another question for the pro….

[flash]

2013 240 laredo. duel propane tanks, has a gage between the two. with the valve turned to the left facing the unit it`s all green, turn it to the right and it goes to half red. go back to left and all green. oh, tanks are 25.6 pounders so thinking new they held 40 pounds between them?? we`ve never used the furnace, well, should say only to burn off oil and then only run for maybe 10 min. have done that three times over the last two years. used the oven twice and that wasn`t for very long. we do most cooking over the a fire. hot water as only run on elec. have read to fill up if going cold weather camping. got a trip planned for thanksgiving, be gone three nights. we`ll have power and have elec. heater on board so no worries about that part. so after all that!! lol!! do you think we have 30 pounds left in our tanks?? crazy huh!! scott also know we`ll have to run furnace some if temp get down pretty good to keep pipes from freezing under floor…… but that shouldn`t be a problem where we live, at lest i hope not!!

[GaryWT]

Sounds like a tank and a half to me and based on your use and the electric heating guessing you would be good. Unless you get a cold snap of 3 or more nights in the 20's...

[bsmith0404]

Agree, tank and a half. My guess is your refrigerator used the most of your gas by the use you describe. Probably good especially if your camping at a park that has a refill station. Personally, if I question if I have enough or not, I top the tanks off before I go. Why go hunting for a refill station or pay the crazy campground prices.

[flash]

frig. has never been run on gas either. thanks gary and 0404. thinking we should be good to go. we won`t be to far from home anyways. we`ve said all summer we`re having turkey on turkey day at the camper!! wish us luck!!

[chuckster57]

Dual tanks with an automatic switchover regulator do not use the green bar, triangle, or what ever type of signal device to indicate the amount of propane left in a cylinder.

You can weigh the cylinder for a precise measurement.

[outwest]

the red/green indicator pretty much just gives you a WAG (wild a__ guess). But, based on usage that you've described, I'd say you've got plenty for the 3 days. For what it's worth, I've had the green/red indicator sometimes show a bit of red even immediately after tank was filled (and based on the meter reading, was filled to capacity).

Make sure both tanks have their valves open. That'll mess you up if you forget to open one of them. And, yes, I'm speaking from experience. Woke up to a frigid cold trailer and when i finally talked myself into getting out from under the covers and facing the cold, I went outside and started to disconnect the tanks to take them in for filling, and discovered the problem. Oops!

[JRTJH]

The red/green indicator on the auto changeover regulator only means that there is "sufficient" pressure in the tank that the arrow is pointing to for the piston to be pushed into the green area. It can have the pressure of 30 pounds of propane or the pressure of 1 pound of propane and be green. That indicator is NOT a reliable means to determine how much propane is in the tank.

If you really want to (or need to) know how much propane is in the tank, put it on a bathroom scale, weigh it and subtract the tare weight (actual weight of the empty steel tank), which is stamped on the collar around the shut off valve. That's the only way to get a reliable measure of how much propane is in the tank.

Relying on the "green indicator" as a measuring gage is a sure way to wind up with a cold trailer at 3AM.

Good Luck with your trip.

[BulletOwner1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

The red/green indicator on the auto changeover regulator only means that there is "sufficient" pressure in the tank that the arrow is pointing to for the piston to be pushed into the green area. It can have the pressure of 30 pounds of propane or the pressure of 1 pound of propane and be green. That indicator is NOT a reliable means to determine how much propane is in the tank.

If you really want to (or need to) know how much propane is in the tank, put it on a bathroom scale, weigh it and subtract the tare weight (actual weight of the empty steel tank), which is stamped on the collar around the shut off valve. That's the only way to get a reliable measure of how much propane is in the tank.

Relying on the "green indicator" as a measuring gage is a sure way to wind up with a cold trailer at 3AM.

Good Luck with your trip.

What he said...

It's an indicator, not a gauge. I would guess that you have only one tank open. And sometimes I've found that when installing full tanks that you need to turn something on in the RV, furnace, stove, to allow the "indicator to set up to the correct indication. Then you actually have to check it every once in a while or it won't matter if it indicates or not , you'll be out of propane .

[byrdr1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

The red/green indicator on the auto changeover regulator only means that there is "sufficient" pressure in the tank that the arrow is pointing to for the piston to be pushed into the green area.

