Fill Microlite propane tanks?

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

I intend to go back and look but have been stuck in quarantine all week. I will admit that some of my samples have been drive by views looking for that block on the lower right. Others were walk up and look closely. Those were more likely local companies

What I would like people to hear is that according to one of their drivers who is at the depot every day they don’t weigh shi* . They don’t have time to mess with it. They put them through a wash line. Replace labels and check expiration dates then fill them until the OPD kicks off. If that’s 15 lbs then fine if it’s 17 lbs that’s fine too. They don’t care. It is not worth the labor cost to them. They would have to start with either empty tanks or assume the tare weight and not all tanks are the same. I think the 15# thing in their minds is an “at least” 15# for fair trade purposes.

You need to really read the FTC lawsuit, which I have links to in the FAQ tutorial on the refilling/exchanging propane tanks thread.

Blue Rhino and Amerigas colluded to drop the amount of propane in the cylinders from 17 pounds to 15 pounds. The devil is in the details. I would bet their signage is more correct now than word from a delivery driver.

If you have ever saw someone fill a tank by scale weight, it's not hard nor more time consuming.

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by wmtire

You need to really read the FTC lawsuit, which I have links to in the FAQ tutorial on the refilling/exchanging propane tanks thread.

Blue Rhino and Amerigas colluded to drop the amount of propane in the cylinders from 17 pounds to 15 pounds. The devil is in the details. I would bet their signage is more correct now than word from a delivery driver.

If you have ever saw someone fill a tank by scale weight, it's not hard nor more time consuming.

Do you real think the lawyers that came up with that sign has ever filled a tank? The guys filling them don’t weigh them. I have never seen any fill stations weigh them either. The True Value a mile from my house doesn't even have a scale

The camp ground next door has no scale either. They have gallon meters and their price is posted in gallons.

The truck that comes to one of the campgrounds we frequent has no scale. They charge by the fill and don’t even meter it.

Let’s beat the crap out of this some more. And yes I trust the word of a young man I have known for his entire life who happens to drive a Blue Rhino truck. Are you suggesting he is lying??? He has no motive to lie to me. The lawyers might though!!

If what you really need out of this is for me to say I’m wrong. That “some” cage signs “may” say the tanks are 15# net then ok.

I’m wrong.

Now I’m prepared to let go of this silly debate. What say you??!!

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

Let’s beat the crap out of this some more. And yes I trust the word of a young man I have known for his entire life who happens to drive a Blue Rhino truck. Are you suggesting he is lying??? He has no motive to lie to me. The lawyers might though!!

Now I’m prepared to let go of this silly debate. What say you??!!

I didn't realize it was a debate as much as an educational opportunity for those who may not understand how the exchange process takes place and the fill rates. I will drop this and this is my last post after I add the link to Blue Rhino's own youtube channel, where they show how they precision refill their tanks on a carousel and scales. There is no need to get upset by any of this. It's all good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2nQIbH-SQo

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

Let’s beat the crap out of this some more. And yes I trust the word of a young man I have known for his entire life who happens to drive a Blue Rhino truck. Are you suggesting he is lying??? He has no motive to lie to me. The lawyers might though!!

The young man says they fill them until the pump cuts off.

But has he said why the pump cuts off? Does he know?

1) It could possibly be when the OPD cuts off.
2) But it could also be when the scale that the bottle is resting on registers a value 15 lbs. over the initial value.

I'm thinking it's both, whichever happens first. When partially filled bottles are returned, they are filled until the OPD cuts off. When close to empty, they never receive more than 15 lbs.

Just theorizing; I have no inside knowledge, But that is the way I would design the system. Management would be pleased to know that I have designed it such that:

• Bottles would never be filled to an unsafe limit.
• Fill costs would be variable, but never above 15 lbs. of product.

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

The young man says they fill them until the pump cuts off.

But has he said why the pump cuts off? Does he know?

1) It could possibly be when the OPD cuts off.
2) But it could also be when the scale that the bottle is resting on registers a value 15 lbs. over the initial value.

