Propane Tank Usage

[longhorn1]

I have 2 - 10 lb. propane tanks in my Grandby. Has anyone come up with a way to check the level in the tank that is connected, or do you just all of a sudden realize you have no hot water or heat and switch to the other tank?

Under normal use has anyone figured how many camping nights you can get out of a tank? I turn on the hot water when we get up in the morning and turn it off after doing dishes and don't turn it back on until dinner time and off after doing dishes. I have turned on the furnace on a couple of mornings to remove the chill and then turn it off. We use the stove to boil water for our morning coffee

Hot water heater, stove, and furnace are the only things connected to the gas.

Just looking for a little input.

jd

 

[pvstoy]

JD you might want to recheck those sizes. A ten gallon tank is huge with 40 gallons of propane. Maybe you have two 2 1/2 gallon tanks to make five gallons total as I have seen FWC doing with newer models.

You can install in line a propane gauge that reads pressure, put that changes with altitude and temperature. Some people pour some boiling water down the side and feel where the tank has a cold line. You can bring a fish scale and weigh the tank after you note what the weight is full.

Hot water heater and furnace consume the most fuel but it depends of length of run time how much you use. You can start with full tanks and go on a trip and do everything as you would do but write down what you ran and for how long. Then when finished weigh the tanks and note how much you used. Over time you will have it dialed in. And yes you can not claim to be the first person here to run out of propane on a trip. Twice for me and both times it was really cold in the single digits!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have a single 5gal tank in my Bobcat.
Last time I had it filled I weighed it. The tank is stamped with the full weight and empty weight.
I mark down the date and keep the number of days usage on a tag on the tank.
My usage is reefer/stove and if needed heater.
In the past I have taken the tank to be filled only to find out that it still has a lot more propane than the gauge makes out to have.
Sometimes I end up only putting in just over 3gal's to fill it.When the gauge looks like it's almost empty.
Now I can figure a better amount by weighing the tank.

It's a little bit of a pain to take the tank out and weight it but it will give you a better idea of how much propane is left in the tank.
Hope this helps.
Frank

 

[longhorn1]

I have a single 5gal tank in my Bobcat.
Last time I had it filled I weighed it. The tank is stamped with the full weight and empty weight.
I mark down the date and keep the number of days usage on a tag on the tank.
My usage is reefer/stove and if needed heater.
In the past I have taken the tank to be filled only to find out that it still has a lot more propane than the gauge makes out to have.
Sometimes I end up only putting in just over 3gal's to fill it.When the gauge looks like it's almost empty.
Now I can figure a better amount by weighing the tank.

It's a little bit of a pain to take the tank out and weight it but it will give you a better idea of how much propane is left in the tank.
Hope this helps.
Frank

Thanks Frank. I just went out and checked my tanks and couldn't find the tank size and I didn't want to unhook them. There wasn't anything in my operating binder I put together. I'll check the FWC web site. I thought about the weiging of the tank, so the next time I take a tank out I will start doing that.

jd

 

[longhorn1]

JD you might want to recheck those sizes. A ten gallon tank is huge with 40 gallons of propane. Maybe you have two 2 1/2 gallon tanks to make five gallons total as I have seen FWC doing with newer models.

You can install in line a propane gauge that reads pressure, put that changes with altitude and temperature. Some people pour some boiling water down the side and feel where the tank has a cold line. You can bring a fish scale and weigh the tank after you note what the weight is full.

Hot water heater and furnace consume the most fuel but it depends of length of run time how much you use. You can start with full tanks and go on a trip and do everything as you would do but write down what you ran and for how long. Then when finished weigh the tanks and note how much you used. Over time you will have it dialed in. And yes you can not claim to be the first person here to run out of propane on a trip. Twice for me and both times it was really cold in the single digits!

I checked the FWC web site and I have 2 - 10lb tanks, thanks for catching that.

jd

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I can get at least 2-3 weeks from a filling.That's on 5 gal's. or about #21 of propane.
Frank

 

[NorCalSteve]

I measured one tank at 24.8 pounds full and 14.2 lbs empty. How much propane gets put in will vary a little on each filling. I have considered getting a fish scale so I could weigh the tank with that but I usually just pull it out and rock it and feel for the propane sloshing around. The tank in use is the one in back. I sometimes take a small BBQ and want the outside tank to be available for that.

