I did a video on the safer, refillable tanks as well! - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vyr2FRO8ZBQ.html FYI THERE ARE REFILLABLE VERSIONS OF THESE TANKS AS WELL (affiliate link) - amzn.to/3NOVx1J DO NOT REFILL IF ANY SIGNS OF DAMAGE, DEFECTS, SWELLING, OR RUST!! Try this at your own risk in an emergency. Use the refillable canisters when possible. Hope this helps anyone out there! Let me know if this has worked for you! Thanks for watching!
WARNING,,,,,,,,I REFILLED MY TANKS,,,,ONE DAY I REFILLED AND THE VALVE WAS STUCK OPEN LEAKING PROPANE,,,,,I PUT IT ON MY HEATER,I DIDNT SMELL ANYTHING,I IGNITED LIL BUDDY HEATER AND IT BLEW UP !!!!
So we can't take a 1 pound propane cylinder in our car for refill or we get a fine/prison but we can hike over a border illegally with a backpack of fentanyl for a loaded debit card/hotel?
Trump was building that wall to stop a military invasion he foreseen years ago that’s starting to show its head now….it wasn’t for just keeping Mexican illegals out
One important thing that I have not seen mentioned so far is about overfilling the small tanks. If you manage to overfill one, especially in the cold outside, when the small bottle gets warm it will vent itself out of the valve on the top edge. You will have a small fountain of propane gas/liquid rising out of the small tank until it balances itself. Inside of a vehicle or an enclosed building could be very dangerous. It's better to under fill three or four than overfill one. Be safe!
@@RESISTAGE YOU are the idiot that has a problem with reading comprehension. I did listen to the entire video. He does talk about overfilling but he never mentions that the small tank will vent itself. Bring a cold overfilled tank inside, hear a pop and a loud hissing sound while propane is sprayed into your car or house can be very dangerous. Try to pay more attention.
Your suppose to chill them in the frig (or ice from a big gelp soda and a cooler) for twenty minutes. Then fill for only one minute (open valve). I put mine in a freazer bag, so I can see if they leak, it will pop my seal open of the plastic bag first.
I have been refilling them for as far back as I remember . 30 -40 years . I have never had any issues yet with them so far .I refill every spring . The vital imact ammo crate holds quite a few of these . A nice way to store the full ones .
@@PracticalPreparednessThe biggest "danger" I've seen, after using five 15#, up to 40#, tanks inside our home for 8 years is that the government doesn't want us refilling the disposables because it's not as advantageous to the economy, nor as detrimental to the consumers' finances. It reminds of the situation wherein they claim it's not safe to can butter, milk, etc. It's perfectly safe, but they want us to continue buying with the ever-increasing prices.
@@robbiecox5014 , it mght be your adapter . I bought 2 lately from harbor freight that do not work right . I bought another adapter from Amazon and no issues after that .
I've been refilling these for many years too. Repetition, rinse and repeat as you Americans say. Definitely nothing nasty happens. It's always stoopid new government laws that mess with our lives....silky woke people who have no outdoor practical skills and or backbone.
FYI, Northern Tool sells a refill kit. Very simple. I bought a simple light measurement scale from Harbour Freight. I fill the tank, bleed some air, measure and do it about 2 or three times. It is a little more work but I can get a full one pound of propane in the tank. Love the kit.
Let's add this up-$500,000 fine and 5 years in prison for transporting refilled propane tanks, $500,000 fine and 5 years in prison for misusing DVD's, 20 years to life for taking the tag off your pillow, and $500,000 fine and 2 years in prison for using some types of radios without a fcc licence. We live in a world full of felons. We need more prisons.
my daughter told me to go move in a cave, if I want live off grid, I explained that it would be against the law, need a permit/license to hunt, fish or cut wood...and most good cave are on/in national parks...they won't let you out, we are birds in cages...freedom is an illusion...
As someone that works with those tanks, I can tell you that the larger ones are actually less likely to rupture, or be affected by heat. This is due to the thicker material used in their construction. Obviously, however, if you don't feel comfortable using them, then you should not. To each their own. I personally only have propane as a emergency backup to my backup of heating with wood. So I'm not one to judge, heh. Just wanted to give a little peace of mind to those deciding to use the larger tanks.
I’ve seen Mythbusters shooting at the big ones for tests and they are pretty damn sturdy. The biggest risk comes if it is an old tank that has been sitting there a long time that it might leak if the seal/thread has worn down or rusted. I mean I wouldn’t recommend throwing it down onto hard surfaces or anything, but they are otherwise pretty tough tanks.
