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Old 02-15-2018, 10:06 AM   #1
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Fill that propane tank

Morning all. I am the happy owner of a Roo 23ws (2017). Kind of new at this but I enjoy reading this forum. It is time to fill one of my two propane tanks. At first I thought you just exchanged it for a full one at the local hardware. Now I am thinking it is best to keep the original tank and fill it while it is still sitting on the tongue. Is this correct? Where will I get the best service and price, truck stop ( Flying J) campground, or somewhere else. Ballpark figure, what does it cost?
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Old 02-15-2018, 10:09 AM   #2
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We get ours filled at a local RV dealership. They charge $2.50 a gallon. Sometimes they run specials (typically at the beginning of the camping season) where they fill a 20lb tank for $10.

Yes, I much prefer to keep my own tanks. You never know what you are going to get when you trade your tanks in. I've gotten tanks with bad valves, ones with messed up threads, and ones that just wouldn't seal and leaked no matter what I did.
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Old 02-15-2018, 10:13 AM   #3
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I prefer to keep my tanks and take them off the trailer when they need filled. In Canada, the best price for propane that I've found is Costco. You can fill a 20# tank for ~$10 CDN. ($7 US)
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Old 02-15-2018, 10:14 AM   #4
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This thread may help, and also has a link to places to get the cylinders refilled.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-133760.html

Many refill places will require you to remove the portable cylinders from the tongue, especially if they only fill by weight.

All of this is explained in the link above.

Also if you do have the 20 lb propane cylinders, most exchanges only have 3/4ths that amount of propane in their exchange cylinders. Also explained in the link above.

Hope it helps
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Old 02-15-2018, 10:33 AM   #5
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I also go to Costco.
You can't have your propane tanks filled while on the tongue of your trailer, the fill hose would most likely not reach and the person filling your tanks would not know whether your tanks are empty or still half full creating a dangerous situation.
At least here it is not legal to fill a portable tank without weighing it, they used to gauge the fill level with the pressure relief valve but I haven't seen it in at least 20 years.
Be careful with the exchange tanks, they are usually under filled and way overpriced to the tune of over a dollar per litre.
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Old 02-15-2018, 10:34 AM   #6
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Remove and shop for a Propane Company "Refill Deal" the exchange places are NOT a deal,you read the fine print and will find out they are Less # than by weight! I just trying to Visualize filling a portable tank still on the RV at Most of the Tank fill stations we deal with since they use a Platform Scale "Fairbanks" to weight the fill weight! Youroo!! Our normal fill location has "10$ Tuesdays for 20# and 15$ Thursdays for 30# tanks!
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:08 AM   #7
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take the tank off and take it to a refill location. they are all over the place, depending on where you live. many of the larger gas stations have propane refills, as do rv dealers and propane dealers. prices do vary so check them. our local propane company has the best prices and they have a coupon that gives you a 20 lb refill after 5 paid refills. keep you own tank. it is new and won't need to be recertified for several years.
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:15 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wmtire View Post
This thread may help, and also has a link to places to get the cylinders refilled.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-133760.html

Many refill places will require you to remove the portable cylinders from the tongue, especially if they only fill by weight.

All of this is explained in the link above.

Also if you do have the 20 lb propane cylinders, most exchanges only have 3/4ths that amount of propane in their exchange cylinders. Also explained in the link above.

Hope it helps
Thats some great info in that thread. I am one of the ignorant ones that assumed you could only put 80% of 20lbs in a cylinder, not the whole 20 lbs. So that being said the 15 lbs in the exchange tanks is coming up short.
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:31 AM   #9
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I also go to Costco.
You can't have your propane tanks filled while on the tongue of your trailer, the fill hose would most likely not reach and the person filling your tanks would not know whether your tanks are empty or still half full creating a dangerous situation.
At least here it is not legal to fill a portable tank without weighing it, they used to gauge the fill level with the pressure relief valve but I haven't seen it in at least 20 years.
Be careful with the exchange tanks, they are usually under filled and way overpriced to the tune of over a dollar per litre.
In the US all propane tanks 20-40# are required to have an Overfill Protection Device (OPD) installed on them (since 2002). This is a valve that has a float that hangs down in the cylinder and as it's filled and the liquid level rises, it will block off the valve so the tank can't be filled above it's max fill level.

It is now required because the regulators realized that not everyone who was filling propane tanks had adequate knowledge on the proper way to fill a tank. With the OPD there's not much thinking required. No watching for liquid to appear at the outage valve, just hook up hose, open valves, turn on pump, and when the OPD shuts off flow, reverse process.

I can't speak for other countries but here in the US we now have another device that makes a dangerous process pretty much dummy proof.

BTW, I just pull my trailer next to the Propane tank wherever I get the bottles filled while still on the trailer. Have yet to find a fill station that didn't have a long enough hose to reach the tank valves. Not a lot different than filling a frame mounted tank on a MH. Only downside of filling while on TT tongue is that you have to make sure ALL appliances are turned off. No oven pilot light, WH off, Refrigerator Off and if you brought your chain smoking Mother In Law along, she'll have to take a "clean air break"
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:47 AM   #10
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Thats some great info in that thread. I am one of the ignorant ones that assumed you could only put 80% of 20lbs in a cylinder, not the whole 20 lbs. So that being said the 15 lbs in the exchange tanks is coming up short.
Excellent, glad it helped.

