Propane Gauge

Nomad

Like you Verna, the cheapest I ran into was a small remote NE New Mexico town on a reservation. Filled two completely empty 20 lb tanks for just shy of $10. Usually it $9-14 for one. 

Verna

$9.71 to $15 last winter for empty 20 lb tanks. 

One caution for those who want to carry a smaller tank for a cooking stoves or propane campfires: I was charged for a minimum of 20 lb to fill a completely empty 10 lb tank at a propane company in Apache Junction, AZ. That is why I now leave the 10 lb at home for the grill, rather take it on trips. I keep a few 1 lb bottles in the truck bed for the gas grill and propane campfire, rather than pay for propane that I didn't get. I've never been charged extra at the local propane company near home to fill a partial 20 lb tank.

LauraRey

ontheroad said:

Laura Rey, I'm in Ontario as well, our Home Hardware fills tanks

Thanks!  Good to know.  

Cyclonic

I have a local station less then ½ a mile that refills.  Tractor Supply often also will do refills.

Best campground deal, oddly, was at Disney at Fort Wilderness.  They will refill a 20 lb tank for $10 (last I knew, about a year ago), and pick up and deliver to your site.

AldebaranJill

ScottG said:

AldebaranJill said:

The Worthington Tank (Uhaul) has an actual float inside, so the gauge is not just reading pressure. After researching various methods, this seems like most accurate way to tell how much liquid is left. Has a 10 year warranty.

I also rely on the scale method, but hauling the tank in and out between trips is a PITA. I'd plunk down for the Worthington tank--especially since I'm looking to replace on of my expired ones anyway.

Jill, how many fill cycles has your tank been through? How accurate and durable is the gauge under real-world use?

I've had it for 3 years, maybe filled a dozen times? From my experience, it is accurate enough to allow me to always be able to get it filled before I ran out. Usually I fill full before every trip, and when it says it's half way empty, the amount of propane they have to put in before it's "full" matches. And when they refill it, the needle goes exactly right to the totally full mark. So from what I can tell, it really does do a pretty good job of helping me gauge when to refill without having to remove the tank to shake it around, or those stick on side of the tank things.

ScottG

Thanks, Jill--sounds like a solid endorsement to me!

Verna

@ScottG, my two Worthington tanks with the built-in gauge have been filled between 5 to 10 times each. The gauge is very accurate.

ScottG

Thanks, Verna!

Where did you get your Worthington tanks? I've never seen one--were they available locally or did you have to order them?

Verna

I bought them from Camping World, right on the shelf. 

I try not to impulse buy there, but I saw it, looked at it, read the label, walked away, walked back a couple of times, then put it in a cart. After a few camping trips, I bought the second one. It's worth it to have as precise a gauge as I have found. 

rfuss928

These tanks with an actual level gauge built in are a great find!!  The add on pressure gauges are often misunderstood and confusing to many users.

TerryV6

AldebaranJill said:

I got a tank from UHaul for $35 with a gauge that I actually find very useful. 

Thanks for this U-Haul post.  I always listen seriously when Verna posts something, small grin of course,  I did some "googling" and found them anywhere from $33 on Camping World, to $66 on Amazon.  I checked the U-Haul site and saw it for $29 bucks.  If I wanted to pick it up at the closest store, I paid no shipping.  I did that, and got it filled for $16.  Not bad...

Verna

Thank you, @TerryV6 .

Good deal.  My first one was over $50, the second closer to the $33 price. Now, I have two other 20 lb and one 10 lb tanks at home and I don't use that much propane at home. I'll fill them up before I leave, just in case my brother needs to heat my house if the power goes out (knock on wood!).