The biggest problem with having a 20lb or larger in your house or garage is it leaking and causing a explosion lpg stays close to the ground and does not rise and float away like natural gas
On the 20lb or larger tanks, if they were filled in the cold properly (ie someone opened the bleeder screw while filling and stopped and closed both the valve and the bleeder screw once white gas came out of the bleeder screw), taking the tank into a warmer area would cause the tank and propane inside to expand. Once the internal pressure goes over what the safety relief valve allows, the tank will vent propane through that valve. If you want to bring one inside, out of the cold, you should use it a bit. I have had good luck with using the thing on the grill to cook some ribeye's. After that, the tank is run down enough that I don't smell a leak when I bring it inside and the tank heats up. I only use a hose to a 20 or 40lb tank with my Mr. Heater. I have six of the green bottles, but don't bother refilling. If you do use a 20lb or larger tank, rather than the 1lb green bottles, I do recommend using the Mr. Heater hose, because it's a high-pressure hose and keeps the hose from bleeding oils out of the hose that would end up, over time plugging up your Mr. Heater, unless you use the F273699 Fuel Filter. It traps the oils, Mr. Heater says. Anyone who has put their spare tank or even smelled propane from you tank in a grill, during the summer, it's probably NOT you tank or hoses leaking, it's probably that relief valve, doing its job, when the sun is heating up your new tank. Check for the smell and hour after it's gotten dark, and you have ventilated where the tank is. Those stores that refill or sell refilled tanks will happily take your perfectly good tank and sell you a new one that will leak in the sun, too.
@@ne-adv- Thanks for suggesting the Me Heater hose as I bought one on Amazon so not sure how it would work as haven’t had to use, emergency prep. I know people get a little wacky over having the large propane bottles indoors but I lived in South America where there was no central heating and at 850 ft in the Andes it got cold as the average temp is 55-75; so propane heaters was the nor: and their bottles are 60 Lbs. Had my handyman put it on casters for ease of movement as most of the floors are tiles, kept me warm!!
Another tip - avoid the "exchange" options for the 20lb tanks too. Or at least check pricing carefully, as well as the actual amount of propane in the new tank - often it is only 15lbs, despite the tanks being rated to safely hold a full 20lb (the "extra space" for expansion is already accounted for in the 20lb) - if you can, try to find an RV park or campground that will refill yours.
Tractor Supply and some hardware stores are other places to get tanks filled. I have never had a tank filled at TS because by my calculations, they are more expensive than my local welding supply store. I get mine filled at my local welding supply store where 20 lb tanks are about $15 for 20 lbs , 30 lb tanks are about $23 and 100 lb tanks are $67 if I remember correctly. I am getting a 100 lb tank filled tomorrow. I have 4) 20 lb tanks for grills and such, 5) 30 lb tanks for the camper and generators, and 2) 100 lb tanks for temporary heating and other things.
Well, also, a lot of places got new Chineseum tanks with faulty valves that won’t even open. A buddy of mine that relies on propane for heat, has been getting screwed that way, all season. 😢
Was there not a warning a long while back against "exchanged" tanks when they were used by drug makers and would cause corrosion to the tank/valve? I'd be happy to remove this comment question if that story is an old wives tale.
Trivia 2; 20# tanks from Wally-mart store was coming in at 18 pounds. Someone said "for safety" but my opinion was, like a 20# bag of charcoal shrinking to 18, that was marketing and profit. Wait until a dozen eggs have ten in a package. A pound of coffee means it an old can, LO, or you want "1 can." The 3# size has breached the 32 ounce line, now AKA "the big can."
A good survival trick, many have used for years in the wilderness in cold and/or wet regions. Use a metal protective threaded cap during transport to protect the valve, threads, and avoid accidental leakage.
Had the Great good fortune to purchase 2 thirty (30) pound tanks on sale. Saved enough to fill one tank and part of the other....counting myself blessed as until then I only had 6 or so one pound canisters and around here they are now going for $9.99 to $12 each.
*If you are in an emergency, or SHTF type scenario, then I highly suggest using alternative fuel sources to Propane or Gasoline. If you require heating and cooking then may I suggest you use Sterno, or gel based fuel type burner solutions, which can be used indoors, don't emit dangerous fumes, will not explode in your face, plus you can make at home. All you need to produce your own alternative fuel is a mortar and pestle, some Crayola white coloured chalk, some household White Cooking Vinegar, and any kind of alcohol, such as, grain based, rubbing type, or isopropyl 91 to 99 %. All you do is find a nice pyrex glass high temperature dish or cup, or use a small can, such as an empty sterno can or something of similar size as your burner setup. Take two or three sticks of white chalk and grind them to powder in your mortar and pestle. Once your sticks of ground up white chalk is a powder you now have a substance commonly known as "Calcium Carbonate." "Carbonates" burn ! Now take about 10 Millilitres of your ground to powder white chalk and poor that into an open faced bowl or large open faced empty can. The active ingredient in White Vinegar is "Acetic Acid," but there's only about 5% of that key ingredient in the Vinegar, while the rest is water, so you are going to need to poor in 200 Millilitres of White Vinegar to Ten Millilitres of your ground up white Chalk Powder. Slowly add the Vinegar to the white chalk powder and listen to it hiss and suds up. Now complete adding the remaining 100 Millilitres of Vinegar until all the white chalk powder is dissolved in solution and the milky-white liquid suddenly turns CLEAR. Now you have chemically REACTED the "Calcium Carbonate" and it has turned into "Calcium Acetate." Now add 75 Millilitres of Alcohol to your Calcium Acetate Solution and it will suddenly turn into a wet gel substance resembling wet snow or slush. BINGO ! You have now a very flammable but stable fuel which burns a very long time ! This is home made STERNO !!!!*
Bro... if you are stuck without fossil fuels in some kind of dissaster over multiple years, you might as well just get a wood stove rather then make your own fuel gel....
