What size propane tank?

[daveroy]

I have a 45000btu big max that I brought from our old house. It was
NG but I have a propane conversion Kit on the way.

My question is how long will a 10lb tank last?
What size tank should I likely get? Will it matter if the tank is outside or inside the shop? Do I use the same type of pressure regulator like on my grill, or is it something different.

 

[kluckfab]

Personal i would find a used a 100lb should be able to find them for 65-75.

 

[Randy in Maine]

I would call your local propane supplier and tell them that you want a 50 or 100 GALLON tank.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The size of the tank depends a lot on how much you plan on using your heater and of course the size of the heater. One consideration is the price of a refill, especially whether you plan on taking the tank to the LP dealer or having a truck come and fill you up.

The reason 20lb tanks are popular is they are inexpensive and easy to handle. A 30 or 40 pound tank might require a cart when full.

If you are only heating your garage on evening and weekends 2 or 3 20 lb tanks may be reasonable, but be careful how you plumb them. If you simply hook them up to a manifold and open all of the valve, the tanks will always contain the same amount of fuel. Many (most ?) LP refill station charge a flat rate for filling a 20 lb bottle regardless of how much they actually put in the bottle, so you want to make certain it is a close to empty as possible before taking it in for a refill.

Forget the manifold and just have a flex pigtail to swap between tanks. There are special manifolds that switch between 2 tanks when the pressure gets very low. Not sure how well they work.



If you have 2 tanks and want to combine them into one, the only way you can do this is by creating a temperature difference of the liquid in the 2 tanks. Make one cold (ice water) and/or make one warm (sunshine/hot water). You will never get one 100% empty. The only way you will know if you have gotten most of the LP out of the warmer tank is by placing that tank on a scale and watching its weight change. You want to get it close to the "tare" weight (T.W. stamped on the tank).

 

[aandpdan]

A 10 pound tank is about 2 gallons.

Depending upon the temperature of the tank, it may not vaporize enough gas for you to run the heater very long before it frosts up.

Do not store the tank in the shop. Propane is heavy, it settles in low spots.

 

[Camper]

I use 40lb tanks on the same type heater in my garage.
I have the heater plumbed with a regulator for a camper.
I only use 1 hose and when the heater stops working I switch the tank.
You can buy regulators to hook up both tanks at once but this way I
always know when I need to fill one and never run out.

 

[toyoguy81]

I installed a 50K BTU Modine propane in my pole barn last month I use 2 100 # propane tanks piggy backed together. I got the idea/advise for this setup off of here in a prior post. The regulator was sized to my heater. Works great, I can get the place comfortable in 20 mins

 

[A_Pmech]

Instead of screwing around with portable bottles, why not call your local propane company and have them site a tank? You'll pay about half the cost of hardware store propane and the truck comes to you. Win-win!

As others have indicated, the main problem with small bottles is boiling enough gas to keep the heater fed.

 

[lsrx101]

Instead of screwing around with portable bottles, why not call your local propane company and have them site a tank? You'll pay about half the cost of hardware store propane and the truck comes to you. Win-win!

As others have indicated, the main problem with small bottles is boiling enough gas to keep the heater fed.

That's the route I would take.

I'm currently on propane for residential heat and hate it, but it's my only option besides fuel oil. Last years $4/gal was hard to swallow. It's down to $2.10 now.
Having said that, when I moved in I was pleasantly surprised by the service from the supplier. They replaced both regulators, performed a leak test of the whole system, leveled the existing tank and replaced the float/gauge. All "free" of charge.
Even though I own the tank, they will paint it every 2 years and replace the regulators periodically (don't recall the interval), again for "free". Obviously, those freebies are rolled into the overall cost per gallon.
With service like that, it would be silly to maintain, store, haul and fill portable tanks even for just a garage.
Keep in mind that all of the suppliers in my area have a 200 gallon minimum for delivery.
YMMV on these points in your area, but it's certainly worth looking into.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I use 40lb tanks on the same type heater in my garage.
I have the heater plumbed with a regulator for a camper.
I only use 1 hose and when the heater stops working I switch the tank.
You can buy regulators to hook up both tanks at once but this way I
always know when I need to fill one and never run out.

