Getting a new propane tank purged in So Cal

[BajaSportsmobile]

Hit up AmeriGas on Miramar Rd - they do it all.

[Pntyrmvr]

Originally Posted by Pntyrmvr

mixed the nitrogen and propane together so that the customer had a minimal load of nitrogen

No repeats? Wow. Risky from what we were taught. That chart just looks like a progression of minus 50% equals...

I doubt we got it all out. At 78% nitrogen air discounts itself further from that chart so that helps fire, but not customer value. Thirty years ago we never wasted time with six purges. Frankly a larger, immeasurable liquid blast, likely took out even more air. That initial "blast" volume was never specified. Later we were told to use a 20lb cylinder dedicated to purging. I think this was only to inventory how much purging was costing the company.

The greater density of propane than air is what I think keeps existing tanks from filling with air meaning that purging such a tank is likely a poor value to the customer. The lighter air cannot displace the remaining unpressurized propane vapour.

Also I think the 80% full liquid in the tank pushes the air to the top and is then forced out in the initial ignition attempts. I've never tried it, but the propane industry is sure that purging is required.

Propane, by virtue of it's boiling point, is difficult to inventory.

Put the sausages on!

Regards,

Gavin

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Pntyrmvr

The greater density of propane than air is what I think keeps existing tanks from filling with air meaning that purging such a tank is likely a poor value to the customer. The lighter air cannot displace the remaining unpressurized propane vapour.

Yes, exactly...no need to purge a tank that has had propane in it......my tank is new and filled with ambient air.....

[Pntyrmvr]

I really wonder how bad it will behave if not purged. It's something I've only done once with a 100lb tank as I was too cheap to purge it. I don't recall any issues.

[rockbender]

I was first unaware that I needed to purge my new tank. I had gone to the local gas station to fill up my newly installed tank, but unfortunately nobody was on staff that knew how to work the propane fill. When I went home with an empty tank, I did a bit of research on filling a new tank. Whoa! I had no idea there was a procedure that was to be done and felt like I dodged a big bullet.

The next day I went to my local RV store. The tech there agreed that it was a good thing that I waited to come to them to get the tank purged, but when it came time to fill/purge, I was told that I didn't have the correct valves, or possibly no ability to turn the tank upside down? They had a protocol they could use with BBQ style tanks, but I evidently was SOL with my permanent tank. The guy at the RV shop said that we should just fill it and see how it goes. He said I might expect a bit of orange flame from my cooktop for a little bit, but everything should still work.

At that point I was ready to move forward so I had them fill the tank hoping I didn't screw up my one possibility of getting the tank properly dialed in. I've got the 4.6 gallon Gowesty/Manchester tank and I think we were able to put in over 3.5 (I want to say it was 3.8 or 3.9 gal) on the initial fill. Everything seemed to work as it should. I just filled it for the third time last weekend and everything still seems to be working just fine.

My two cents? If you end up just needing to fill it, I think you'll be fine and shouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

[BrianBlair]

You might try Sil-Mod Propane. They fill all of the residential propane in Silverado/Modjeska/Trabuco and I'm fairly sure they do RV/portable tanks as well.

BB

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile

Hit up AmeriGas on Miramar Rd - they do it all.

I called these folks......they don't purge......

[boywonder]

OK.....my tank is filled.....here's what happened....

I have a couple of vacuum pumps, so for fun I dragged one out, hooked up a vacuum gauge and connected the hose to the regulator output on the tank. The pump shown will easily pull above (below?) 28mmHg which is quite good.

One issue with this method is that when I remove the yellow plastic cap on the fill fitting air leaks back in the tank through the check valve....so I couldn't pull a vacuum at home then drive somewhere to have the tank filled.

I drove down to the general store in Trabuco Canyon.....they sell propane. I asked for a fill but mentioned that I would evacuate my tank with a vacuum pump first since the tank was new and filled with air. I had the operator connect the propane fill hose to the tank but not turn it on, then I plugged the vac pump into my van's 110V outlet (thank you inverter!) and pumped the tank down to around 26mmHg since the guy was waiting. Connecting the fill hose to the fill fitting eliminated the problem of air leaking past the fill check valve when evacuating.

Since my vacuum pump is not explosion proof, I had to be careful that the operator did not turn on the fill valve....this would have required aborting the procedure if there was propane vapor in the tank while the vac pump was on. Once the tank was pumped down, I closed the valve at the regulator and let the guy fill the tank.

He then opened the fill valve and the tank got a nice shot of propane, then continued to fill.

FWIW the tank is 5 gallon and the fill was 3.8 gallons.....cost me $12.90

The fill machine does an auto-stop according to the operator...not quite sure how as the vapor pressure shouldn't change much when filling.....

[Pntyrmvr]

Hi,

That's US$4.29 to fill that tank at automotive prices around here. What a racket.

Regards,

Gavin

[Econoliner]

boywonder,

So, as I recall, you have already install a Propex HS2211 underneath but have been waiting on the propane. So how is the heater?!

-E