There are a few things to keep in mind. After awhile filling the small tanks the Schrader valve will start to leak. They are the same Schrader valve that are in tire valve stems. You can also the brass screw on caps usually used by hikers and campers. Also filling in the winter or cold outside you will never be able to overfill these tanks, 60/70 % fill tops. For better fills, I use the adapter and pull a vacuum on the small tanks. Then place the tank in the freezer or winter leave it outside. Then I take the 20lb tank and warm it to 80/90 degrees, typical hot summer day temperatures and your still well within the tank limits. Get a scale and zero it out with the small tank on it. Then do what's shown in the video to fill it and measure the weight in oz. The tall tanks are around 14 oz and the small fat tanks are 16oz in weight. If you plan on doing this on a regular basis id suggest also getting a electronic propane leak detector. They are cheap on amazon. Do not use soap and water, it will start to rust out (even if you blow it out)and will leak sooner. Also use common sense.
For clarity... you are saying that overfilling the tanks in Winter is dangerous because when the tank is later heated in warmer seasons, the pressure will go up and the tank could fail and explode. This is a super important point to make absolutely crystal clear. DO NOT OVERFILL THE TANKS IN WINTER. WHEN IT GETS WARMER, THEY COULD BLOW UP !
@@OKOKOKOKOKOKOK-zn2fy No, when both the 20lb tank is cold and 1lb tank is cold, you get a partial fill. The vapor pressure is lower when its colder. Look up lp tank heaters. Weight the small tank empty and weight it after its filled. You never see it close to 16 oz which is the tank size when factory filled. I never said over fill the tank. Re-read my original post. In the winter heating the 20lb tank will get you a better fill on the small tank. A warm 20lb tank will have slightly higher pressure, this will force more of the propane to stay as a liquid when filling before both tanks pressures equalize. Also the small tanks have a pressure relief valves, unless these small tanks are thrown into a fire, they will vent off pressure before exploding. In the summer just chill the small tank for a better full. Iv never been able to over fill a tank. Then again iv never tried.
Yes please do another video on how to refill the green tanks with using the scales. This video is very valuable for people who don’t know how to do anything like this.
Just want to say that my big winter prep this year that I hadn't really considered previously is 12v fleece heating blankets/pads, you can get them in 120v also but the 12v vehicle heating elements when paired with a sleeping bag are so good, without using space heating with a heating pad in a winterized sleeping kit you are toasty warm, and many preppers may already have their solar charging stuff down that charging during the day can make for warm heating at night and the heat travels directly into the body with the pads meaning that it is very energy efficient for heating a person, perhaps not a family solution unless you are all hudling togehter under the same bedding. AND this is a $20 so buy if you already have solar setup for grid down.
@@PracticalPreparedness USB is versatile they make heated pads for sleeping bags you can stay warm and recharge batteries during the day using wind solar and river creek generators water powered.
@@DontStepInTheGreaseprobably however it would most likely be minimal and if your using one in cold temperatures too help you survive, emf radiation would be the least of your concerns.
Thank u Sir for sharing this video I thought u were a big channel…I can feel it already. This was so unbelievably smart & practical. I'm in California and it really does not get to the super sub zero levels unless we go to Big Bear in the mountains. But during an outage or unexpected emergency this is ideal. Thanks again blessings!
The donator tank has to be warmer than the receiver tank. I like the hose refillers with a valve. I warm up the the 20# tank and put the 1# in ice bath. Tempature difference does not have to be allot. Warm to the touch to cold to the touch. The tempature difference produces a pressure difference that allows the liquid propane to flow into the 1# propane tank. Best to use a scale to insure you are not over filling.
@@PracticalPreparedness Although temperature and pressure are directly related in a closed system, it is the difference in pressure that matters, not temperature. When you invert the source tank, you are submerging the valve in the liquid propane. Liquid does not compress so it is not what is doing the work here. The pressures being created by the vapors in each of the tanks is what is doing/opposing the transfer. Once the vapor pressure in the destination tank matches the vapor pressure in the source tank, your transfer stops, temperature be damned. Someone else mentioned using a pump to pull a vac on the destination tank, and this would accomplish the same effect, again without regard to temp of either tank.
@@rottbot3361 the vaper pressure of propane is directly related to tempature. If you raise the pressure of propane above it's vapor pressure gaseous propane will condense into liquid propane. That's why if your donator tank is warmer than your receiver tank liquid propane will flow into your receiver tank. The vapor pressure of propane is lower in the receiver tank and hence condenses into liquid propane. You want liquid propane to flow into your receiver tank so that heat of condensation does not equalize the temperatures of the two tanks. This is also a reason you need to weigh your tank to insure you are not over filling your tank
Do what you need to do to take care of yourself and family. Never let another person that thinks they have power over you tell you what you can and can’t do within reason. Another thing to remember….these huge tanks sit directly under a large flame in a space that super heats (under grill) and they do fine. Still the mid can run a bit when it’s damn near in your lap 😮
I’m a disabled vet and I’ve been though many disasters I can tell everyone you can never have enough and having too much will get you killed. Learning how to survive without all these items is what’s important.