My hot water heater is 6 gallons. If I want to stretch my propane (and yeah, it is often just me), I will heat water on the stove to wash dishes rather than heat 6 gallons in the HW heater, since I don't need more than a gallon (wish they made a smaller HW heater). I am thinking the hot water heater is going to consume lots of gas if it is used often. Turning the heater on in the cold mornings before I jump out of bed is a real treat. But the heater is another big gas consumer. I could tell you I am good for at least two weeks on a propane tank but that is me in the southern Cascade range and is not going to help you.

I have fun seeing how long I can make my propane last. The person I often camp with (also a Hawk) turnson his HW heater when we return to camp from a day hike. Turns it off when it reaches temperature. He washes up, does dishes (which often includes mine ) and the water is usually still warm enough in the morning for a little more washing. His attitude is that the LPG is not that expensive so why not enjoy it. I think he has a good point.

I think each of us kind of learn as we go. Those of us with a propane refrigerator probably pay closer attention than others since we hopefully end up swapping tanks just before the propane is completely gone. And yeah, I have swapped tanks and forgot to turn the new tank on after the switch.

 

[idahoron]

I have the two 10 pound tanks. I use a fish scale to test them. Full they weigh 23.5 to 24.5 depending on who fills them. With anything your milage may vary. I don't have a furnace but I do have a 3 way fridge. For summer and fall camping I use the stove to heat water for oatmeal and hot drinks. The evening I use it to make dinner but if I am hunting or fishing I have my generator so I fire it up in the evening and everything goes electric. I got way over a week sometimes more. But I weigh them and make sure what I have. I learned my lesson after my frozen cutbait thawed out on a catfishing trip.

 

[craig333]

I ran low on propane this last WTW rally. Started with the gauge reading one quarter. Normally I consider that plenty for a weekend. What I didn't realize was my bbq has a slow leak. Not enough to smell but at the end of the weekend I was nearly dry. I'll still use it but I'll need to disconnect when done cooking. Its always something.

 

[pvstoy]

When you run out of propane there is always some in the tank, more so when it is cold. All the 5 gallon tanks I got refilled never filled past 4.8 gallons. So your empty weight will allow for some gas you can't use. I don't know why FWC went with two smaller tanks, just seems to me there would be more unusable gas with two small tanks than one big tank.

I have filled up here on a cold day and we are around 5200' elevation, and drove down to lower elevation and it was warmer, those tanks were bleeding of excess pressure and volume.

I would throw out there that a propane on-demand water heater would be slick for a small camper. I'm sure somebody makes one not just for home use.

 

[PaulT]

I'm still trying to learn how much propane I will use. Just got the camper in July and haven't used propane for much more than cooking plus twice for the hot water heater. I fill a large Thermos bottle with boiling water when I have some time and it is amazing how long you can make use of one or two quarts of really hot water. Learned that trick when camping in a VW camper with an infant.

Making a cup of tea or coffee, or hot cereal without having to wait for water to heat plus having hot water for personal hygiene is rather handy. Reverted to doing this after the first night when the hot water heater kept cycling periodically all night. Guess I'll learn about the furnace next time we camp.

The Nissan Thermos referenced in this posting keeps water hot to very warm for 3-4 days when pre-heatedd & filled with boiling water..
http://www.twohappycampers.com/some-of-our-favorite-items-for-truck-camper-camping/

Cabelas and Amazon both carry it.

Paul

 

[Lighthawk]

There's an easy insurance policy against running out of propane while out on a trip.
We bought the steak saver which allows me to hook up a 1# bottle to the acme knob that attaches to the OEM 5 gal bottle.
I've only had to use it once, but it works like a charm to provide another night of heat and morning coffee (the most important thing!)

 

[PaulT]

I have seen those & wondered how well they worked. I usually have a couple of the 1lb bottles with me for the portable cook stove anyway. Guess I'd better pick one up. Thanks for posting. Had no idea it would last the night for heat & still provide morning coffee.

Paul

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

There's an easy insurance policy against running out of propane while out on a trip.
We bought the steak saver which allows me to hook up a 1# bottle to the acme knob that attaches to the OEM 5 gal bottle.
I've only had to use it once, but it works like a charm to provide another night of heat and morning coffee (the most important thing!)

I have seen them at Orchard Supply. That is good insurance. I always have a few 1# bottles along. For the stove and lantern.

Thanks
Frank

 

[BFH4N]

I saw a device advertised somewhere that allows you to detect the level of the liquid in a propane tank. It uses ultrasound, or something like that. You hold it against the side of the tank and slide it up or down and it detects liquid level.

