wingysataday
Adventurer
I found a woman on craigslist who has a bunch of propane tanks(husband was a hoarder who died) She has a few of the 10lb vertical tanks but they look old. How do I check to see if they are refillable?
. Tanks over ten gallons are exempt? I think.
Look at the valve handle. If it has only 3 'lobes', then it's a newer one with the OPD (Overflow Protection Device) or 'float' in it.
If it has more than 3, than it's the old style, and they won't fill it.
Good news is, you can get the new valves, and have them installed. Cost wise, it's usually a wash bewteen that, and just buting a new tank.
Nope, I know thw 100 pound tanks are exempt, but the 20# (like for a BBQ grill) have to have the new valaves. Not sure on the 40 and 70 pounders.
Tanks up to 40 #'s are required to be fitted with an OPD (Overfill Protection Device). <<<....>>>> The odorant in propane does have a shelf life and will degrade over time.
Propane weighs 4.23 lb per gallon , so a 10 gallon tank would be over 40# and doesn't require the overfill valve. Looks like we ARE on the same page. I bought a new 25 gallon tank a couple years ago and was surprised that they did not have an overfill design valve. Not even an option.Nope, I know the 100 pound tanks are exempt, but the 20# (like for a BBQ grill) have to have the new valves. Not sure on the 40 and 70 pounders.
Most of the older tanks can not be retrofitted with the new valves. The float assembly that is the overfill prevention device is just physically too large to fit in the smaller opening of the older tanks.Propane weighs 4.23 lb per gallon , so a 10 gallon tank would be over 40# and doesn't require the overfill valve.
Good to know. Those must have been some of the "transition tanks" and had the larger threads. I think , IMO , those would be a good candidate for the tank exchange. 20# (4.5 gallon) steel BBQ tanks are really pretty cheap. They were just under $30 everywhere we looked. The 5# ($54) and 10# ($90) were significantly more money. We were looking for a campfire tank and I decided the larger diameter of the 20# tank offered greater vapor space for the volume of gas to be expelled in such a high demand appliance....Some of the 20# (like a grill uses) and smaller tanks can be retro fitted, my dad swapped over 2 of them.