@@PracticalPreparedness i understand completely lets hope it doesnt come to resources like gas and electric. i suggest everyone set there self up for off the grid living no gas no electric no nothing but handtools and knowledge. bullets and waterproof matches and a knife go out and see how long you can last its not easy.
THANK YOU, for this video! I've got a couple of the little 1 lb tanks and a 20 lb out in my garage. I knew there was supposed to be some way to refill the small ones off the bigger one but didn't know what to go looking for. This is much appreciated.
For cookstoves, you're better off with white gas. One gallon will last longer than 4 cannisters of propane, and stores damn near forever. Had a 40 year old opened can of white gas and it still burned just fine. That's what you really want for SHTF. Propane bottles can develop slow leaks and then your fuel is gone when you need it. So, go with a duel fuel (white gas/gasoline) stove and get the propane adapter for it. Then you can be really ready for most fuels that come along.
Agreed white gas all the way. I bought a few of the old school dual fuel Coleman stoves and lanterns from the 60s and a tin of white gas from probably the 80s and worked fine. Plus it's nice being able to default to straight gas if needed.
@@MrTenhighguy straight gas will clog the generators up a lot faster than white gas, BUT you can put fuel additives like carb cleaner into that gas and it actually burns cleaner for longer. Worth doing because most people don't know how to clean/fix the white gas generators. It's also kind of hard to find replacement parts. I have a coleman white gas dual burner which is perfect for cooking + coffee and a brand new generator attached to the empty space below the burners, so I can swap it out if my original one stops working (though I'd try and fix it later). I expect it to last me this lifetime. I also have one of the portable single burner white gas stoves and it's in like-new condition but I baby that one, they are pretty rare now.
What you call white gas , over here in NZ we call it white spirits or pegasol is another name , in very cold weather it gives way better heat compared to propane or what we call CNG ( compressed natural gas)
I use a hose with a shutoff valve. Using this method alone does not fill the tank. I’ve only gotten one cook on a gas grill with this method alone. I modified a pair of small needle nose pliers to be able to momentarily pull out the small valve needle while filling the tank. That’s the only way to get to full. Freezing the 1 lb tank is a good technique. Using a scale is also a good idea to ensure you don’t overfill the 1 lb tank.
Bro thank u. Me and my father been doing this for as long as I can remember. He did it for our camping stoves so we can home with em in packs and not carry a heavy tank thru a few mile hike. Fresh trout with butter and garlic in tin foil on the river bank is heaven. Not all men are like us.
Why would you carry 1 pound propane tanks for miles? Why not use isobutane canisters and stoves? My isobutane stove weighs less than a loonie...and the canisters are much lighter than a propane canister..
@@PracticalPreparedness I got those empty ones like 10 of them and I use them when I’m going fishing, go camping overnight But I still have to buy those Propane Lantern Mantles that are quite expensive
I prefer my 250 LB propane tank outside running to my Gas Logs in the two fireplaces we have and also to the propane wall units we have mounted in the house. Makes it all easier on us elder folks. We use the wall units mainly if the power goes out, and just to have a fire going in the fireplaces. Like what you did though for your purpose though.
Another great video! Folks, propane is THE fuel to store. Gasoline does go bad after a relatively short period. A tank of propane will be fine for years. I bough those little 3 pound Coleman tanks two for $6.59 at Wal Mart just 8 years ago... gives you an idea of how energy prices have changed upwards in an alarming manner. I have maybe 60 of them, bought slowly over time as our friend here always suggests. Just get started putting things back. Buddy heaters rock. I also have a small propane oven, a Camp Chef. 2 burners on top, and an oven so you can cook muffins, biscuits, bread, whatever.
Same here my friend. So I'm not crazy buying and storing propane for the My Buddy heaters. The best I have is the one that you can put a 1lb tank on each side which makes it an 18,000 BTU heater and it also has a fan that helps blow the heat that runs off of 4 D-batteries. I'll be buying another one next year! Thank you all for your tried and true ideas. I'll take good advice everyday of the year because I believe you can learn a little or a lot from everybody and then it's up to me on how I use it under my circumstances.👍🇺🇸👍
I have about 16 of the 1 lb cans full that I bought 12-13 yrs ago on sale at Walmart or Big 5 for my lantern and camp stove, but never used them all. I tried to sell them late 2019 to late 2021--DURING COVID--while purging to move from CA, but there were no takers. So we brought them with us. I was throwing away the empties, but now I also have a refill adapter if they do run out. I also have the adapter that lets you run a camp stove off of a large tank if needed.
Very nice! I have a bunch of those smaller ones. I use them for work but only very seldom, so they last forever. I keep extra just as a prep standpoint. Great idea to have the option to refill them. Thanks for the video.
I stocked up on not only those 1lb mini tanks (Coleman) but also accessories that will DISAPPEAR like the Mr. Heater Propane Tank Refill Adapter (brass two way valve) and Mr. Heater hose assemblies (extension hoses).
