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Old 09-22-2014, 04:06 PM   #57
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You should always buy propane by the gallon unless the tank is totally empty or if they have a price for a full fill that is less than by the gallon. Check to see how many gallons they put in by watching them fill. A lot of places just fill it using weight which is not correct and you may get ripped off.........snip..........
Exactly the opposite is true. Propane volume is affected by temperature, so buying by the gallon can be chancy, especially in hot climates and from aboveground tanks. The only spot-on accurate measure of LP fuel is weight, which is why in some jurisdictions that's the only legal way to sell it.
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Old 09-22-2014, 04:14 PM   #58
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Exactly the opposite is true. Propane volume is affected by temperature, so buying by the gallon can be chancy, especially in hot climates and from aboveground tanks. The only spot-on accurate measure of LP fuel is weight, which is why in some jurisdictions that's the only legal way to sell it.
Do you know if the pumps are supposed to be temperature corrected like gasoline pumps are?
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Old 09-22-2014, 04:21 PM   #59
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Do you know if the pumps are supposed to be temperature corrected like gasoline pumps are?
I don't know the (universal?) answer to that question, if indeed one exists. But it doesn't matter what the temp is if one buys LP by weight.
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Old 09-22-2014, 04:30 PM   #60
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I have watched some of the fellows setting the bottle on scale. After setting the weight of the bottle they add a 20 or 30 lb weight and then hook up the hose. Best guess it the hose weighs 2 to 3 lbs. Which the scale thinks is propane.

I know some who sell by weight say they have allowed for the hose weight but I cannot figure out how they do. I could see it if they hooked the hose up before they did the tare weight but not if they put the tare on before (or take the tare off of the bottle).

I have a 40 gallon tank which has to be filled by measure and it continually takes about the same amount of propane when nearly empty.
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Old 09-22-2014, 10:57 PM   #61
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Do you know if the pumps are supposed to be temperature corrected like gasoline pumps are?
Temperature compensation is common at the wholesale transaction level in the United States and most other countries. At the retail consumer level, Canada has converted to automatic temperature compensation and the United States has not.

Info from online research to that question, and another part eludes to no temperature compensation at all for gas fuels.

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Old 09-23-2014, 12:04 AM   #62
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Propane lines can break if an accident occurs while you're on the road or if an appliance moves while traveling. With no restriction in the line, the propane in the tank can escape. Since propane can ignite with only a small amount in the air (eight parts per million of propane), any triggering device in the vicinity will light it. A broken propane line is extremely dangerous and can trigger an explosion and fire.
The tanks used in RV's incorporate a "high flow shut off valve". If a line breaks or starts leaking excessively (even turning on the supply valve too quickly will do it) the valve shuts off the flow. So, an uncontrolled leak won't happen to an RV unless it's older and doesn't have the high flow cut off. Every MH we've ever had has had the shut off valve except maybe the 1988 Type B, not sure about it.
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Old 09-23-2014, 06:49 AM   #63
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In my state the pumps are regulated and inspected by the Bureau of weights and measures. Propane is sold by the gallon. Selling it by weight is a huge ripoff because they don't zero balance the scale before filling the tank and don't take into account the added weight of the hose or the weight of the tank or any propane left in the tank. When was the last time anyone saw them zero balance a scale? Never! I can tell you that my 30 lb empty tank weights quite a bit more than a 20 lb tank. That means I'm getting shorted. Take a tank filled by weight to a dealer who sells by the gallon and he will gladly finish filling it for you as it will not be full. I know I have done it. Neither are the exchange tanks. They are all short filled.
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Old 09-23-2014, 08:40 AM   #64
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There's so much info, and no one here is certified and actually fills it.

A lot of you are over thinking this. The hose and filler nozzle weighs a certain amount, usually 3-4 gallons. You just put it on the scale and weight it; simple.

The DOT CYLINDER has a tare weight, weight of the metal and valve only, no LP in it.

Then it is rated for a certain amount of LP by weight, 20lb, 30lb, 40lb, 100lb, etc.

You take the tare weight, add the hose weight, and then add the LP rated weight, and that's the full weight of it.