Simple. Straight forward. SMART !!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Instead of screwing around with portable bottles, why not call your local propane company and have them site a tank? You'll pay about half the cost of hardware store propane and the truck comes to you. Win-win!

Do your research first ! Check the costs. For extremely low volume (< 500 lbs/year ?) a propane company might add on a delivery charge.

 

[CNGsaves]

Not enough information . . . . if you just use heater for 15 minutes a year and think that 10 lb LPG tank is sufficient . . .
. . .
. . . . . then likely, you can just set aside the Big Maxx (until you properly pipe with permanent LPG lines to common BIG tank of LPG that goes to the house) and instead use a Big Buddy portable LPG heater for $119 with hose kit to use 20 lb BBQ bottle of propane (see below).

 

[Camper]

Do your research first ! Check the costs. For extremely low volume (< 500 lbs/year ?) a propane company might add on a delivery charge.

This is why I do the 40lb tanks....
I do not use enough gas to do refillable tanks.
When talking to the local company here they said between tank rental and delivery charges it would cost me more that double what it does now....
I guess that may change with different areas or companies.

 

[6768rogues]

You will probably freeze a small tank because it will be discharging propane too fast for its size.
You can buy a 100# tank. I have loaners from the propane company. I have to buy their propane, but I didn't have to buy tanks and when they need paint or updating, it is their problem.

 

[JCByrd24]

I have a 30k unit and was planning on running on 20lb or 40 lb cylinders until I found that my local propane guys would set a tank and deliver for free with no minimum delivery, only paying for contents. A 40lb tank would have cost me 25 gallons worth of propane or 75 hours of heater run time.

My first fill they even gave me the first tier discount rate so propane was cheaper than filling at the store. And as had been said with a tank outside where it's suppose to be I found a 20lb tank might freeze, and maybe even a 40 lb. A 10lb with a 45k heater won't run for long before freezing.

Hooked up last week to a 200lb "pig", 46 gallon tank, cute squat little thing; happy to have done it right and to never have to run to the HW store to fill 20lbers.

Final note, at my low usage, running propane is more expensive than electric (even at high $0.16/kwhr rates, but I have more BTUs without using up my service amperage to the garage for the welder/compressor etc.

 

[rodm1]

The key is to buy your tanks the best rate is on a 500gl.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10186.0

http://www.nbmc.com/heaters/lpchart.html

View media item 35048
View media item 37894

 

[Falcon67]

So if I read that chart, if it's below freezing outside and above 10F, you'd need a minimum of a 100 lb tank to run a 45K BTU unit.

 

[sourdough]

Can someone translate that "per pound" tank chart into a "per gallon" tank?

I know a BBQ grill 20# tank equals roughly 4 gallons at 80% fill.

I have a 250 gallon horizontal tank. How many pounds is that tank (knowing that propane weighs ~4.2# per gallon) at 80% fill?

At this point my brain and calculator are broken.

 

[Todd.Brock]

80% of 250 is 200. Carry the 1. 200x4.2=840... Is that what you are trying to figure out?

Edit... You asked the weight of the tank. I'm not sure. The contents, based on your figures are above.

 

[James-W]

If the plan is to use the heater quite a bit during the cold months, then getting a large tank would seem to be the best route to take. If the plan is for occasional use of the heater, then a smaller tank would be OK. In my opinion, it all depends on use.

 

[arrowhead]

I struggled with this same question last year. Should I have a small tank farm of 20 pound tanks and switch over when out and take them to store and fill? Get a couple 100# tanks and then shlep them in the car to get them filled. How do I lift without breaking my back?

New shop so I had no idea how much fuel I'd go through. I have paint and bodywork supplies stored so I keep the heat on all the time although turn down to 45 when I'm not in there but use the shop nights and weekends regularly.

Ultimately called around and got prices for 100 gallon tank set in place with delivery and never looked back. Tank was always full and didn't have to take time away from my projects to get fuel and didn't have to worry about the heat going out. At first didn't care for them coming and filling without me asking, but turned out to work better this way as I got a few small bills spread out instead of a couple large bills by letting it get close to empty. Probably spent about $350-400 on fuel last winter - but I use the shop a lot and propane is very expensive here.

