A few words of caution, I would not use a piece of welding rod to bleed off the vapor in the small tank to fill it up. You might damage the small valve inside the tank and it would have a small but permeant leak. Use a old propane torch tip that screws on correctly and won't damage the valve. The second thing you should do is get a exact tare weight of the small tank when it is completely emptied of pressure and write it on the side of the 1lb. bottle. It will help stop you from over filling the tank which is very dangerous. Most Propane gas is half the weight of water which is 8.32828 per gallon. If by chance your supplier has blended Propane with Butane which is heavier you still should be safe. I transported liquified petroleum gas I loaded at refineries 10,000 gallons at a time down the highways for many years.
looks good, I do the same thing too. one tip, be sure to purge the air from the hose before you connect to the small tank, otherwise you have to bleed the air from the hose out of the small tank .. love your videos, keep up the good work..👍
I have been doing this for years and the first thing that confuses folks is pressure. Within a couple seconds the pressure in both cylinders is the same. After that it is simply a gravity feed from the large cylinder to the smaller cylinder. NOT PRESSURE AT ALL. The lower the 1 lb bottle is the faster it will feed. I start with an empty 1 lb and time the fill. It is generally between 6 or 8 max minutes. I do check them with a scale as well. That "Schreuder valve" on top is a safety that will open and let gas escape if the bottle is overfilled and for whatever reasons the 1 lb bottle gets heated by the sun or ?. When propane or any other gas gets heated it grows by volume. There has to be enough space in the bottle to accommodate that, if not the valve will open until a safe pressure is achieved. That is the only time pressure is an issue. It is also why large propane bottles are painted white. 1 lb bottles are only filled to about 3/4 of capacity so when beside a BBQ they don't vent because of the heat.
@@francoispouliot Check my post above. It explains everything. It takes about 8 min for a gravity fill to 3/4. Gas pressure is equalized in a few seconds. It is the gravity feed/transfer through a very small hole that takes the time.
Why is he “ burping” the gas off before filling. Isn’t he just releasing vapors that he’s immediately going to replace? If you are going to “burp” it should be during the filling process with the valve in the higher position to make room for more liquid? Sorry but this bugs me.
I've done hundreds of these refills now. 60-80F big tank and a Frozen small tank and it will do a full fill in one shot. No need to burp, or purge. The "air" is simply warmed up propane. Fill all of these to 32oz/2lbs, give or take 2-3oz. Any more and the small cylinder will balloon up like a bomb when it warms up to 70-80F(scary!). If you do overfill bleed off the excess before you let it warm up to room temp.
I've had one since the 70's. Mine is hard pipe with a 90 degree bend in it so the small tank hangs below off the edge of the table. One thing you can try is put the big tank in the sun for awhile and the little tanks in the freezer. Suppose to aid in the transfer.
Hey that sounds exactly like what I built. I've been reusing the same bottle for decades. Use needle nose pliers to pull out on the valve while filling. But test to ensure it closes due to seating properly.
Propane is a saturated vapor and pressure depends ONLY on temperature, not fill level. 'burping air' is just releasing some propane and doesn't help aside from boiling off a little liquid lowering the temperature and thus pressure. Flow will continue until the temperature is equalized. In order to fill a 1lb tank you need a temperature differential and the easiest way is to put the 1lb bottles in the freezer, then quickly fill before it has a chance to warm up. Alternately you could immerse it in ice water or something but might as well keep it simple. Experimentally I've found that a 20lb tank mostly full at 70F fully fills a frozen 1lb bottle at -10F in one shot. Overdo the temp differential and it can overfill significantly even in one go, so be careful. With no pressure in the empty 1lb tank that's approx 15psi atmospheric. Propane at 70F is 122psi. As soon as you start adding liquid to the tank it will boil and make the 1lb tank colder, but once the pressure rises it will condense into liquid again and overall the bottle heats up increasing the pressure beyond its initial temperature. This is why you don't get that 8:1 fill ratio you'd expect from a 15psi to 122psi differential. Simple process: Weigh your empty cylinders. Let the 20lb propane tank warm up to room temperature (set it inside during the winter eg) and put your 1lb bottles in a deep freezer. To fill (outside) turn the 20lb tank upside down then open the valve. With the empty 1lb tank attached Quickly open the valve to fill the 1lb cylinder until temperature equalizes (usually less than 1 minute). Weigh the filled cylinder to make sure it isn't overfilled. If it is burp it and adjust your temperatures/times. I usually fill mine to .7lb to 1.1lb. Any more and I get nervous - never had a problem with up to 1.2lb though. Like you said never touch the relief valve. It isn't designed to re-seal reliably since it is a safety only.