We have a 500-gallon propane and refill the 20 lb tanks for our grill, smoker, Camp Chef oven, and fire pit. We also refill the 1 lb canisters for a couple of small heaters and 2 burner stove. Saves sooooo much money.
We live in the Texas Panhandle where part of our area is under a blizzard warning today. We are not in that warning, but we are in an area that will be getting 60+mph wind gusts and 35-45mph sustained winds, so we made sure our tanks were filled and ready to go in the event of power outages.
I have 40 - 1 pound bottles ,6 - 20 pound tanks; 2 - 40 pound tanks; and 1-100 pound tank. Several adapters (multi duplication) and short and long hoses. The largest tank when filled is too heavy for me to move alone - so in the city I keep it empty. When I move to the country it’s gonna get filled and I’ll likely get a much bigger one to bury in the yard for the house.
Never buty a propane tank. The inside will rust out quickly because of condensation. Thats why they're always exposed not buried where you can't see them. Google it if you don't believe me.
I changed over to refillable 1 lb tanks once I noticed my disposable tanks starting to leak after being refilled. Some would last for a few fills, a lot will start leaking the first time.
If you use the connector hose be sure to use an inline filter. There can be contaminants in commercial refillable propane tanks that can clog or damage your heater. It's also a good idea to use the inline filter and a hose when refilling the small bottles from a larger tank rather than a direct connector (for the same reason). I keep a 100 pound tank in my (freestanding ie. seperate from the house) garage with a regulator and an inline filter to use in case of a power-out emergency. It supplies plenty of refills for the one pound bottles and even a few for twenty pound tanks to use for indoor heating and will still run my dual fuel generator for a good number of days to recharge my Bluetti solar generator/power bank if the weather is severely overcast or constant precipitation prevents effective solar recharing. That allows me to save more of the limited amount of gasoline I have in storage on hand to use in my vehicles.
Do you have someone come fill your 100# tank, I can barely pick up a 20#! 🤣🤣 My brother has a 40# but it is strapped to a dolly and he winches it up in the bed of his truck to go fill it!😲😲😲
@@wallychambe1587 Bought it empty on Amazon for about $120 a few years back. A buddy at work has a Ford pickup and we took it to Tractor Supply to get it filled. The shipping weight empty was about 80# so we didn't have too much trouble loading it into the truck bed with two of us, The TS clerk filled it right in the bed but told us she couldn't fill a tank that big if there had been a cap or enclosure over the bed, or if we had brought it in an SUV or Van.. Once it was full it weighed about 180#, but it's five feet tall, we just pivoted it off the tailgate onto a twenty buck plastic wheeled flowerpot dolly I had bought to move it around in the garage and keep it out of contact with the cement floor (so the bottom rim wouldn't corrode). I have two twenty pound tanks I bought new and empty at Home Depot the year before for a full size Mr Heater and a half dozen of the one pound bottles for a small Mr Heater to help keep the water pipes in the cellar from freezing or to use with a Coleman camp stove if the utilities go out.
@@massivereader I got a couple of 20# filled at a Welding gas place (cheaper), the guy told me he couldn't put them in my car because it was enclosed. I had him bring them to the car and I put them in and rolled the windows down!😁😁
Yes you can connect a hose to a 20lbs and your Little,Big,Portable Buddy with no problem! I Have been doing this for the last couple years after I contacted Mr Heater ... the 10 foot hose is the only one that doesn't need the filter all the others do . Use 1 Season and then you get a new one. Every HD or Lowes carries them.
You should *always* wear gloves when messing with propane valves. Not because of that perfectly normal little spritz you can get either. You wear them because the risk of total valve failure is very real and boiling off liquid propane is very cold. It can give you frostbite. Thick leather is best. Heavy rubber gloves will do too. It can go right through cloth. Don't even think about the nitrile/latex disposables. I drove a forklift in a factory for a time. Fueled with propane tanks. Had to change them usually twice a shift. Once at the start and once just after lunch. I would say I experienced a valve failure approximately once a month. The first several scare the crap out of you. Edit - Oh, speaking of valve failures, always make these connections outdoors away from any potential ignition source.
I’ve been refilling those green cans for years. I boil water every morning for French press coffee. 1 green canister last me a month so I have twelve. I refill them about 4 times then toss them away. Glad you showed how to release air. When filling one I use a baking scale to get 1 pound of propane in it.
@@atlasgunther8947 because the rubber seals wear out over time. I’ve had them start to leak. I learned from experience to not refill them too many times.
@@PracticalPreparedness I run a buddy heater in my cold shop daily off a 20lb and have never felt unsafe. If you are paranoid use your nose and/or spray soap water to check for leaks. if there's no leak well hey, you're good for 80 hours.
Funny thing is the power loss from failed natural gas facilities was 5x that from renewables but Gov Abbott couldn't resist dissing renewable energy in the national media while only acknowledging fossil fuel failure days later in local media.
