Propane Tank Gauges

[gonejeeping15]

Anyone tried the gauges for propane tanks, I'm not to impressed with the magnet style, they don't work well on a 5 LB tank.

I also hate to spend $30 on a gauge when the tank was only $50. I notice Wally mart has them for $20, has anyone used one yet?

 

[e9999]

If you mean the pressure-type gauges that are set up inline next to the tank outlet, I've always been wondering about their usefulness. Cuz the pressure should stay just about constant -at a given temp- in the tank just about until it's all gone so wondering how useful those gauges are in practice. Is there some subtlety about using those only under flow or under dynamic conditions and the measurement would somehow reflect how much gaseous space there is in the tank? If it's strictly pressure I can't see how these things would work well at all.

 

[Corey]

I never had good luck with an old gauge I had many years ago, so last year I jumped on the see through tank bandwagon.
Now I can physically see how much fuel I have left.

 

[greentruck]

I'm looking to eventually upgrade to one of the see-thru cylinders myself.

I've heard that gauges in the past were rather inaccurate, but I have a dial gauge recently purchased that goes in-line. It's made in India, don't recall the brandname just got it at the local big box. Over there, women want an accurate gauge, because lots of kitchens rely on tanks for their gas supply and don't want to run out of fuel during cooking a meal. The gauge is surprisingly accurate, based on my experience.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I found this helpful in the past -

The only accurate way to measure the propane left in a propane tank is to weigh it. The following are the steps needed to find the amount of propane left in a propane tank and to approximate the length of time it will take to burn the propane in a given appliance.

1. Engraved on the side of the tank should be the letters TW then a number. This number is the empty tank weight. For example, the typical 5 gallon propane tank might say TW 17.2. The weight of the empty tank in the example is 17.2 lbs.

2. Weigh the tank on a bathroom scale to find the total current weight. Let's say that the current weight of the tank is 24.2 lbs.

3. Subtract the tank weight from the total weight to find the weight of the propane. 24.2 lbs - 17.2 lbs = 7 lbs.

4. Each pound of propane contains 21,600 BTUs. Multiply the number of pounds by the number of BTUs contained in each to get the total number of BTUs remaining in the tank. 7 × 21,600 ≈ 151,000 BTUs.

5. Find the BTU output of the appliance in question. These can often be found on manufacturers web sites. For example a propane grill may burn 12,000 BTUs an hour. To find the remaining running time for the grill divide 151,000 by 12,000. 151,000 ÷ 12,000 ≈ 12.6 hours of run time.

6. For easy future reference. divide 12.6 hours by the aforementioned 7 lbs to get 1.8 hours of grill run time per pound of bathroom scale measured propane.

Also Propane weight is -

Propane weighs about 4.2 pounds per US gallon, at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Propane expands 1.5% per 10 degrees F.

 

[e9999]

I found this helpful in the past -

The only accurate way to measure the propane left in a propane tank is to weigh it. The following are the steps needed to find the amount of propane left in a propane tank and to approximate the length of time it will take to burn the propane in a given appliance.

1. Engraved on the side of the tank should be the letters TW then a number. This number is the empty tank weight. For example, the typical 5 gallon propane tank might say TW 17.2. The weight of the empty tank in the example is 17.2 lbs.

2. Weigh the tank on a bathroom scale to find the total current weight. Let's say that the current weight of the tank is 24.2 lbs.

3. Subtract the tank weight from the total weight to find the weight of the propane. 24.2 lbs - 17.2 lbs = 7 lbs.

4. Each pound of propane contains 21,600 BTUs. Multiply the number of pounds by the number of BTUs contained in each to get the total number of BTUs remaining in the tank. 7 × 21,600 ≈ 151,000 BTUs.5Find the BTU output of the appliance in question. These can often be found on manufacturers web sites. For example a propane grill may burn 12,000 BTUs an hour. To find the remaining running time for the grill divide 151,000 by 12,000. 151,000 ÷ 12,000 ≈ 12.6 hours of run time.6For easy future reference. divide 12.6 hours by the aforementioned 7 lbs to get 1.8 hours of grill run time per pound of bathroom scale measured propane.

Also Propane weight is -

Propane weighs about 4.2 pounds per US gallon, at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Propane expands 1.5% per 10 degrees F.

All right! I'll just add that a typical grill burner (each) seems to be about 12000 btu/hr on High. As in a typical 3 burners grill will give out 36,000 btu/hr

 

[TomH]

My Weber BBQ has a weight "gage" that the tanks hangs on. Probably not the most accurate but cloese enough.

It should be easy enough to fnd an old Weber, remove the weight gage and attach wherever needed.

 

[e9999]

I do have one of those on one of my Webers. I also borrow the body scale, but a (big) fishing scale or suitcase scale is much handier and could be kept around the grill? May not even need to detach the tank from the hose.

 

[carboncycles]

One thing to add to Phil's post above, the BTU given by the manufacturer is probably when the valves are full-open for maximum temperature, so this calculation may be your most conservative estimate of how much propane you have remaining.

 

[robinhood4x4]

Edit: nevermind, it doesn't matter.

 

[NLXTACY]

very very simple way to know how much propane you still have in ANY tank is to pour boiling water down the side of the tank. You will see instantly where the current propane line is. Has never ever failed me.