Propane Tanks

Living in my van is going pretty well. Im working on the dual battery setup (should be up and running in about 2 weeks. Money issues). Right now Im using LPG (propane) for heating. I have a shitload of the green 1lb tanks that are empty. They last about 7 hours with the heater I currently have. Is there a way to refill these little bastards?

Im working on finding a 30-40lb tank in the next week. Its a little bigger than a BBQ sized tank, and should last. Where is the cheapest place to get these. TSC and Camping world are WAY expensive. Any insight?

 

HI there what I have been doing for my cabin is renting 100 lbs tanks for about $30 a year and about $50 to $70 to fill it. The bonus of this route is never having to recertify it and if there's any problems with the tanks I just take it back and get another one. I don't know if the same thing can be done in the USA but give it a shot; just go to your local propane dealer and find out.

KDB

 

Id lease one, but they wont do it as i dont have a permanent address. Its around 100 bucks for a 40lb tank, and 24 bucks to fill it (i think). I just want to find a cheaper one

 

Try an Auto Recycling Center. I have found 4 propane heaters and 40lb tanks cost me $50 I will be using them in the greenhouse in about a month. Just look for RV's at the junkyard.

 

you can get a new 30 pound tank for about 60 bucks..

ace hardware carries several sizes of tanks(the larger stores) and they refill them as well.. thats the route i would go.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45989

You can buy these for refilling those little 1 pound tanks .

 

But you can also get adapters which allow you to use 20, 30, and 40 pound tanks with your stoves and heaters that were built for one pound tanks.

 

I agree with Farmerzee. I got two 40# aluminum tanks for my RV at a salvage yard. They came from an old LP forklift. You just have to make sure they aren't set up for horizontal use unless you have a way of racking them that way.

 

You also have to make sure not to get stuck with the old style valve tanks. They're illegal to refill now.

Buy a used tank, just be cautious you get the newer model.



x

 

Nice thing about the old 20 lb. non O.P.D. valve tanks is that most of those propane exchange stations will except them.

Allowing you to get a updated tank for much less than a new store bought tank.

 

we had 2 old non OPD tanks... we took them to the store in town and asked for a exchange... they took our old tanks and gave us 2 new ones with the OPD valve. haha.

problem im having with heating my camper with the propane and this cold weather of winter is condensation! everything near the windows gets wet! i had a good 20 dvds sitting on the shelf by the window... all the covers on the dvds got wet and now they look like crap, all wrinkled. atleast the movies still work but my lil collection is kinda ruined for me.

to fill the 20lbs tanks here at the local fill-up it costs $15.

 

I found that a strip of carpeting adhered to the ceiling helps cut down on condensation . Also leave a window slightly cracked may help.

 

yeah i have a window open... its actually busted out in the toilet area (which i never use) so the air gets in through the door, dont wanna burn all the oxygen but it still gets wet like no other... i seriously have ice build up inside the windows... then it melts and i have to clean up puddles of water on the window sill, it blows.

on another note, i almost died this new year, haha, i accidently left a candle on after falling asleep, i awoke to my camper full of burnt plastic smoke and the candle holder (which was made of stupid plastic, i thought it was porcelien or whatnot cuz when u tap ur finger against it, it sounded like glass) anyway the thing was melting and burning away, i had a 10inch flame burning above me near the curtains of the window! bah, i was breathing in plastic fumes, the camper was full of it, nothing but grey smoke!

im glad someone woke me up. although there was no one around, haha.

 

I feel like saying "Idiot"!!! in 20 languages.

Glad you're okay though.

x

 

That’s a lot of propane..

I did some winter camping in a insulated van before, I had a 5 gallon propane tank and a stove I would heat up a 5 gallon pot of water full and river rocks I would keep the window open when the stove was going then after it boiled and the rocks heated up I would turn it off and the rocks would hold heat for an hour or so.
The big draw back was the steam would turn to ice or water on the windows.

 

Anybody on the east coast, if you need some 20# tanks I have 4 I'm not using, you may have to exchange them but you're welcome to them.

 

I colected old 20 pound tanks and exchanged them for full tanks, it is about $20 and you get a new tank with about 17 pounds of gas. I then get them refilled at a supplier for $20 for 20 pounds. When the bottles get to their expiration date I exchange them.

 

beat me to it. i was gonna post a king of the hill meme too!

 

How could you not hey!