How will the propane police know if these little tanks were refilled or not? Unless they see you actually doing it, but even then, i dont think this is against the law. I've carried these in my truck every camping trip for decades along with a 20lb tank and the refill adapter. Never had any issues.
I have that tool I've had it for years. My father taught me how to do this, and it still blows peoples minds when I do it in front of them!! Your instructional is spot on. Thank you.
even though around here those 1lb little tanks cost 💲 5 each it’s still expensive after covid 19 they want up on prices from 2.5$ to $5 but learning to refill them it’s something i did not know trust me from now on i will be refilling them up i have bunch of them siting around empty that big tank it’s 20lb i could refill at least 19 little ones for a cost of $1 a piece i have learned a valuable lesson from you today thank you i go through 1 of those every couple days
a few items to know , inspected the cans , if there is any signs of rust anywhere, bleed out the cylinder and throw it away, rust is a sign of a bad cylinder, and rust is a area of explosion during refilling of the cylinder, place the cylinder in the freezer for about 2 hros to get a cold chill, i dont have that 10.00 filler, i have the brass valve and the 3 foot length of hose to the female end to connect to the cylinder . i weight mine, if the cylinder is at says 14oz, i add 14oz, back ,mine has a digital reader on it for exact pressure n oz.! his right do not over fill this items , they will exploded . the cylinder pressure is set for 150 psi, max. which is 1 # of propane, max pressure. also for you filling the 20gal tank , when filling them i bleed out the remaining propane from the tank open valve and the bleeder thill its empty, close the vaslve and the bleeder and transport to filling station remember to open the valve and the bleeder and tell the filler guy to leave the bleeder on till it spits out a full stream, if he doesnt leave the bleeder on , BY LAW YOU DONT PAY FOR THE PROPANE, WHAT HIS DOING IS GIVING YOU 75% AIR AND 25% PROPANE , I DONT BUY THE AIR,! IT SHOULD THE THE OPPISITE OF THE AIR /PROPANE MIXER. COSTCO AND SAMS AND UHAULS ARE VERY FAMOUS FOR THIS MOVE, TO CHARGE YOU FOR AIR INSTEAD OF PROPANE???ALSO NEVER FILL PASS THE LEVEL OF PROPANE POSTED OR STAMPED ON THE TANK, EXAMOLE, NEW TANK PRE 2000, THE 20# (5GAL) IS 4.4 GALS BEFORE YEAR 2000 ITS 5 GAL.S
I made my own adapter from an old bottle torch and a bbq supply line. I leave the setup overnight. I also fill the bbq tanks from the 1000 gallon home heating tanks the same way. Much cheaper.
Good video, but you get much better results if you chill the one pound small cylinder in your freezer first. It will fill completely. Also don't toss out the little black cap and nobody will know it was refilled when you replace the cap.
I take a paint marker and write "28" on all my 1 lb propane tanks. A brand new full bottle weighs 28-30 ounces, so I just fill my tanks until they weigh 28 ounces on a digital scale. You can feel it when they are full or close to full. When you shake them you can feel the liquid inside sloshing around.
MOST IMPORTANT: ALWAYS wear gloves (thick leather) and full face safety mask when you're messing around with propane. Propane is sub-zero freezing when emitted from any tank (or outlet as at a propane filling station for vehicles). It will instantly freeze unprotected/exposed flesh on contact and leave you with a burn that you'll live with the rest of your life. NEVER FILL THE 1 POUND TANK LIKE THIS GUY DID: ALWAYS turn the 20 pound tank upside down FIRST and then connect the 1 pound tank. If you make the connection when the tank is right side up you run the risk of accidentally dropping the tank when turning it upside down and perhaps break-off the connectors/valves causing 20 pounds of propane to escape immediately from the tank. RIP. A 1 pound tank of propane contains approx 20,000 BTUs. If you set your heater to run at 10,000 BTUs then the tank will run empty in approx 2 hours. It's just simple math... divide the tank's BTUs by the heater's BTUs and you get the run time for the heater at the set BTU limit in hours. 20K (tank)÷ 10K(heater) = 2 hours. But then you'd be lucky to fill the 1 pound bottle at 60 percent or 12,000 BTUs getting only approx 1 hour and 12 minutes run time. In the long run it's much safer to attach a 20 pound tank to your heater... just be vigilant of the connections, install a CO detector nearby and allow for an upper room position (ceiling) exhaust venting of approx 10 - 15 square inches.
I don't have a problem with consumers refilling the small tanks, I would add a couple details however. You are correct in that to get it full one needs to relieve some of the non-liquid gas pressure in order for the liquid to fill the volume. Also extremely important to leave expansion room, don't ever fill completely with liquid. But here's the part many don't know about: An additive is introduced into the tanks. This is the awful smell, it is also a liquid, and does not evaporate at the same rate as the propane. That's why when you shake an empty twenty pound tank you still feel something sloshing. Each time one of these BBQ tanks are refilled law requires introducing more of this oderant. Eventually, it can consume a significant volume of the tank and deprive the purchaser of the fuel they paid for, as its weight is counted towards the full twenty pounds. The other two problems are, 1) some BBQ sized tanks are designed to expell only gas while right side up, and others to expell only liquid. So when unverted the liquid designed tank may expell only gas and not fill the one pounder hardly at all. And 2) this oderant may and usually will exit first filling the one pound tank with useless stench.