Love it...saves so much money refilling. Only thing I do different is I use Leather Gloves( freeze fingers protection) also have 20# on table upside down and 1# is lower than the fill valve. love the hose with paddle valve...It makes it soooo much easier just like the one you have. Thanks for posting Video
I have worked in the refrigeration and a/c business and filled refrigerant bottles like this for years and with refrigerants you have to cool one cylinder down to get the transfer to happen, pretty much the same deal here except the boiling temps are different. When I see a steel tool being used to depress the valve in the bottle, that concerned me, using a brass rod or drift wouldn’t cause a spark and a potential explosion.
My dad was doing that more than 50 years ago LOL. Sometimes he would warm the parent tank with warm water just a little bit to increase its pressure to speed up the process.
By a second hose cut the close to the 20 lbs tank make sure the 1lbs tank is empty put a hand vaccum pump (dont use a eletric one for flammable gas) the hose pull a vaccum on the small tank switch hose to fill hose fill it right up no air to let out
They have a fitting that doesn't need the hose, so it's tank to tank. I put the 1lb tanks in the freezer and weigh in the charge, it speeds things along. LIKED
When you are done filling and it is time to vent the hose, put the big tank right side up first, and then straighten the hose vertically above the big tank. That will drain the liquid out of the hose. Then you are venting gaseous propane instead of liquid propane. That way you waste a lot less.
To further boost the cheap: get your 20# tanks refilled where they charge you by the gallon you refill instead of doing the tank swaps. The tank swap places only fill the tanks to 15# for "safety reasons" and if you have any propane left in the tank you're trading in, then you get no credit for it. Tractor Supply refills 20# propane tanks by the gallon and it's less than $3 per gallon here in the mid-atlantic, so you get a full 20# tank for less than the 15# you get from the swappers/Blue Rhino.
yup. Getting them refilled by the gallon is a much better deal. I have also heard that they're only 75% full at the trade in places. I get mine refilled at tractor supply as well.
So true. I read that an empty tank weighs 18.3 lbs. I did a swap and the new tank only weighed 31.9. so in the end I paid 20$ for about 13.5 lbs. Looking for a place that refills now.
I just filled two by putting them in the freezer for 5 minutes. They filled faster than this gentleman. I did use the needle nose to vent the bottle so I didn't have to go back and forth.
Yes definitely, a lot of Stupid in this video… It is really dam stupid that he thinks and tells everyone he is releasing “air “ off the top of the Single Trip. IT IS NOT AIR !!! It is Propane “Gas.” Nothing better then someone teaching How To when they have no idea what the hell they are doing. He does good welding work but knows Nothing about Propane or Safety.
@@wirefeed3419 in this case he really would be introducing actual “air” opposed to propane because the line contains air until propane in some form is introduced
@@smsgtbulldog Thanks for your Comment, yes he is introducing the air volume in the hose directly into the cylinder by not purging the hose before connecting, once in the cylinder it is impossible to isolate the air from the propane Gas so when he thinks he is bleeding air he is bleeding Propane. I am a level A gas Fitter / Inspector, I Know exactly what he is doing in this video, but what do you expect when the person filling cylinder that is not designed or approved for refill thinks he is purging air from the cylinder to allow more liquid propane filling. This is the school of UA-cam where people are shown what they can do, not what they should not do. Very few want to hear what is wrong or give a dam. .
+1. My dad had a refrigeration service business. He bought R-12 refrigerant in 180 lb drums & we refilled our 20 lb service drums by first putting them in the freezer. Made loading the small drums much quicker.
Lay an electric heating pad on your 20lb tank, and as others have said freeze the small 1lb cans prior. Will create a larger pressure difference between the two tanks, therefore give you a faster fill rate.
If you wanted to fill the container by weight, and you know what the total gross weight should be, go ahead and purge your line as you did. Weigh the canister as it is without the hose. Note the weight. At this point you know how much has to be added to fill the can. Attach it to the canister and note the weight with the hose attached, just make sure the hose isn't rubbing against anything. Now that you know the weight of the canister and the hose, fill the canister as you have been doing, adding the appropriate amount of liquid to the combined weight. When you are done, disconnecting the hose and weighing the canister should give you the proper fill. Legally, I don't think you can fill these containers and transport them on a public hiway or road, but what you do on your own property is your business. We do the same on refrigeration equipment. Jim
For more efficient transfer : Put green bottles, in the freezer, OVER NIGHT. This, will contract the air inside - thereby for easier transfer. Less compressed air -- to let out with that top Schrader valve...with your welding rod.....
