Propane question.

[ElGato]

Does SVTP have any propane/LPG/natural gas gurus that can help me? (the ultimate question is at the end, the back story is just below)


The house I bought has a 100 gallon tank for the stove. (A bit much?) The tank is owned by a local propane company. (it's national chain) They recently placed a card on my door saying "Call us in a week or we'll remove our tank."

I call them, and they tell me that the tank is locked (it's not, I've been cooking with my stove) and to remove it they will charge me $48 for inspection/leak testing, $8 HAZMAT fee (to defray the cost of their drivers hazmat certs), and then I have to pay for the 66 gallon credit the previous owners had.

I basically told them to go pound sand. I tried to go national on them, but corporate doesn't seem to care, so I told them to come get thier tank and forget about any payment of any kind. These bumpkins are really ignorant, so I expect to see my yard torn up when they pull the tank.I'll take before and after pictures to cover my butt....



The question: after they take my 100 gallon tank, can I get the Blue Rhino "bbq grill" style tank and hook it up? Propane is a gas that acts like a liquid right? An empty gas line will fill once I hook up a new source or propane yes?
....or am I going to blow up my house?

Gato/paul

 

[Sniperdog]

Sounds good to me :shrug:




























the blowing up house part oke: hee hee

j/k

if the fittings are the same should work, yes, propane in tank is liquid

 

[sunburned]

I've had some propane issues recently. My gf moved into a small house on the farm where her horses are boarded. The house has 2 propane tanks, I'm guessing 100 gallons right next to the kitchen (I've heard this is a huge fire hazard, I'm personally not really sure), which are used for the stove and to heat the house. She lived there for hardly 2 months and was generally not in the house because she only went over when I was up on weekends. Never used the stove and usually kept the house around 65 degrees, or lower if she wasn't there. A few weeks ago, the propane guy comes to fill the tanks and hands me a slip of paper saying he just put in 177 gallons of propane, then the house owners stick my gf with a $700 propane bill (wtf?!) When she initially moved in, the guy told her the tanks should be good for the entire winter. Does this sound normal to you??

Gato, I dunno about a small grille tank, but my dad has a 30 gallon tank outside for our gas fireplace that should probably work pretty well for your situation. He said it only costs about $20 to fill up.

 

[Don Juan]

Make sure your water heater it's electric, or you'll be SOL, in theory your plan should work the only problem maybe the fittings like someone else mentioned, but that's nothing that an adapter can't fix.

 

[Lightningfr]

is it propane or natural gas?

there not interchangeable you need to know what you have if its natural gas you need to run natural gas the fittings on your oven/stove wont ignite propane if its a natural gas stove/oven niehter will your air handler furnace if you have one of those nor your water heater

propane compressed is a liquid yes... TtT for someone else

 

[ElGato]

The only thing that uses this "fuel" is the stove, and a gas insert fireplace. I'm assuming the contents of the tank are propane, but not certain.


So are the fittings different between propane and natural gas containers?


Am I fairly close to assuming that if I hook up another tank to the house fittings, I won't have to worry about "bleeding" anything?



Does anyone see any significant safety issues? (other than an above ground 100 gallon cylinder next to my garage)

 

[drptitan]

Yes the fittings for propane and natural gas are different. If you run the smaller tank you should be fine because the pressure is there. The only thing that determines the flow is your regulator. Propane can come in both vapor and liquid form, the lines will fill back up after the new bottle is hooked up. It will push all the air out and will be good to go after that.

 

[Lightningfr]

they use diff pressure's youll need a psi regulator diff jets on your stove if its natural gas and your converting to propain


if you use a small propane tank it wont hook up propane tanks use reverse threads youll need to buy at least a 15 gallon tank the 5 gallons wont hook up and
no they do not make adapters to use a 5 gallon tank


my money is on a propane tank but you need to fine out for sure

best bet is to buy a 20 gallon or so tank

 

[drptitan]

they use diff pressure's youll need a psi regulator diff jets on your stove if its natural gas and your converting to propain


if you use a small propane tank it wont hook up propane tanks use reverse threads youll need to buy at least a 15 gallon tank the 5 gallons wont hook up and
no they do not make adapters to use a 5 gallon tank


my money is on a propane tank but you need to fine out for sure

best bet is to buy a 20 gallon or so tank

The 20#(5 gallon) tanks do have the reverse threads on the inside. I fill them every day at my store.