@@PracticalPreparedness yeah, I worked for a local propane company for a while. When filling the large tanks behind a house it's necessary to open the small bleeder valve in order to vent the gas that boils off while filling a warm tank, otherwise the pressure will equalize and the liquid will stop flowing. The oderant is quite a sneaky way to cheat the customer .
@@PracticalPreparedness I would reccomend trading in your BBQ tank for a brand new one occasionally to avoid excess oderant rather than refilling although most outlets have refilled tanks anyway.
Honey, there is 1.5 lb of ethyl mercaptan per 10,000 gallons of propane. This amounts to 25.14 parts per million (ppm) of EM in propane. That means there is 0.000025 lbs (0.0004 oz) of EM in your 1 lb tank. So you could fill your 1 lb tank 10,000 times and still have 3/4 of the capacity left if NO EM was removed from the tank. I don't know about the little tanks, but the 500 and 1000 gallon tanks have methanol in them to absorb water out of the propane. I doubt the little tanks have the methanol, but the sloshing may be water.
For cooking small amounts the butane stove iwatani butane stove and several other brands are very handy. The butane cylinders seem to lasts a long time and are not very expensive. Stoves and cylinders drom Amazon abd others . Great for toasting and tortillas. Disconnect cylinder when not in use
I've been refilling these for years. An empty green canister is 13 oz and a full one with a pound of propane is 29 oz. So, when the refilled canister reaches 29 ounces, you know it's full and don't want to put any more propane inside it.
Hell, I hope I never get to the point of having to refill my little emergency tanks, but this was good info . Now I see the adapter as a MUST HAVE. Thanks!
Since we're on the subject of filling Propane tanks, I worked at a Fork Lift Manufacturing plant, where one of the Models we offered of course were Propane ! But not only did we build them, we used them, and a variety of others ! Long story short, obviously we had a refill station, located away from the Main building. Nearly every new employee, whose job involved driving one of these Trucks, had to be shown the proper way to gas up their Trucks ! And you always made a point, to tell them how dangerous it could be. So after a short time on the job, you'd see one of these newbie's heading out to fuel his truck with Propane. You would then watch them from where they couldn't see you, and then run up on the blind side of the building and as the tank was filling, we would pick up a 2X4, or a piece of pipe, and loudly smack the side of the building, that made a GOD awful Bang, and scare the holy Hell outta the new guys, or gals for that matter ! Just a little something to pass the time a little quicker ! Fun times ! 😂🤣😂
@@PracticalPreparedness Fortunately, everyone was good sports ! It was kinda a, " Blu- collar " right of passage ! Lol ! I mean you gotta do something to break up the monotony ! 👍😉
Useful info.! Big time diversions of LNG / LPG ships around Africa are happening on that route from the ME to Europe that WAS going through the Red Sea. You can imagine what that does to voyage time, and with transport capacity already stretched thin (not to mention that big gas terminal in Russia getting whacked by the Ukies a few days ago), that means less gas delivered from the ME and more demand from Europe for US gas. Great for US gas suppliers, not so great for most of us...
I'm an Aussie and have an LPG / petrol car and have been filling 20lb bottles from my car gas tank for the last 30 years. Easy when you know what you're doing.
I just got the hose and filter to hook up the larger tanks. No 1 lb needed. But still keep 2 1lb and a fill adapter if I don't have space. But most of the time I just use the 20lb and hose. And best refill the small ones right after they are emptied and cold.
There adapters are illegal in Canada but I bought mine online years ago and have used it a number of times with no problem at all. I don’t fill a lot of them at one time but just a couple as I need them due to the fact that they might have a slow leak and I would lose the propane that I filled them with. Propane gas is expensive here but I fill my large tanks at Costco, I filled 3 25 pound tanks for around $45, at the local propane depot that would cost me close to $150 so I saved quite a bit. I don’t have a Costco membership but I have a good friend that does and I get him to buy me a gift card and I can go there and fill my tanks and buy some things that I need and if it’s over the amount of the card I just pay the balance with my debit card. Win win.
@@gmgdanielo well our death rates due to hand guns is probably a lot lower then where you live and I will “live “ with that fact any day. Have you ever seen a gun shot at close range to the chest of a person and looked in their eyes as they are dying, if you have let me know please?
QUESTION: How does anyone know you refilled a 1 pound tank???? But it’s okay to transport your 20 pound tank in the trunk of your car to and from a fill station? In a Pickup? Suburban? Tesla? Crown Vic? Excellent video! Keep up the great work!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😂🇺🇸
Absolutely! I learned how to do this years ago and it’s cheap to buy the adapters. My friends supply me with empty 1lb bottles so I have a dozen of them which I figure is fine. For a cheap 20lb tank, go to a nearby metal recycling yard and find a used one someone tossed, it’ll cost about $19 or less then us it to exchange for a full one. Of course, you can save money by going to a store that refills them.