I would leave the tank hooked up, shut off the orange valve, drain off some pressure, open valve. As soon as you drain off some pressure, the liquid propane is evaporating and building up the pressure again, hence the above procedure.
I fill empty mapp gas containers using the big 47kilo propane tanks, l leave them in the chest freezer they fill quickly and are great after, l think using the big 47kilo tanks help as there's more weight of gas.
Also just an FYI if you read the side of the small green bottle it is federally illegal to refill these bottles and transport them in your car. I know people do it all the time but it's still illegal I believe it's flame king that makes the only legally refillable one pound bottle
Same here but I use the frost king refillable kit I just bought it's the easiest way to refill the frost king 1lb propane cans when you buy the kit you get 1 free empty frost king refillable tank good for 13 years after 13 years old you replace them still cheaper than the colman tanks with no bleeder screw
Never mind filling and hooking up and unhooking the can weighing it frost king propane tank filling kit is the best way to do it one time its filled on .the 1lb mark
i always had arguments at the my local Kmart store.. they have a basement and the only way in or out is up a big wide staircase.. its an old building.. they displayed Pallets of small propane canisters and gallons of coleman fuel at the top of the stairs.. also also on the shelves in the basement corner.. half the propane canisters on the top shelf without any kind of device to restrain them .. they just did not understand safety..
Once your done filling would it make sense to flip the main tank back upright to let the liquid fuel in the hose drain back down before shutting the tank valve? That way there would only be gas in the hose not liquid so you would lose less fuel.
I could help but think of some of the gun channels that like to shoot propane tanks with .50 tracer rounds. Edwin Sarkissian is right up there with the most crazy of them.
Interesting, I never even knew about this "option" for refilling the smaller bottles. Then again I don't have a need for them either though it is similar in process when we fill our HPA tanks for paintball though we have a regulator on the attachment in order to get to the correct PSI.
Think you can hear when the 1 pounder stops fill? Wrong. I used a stethoscope to listen at the bottom of the 1 pounder & it's filling long after you can no longer hear it. So rather than screwing around taking the 1 pounder off multiple times, when the 20 pound tank is new for the first 5 I just leave them for about 9 minutes & they're full. As the tank empties it takes longer but you can gauge it and nearly always end up with a full bottle, not needing to take it off 2 or 3 times or more.
I'm going to try hooking the cylinder up and putting it on the scale, zero/tare it out and watch the scale to see when it stops filling. Worth a try. Probably not accurate. Although no more than 16 oz in the cylinder no matter what.
The liquid is not that cold, about -45*F so if you not use to cold winters then yes it will startle ya but for us who endure these kind of temps all winter no different than getting coolant or fuel on hands that is same temp.
I was not aware that turning a modern 20 lb tank upside-down would still allow it to release any gas/liquid, as they have an opd (overfill protection device) type valve on them. From what I know, they have a float mechanism designed into the valve assembly that cuts the flow coming out of the tank if it's inverted or filled to much. Any one else heard of this, or am I getting this wrong?
Dang it. I’m going to have to show folks how to do this properly and efficiently and explain how and why it works. I’ve been using a similar home made hose setup for years.
I decant oxygen and Mig gas into my bottles from a friends company saves me a ton of rental fees as I don't use much compared to the rental fees. 200 down 100 bar is enough for me.
It is perfectly legal to refill them, however, it is not legal to transport them if refilled (I think that's what the warning says).. No one's going to care (or know) if you fill one of them and have it in your work truck, but I'd think that if you have a pallet full of used looking ones they could catch on if anything were to happen I gotta get me one of those hoses
You should see the looks on peoples faces when we fill the tank on the back of my rock crawler off the 200 gallon tank in the trailer we tow! It is a bit different than what you are doing since we bleed off the gas at the same time the liquid is coming in
Although not illegal to refill those tanks, it is illegal to put in vehicle and transport if you do. Very hefty penalties! (B) For cylinders manufactured on or after October 1, 1996: “Federal law forbids transportation if refilled-penalty up to $500,000 fine and 5 years imprisonment (49 U.S.C. 5124).”
