How much propane on board and where?

[Viejo]

The 8 Gal tank should be much more than enough for a long weekend.

We use ours for cooking and heat, very rarely for hot water. It lasts 6 weeks solid in the summer and about 2 1/2 weeks in the winter.

Unless you're running a generator with it or blasting a patio heater it should last a year of long weekends.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by dhally

The smaller tank would probably be big enough, but we figured why not use up all the space available. The only issue with the propane tank is if the van has OEM rear AC, the freon piping goes through the space needed for the propane tank.

That's exactly the issue that I've been thinking about, there is very little clearance to the refrigerant lines when installing a 10" diameter tank. I've crawled under the van a few times with a dinner plate to check for clearance.

[rockbender]

A fairly inexpensive way to mock up a tank is to cut a section of PVC pipe or sonotube (concrete column forming tube) of the correct diameter to length and put it up in place.

I am working on mounting a 5.9 gal tank (8" dia. x 30" long) on the drivers side frame rail behind of my Chevy Express. There is a frame mounted fuel pump sending unit that that I will need to relocate to make this work, but it will be worth the extra capacity. My other option I was entertaining was an 8" x 23" tank that was 4.6 gal.

I am unfamiliar with how much propane I will use, but I am always surprised at how long my 5 gallon tank lasts at home for my BBQ so I am hoping I won't have to fill up too frequently for occasional furnace and stovetop use.

[larrie]

Originally Posted by prally

@Larrie - what year is your van? Any photos of that?

My rig is a 1989. Most of the vans I have seen have similar setups. I used my propane on and off for several years before filling the tank last spring.

Here is a photo of the door.



And with the door open.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by prally

So the 5 gallon underneath runs the heater for a few days or you use an additional 5 gal for that?

My heater is an Espar diesel so it's a N/A situation for you I guess. The on board 5 gallon tank is for the stove top only. Those with propane heater are best to answer how much you'll need for that. My external 5 gallon tank runs a little red propane fire and that thing sucks down the propane for sure. But for most of my outside cooking I use a small burner or a Coleman 2 burner if I have my rock crawler trailer with me and the small one gallon tanks work well. Hauling the 5 gallon isn't necessary if I don't want a propane fire. The on board tank lasts a long time but I really don't cook inside much. Nice option if it's lousy weather out though.

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Dave, is this the type of disposable propane bottle adapter you use? My 5lb tank ran dry this week, and when I used my adapter on a disposable bottle, it wasn't working for me. Left us unable to cook most of our trip.

http://www.campchef.com/propane-tank-adapter.html

Adapter connected to the bottle, standard hose and regulator attached to the adapter, hose connected to the stove.

I figure that now that I'm home, I'll try again and maybe the adapter wasn't screwed onto the bottle tight enough. Either that of the bottles I brought along were old.


Herb

I have one of those Herb but have never had to use it. The on board tank has a fitting for what they call an extend-stay??? or something like that. To tell the truth I've never used that either. I think I have one or two disposable tanks on board from several years back. They make several adapters to convert a standard propane fitting to a screw in type hose and the only issue I've had with those is the little plastic seal coming off. Very dangerous when that happens I know those little tanks are prone to cold compared to larger tanks.

[prally]

Originally Posted by larrie

My rig is a 1989. Most of the vans I have seen have similar setups. I used my propane on and off for several years before filling the tank last spring.

Here is a photo of the door.

And with the door open.

Wow, for several years! I suspect with the family in tow I will need to use my propane furnace a bit more than you must have been. I suspect if we just dig around we could find the burn rate for the furnace. So far, it sure seems like 8gal is more than enough assuming they can fit the 8 in my rig.

[Dirk Mitchell]

I know this is an old thread, I was looking at propane options as well and got curious about the forklift style tanks. I was looking at a couple and was going to mock up the size and see if it could fit underneath the van and still have the fill valve accessible.

Flame King YSN335 Steel Forklift Cylinder with Gauge and Fill Valve, 33.5-Pound
or this one
Worthington 282077 33-Pound Steel Forklift Cylinder With Gauge And Fill Valve

If there is a way to get one tucked underneath I think it would work really well. I have found a few used RV ones but they are usually much bigger and I don't really want to take any space out of the interior with it. Another option to look into once it isn't as cold, since I don't have a garage to work in.

[Glider]

Dirk, to begin with, it is important to understand the difference between LP cylinders and LP tanks.

Cylinders are built to DOT standards. They are designed and certified for portable applications. They are not certified for permanent mounting under a vehicle. The forklift units you are looking at are classified as cylinders. Note that some cylinders can only be used in a vertical position. Others can be used either vertically or horizontally.

Tanks are built to ASME standards. They are designed for permanent mounting. Tanks are built of much heavier steel than cylinders.

An LP tank is designed to withstand the full force of a collision without rupturing. Cylinders are built to much lighter standards. They will not come anywhere close to withstanding the force of a collision the way a tank will.

One consideration, if you choose to permanently mount a cylinder, is that you are mounting a potential bomb under your butt.

Another consideration is that if you do have an accident, and your insurance company discovers that you had mounted a cylinder to the underbody of your van, they will be within their rights to use this as a reason to deny you coverage. If the police investigating the accident catch wind of this, they can also write you up for violating the law.

A final consideration is that it would be illegal for an LP fill station to fill a cylinder mounted to the underside of your van. You might have trouble finding someone to fill the thing.

If you want to avoid these kinds of issues, you might want to consider installing a tank under your van instead of a cylinder.

Good luck!

[daveb]

Here is where my smaller 20 lb tank is mounted on my EB. Sorry for the crappy picture but you can see the yellow cap that covers the fill connection. Not the best spot but has served me well. No issues with people filling it.
I will say I enjoy having a cup of espresso inside the van when the weather sucks outside. But I really don't try to cook inside the van and why the smaller tank. YMMV

[Dirk Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Glider

Dirk, to begin with, it is important to understand the difference between LP cylinders and LP tanks.

Cylinders are built to DOT standards. They are designed and certified for portable applications. They are not certified for permanent mounting under a vehicle. The forklift units you are looking at are classified as cylinders. Note that some cylinders can only be used in a vertical position. Others can be used either vertically or horizontally.

Tanks are built to ASME standards. They are designed for permanent mounting. Tanks are built of much heavier steel than cylinders.

An LP tank is designed to withstand the full force of a collision without rupturing. Cylinders are built to much lighter standards. They will not come anywhere close to withstanding the force of a collision the way a tank will.

One consideration, if you choose to permanently mount a cylinder, is that you are mounting a potential bomb under your butt.

Another consideration is that if you do have an accident, and your insurance company discovers that you had mounted a cylinder to the underbody of your van, they will be within their rights to use this as a reason to deny you coverage. If the police investigating the accident catch wind of this, they can also write you up for violating the law.

A final consideration is that it would be illegal for an LP fill station to fill a cylinder mounted to the underside of your van. You might have trouble finding someone to fill the thing.

If you want to avoid these kinds of issues, you might want to consider installing a tank under your van instead of a cylinder.

Good luck!

That's great info I thought since the forklift ones were DOT rated they would be ok for any vehicle. What your saying makes sense though. I will have to keep looking for a deal on a tank don't need anything to big so I will just have to keep looking.