank. So I use the scale method stalking Light mentioned. An empty tank is 14 lbs. a full one is 24 lbs. so if the tank is at 16 lbs, I might switch it out before leaving. But if it as 20 lbs., I don't worry about it.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have a gauge on my tank.It's what I use as an "idea" of how much is in the tank.
Weighing the tank will give you the best idea of how much is in there.
The tank has the "empty" weight and "full weight" stamped on it.
Most time I tend to get it filled when there is still a good amount left.
The gauge isn't super accurate.
The last trip of 2015 I used most of the tank.When I got home the gauge read almost empty.
I weighed the tank and figured there was about a gal and half left.
With 2 tanks it's pretty easy,empty one ,switch and fill.
Frank

 

[LookyLou]

I put thermal tape down the sides of my tanks to determine how much is remaining it the tank. Pour hot water down the side of the tank, the empty portions cools at a faster rate than the full portion. The tape turns yellow to the level of the tank.

 

[PaulT]

Keep a "propane steak saver adapter" in your camper and one or two 1 lb propane cans for emergency use. There have been several discussion threads about this over the last year or two but in general it is cheap (about $20) insurance against a cold night or two. I keep one in the camper but haven't needed it yet.

There are quite a few listed on Amazon ranging in price between $10 and $76.

Paul

 

[carld]

I have an adaptor for coleman stoves so you can run them on a regular 20 lb tank. With ATC you only have one tank. It has a gauge but it seems that when reads empty there is still about half the propane left. I think that most of it goes from liquid to gas in the tank. I buy a couple of the green coleman 1 lb tanks (or the smaller tanks used for a propane torch) from Walmart and if I run out I use the adaptor to connect a 1 lb tank. It will let you cook and run the refrigerator for about 24 hr or more. The smaller tanks fit in the compartment without removing the regular tank,

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have an adaptor for coleman stoves so you can run them on a regular 20 lb tank. With ATC you only have one tank. It has a gauge but it seems that when reads empty there is still about half the propane left. I think that most of it goes from liquid to gas in the tank. I buy a couple of the green coleman 1 lb tanks (or the smaller tanks used for a propane torch) from Walmart and if I run out I use the adaptor to connect a 1 lb tank. It will let you cook and run the refrigerator for about 24 hr or more. The smaller tanks fit in the compartment without removing the regular tank,

Great idea.
Thanks.
Frank

 

[iowahiker]

We count the days. 10 pounds, one tank, lasts 40 to 60 days depending on how much we run the furnace.

 

[longhorn1]

1 tank lasted us from mid August 2014 to early October 2015, 45+/- nights, and temperatures around 30 on 6-8 nights. jd

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app

 

[Bad Habit]

My 20Lbs horizontal tank has the plastic gauge. Reads about 3/4 when it's full. Let it run down till it read empty then started using it on my grill at home to see how long it would last. Never did run out before I filled and put back in the camper.. All I learned was there's lots to go when it reads empty, just not sure how much.

 

[Wallowa]

Geeez..more great ideas and input.

Empirical "count the days" will be probably the best 'how long can we go' estimator for us and it sounds that this is a non-issue in the real world. Would that we could spend 30 days off the grid but there will be ample chance to re-fill bottles before then.

What helps will be the all electric refrig and double panel/double battery solar. Shut off hot water and internal space heater in summer and we should be good to go for a very long time. Still want the stove for the sunrise coffee!

Thanks again for the information and suggestions.

Phil

 

[craig333]

The gauge on my tank isn't very accurate but when it goes below 1/4 I figure its about to top it off. A leaky bbq has cost me quite a bit of propane, now I don't leave the hose connected.

 

[Trailbob]

I bought an extra new tank off e-bay. I've never had an issue with propane during our summer trips, but during the fall hunting seasons I was concerned since we ran the heater more. Now when I return home after a several day cold weather trip, I switch out the partially used tank for the full extra tank (from home) and am ready to go again with two full tanks. I either refill the partially empty tank at my convenience, or if it is after a second trip, fill both partially empty tanks. I'm not sure if I've ever run a tank empty on a trip, but I just feel better starting with two full ones in cold weather. If I want to determine how much propane is in a tank, I weight it as was mentioned in a previous post.

 

[esimmers]

The problem with the dial gauges is that they only measure the vapor pressure of the propane gas that sits above the liquid propane in the tank. As long as there is liquid propane in the tank, that vapor pressure stays the same. The pressure only starts to drop when so much propane has been used that only vapor (no liquid) remains in the tank. Of course, that means the tank is almost empty and you may not notice the pressure's dropping in time so the fridge doesn't quit in the middle of the day or the heater doesn't quit in the middle of the night.

A full propane tank will last "several days" at least so I'd follow some of the other suggestions in this thread. Weigh your tanks when full to get a baseline reading; one of those luggage scales is plenty accurate. The tanks will be stamped with their tare (empty) weight, probably around 14 lbs. for the dual tank setup that FWC as been installing for a few years now. Those tanks are designed to hold 10 lbs. of liquid propane when full so your initial reading should be about 24 lbs. Then run your appliances normally for 3 or 4 days and weigh the tank again. You'll be able to pretty closely estimate how many total days' worth are in the tank.

Once the weight gets down to your low comfort level, swap out the tank for a full one. You won't be wasting propane since it will take less propane to refill a tank that has some propane left in it.

This is all easier than it sounds and much, much easier to monitor than your batteries. Good luck.