Where is the link in the description I like that no boy I need one. My son needs one also so he don’t use mine.Again thanks for the videos and thanks for the tip that will save me some money
Have a small one with no valve. very hard to fill that way, but didnt think of letting air out by the valve. That said, unfortunatly this is illegal in Quebec so I only used it in case of emergency. Instead, i baught a 5lb tank with the same adaptor on a hose, so at least I can have refilled legally without problems. Must have been a few idiots that blew themself up ot make it llegal up here .
Cool video. I think I'll try it. Why open the valve on the hose at the end? The end on the propane tank should automatically shut off, and you can just keep the hose charged with propane for the next time.
Your scale should have a "Tare" function where you can set everything up then zero the scale and simply weigh the propane as it goes in. Then you can know how much actual propane your getting and stay in the recommended 80% zone.
@@curtisroberts9137 I'm a commercial hvac tech,there are alot of tricks, but you gotta be careful on here what you tell people,you know different ways to create significant pressure differentials!
They make bottles that are legally refillable.5000$ fine for refilling those bottles,sorry. The problem comes if over filled! As you say over fill valve can leaks then ka flewwy if vapors ignite!
When the pressure is equalized between the tanks. That's why you read of people putting their tanks in the refrigerator before filling. For a given volume lowering the temperature lowers the pressure. Inside the tank there an equilibrium will be established- temperature dependent. For a given temperature rise Propane expands 17 times that of water. There are two concerns with re-fillling these. The first is overfilling. That's why tanks specify only filling to 80 percent. The other concern is valve leaks at the seals. Since these tanks are not certified as re-fillable you don't really know what your margin of safety is- thus the prohibition against transport. When the author is burping "air" he is really releasing some Propane and lowering the pressure in the tank so more propane can flow.
A few words of caution, I would not use a piece of welding rod to bleed off the vapor in the small tank to fill it up. You might damage the small valve inside the tank and it would have a small but permeant leak. Use a old propane torch tip that screws on correctly and won't damage the valve. The second thing you should do is get a exact tare weight of the small tank when it is completely emptied of pressure and write it on the side of the 1lb. bottle. It will help stop you from over filling the tank which is very dangerous. Most Propane gas is half the weight of water which is 8.32828 per gallon. If by chance your supplier has blended Propane with Butane which is heavier you still should be safe. I transported liquified petroleum gas I loaded at refineries 10,000 gallons at a time down the highways for many years.
Thank you for the input. Always learning!
"Yeah it's dangerous but everything is dangerous." That sums up life in general pretty good!
looks good, I do the same thing too. one tip, be sure to purge the air from the hose before you connect to the small tank, otherwise you have to bleed the air from the hose out of the small tank .. love your videos, keep up the good work..👍
I have been doing this for years and the first thing that confuses folks is pressure. Within a couple seconds the pressure in both cylinders is the same. After that it is simply a gravity feed from the large cylinder to the smaller cylinder. NOT PRESSURE AT ALL. The lower the 1 lb bottle is the faster it will feed. I start with an empty 1 lb and time the fill. It is generally between 6 or 8 max minutes. I do check them with a scale as well. That "Schreuder valve" on top is a safety that will open and let gas escape if the bottle is overfilled and for whatever reasons the 1 lb bottle gets heated by the sun or ?. When propane or any other gas gets heated it grows by volume. There has to be enough space in the bottle to accommodate that, if not the valve will open until a safe pressure is achieved. That is the only time pressure is an issue. It is also why large propane bottles are painted white. 1 lb bottles are only filled to about 3/4 of capacity so when beside a BBQ they don't vent because of the heat.
Yes exactly. Thank you for the pointer on keeping the small bottle at a lower level. Im glad I got this. super handy.
@@ICWeld You bet bud !
Why does he let gas out when filling? Don’t you just wait 2-3min and it’s about 3/4 full ?
@@francoispouliot Check my post above. It explains everything. It takes about 8 min for a gravity fill to 3/4. Gas pressure is equalized in a few seconds. It is the gravity feed/transfer through a very small hole that takes the time.
Why is he “ burping” the gas off before filling. Isn’t he just releasing vapors that he’s immediately going to replace? If you are going to “burp” it should be during the filling process with the valve in the higher position to make room for more liquid? Sorry but this bugs me.
I've done hundreds of these refills now. 60-80F big tank and a Frozen small tank and it will do a full fill in one shot. No need to burp, or purge. The "air" is simply warmed up propane. Fill all of these to 32oz/2lbs, give or take 2-3oz. Any more and the small cylinder will balloon up like a bomb when it warms up to 70-80F(scary!). If you do overfill bleed off the excess before you let it warm up to room temp.