Put small 1 pound tanks in the freezer and make sure the 20 pound take is around 70-80 f. Then you will get closer to the 1 pound of LP to transfer into small tank.
Thanks for the risks and warnings. That Shrader valve doesn't push down easily, if at all. And you run the risk damaging the valve. I recently purchased reusable 1 lb propane cylinders. They cost twice what the one time use tanks cost, but after two or three times they have paid for themselves. And they completely fill without risk.
The shredder valve needs to be pulled "up" to release air to allow the propane to enter the canister as it's being filled.the Schrader valve must be at 12: o'clock, when open, when the canister is @ 1 lb gas will start to escape showing it's full, just like when a 20lb tank is being filled the operator will turn the fill screw "in" at this point knowing it's full...I made a small tool to hold the Schrader valve open as I'm filling the 1 lb canister, when gas starts to appear It is full...I've done this for years with the same canisters without any problems.
@@gastonbelanger5346 Hmm. I'll take a look at that. In the mean time, filling the designed to refill bottles is like a mini version of going to the propane store.
In a warehouse estate sale, I came across unused REFILLABLE cylinders, about 1/4 lb made in the 1930's or 40's, that are absolutely legal to refill and transport. Modern 2lb refillable cylinders are available.
Been refilling my 1# canisters for a number of years now. Used to sweat about filling them to an actual pound, tinkering with the Schrader valve, etc, then it dawned on me: so what if I've only filled it to, say, 70%--when it's empty, just screw it on to my 15# tank, turn it upside down, open valve and after a few minutes remove it. Good vid as usual.
If you use the connector hose be sure to use an inline filter. There can be contaminants in commercial refillable propane tanks that can clog or damage your heater. It's also a good idea to use the inline filter and a hose when refilling the small bottles from a larger tank rather than a direct connector (for the same reason). I keep a 100 pound tank in my (freestanding ie. seperate from the house) garage with a regulator and an inline filter to use in case of a power-out emergency. It supplies plenty of refills for the one pound bottles and even a few for twenty pound tanks to use for indoor heating and will still run my dual fuel generator for a good number of days to recharge my Bluetti solar generator/power bank if the weather is severely overcast or constant precipitation prevents effective solar recharing. That allows me to save more of the limited amount of gasoline I have in storage on hand to use in my vehicles.
The contaminant comes from the propane rubber hose itself. The pressure of the propane inside the hose forces out the oils from some propane hoses and can foul lines and burn element. They are really just traps vs a real filter, they are meant to trap the oils. There are hoses that do not suffer from this, excrete oils under pressure. Do not remember the names though I own 2 of them but they are easy to find on the web. I still keep two traps/filters on hand any ways.
I prefer using a refill hose instead. The hose I have is about 3 foot long and includes a valve. The hose and valve makes refilling multiple tanks much easier and faster. The second valve minimizes how much propane is lost when removing the 1 pound tanks. If you are a camper ask your neighbors for their empty tanks and/or refill them for them. For some reason I've had 2 campsites where the previous person left their empty 1 pounds in the fire pit. I have at least a dozen 1 pound tanks not including the MANY that I've given away. A free tank with 14+/- ounces of propane that I paid a bit over $2/gallon plus 3 state taxes. There are 4.23 pounds of liquid propane per gallon so $2/gal / 4.23 pounds/gal / 14 ounce/pound is $0.54 so maybe $0.65 including taxes. This means for $2.00 I can hand out 3 one pound tanks. It's hard to beat the smiles per dollar ratio!
You also have to remember that there is a valve on these (on the side) to purge the tank of any residual air inside the canister. Drain it of any air or gas with that valve first. Then refill your propane into it. Here's a tip that I taught myself when our electricity went out in a huge storm fourteen years ago; we used the top of our gas stove to heat our home. It cost almost FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS for the whole month as we had no power for almost an entire week. But it saved our home from freezing and kept the pipes from breaking. We had a Yorkie then and I know that he appreciated not having to freeze inside the home. You can't do that with an electric stove - you couldn't GIVE me one!
You will not come close to filling the 1 pound cylinder if both tanks are same temperature. Suggest you put the empty one pound cylinder in the freezer for a couple hours. The temperature difference will allow more propane into the one pound cylinder. You will get much closer to filling it.
I hooked mu buddy heater up to the big tank and use it in my tiny house all the time. I also set the propane tank about eight inches from the heating element to warm the tank. Works great especially ially when the tank is near empty. Might be wrong according to some but my experience is that it works beautifully. Just don't put the tank too close to the element. Even if you do the tanks are well engineered to prevent failure and explosions. Be mindful.
According to some it is not possible. I know the walls will eventually weaken if too much pressure is applied too many times though. Use the refillable canisters when possible.
I can only get about 7 out of a possible 16 oz in the tank with out freezing the tank first. Just to let you know, amazon has refillable 1 pound tanks with a vent on them that allows for a full fill without overfilling that are also legal I think. I also don't like to run the big tank in an enclosed area just in case the hose blows, but if you do , don't forget to use the filter on the Mr Buddy to prevent oil and debris from getting in your heater. ( Hey Hey Have a nice day, stay safe out there )
