Propane tanks

gooddogs74

Should the propane tank be left turned off anytime I am not using it?

How do you tell how much is left in it? 

Do you take it out of the box and take the tank somewhere to get it refilled or is that done without detaching it?   If it gets detached, are there instructions somewhere for how to do that?   And should you have a spare tank with you?  It doesn't look like another one would fit next to it.  (Tab 400)

Thank you, Alanna

Sharon_is_SAM

General recommendation is to turn off the propane when the trailer is not in use.
There are gauges that are not very accurate and there are tanks with built in gauges that float that are more accurate.  We have something that we are trialing now that involves attaching a device to the bottom if the tank - AP Products Gas Tank Indicator at Amazon.

Just like a gas grill, you either exchange the tank, or take it somewhere to fill it.  It must be removed.  To remove it from the tub, just disconnect the regulator and loosen the screws that secure the bracket holding the tank.

If you are dependent on propane for any given trip, you should have another tank with you.  They only  run out at 2 AM when you need heat

Tabaz

I turn off the propane while traveling. Costco sells an empty tank with fill level gauge for about $30. It has a "float" type mechanism that is fairly accurate. When connecting a refilled tank to the trailer, slowly open the valve. If you open it too fast, a safety feature will shut off the flow. In two years of use, I've never found the need to carry an extra tank with me. It's surprising how little propane these units use.

dragonsdofly

@gooddogs74, didn't see an introduction for you, so welcome to the forum and to the t@b family. Congratulations on your new 400. We had never owned an RV or even gone camping when we bought our t@b, but the many knowledgeable and friendly folks here had already discussed much of what we needed to know, so I read the entire forum. With only one weekend of experience, we embarked on what we consider an epic journey in 2016. All went amazingly well and we are now seasoned RV travelers. Read everything you can find about your trailer, use the search feature on the forum and relax. You can handle everything that comes your way. Enjoy the path to experience. And most of all, happy t@bbing!
-Denise, Jim, William (12) and Michael (11)

JimEngel

The amount of propane in a tank is the weight of the tank with propane
minus the empty weight, which is referred to as "tare weight" or "T.W."
I don't know where the term comes from, but the value is by law
stamped on the collar of the tank.
This is an example of what is stamped on one of my tanks:
DOT 4BA240 M4875 XCK 02-12  NC - 47.61  TW -16.6 LB  DT - 4.0

We can see that the empty weight is 16.6 pounds, and if filled
it should weigh 37 pounds. (Very often "refilled" tanks are far from
actually filled, beware.)

Most nominal 20 lb tanks have a tare weight of about 17 pounds when
completely empty. This means a "full" propane tank should weigh about 37 pounds.

A spring scale is one way to accurately measure the amount of available
propane. We have found the Weston 50 pound spring scale on Amazon effective:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IHB4JK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

pthomas745

I had never had a propane tank before, either.  Turning off the valve is easy, and the regulator hose is connected to the tank just like a garden hose to a faucet, and is also easy to take off.  Find the wing nut that holds the bottom of the tank to the trailer, and lift it out.  It is heavy, as Mr. Engel points out.

I was lucky:  there is a propane company just down the street from me who fill tanks for a living. That is all they do.  I was in and out of there quickly, and the attendant answered my questions about the tanks and how they are filled, etc.   So, I would recommend finding a place that does only propane tanks, since it should be a smoother transaction.  Installation is the reverse of removal, pretty simple.  The only issue is lifting it up into the box. 

jgram2

Then there's the old timey measure, the only one we've used: pour a glass of boiling water down the side of the tank, then run your hand down the side you poured the water on. It is cold at the level of propane. Not sure how accurate, but you can tell if it's empty, or 1/3 full. Etc. We've only used it for cooking and the fridge and it's very economical for those functions.

Verna

I carry a spare tank in the rear of my truck, because I travel for weeks and months at a time.  As SAM noted the tanks only run out at night between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am.  If it’s 4am, just pull an extra blanket on and wait for dawn because it sure is easier to change it in the daylight. You tend to feel like you’re making too much noise in the dark.

gooddogs74

Thank you for all the information.  I have already learned a lot just from this discussion!  I will keep reading.  

DurangoTaB

Lots of stuff in the forum on this topic...I have a portable sonar level checker, there are wireless remote sensor versions (some Bluetooth to your phone), and comments about gauges.  It’s about half price to fill vs. replace...that’s about $10 savings, but the T@B uses so little propane why bother (one argument is you get more propane if it’s filled correctly, 37#, vs. the less filled “blue bottle” kind).

ScottG

I'm curious about the whole "filled correctly" thing. I weigh my tanks on a medical type scale so I have a pretty good idea of what's in them.

When I purchased my tank with a float gauge from U-Haul, they filled it on site. The gauge read full and my scale indicated 19lbs of propane in the tank.

When I recently had the completely empty tank refilled at my local hardware store, the attendant stopped at 3.9 gallons. The gauge was halfway down the green, and my scale indicated only 15.5lbs had been added to the tank. Similar things have happened before with other tanks. I pay by the gallon, so I'm not complaining about being ripped off, but I would like to come home with a full tank.

Anybody know what's going on here? I have no experience actually filling tanks so I'm not sure how they judge when to stop.

atlasb

the new tanks have a float valve inside that limits the fill to 80%.  A lot of the tanks that you exchange empty for full are filled light.  There have been law suits concerning short filling.  Tanks are a lot of time are filled but weight and the tank is placed on a scale so the operator knows how full it is.  There is a bleed screw on the side of the valve and is opened so the operator will see vapor escape when the tank is full. 

ScottG

The do use a scale where I fill my tanks, but I'm not sure how they tare it, or if they are taring it correctly. I've also noted they never fill over 4.0 gallons, but the last two fill-ups I had didn't even reach that.

80% pretty much describes my last fill, but I know that is not physically limited by the tank as it had much more in it when it was filled at purchase.

ColoradoJon

With the OPD valve tanks they just pump propane into the tank until the valve closes and vapor releases from the pressure release on the filler hose.  The scale is there so they know how much to charge you