Love your channel.
The game
Have you seen one balloon up like a bomb?? You know they have a built in safety release valve.
I farted and it was like a bomb
I was about to ask if I should be more than 29 which I see I’m correct in my assumption. 2lb is 32 oz. Thank
But I don't want to hang tight. I could watch your welding videos every day.
I've had one since the 70's. Mine is hard pipe with a 90 degree bend in it so the small tank hangs below off the edge of the table. One thing you can try is put the big tank in the sun for awhile and the little tanks in the freezer. Suppose to aid in the transfer.
Hey that sounds exactly like what I built. I've been reusing the same bottle for decades. Use needle nose pliers to pull out on the valve while filling. But test to ensure it closes due to seating properly.
Propane is a saturated vapor and pressure depends ONLY on temperature, not fill level. 'burping air' is just releasing some propane and doesn't help aside from boiling off a little liquid lowering the temperature and thus pressure. Flow will continue until the temperature is equalized. In order to fill a 1lb tank you need a temperature differential and the easiest way is to put the 1lb bottles in the freezer, then quickly fill before it has a chance to warm up. Alternately you could immerse it in ice water or something but might as well keep it simple. Experimentally I've found that a 20lb tank mostly full at 70F fully fills a frozen 1lb bottle at -10F in one shot. Overdo the temp differential and it can overfill significantly even in one go, so be careful. With no pressure in the empty 1lb tank that's approx 15psi atmospheric. Propane at 70F is 122psi. As soon as you start adding liquid to the tank it will boil and make the 1lb tank colder, but once the pressure rises it will condense into liquid again and overall the bottle heats up increasing the pressure beyond its initial temperature. This is why you don't get that 8:1 fill ratio you'd expect from a 15psi to 122psi differential.
Simple process: Weigh your empty cylinders. Let the 20lb propane tank warm up to room temperature (set it inside during the winter eg) and put your 1lb bottles in a deep freezer. To fill (outside) turn the 20lb tank upside down then open the valve. With the empty 1lb tank attached Quickly open the valve to fill the 1lb cylinder until temperature equalizes (usually less than 1 minute). Weigh the filled cylinder to make sure it isn't overfilled. If it is burp it and adjust your temperatures/times. I usually fill mine to .7lb to 1.1lb. Any more and I get nervous - never had a problem with up to 1.2lb though.
Like you said never touch the relief valve. It isn't designed to re-seal reliably since it is a safety only.
Boyle's Law of gas. Pressure is inversely proportional to temperature
Love it...saves so much money refilling. Only thing I do different is I use Leather Gloves( freeze fingers protection)
also have 20# on table upside down and 1# is lower than the fill valve. love the hose with paddle valve...It makes it soooo much easier just like the one you have. Thanks for posting Video
I have worked in the refrigeration and a/c business and filled refrigerant bottles like this for years and with refrigerants you have to cool one cylinder down to get the transfer to happen, pretty much the same deal here except the boiling temps are different. When I see a steel tool being used to depress the valve in the bottle, that concerned me, using a brass rod or drift wouldn’t cause a spark and a potential explosion.
Totally agree... small brass rod...best but a round cocktail or larger toothpick works great in a pinch....
I got the same thing after I realized how expensive the 1lbs are. I got a 10 foot adapter and just use the 20 pound bottle with my benzamatic torch
what adapter did you get id like to do what you did
That was probably the best video I've seen about this subject, best explanation yet.
WOW!!! THANK YOU, FOR THIS DEMONSTRATION!!!! I'LL SAVE MY SMALL BOTTLES, AND RE-FILL THEM, FROM NOW ON!! GREAT IDEA!!
Nice! I knew there had to be a way to reuse these smaller bottles. Also, love the phrase "gotta be stupid careful" haha.
My dad was doing that more than 50 years ago LOL. Sometimes he would warm the parent tank with warm water just a little bit to increase its pressure to speed up the process.
By a second hose cut the close to the 20 lbs tank make sure the 1lbs tank is empty put a hand vaccum pump (dont use a eletric one for flammable gas) the hose pull a vaccum on the small tank switch hose to fill hose fill it right up no air to let out
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Excellent idea. I'm buying one of those refill hoses right now!
IC thanks for the share on refilling small propane tanks,
They have a fitting that doesn't need the hose, so it's tank to tank. I put the 1lb tanks in the freezer and weigh in the charge, it speeds things along. LIKED
Thanks Milt, I ordered one today. I've been "jury-riggin" with a couple of fittings I brazed together!!!~
That's cool thank you for the tips and showing how to refill those safely.