 

[CNGsaves]

Learned something new from buddy who works at farm COOP that sell propane. They now want to know what all heating appliances are hooked up to propane tank . . . . . ie legal CYA. Homeowner must tell them Model # / Brand / etc on the furnace and it goes into their records.

This is partly responsible for why bulk delivery of propane is cheaper than retail purchased LPG . . . less risk. Also, my buddy's COOP will NOT fill any portable propane bottles from the truck. They only fill permanent stationary propane tanks.

Morale of the story is do it by the book . . . no shortcuts. Likely best deal in long run is purchase own large stationary propane tank for bulk fill in summer at lowest cost.

 

[sourdough]

Likely best deal in long run is purchase own large stationary propane tank for bulk fill in summer at lowest cost.

Pros and cons about that.

MY BIL did that with an owned 1000 (+/-) gal tank, but then he is an EOTWAWKI hoarder with more dried food, 3 freezers, and a 9800W genset than anyone I know, and I don't think he thinks of the down-the-road costs if the civilized world does not end.

I agree with the thought about summer purchases in general, but that price reduction is never set in stone in this area. I got a 125 gal refill in August @$1.79/gal. Just refilled today: 125 gal @ $2.44. Our house is propane forced-air heat, hot water, and oven/range.

(We always refill when the tank level gets to 30%, no matter what, because Momma is not comfortable with the tank being even 1% less than 30%. You might understand that logic if you are married to a similarly thinking spouse...)

If one owns a tank, one is responsible for cost of tank, maintenance, and hydrostatic testing after 12 years from the mfr date, which means either transporting (from site and back) the tank to a testing facility to be approved, and if not, disposing of the old tank. Hazmat.

If one leases a tank, one has a yearly lease fee from the purveyor and all responsibilities/expenses fall upon the purveyor for normal "wear and tear" and to replace said unit if it fails to comply.

One semi-local (75 miles away) purveyor here charges about 10% less for an owned tank. More for a tank owned by another purveyor or their tank.

Our 250 gal tank lease is $80/yr.

Jim

 

[Chetter]

I have a 45000 btu Big Maxx heater that I installed 4 years ago and I use 2 40lb tanks with an auto switch over regulator. I heat my garage at 48* 24/7 during the winter when I am not out there working on something and it works fine, no problems with my setup. My garage is well insulated and I believe the tanks filled is something like 90lbs in weight when filled. With auto switching regulator I can pull the empty bottle out for filling without shutting my furnace down. I spend 32.00 for a fill from the local LP supplier. I can run upwards of 3 weeks on a bottle if the temps don't go down to the single digits so I don't feel that is too bad.

 

[chadman]

I was contemplating this myself as I am installing a 45k LP heater myself. I thought about buying a couple of 100lb tanks and hauling them to get filled myself. I then called my local propane contractor and they offered to come set a 125 gallon tank & regulator free of charge and fill with propane at $1.79 per gallon. My only out of pocket cost is the propane itself. I decided to go this route at least for the first heating season and see how much LP I use and then decide if buying my own tank is worth looking into in the future.

 

[dave67fd]

Do it right and get a 100 or so "gallon" tank and have it trucked in when you need it. If your cheap and do it half assed then you will have to deal with the BS that goes along with it.

 

[laser3kw]

just for reference, I have a bullet heater I run on "low" which is around 45k btu. I run it on a 100lb tank and get around 25 to 30 hours of burn time. That's usually spread over several days of shop time, burning around 4 or 5 hours a day. The bad thing is the 100 lb tank weights 175# or so full. I generally have to have the fill company load it into my truck. I can get it out myself. I just slide it off the tailgate ( onto the foot ring - not lay down) onto a old tire with a board over it. From there it is a two wheel dolly. I purchased the 100 lb tank new from Menards for $125, they also fill it there too if I want. I have had it filled at the local RV center with no questions. I have consider the 40lb option just for the handling aspect.