I'm thinking it's both, whichever happens first. When partially filled bottles are returned, they are filled until the OPD cuts off. When close to empty, they never receive more than 15 lbs.

Just theorizing; I have no inside knowledge, But that is the way I would design the system. Management would be pleased to know that I have designed it such that:

• Bottles would never be filled to an unsafe limit.
• Fill costs would be variable, but never above 15 lbs. of product.

God I was so prepared to let this go. He said nothing about any fancy carrousel and implied there was no scale present at all. I don’t think they have that setup at every depot all over the country. They have more than one depot in maine. I should see him Easter Sunday and will clarify some things.

I’m bound and determined to ignore this until then.

[jimmarako]

So I've gotten lost on who is saying what or why.

A "full" 20lb propane tank has 20lbs of propane in it. The tank is really only ~80% full at this point to allow for thermo expansion. The modern tanks will cut off around this point because of the overfill value. The "us gas" station I get my tanks fill at just hook them up and wait until the value pops then the machine shuts off.

The exchange cylinders only have 15 lbs of propane in them. Why? Because they can?

A LITTLE ABOUT PROPANE TANKS
These "20 lb" tanks are designed to take up to 20 pounds of propane. You may get a pound or 2 less, depending on the temperature of the tank and surrounding air when the tank was filled. Cooler = more propane in, hotter = less in. Tanks can actually fit another 20% in the tank, but that extra space is designed for expansion as the temperature rises.

In very cold winter climates, like Canada, there may be more concern/rules about filling a tank to a complete 20 lbs. This is because if you leave a tank outside in very cold temps, filled the tank when the tank is cold, and then bring it into a hot basement/garage for a space heater, the gas will expand as the tank warms. With enough of a temperature increase, the tank's pressure relief value will release a bit of gas. This would be less of an issue if the relief value were bleeding to outside air.

Costco in Greenville, SC is a bit deceiving because they first hand you a slip that says "20 lb cylinder". When you pay inside the receipt says "20lb PROPANE", and the filling print out says "Cylinder: 20S lbs." The only defense is that the filling print out is honest and says "3.6 gallons". However, nobody knows off the top of their head that a propane tank is supposed to have 4.7 gallons to be considered "full". By saying 3.6 gallons, they are masking the fact that they put in 75%. If they wanted to be upfront they'd say "we will put 15 lbs of propane into this 20 lb cylinder".

This means Costco puts in 15 lb of propane.

[65MAX]

I thought they were heavy too - mine are 30 gallon tanks. Light when empty. not so much when filled but manageable. Easy to take out and put back in.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by wphelander

We are relatively new to trailering and are about to embark on our first multiweek trip. To this point our propane usage has been trivial, but I'm anticipating needing to fill our dual 20# tanks at some point during our trip. It appears that in order to fill them we'll need to tow the trailer to the filling point as there is no apparent way to manually lift them from their mounting locations at the front of the trailer - have I missed something? If this is the case then we need to be sure to fill them while we are moving and be sure not to run out while set up in a camp ground - something to add to our daily checklist.

Thanks

To your original question...

Post #2 answered your question...no need to take your trailer to get them filled.
Post #3 video showed you how.

On occasion I've seen friction brackets that had a band around the tank at the center or bottom of the tank that required loosening a nut to remove the tank (if your's doesn't have the threaded rod as in the video).

Propane refills usually require weighing the tank...hard to set your trailer on the scales!

[Ratskat]

Not to steer this thread the wrong way but I know our Micro Lite is coming with two 30# tanks. Did they used to come with 20# ones?

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by Ratskat

Not to steer this thread the wrong way but I know our Micro Lite is coming with two 30# tanks. Did they used to come with 20# ones?

Just googled xxxx microlite for various years and clicked on images.
Looks like 2014 starts showing some 30 lb tanks, not all though.

[GolfingDave]

Just saw this at a fuel stop. They are making sure you know the minimum weight of propane in their exchanges.
I imagine they advertise that since some companies are not filling them all the "weigh".