Many people don't understand that you fill it to 80% of the cylinders water capacity (which equates to 20 lbs of propane)
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:52 AM   #11
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If you have a tractor supply near you, check online if they offer propane fills at that location. They are the cheapest I've found near me. Like others said, you'll need to remove the tank from your trailer to get it filled.
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Old 02-15-2018, 12:01 PM   #12
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If you have a tractor supply near you, check online if they offer propane fills at that location. They are the cheapest I've found near me. Like others said, you'll need to remove the tank from your trailer to get it filled.
Except for those of us that don't. I haven't had a tank filled "on a scale" in over 30 years. It must be a "regional thing".
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Old 02-15-2018, 12:45 PM   #13
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Except for those of us that don't. I haven't had a tank filled "on a scale" in over 30 years. It must be a "regional thing".
Agreed. Seems like many places in Canada do the weight thing.
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Old 02-15-2018, 12:46 PM   #14
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Except for those of us that don't. I haven't had a tank filled "on a scale" in over 30 years. It must be a "regional thing".
Really? Places will fill them while the cylinder is still mounted to your camper? I've seriously never heard of such a thing.
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Old 02-15-2018, 01:23 PM   #15
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Fill that propane tank

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Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
Really? Places will fill them while the cylinder is still mounted to your camper? I've seriously never heard of such a thing.


I’m guessing this is sarcasm? Bc there are many MH that have permanently mounted horizontal propane tanks. Click image for larger version

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Old 02-15-2018, 01:31 PM   #16
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I’m guessing this is sarcasm? Bc there are many MH that have horizontal mounted tanks that are not removable.
Not sarcasm- I am aware that motorhomes have fixed tanks.

But from his signature, TitanMike has a trailer. I just had never heard of having tanks on trailers filled.
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Old 02-15-2018, 01:37 PM   #17
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But we are not talking about a motor home; we are talking a bumper pull with portable tanks., I also have never heard of nor would even have thought to bring the whole trailer in to refill the propane tanks. That sounds absolutely daunting. Much simpler to take the tank(s) off, put them in the back of the tow vehicle and go get them filled, and put them back on. Though one KOA we were at, the campground owner came by in his golf cart, picked up our empty tank and brought it back filled. Nice touch.
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Old 02-15-2018, 01:38 PM   #18
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Really? Places will fill them while the cylinder is still mounted to your camper? I've seriously never heard of such a thing.
It's going to naturally depend on whether their hose will reach, if there is a bunch of stuff in the way, and if the "operator" actually knows the laws.

I had one dufus at a convenience store/car wash tell me he couldn't fill my 100# portable tank because the valve wasn't the "Trianular Type". Pointed to a poster stuck up under the main supply tank. I pointed farther down on the poster where it said that tanks larger than 40# were not included. He insisted.

I merely took the tank to a nearby LPG Distributor and the guy there said, and I quote "That's what you get for minimum wage". I'm kind of lucky as I have two huge LPG distributors within a couple miles of my home so I just "top off" before I hit the road. Only time I have to take a tank off the hitch is when I "take a tank to town" for a refill after the regulator has switched over to the other side.

As for "grounding", how many have seen the individual who's put your tank on a scale or on a stand (so they don't have to bend over) and then hook up a ground wire (like they do when fueling aircraft)?

FWIW, the supply hose has metal strands (the reinforcement) in it's construction and is designed to ground whatever it's connected to on the discharge end.


Now if one is in an over-regulating state and country, local rules apply. Like I said, in over 30 years, never had to remove a tank that was close enough to the hose and had a clear shot for the operator. If you like to rotate your tanks so the connection is on the rear then I guess they would have a problem.
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Old 02-15-2018, 01:47 PM   #19
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COSTCO! Not only is the price per pound or gallon the lowest around, but they provide metered fills. You don't pay for a full fill if you're topping off a half-full cylinder. This makes it great for topping off all your cylinders before leaving on a trip.

At our local Costco, it would be difficult to get a trailer near the propane pumps. The island is surrounded on three sides by the busiest three lanes in the parking lot. But there are lots of shopping carts around--easy to move your cylinders from the trailer or car to the pumps.

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Old 02-15-2018, 01:49 PM   #20
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Though one KOA we were at, the campground owner came by in his golf cart, picked up our empty tank and brought it back filled. Nice touch.
Have you ever stayed in a park where the Propane distributor would send a bulk delivery truck through once a week or twice a week and fill everyone's tanks? Spent 6 months in one while having a house built in Colorado.

I rented a large tank which brought the driver to the park to begin with. While there he'd fill any tank that was exposed on the front of the travel trailer's with hose disconnected. We'd all come home at night to find our bill attached to the door handle. They sold a bunch of propane while I was there. It was winter and coldest temp was -15 one morning.
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