I have seen things for doing that, but have never seen it done. Cool video
When you are done filling and it is time to vent the hose, put the big tank right side up first, and then straighten the hose vertically above the big tank. That will drain the liquid out of the hose. Then you are venting gaseous propane instead of liquid propane. That way you waste a lot less.
good idea. thank you.
Perfect tool to refill in 2023 9 cans
Great video, very well presented, Thanks Again
To further boost the cheap: get your 20# tanks refilled where they charge you by the gallon you refill instead of doing the tank swaps. The tank swap places only fill the tanks to 15# for "safety reasons" and if you have any propane left in the tank you're trading in, then you get no credit for it. Tractor Supply refills 20# propane tanks by the gallon and it's less than $3 per gallon here in the mid-atlantic, so you get a full 20# tank for less than the 15# you get from the swappers/Blue Rhino.
yup. Getting them refilled by the gallon is a much better deal. I have also heard that they're only 75% full at the trade in places. I get mine refilled at tractor supply as well.
That's the only way to go unless your tank is about to be due for inspection, then just trade up for a newer tank, then back to refilling.😁
Any propane tank is suppose to be filled to 80%, propane expands 7xs that of water. But yes is generally cheaper to refill than exchange
I only exchange old tanks I pick up for free then use and refill
So true. I read that an empty tank weighs 18.3 lbs. I did a swap and the new tank only weighed 31.9. so in the end I paid 20$ for about 13.5 lbs. Looking for a place that refills now.
I just ordered one of these for my dad so he can refill his propane tanks
I have a similar adapter, while using mine I bleed the vapor off while filling but be sure to use gloves or you will get frostbite!!!👍🇺🇸
That was a slick trick! Cool deal
I just filled two by putting them in the freezer for 5 minutes. They filled faster than this gentleman. I did use the needle nose to vent the bottle so I didn't have to go back and forth.
You should purge the air out of your line before you hook up your one pound tank or you’ll just be adding that air to the tank as well.
Yes definitely, a lot of Stupid in this video… It is really dam stupid that he thinks and tells everyone he is releasing “air “ off the top of the Single Trip. IT IS NOT AIR !!! It is Propane “Gas.”
Nothing better then someone teaching How To when they have no idea what the hell they are doing.
He does good welding work but knows Nothing about Propane or Safety.
@@wirefeed3419 in this case he really would be introducing actual “air” opposed to propane because the line contains air until propane in some form is introduced
@@smsgtbulldog Thanks for your Comment, yes he is introducing the air volume in the hose directly into the cylinder by not purging the hose before connecting, once in the cylinder it is impossible to isolate the air from the propane Gas so when he thinks he is bleeding air he is bleeding Propane. I am a level A gas Fitter / Inspector, I Know exactly what he is doing in this video, but what do you expect when the person filling cylinder that is not designed or approved for refill thinks he is purging air from the cylinder to allow more liquid propane filling. This is the school of UA-cam where people are shown what they can do, not what they should not do. Very few want to hear what is wrong or give a dam. .
@@wirefeed3419 Issac gives a damn
Now that you have corrected us, he will adjust his procedure
And moisture as well.
Put the empty 1 pound tank in the freezer for a couple hours. They will fill easier.
+1. My dad had a refrigeration service business. He bought R-12 refrigerant in 180 lb drums & we refilled our 20 lb service drums by first putting them in the freezer. Made loading the small drums much quicker.
Freezer definitely helps.
I put the big tank in the house where it's warm and the small one in the freezer. It works awesome.
Great right after I throw my empty can away you upload this ! Lol
I think hear a Cardinal in the background 🤔
Lay an electric heating pad on your 20lb tank, and as others have said freeze the small 1lb cans prior. Will create a larger pressure difference between the two tanks, therefore give you a faster fill rate.
faster if you purge the hose first. No reason to pump air in with the first shot. Just slow everything down.
As always excellent presentation
If you wanted to fill the container by weight, and you know what the total gross weight should be, go ahead and purge your line as you did. Weigh the canister as it is without the hose. Note the weight. At this point you know how much has to be added to fill the can. Attach it to the canister and note the weight with the hose attached, just make sure the hose isn't rubbing against anything. Now that you know the weight of the canister and the hose, fill the canister as you have been doing, adding the appropriate amount of liquid to the combined weight. When you are done, disconnecting the hose and weighing the canister should give you the proper fill. Legally, I don't think you can fill these containers and transport them on a public hiway or road, but what you do on your own property is your business. We do the same on refrigeration equipment.