I'm not sure where I saw it, but I think it was in pictures or videos from the Overland Expo. So you could try the Overland Journal website. Probably expensive. Let us know if you find it.

- Bernard

 

[ntsqd]

In almost 10 years of the "Guy Trips" running a Camp Chef Sport Stove (2X 30k BTU burners) for a week of feeding 6-10 guys breakfast and dinner has rarely ever taken my std bbq tank below 1/2. That includes also running a lantern on a mast maybe 1/3 of the dinners.

There are magnetic 'stickers' that work roughly like the old "Mood Rings" to show the fuel level on the side of the tank. Likely find those at Camping World or a bbq supplier.
Our camper came with a bbq type tank that has a mechanical gauge. It's worthless.

 

[dauntless225]

Or get something like this:
http://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camping/Camco/CAM59005.html

I think I will this winter.

 

[esimmers]

My Hawk has the 2 ten-pound tanks (about 2.4 gallons of propane each). I connect the tank farthest inside the door and leave the one closest to the door for my portable propane stove or ready for an easy refill. I use propane for the 3-way fridge, the stove, the hot water heater and a Olympian Wave-3 catalytic heater that uses no electricity.

I find that the propane lasts a long time compared to how often the battery runs down and I only check the tank every 3-4 days. I bought one of those portable digital luggage scales which works real handy to quickly measure how much propane remains in the tank by weight. Most tanks have the tare (empty) weight stamped on them but it never hurts to double-check the empty-tank weight. Those screw-on propane pressure gauges are almost worthless because the propane gas in the tank maintains a constant pressure until all the liquid propane has turned to gas by which time it's often too late to notice.

Once you heat up the hot water tank, I find that I use very little propane to keep it hot since the tank is well insulated. I turned down the tank temperature so the water is only as hot as I need when I turn the hot full-on. You save a lot of energy by not keeping the water real hot and the 6-gallon hot water tank provides plenty of hot water even at a reduced temperature. A BTU is the quantity of heat it takes to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Six gallons of water weighs about 50 pounds; raising the temperature of that by 50 degrees then takes about 2500 BTUs.

According to calculators I found on the Internet, ten pounds of propane contains 215,480 BTUs of energy. That's a LOT of energy; equivalent to about 63 kilowatt hours of electricity (running a 1000 watt bulb for 63 hours). A typical 80 amp hour camper battery discharged only to 50% as recommended produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 watt hours (only HALF of a kilowatt hour) of energy (500 watts hours = 12 volts X 40 amp hours). So you can see that there's a LOT more juice stored in that propane tank compared to your camper battery.

Someone check my math. I double-checked but it still is hard to believe there's that much more energy in ten pounds of propane compared to a charged camper battery.

Ed

 

[ntsqd]

Those screw-on propane pressure gauges are almost worthless because the propane gas in the tank maintains a constant pressure until all the liquid propane has turned to gas by which time it's often too late to notice.

I've long felt the same way about those. Something that may not be understood about propane in tanks is that the 300 or so PSI that it's stored under converts it from a gas to a liquid. Because of this phase change tank pressure remains the same (assuming ambient conditions remain the same) from full to nearly empty. Only the liquid level changes.

You've possibly seen this when using propane in cold, higher humidity. The tank will frost on the outside to the liquid height. I think that detecting fuel remaining from reading the pressure is doomed to fail due to the pressure difference between full and nearly empty being pretty small and it being subject to relatively large change due to ambient conditions. Detecting the fuel remaining by reading the liquid level in some fashion has a far better likelihood of working.

The float gauge on our tank might be fine if we didn't drive on dirt roads. Or drive at all. As it is, it is frequently stuck on some random reading that may or may not have any relationship to reality.

http://kitchen-myths.com/2014/05/19/myth-a-pressure-gauge-on-your-propane-tank-is-useful/

http://www.camperpartsworld.com/Gas-Level-Indicator.html

 

[hsheppar]

Yes there is a great thankless LP water heater available. Eccotemp model L5 which is $120 online and $125 (member price) at camping world. For older FWC models (I have a 2006 Eagle) that can't accommodate the internal FWC water heater, it's a great option. It's propane-fired so has to be mounted outside and I had to drill a couple of holes to pipe the hot water to the inside sink but it works great. I mounted it to a thin sheet of aluminum that hangs on the side of the camper and used quick-release fittings. Setup is 5 min and the aluminum sheet protects the canvas from the exhaust heat, although the exhaust temp is fairly low to begin with.