If you really want to (or need to) know how much propane is in the tank, put it on a bathroom scale, weigh it and subtract the tare weight (actual weight of the empty steel tank), which is stamped on the collar around the shut off valve. That's the only way to get a reliable measure of how much propane is in the tank..

Propane is 4.2 pounds per gallon as a liquid and knowing that you really don't have 30 gallons anymore with new tank designs.
Some filling stations charge by the volume(gallons) some by the pound.
randy

Propane cylinders, also called bottles, vary in size, shape, and capacity. Most people that grill with propane use the smaller, five gallon propane bottles. Shown below are the most common and widely used propane cylinders.

20 pound propane cylinder
20# Cylinder - 5 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 40 pounds when full
Holds 20 pounds of propane (4.7 gallons of propane)
Contains 430,000 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and cooking
17.5"H X 12.2"W

30 pound propane cylinder
30# Cylinder - 7 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 55 pounds when full
Holds 30 pounds of propane (7 gallons of propane)
Contains 640,500 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and RV travel
23.5"H X 12.2"W

40 pound propane cylinder
40# Cylinder - 10 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 70 pounds when full
Holds 40 pounds of propane (9.4 gallons of propane)
Contains 860,100 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and RV travel
29.5"H X 12.2"W

100 pound propane cylinder
100# Cylinder - 25 Gallon Bottle
OPD is not required
Filled by weight - weighs about 170 pounds when full
Holds 100 pounds of propane (23.6 gallons of propane)
Contains 2,159,400 BTU when full
Widely used for heating, cooking, and roofing applications
46.3"H X 15.1"W

Just as a reference.
rb

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by byrdr1

Propane is 4.2 pounds per gallon as a liquid and knowing that you really don't have 30 gallons anymore with new tank designs.
Some filling stations charge by the volume(gallons) some by the pound.
randy

Propane cylinders, also called bottles, vary in size, shape, and capacity. Most people that grill with propane use the smaller, five gallon propane bottles. Shown below are the most common and widely used propane cylinders.

20 pound propane cylinder
20# Cylinder - 5 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 40 pounds when full
Holds 20 pounds of propane (4.7 gallons of propane)
Contains 430,000 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and cooking
17.5"H X 12.2"W

30 pound propane cylinder
30# Cylinder - 7 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 55 pounds when full
Holds 30 pounds of propane (7 gallons of propane)
Contains 640,500 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and RV travel
23.5"H X 12.2"W

40 pound propane cylinder
40# Cylinder - 10 Gallon Bottle
OPD is required
Filled by weight - weighs about 70 pounds when full
Holds 40 pounds of propane (9.4 gallons of propane)
Contains 860,100 BTU when full
Widely used for grilling, camping, and RV travel
29.5"H X 12.2"W

100 pound propane cylinder
100# Cylinder - 25 Gallon Bottle
OPD is not required
Filled by weight - weighs about 170 pounds when full
Holds 100 pounds of propane (23.6 gallons of propane)
Contains 2,159,400 BTU when full
Widely used for heating, cooking, and roofing applications
46.3"H X 15.1"W

Just as a reference.
rb

You are correct, but you're making it far more complicated than it needs to be. Whether the cylinder is a 1 gallon or a 50 gallon tank (bottle) if you weigh it on a scale and subtract the weight of the metal container (tare weight stamped on the collar) what is left is the weight of the propane (in pounds) that is in the tank (bottle).

You are also correct in stating that a 30 pound (not gallon) propane tank doesn't hold 30 pounds of propane. Generally speaking, the safety valve in the tank is a 20% valve, so the actual propane would be 20% of the 30 pounds or closer to 24 pounds when "full". Regardless of the safety valve, when weighed, the total weight minus the tare weight gives the amount of propane in the tank.

I've found that most propane filling stations at hardware stores, convenience stores and campgrounds charge for the full tank regardless of how much they fill. In other words, they charge, let's say $14 for a "20 lb tank" and $18 for a "30 lb tank" whether they add the entire poundage or whether they add 5 pounds, it costs for a "full tank". Tractor Supply and most propane companies don't charge by the bottle, but rather by the gallon. Around here, it's $2.50 a gallon.