Jim
And yes I read somebody's comment who said they heard a Cardinal in the background there is definitely a Cardinal in the background🤣
For more efficient transfer : Put green bottles, in the freezer, OVER NIGHT. This, will contract the air inside - thereby for easier transfer. Less compressed air -- to let out with that top Schrader valve...with your welding rod.....
Great tip. Thanks for sharing.
I would leave the tank hooked up, shut off the orange valve, drain off some pressure, open valve.
As soon as you drain off some pressure, the liquid propane is evaporating and building up the
pressure again, hence the above procedure.
Thanks for sharing your video ...
👍👍👍👍👍👍.
I fill empty mapp gas containers using the big 47kilo propane tanks, l leave them in the chest freezer they fill quickly and are great after, l think using the big 47kilo tanks help as there's more weight of gas.
The only way that I power my camping equipment and yes it freezes trick is the way to go.👍
Also just an FYI if you read the side of the small green bottle it is federally illegal to refill these bottles and transport them in your car. I know people do it all the time but it's still illegal I believe it's flame king that makes the only legally refillable one pound bottle
Thank you for reaching out. I'll make sure not to fill them AND transport them. I'll keep that separated. 😊😊😊 But seriously. Thanks bud. Good to know.
I use the refillable 1 lb tanks. They have a regular bleed port so they fill in a few seconds.
Same here but I use the frost king refillable kit I just bought it's the easiest way to refill the frost king 1lb propane cans when you buy the kit you get 1 free empty frost king refillable tank good for 13 years after 13 years old you replace them still cheaper than the colman tanks with no bleeder screw
I've been hit with liquid propane from one of these bottles. It's stupid cold, but brief contact didn't cause any skin damage.
-44° Fahrenheit
Never mind filling and hooking up and unhooking the can weighing it frost king propane tank filling kit is the best way to do it one time its filled on .the 1lb mark
i always had arguments at the my local Kmart store.. they have a basement and the only way in or out is up a big wide staircase.. its an old building.. they displayed Pallets of small propane canisters and gallons of coleman fuel at the top of the stairs.. also also on the shelves in the basement corner.. half the propane canisters on the top shelf without any kind of device to restrain them .. they just did not understand safety..
very helpful thanks.
I've gotten LP freeze burn before. It sucks and I got stupid lucky. Wear gloves when doing things like this.
Big tank at 60-80 degrees and the little tanks froze you can fill them up faster with no burping, can over fill to 2lbs if you want also
Once your done filling would it make sense to flip the main tank back upright to let the liquid fuel in the hose drain back down before shutting the tank valve? That way there would only be gas in the hose not liquid so you would lose less fuel.
I would suggest having the little tank below the level of the big tank, it is liquid after all.
I could help but think of some of the gun channels that like to shoot propane tanks with .50 tracer rounds. Edwin Sarkissian is right up there with the most crazy of them.
121👍's up IC weld thanks for the great news
Interesting, I never even knew about this "option" for refilling the smaller bottles. Then again I don't have a need for them either though it is similar in process when we fill our HPA tanks for paintball though we have a regulator on the attachment in order to get to the correct PSI.
more videos. love the channel.
Think you can hear when the 1 pounder stops fill? Wrong. I used a stethoscope to listen at the bottom of the 1 pounder & it's filling long after you can no longer hear it. So rather than screwing around taking the 1 pounder off multiple times, when the 20 pound tank is new for the first 5 I just leave them for about 9 minutes & they're full. As the tank empties it takes longer but you can gauge it and nearly always end up with a full bottle, not needing to take it off 2 or 3 times or more.
I'm going to try hooking the cylinder up and putting it on the scale, zero/tare it out and watch the scale to see when it stops filling. Worth a try. Probably not accurate. Although no more than 16 oz in the cylinder no matter what.
Way to go. This will give you about a $1 bottle of propane instead of store price of $7-9!
The liquid is not that cold, about -45*F so if you not use to cold winters then yes it will startle ya but for us who endure these kind of temps all winter no different than getting coolant or fuel on hands that is same temp.
Very cool
I was not aware that turning a modern 20 lb tank upside-down would still allow it to release any gas/liquid, as they have an opd (overfill protection device) type valve on them. From what I know, they have a float mechanism designed into the valve assembly that cuts the flow coming out of the tank if it's inverted or filled to much. Any one else heard of this, or am I getting this wrong?