Not sure what's being missed about that.
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Old 09-23-2014, 09:26 AM   #65
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I'm assuming of course that we're talking about portable cylinder filling: when buying by weight, they're weighed before and after filling, no fill hose attached. The difference in weight before/after is what gets paid for.

Simple math!
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Old 09-23-2014, 03:16 PM   #66
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Unfortunately that isn't what happens that is the whole point. I have been getting propane Worthington cylinders filled for over 40 years and I have never ever paid the difference of a before and after weight simple math or not. The vendor throws the tank and the scale, doesn't zero it and fills it until the balance says its full. More and more places are filling by the gallon including in Washington State. That is THE only way to insure that you are getting what you paid for and is regulated by the States Bureau of weights and measures. Many of the scales you see at fill stations are remnants of the dark ages and no longer used. Talk to a Professional about this and you will see the light. I did!!! THE END.
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Old 09-23-2014, 03:57 PM   #67
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THE END.
Suit yourself!

But do bear in mind that your "gallon" is only a gallon (4.2 lbs.) if delivered at exactly 60 degrees fahrenheit source; and that it expands in volume (though not of course in weight) at a rate 17 times that of water as the temperature rises source. That dramatic expansion property, by the way, is also a primary reason why portable cylinders are now equipped with OPD's that prevent more than 80% filling.
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Old 09-23-2014, 05:07 PM   #68
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Suit yourself!

But do bear in mind that your "gallon" is only a gallon (4.2 lbs.) if delivered at exactly 60 degrees fahrenheit source; and that it expands in volume (though not of course in weight) at a rate 17 times that of water as the temperature rises source. That dramatic expansion property, by the way, is also a primary reason why portable cylinders are now equipped with OPD's that prevent more than 80% filling.
All true. You were never supposed to fill any LP container (cylinder or ASME tank) more than 80%, now it's just fool proof . . . mostly.
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Old 09-24-2014, 04:40 PM   #69
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There's so much info, and no one here is certified and actually fills it.

A lot of you are over thinking this. The hose and filler nozzle weighs a certain amount, usually 3-4 gallons. You just put it on the scale and weight it; simple.

The DOT CYLINDER has a tare weight, weight of the metal and valve only, no LP in it.

Then it is rated for a certain amount of LP by weight, 20lb, 30lb, 40lb, 100lb, etc.

You take the tare weight, add the hose weight, and then add the LP rated weight, and that's the full weight of it.

Not sure what's being missed about that.
Nothing has been missed but have you ever seen the guy lay the hose and filler nozzle on the scale or add the weight of same to the beam? I have filled by weight numerous times and missed that part.

What I have observed is the fellow looking at the tare on the tank, dropping on a 20 or 30 counter weight on the beam or moving the weight for the required fill, hooking up the filler nozzle and then shutting the pump off when the beam lifts.

Years ago (many) I filled at a commercial propane place where they had the nozzle and filler hose suspended with a counter weight. That was probably as close as you were going to get.

Keep a close eye on the procedure the next time you fill. Maybe I missed something when I was watching. All I know is if I fill by volume the tank lasts longer than when I fill by weight.
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Old 09-24-2014, 07:23 PM   #70
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Nothing has been missed but have you ever seen the guy lay the hose and filler nozzle on the scale or add the weight of same to the beam? I have filled by weight numerous times and missed that part.

What I have observed is the fellow looking at the tare on the tank, dropping on a 20 or 30 counter weight on the beam or moving the weight for the required fill, hooking up the filler nozzle and then shutting the pump off when the beam lifts.

Years ago (many) I filled at a commercial propane place where they had the nozzle and filler hose suspended with a counter weight. That was probably as close as you were going to get.

Keep a close eye on the procedure the next time you fill. Maybe I missed something when I was watching. All I know is if I fill by volume the tank lasts longer than when I fill by weight.
I am a filler.

Why weight the hose every single time when you weight it once, and then know the weight.

I guess you need to come watch me fill cylinders, because almost every time, the scale will tip just before the OPD valve cuts of the flow of LP into the cylinder, so my weighing matches the so called "gallon" capacity of the cylinder.
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