Refilling Disposable Propane Bottles ??

[billt]

Who here knows about propane, and the "dangers" involved in doing something like this? The problem with all of these one piece, "refill adaptors" you can buy at places like Harbor Freight, Camping World, etc., is they don't allow you to completely fill the bottle. You wind up compressing the gas left in the bottle you're trying to fill.

This method appears to allow for venting, thereby completely refilling the disposable bottle to full capacity. I also like the fact it has a valve. Are there any unforeseen dangers in this? Other than the obvious, "Don't smoke and do it in a well ventilated area", etc. You can't introduce any more pressure than what is contained in the 20 Lb. tank. So I can't see any danger of, "blowing anything up". The venting process seems pretty simple as well.

The parts and assembly of this tool look to be pretty straightforward. The only thing I'm seeing, (or else not seeing), is the 2 adapters he's using don't look so common. The male POL fitting that reduces to 1/4" MIP internal pipe, along with the female bottle to 1/4" MIP internal pipe, I've never seen. I wouldn't know where to go to even look for something like that. Has anyone here built one of these type of valves? If so, what method did you use?

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-completely-refill-a-1lb-disposable-propan/?ALLSTEPS

You have to keep clicking on "NEXT" to see all the steps.

 

[TAB]

honestly for how cheap they are, its not worth it.

[billt]

Depending on where you buy propane, you can refill these disposable bottles for about .50 cents each.

[billt]

I found this on Amazon. They appear to have everything else listed underneath. It looks as if I'm not the only guy doing this.


https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-Throwaway-Cylinder-Fitting/dp/B000BQM8IU/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1468676858&sr=8-10&keywords=propane+fittings+%26+adapters

[TAB]

Depending on where you buy propane, you can refill these disposable bottles for about .50 cents each.

plus your time.


I bought some not too long ago at target for $6 for 8 ( end of season close out)   I have a small space heater I use them on.( bigger ones are kerosene/diesel) 

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[Pathfinder]

I found this on Amazon. They appear to have everything else listed underneath. It looks as if I'm not the only guy doing this.


https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-Throwaway-Cylinder-Fitting/dp/B000BQM8IU/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1468676858&sr=8-10&keywords=propane+fittings+%26+adapters

People have been refilling small propane bottles from larger ones for some time, in fact. Essentially when you fill a 500 or 1000 gal tank from a truck, you are doing the same things, just on a larger scale. And by people who know what they're doing! 

Filling small bottles was especially prevalent when propane was a lot more expensive than it is now. I have not done it myself, but people who have indicate you should invert the 25# bottle that is filling the smaller ones so you get liquid propane and not just gas. If you are careful - and do not smoke while you are doing this - it should be safe.

[PegLeg45]

No propane container should ever be "full"......most 20# bottles have a net of around 15.5 to 16 lbs max.

[billt]

No propane container should ever be "full"......most 20# bottles have a net of around 15.5 to 16 lbs max.

Every time I have had a 20 pound bottle filled, the attendant doing the filling always vented my tank with a screwdriver until the white liquid propane vapor started to emerge from the top. That was called "full".

I'm sure if you filled the disposable bottles in the same manner you would be fine. (Maybe tilt them so the vent valve would be at the highest point). In fact, if you continued to fill after the liquid propane came out of the vent, you would just be wasting propane, and not setting up a dangerous condition. A bit like overfilling your gas tank until it ran out on the ground.

[billt]

And for what it's worth, I ordered all the fittings from Amazon this morning. They'll be here by next Friday. I'll report back when I get this whole deal up and running. In the reviews there are literally dozens of people and "preppers" who have done this exact sort of thing. It seems to be catching on.

[MikeBjerum]

Profesional fill small tanks by weight.  Any tank with a Guage is filled to no more than 90%.  Usually 80% in or going into warm weather.  When tanks are filled by a pump, like commercial portable fillers or by truck in larger tanks, no venting is needed or done.  When filling by tank pressure only venting speeds the process, but with patience you will get same safe fill level without venting.

NEVER FILL FULL - liquid exiting the vent.