 

[N2DAMYSTIC]

I have a 100lb tank for my stove. We came home one night from work and the whole house smelled like gas. I cut the tank off from the outside and had the company out here at 7:30 am. Come to learn what we were smelling was vapor, a sign you ran out of gas.

The company replaced my tank with a brand new one and only charged me for the gas. Total cost was $77 for the full tank. The service I have comes once a month and the bills range between $4 and $10 each month. I have a small local company servicing me and have never had any problems in the 7 years I have had their service.

As far as hooking up a BBQ propane tank goes I am sure you would have to modify the fittings a bit to make it work but it should work Only problem I see is you will constantly run out of gas. An oven / Stovetop is going to use much more gas than your grill.

I'd just find another company and run with it.

 

[Mr. Mach-ete]

Hire a licensed contractor what ever you do.

 

[Zorabot]

Yes you can use a 20# gas grille tank, just use this pigtail connector to connect to your regulator, it should be mounted on or in your house, if its very far away you could just connect the pigtail to whatever plumbing the 100#'er uses.
Just make sure you have a regulator
This is the newer OPD style propane fitting, they have the older internal thread style also but that style is being phased out, and you dont need any wrenche's to change the newer OPD style.

http://www.kingssupply.com/cat6_1.htm

 

[BiLL1024]

I have been doing heating and a/c for 30+ years.
I have never seen natural gas in a tank. (Not that I have seen it all)
Natural gas is supplied by the local utility co. Pipes under ground.
There would also be a meter that the gas goes through so they can charge you.
Propane comes in a tank. Sold by the gal.
At least thats how it is done here in NY and CT.
It is a liquid in the tank, as you use gas, it boils off into a vapor.
The vapor goes through the regulator,@ a lower pressure 12 in WC or so
Then into your stove, furnace, ect..
Why not keep the big tank? You will run out often, and have to go fill it yourself.
That would be a pain in the bum. Shop around for the best price.
The tank is theirs, I cant believe they want to charge you to remove it, or test it.
Good luck.
Bill
One thing to think about.
Propane tanks are sized to the load.
So is you have too small a tank, turn on the 4 burners, and the oven on. (Thanksgiving dinner )
There is not enough room in the tank for the liquid to boil off, the tank can freeze up and you can have a pressure drop, and not have enough gas pressure. Winter it may even be worst.

 

[ElGato]

I'd just find another company and run with it.

That's what I'm leaning towards now.

Hire a licensed contractor what ever you do.

Why, you don't trust me?:rolling:

Yes you can use a 20# gas grille tank, just use this pigtail connector to connect to your regulator, it should be mounted on or in your house, if its very far away you could just connect the pigtail to whatever plumbing the 100#'er uses.
Just make sure you have a regulator

Excellent

I have been doing heating and a/c for 30+ years.
I have never seen natural gas in a tank. (Not that I have seen it all)
Natural gas is supplied by the local utility co.

Why not keep the big tank? You will run out often, and have to go fill it yourself.
That would be a pain in the bum. Shop around for the best price.
The tank is theirs, I cant believe they want to charge you to remove it, or test it.
Good luck.
Bill
One thing to think about.
Propane tanks are sized to the load.
.

Thanks Bill, that's what I was thinking propane/natural gas.

Why am I having my tank removed? Extremely poor customer service. If you want my money, you have to earn it. I'm sick and tired of putting up with peoples poor attitudes just because I don't have an alternative. Because I DO have an alternative...


Thanks for your help everybody.

If the house explodes:burn:, I'll be sure to get pictures (from far away)

 

[sunburned]

I have a 100lb tank for my stove. We came home one night from work and the whole house smelled like gas. I cut the tank off from the outside and had the company out here at 7:30 am. Come to learn what we were smelling was vapor, a sign you ran out of gas.

My gf and I came back to her house one night and had the same thing happen. House smelled awful. I knew the smell but couldn't figure out what it was until she said she thought it smelled like propane. I started freaking out looking for a gas leak until I was like "damn, the stove uses propane". Turns out her f-ing dog jumped up on the stove and turned one of the burners on high. The knobs have an awful design where you turn it a quarter turn to the right to turn on the gas, then back to the left to trigger the igniter. So yeah, the gas was on for who knows how long, scared the crap out of me cuz I'm just imagining this small house being blown to splinters with us inside.