[robstar]

For those of you who use or are stocking up on propane or just need an extra tank or two, I ran across a great deal yesterday:

Some of The Great Indoors stores are closing / going out of business. One of the stores in my area has brand new unfilled 20# propane tanks (the BBQ grill size) marked down 25% to $22 each.

 

[wildjo]

That's pretty good. I've got a source for them at $13.

It's random and based on commercial donations, but if you have a habitat for humanity building supply store, check it out. That's where I've got mine. All brand new and donated by a store that went out of business.

 

[test]

Those are good prices. Our everyday price here is $32. empty.
I use the 100 pounders for the house, each hold about 34 gallons.
Can pick those up at Costco in Anchorage for about $85.
1 Hundred pounder will run our cook stove for about a year. We keep 2 on hand, plus 6 5gal. tanks..........

 

[CraigorPam]

That's a decent price !
I just obtained an old, empty, rusty tank via Freecycle, and exchanged it for a full one for $18.99 @ our local Walgreen's.
Tempted to request another on FC, but don't wanna sound like a pig.. hehe.
A new, full one @ Walgreen's is $45.99 !! Um, I'll say "no tanks" to that !

 

[Bizarro]

What are the various standard sizes for "portable" propane bottles?

 

[Cryptkeeper]

i pick them up at yard sales every now and then 5gal tanks for $2-$6.then trade them in for a filled tested one

 

[robstar]

What are the various standard sizes for "portable" propane bottles?

The sizing nomenclature for tanks makes little sense to me but based on the standard BBQ grill size referred to as 20#, I think that holds about 5 gals.

From there you can get 1 gal, 2.5 and maybe a 3 gal in smaller sizes. From there they go up to a 100# tank that is about as large as you can maneuver by yourself and even then you need a little help.

Home Depot has some smaller sizes but they're more expensive than the 20# versions.

 

[NateW]

Question, how long does propane keep? does it degrade like gasoline or will it keep?

Also anyone have any idea how long a 20# tank would fire one of those coleman camp burners?

 

[mike6x7]

propane has an indefinite shelf life. Don't know about the stove though

 

[Pfc_Willson]

woah....im seeing a lower cost of running a propane generator in case of another katrina hitting us....

 

[ken]

You got a bargain.

Swapping old tanks is a good idea, though some dealers don't like it, best to do it at big stores, they don't look, just swap.

I would avoid anything smaller than 5 gallon (20 LB) size. Most refillers charge a premium to refill small tanks, so the bigger the tank the better the deal on propane.

You can buy many different sizes, if you pay to get a whole pallet of tanks delivered. The most common is the 5 gallon (20 LB), next the 7 gallon (30 LB) size, then it gets fuzzy, tall tanks, short fat tanks etc.

Propane tanks got a lot more expense this year, adding 40-50 percent to the price, the increased steel cost they say.

About the largest portable tank for me is a 15 gallon (50 LB), it weighs just over 100 pounds when full. If you have a lift gate truck, or other means then maybe you can handle larger portable tanks. I am not aware of any propane businesses that will come and refill a small tank, think you will have to go to them. l

Last,... tanks are only filled to 80 percent these days to allow for expansion, so your 5 gallon tank only holds 4 gallons.

 

[ken]

You can calculate the time. Propane produces about 91,500 BTU per gallon. A 5 gallon tank (4 gallons full) has 366,000 BTU. If your stove burner, lantern whatever, is rated at 10,000 BTU, a common number for a stove burner, then divide 366,000 by 10,000 and get 36 hours continuous run time. Hope this helps.

 

[robstar]

woah....im seeing a lower cost of running a propane generator in case of another katrina hitting us....

Pfc Wilson and anyone else considering a propane converted generator AVOID at all costs the company US Carburetion who offers propane conversion kits. I'm among the many who they've left with a ruined generator and horrible customer support.

I did business with them and have spent the last 45 days dealing with probably the worst customer service I've dealt with in a long time. I had them convert a brand new Honda EU2000 carb to multi-fuel and it has never started once since I got it back. They don't answer the phone, they don't respond to email requests for tech support and they don't return calls left on the voicemail. The only way I can get them to call back is flood their fax machine with faxes printed in 60 pt type.

Sorry to hijack my own thread but I'm 100% committed to having a propane / multi-fuel generator for WTSHTF. I just spent $1000 for the genny, over $300 for the conversion kit and shipping and after 45 days all I have is a sore arm from pulling the starter and a $1300 50 pound boat anchor. I won't use profanity here but use your imagination about how I feel at this point about US Carburetion. At least I'm not bitter about it ! :whip:

The bright note in all this is I was referred to a very reputable company who does professional turn-key multi-fuel conversions and has great service and reviews. www.generatorsales.com. Check them out.

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Honda-EU2000i-Tri-fuel.asp?page=EU2000i_Tri_Fuel

Sorry, back to the wonderful deal on propane tanks...