Refilling propane bottles

[Sum1]

I bought one of those adapter to refill propane bottles and can’t find that thread that talked about it. If I remember correctly guys would warm one of the tanks before doing the refill. Can someone tell me which one it was.

 

[Wild and Free]

The small bottle to be filled needs to be cold and the source tank should be warm. Hook it up turn the source tank upside down and open the valve, wait a minute then close the valve and done.

 

[AR-15]

Can you do it with the new tanks, like the 20 pounders?, i use to do it with the old tanks

 

[dragoneyes]

Sum1 Just the opposite take the 1 pound propane tank put it outside for awhile in some snow 20 min should do. Attach the adapter to 20lb tank and tighten,screw cold 1 lb tank in other end. Turn upside down and open valve you will be able to hear it filling. After that shut of valve off. Put 20lb tank upright take off 1lb tank good to go. Had better luck with 20lb tank that was warm and over a 1/2 full. Caution would recommend doing this outside. I can get mine filled put only 3/4 full one the 1lb tank. I fill at least 3- 4 at a time because of the hassle. Hope this helps.

 

[PrairieGhost]

It works best if there is some propane left in the one pound tank. Screw the adapter on the one pound tank in an upright position and it will release some propane. Wear gloves because the little one pound tank will get very cold. That's good because a cold tank will allow more propane to enter. Then remove the adapter and screw it on the 20lb tank. Turn the 20lb tank upside down with the adapter on and screw on the one pound tank. Open the valve and fill. If the one pound tank is real cold I have got more than a pound in and if it sits in the sun you sill see propane coming out. That's ok in winter, but in summer you have to be careful how much propane you put in that little tank. You will get the hang of it after filling two or three tanks and not overfill.

 

[fj40]

I don't bother anymore, They're 6 bucks for a 2 pack.

 

[USMCDI]

Can you do it with the new tanks, like the 20 pounders?, i use to do it with the old tanks

I've used our drier bins to fill 20 and 30 pounders for as long as I can remember, even figured out how to gut the OPD valves to fill those too. Total PITA, those older tanks are way better.

 

[Opie11]

This is the method I've been using for a while. I've found by weighing them on a small kitchen scale that is accurate to the ounce that if I put the pressure relief valve at about 10 or 2 o'clock with the 20 lb cylinder upside down it's roughly a pound in the small tank when liquid starts to come out of the relief valve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M37JLlJGrYU

Edited to add that you will probably want to do this outside as opening the little relief valve lets a lot of the propane stink out.

 

[Sum1]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Sum1]

So how long does it take for one to fill? I tried one bottle and it sounded like very little was actually seeping into the smaller tank.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

Buy a 5lb tank and be done with it. It'll fit in a 5 gallon bucket

 

[AR-15]

Remember having some that leaked a little, I just buy 2 or 4 packs now

 

[Retired-Guy]

I bought a new one pound tank, weighed it on a digital kitchen scale, and then proceeded to fill several completely empty tanks that had been stored in a chest freezer. To refill them, I attached them to a full 20 pounder, tipped it upside down, and let her buck for a minute. I was surprised how consistent the weights of the refilled tanks were and nearly identical to the weight of the new tank. One was actually a bit too heavy so I bled it a bit. I was skeptical about refilling tanks because I had used some of a friend's a few years ago and they didn't seem to last long at all. I haven't used any of the ones that I refilled yet so will be curious to see if they are as good as a new one.

 

[LBrandt]

Never have I wanted to blow something up or burn up to save 20 bucks.