OPD cuts the flow going in, doesn't affect outflow.
mechanism used to prevent overfill of lpg - tanks in cars
Dang it. I’m going to have to show folks how to do this properly and efficiently and explain how and why it works. I’ve been using a similar home made hose setup for years.
I decant oxygen and Mig gas into my bottles from a friends company saves me a ton of rental fees as I don't use much compared to the rental fees. 200 down 100 bar is enough for me.
They filled the tank once safely at the factory, you should be able to refill it safely at hone if you know what you are doing.
IF
@@Nbomber Thanks for the reply.
Imma save this for my next camping trip.. send the Amazon link!!
Heard of this, thanks, now I've seen it
👍
Just so you know One of the Amazon sellers is using pay of your video on their Amazon ad
Not sure I understand? Which seller?
It is perfectly legal to refill them, however, it is not legal to transport them if refilled (I think that's what the warning says).. No one's going to care (or know) if you fill one of them and have it in your work truck, but I'd think that if you have a pallet full of used looking ones they could catch on if anything were to happen
I gotta get me one of those hoses
Is this using liquefied gas to inflate the MAPP welding torch? It says on the Mapp gas canister that reloading is prohibited.
You should see the looks on peoples faces when we fill the tank on the back of my rock crawler off the 200 gallon tank in the trailer we tow! It is a bit different than what you are doing since we bleed off the gas at the same time the liquid is coming in
How about that service truck walk around ??
very cool, thanks
29 oz means tank weighs 13 oz (29-13=16oz or one pound of propane). Does the empty tank weigh 13 oz? Just curious.
You have to vent with needle nose constantly till you get it filled,also helps to have larger tank above smaller tank
its NOT air its GAS just jeep the bottle below the large container it will drain like water
Can you hook up the big propane tank straight a heater that takes 1 lbs propane tanks
Thanks for showing us that I have an adapter that you screw to the tank and screw to the small tank never fills it all the way until you burp it
it will if you have small tank lower than the big tank your getting the LPG from.... burping is just purely wasting the gas...
Purge the the black hose. Remove the air out of the hose.
Although not illegal to refill those tanks, it is illegal to put in vehicle and transport if you do. Very hefty penalties!
(B) For cylinders manufactured on or after October 1, 1996: “Federal law forbids transportation if refilled-penalty up to $500,000 fine and 5 years imprisonment (49 U.S.C. 5124).”
Why not fill it while on the scale
Where is the link in the description I like that no boy I need one. My son needs one also so he don’t use mine.Again thanks for the videos and thanks for the tip that will save me some money
amazon
@@ICWeld 🙏 thanks
thank you .
Have a small one with no valve. very hard to fill that way, but didnt think of letting air out by the valve. That said, unfortunatly this is illegal in Quebec so I only used it in case of emergency. Instead, i baught a 5lb tank with the same adaptor on a hose, so at least I can have refilled legally without problems. Must have been a few idiots that blew themself up ot make it llegal up here .
I like it !
You tha man IC 👍👍👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎😎
Still COOL!!!
Cool video. I think I'll try it. Why open the valve on the hose at the end? The end on the propane tank should automatically shut off, and you can just keep the hose charged with propane for the next time.
Good point. I havent tried that. haha. Thanks man.
Be aware your hose could blow up if it's in the sun or a hot spot... Probably best to bleed the hose.
Your scale should have a "Tare" function where you can set everything up then zero the scale and simply weigh the propane as it goes in. Then you can know how much actual propane your getting and stay in the recommended 80% zone.
Ill look into it, thanks
@@ICWeld I use that method with automotive ac refrigerant. Saves a lot of time.
Once you set tank with hose on the scale,you will zero it,the it will measure what goes in!
@@petersmart1999 exactly
@@curtisroberts9137 I'm a commercial hvac tech,there are alot of tricks, but you gotta be careful on here what you tell people,you know different ways to create significant pressure differentials!
Like #373
Thanks for the video!
Why not use a pressure regulator to make sure you don't overfill?
that's how we always dit it
can you use mr heater directly with this refilled 1 lb propane? or you need the filter as of you are using the 20lb tank. thanks
They make bottles that are legally refillable.5000$ fine for refilling those bottles,sorry. The problem comes if over filled! As you say over fill valve can leaks then ka flewwy if vapors ignite!
Try putting the small container in the freezer for an hour so it will take up more propane
Cool thx
I do this, but my adaptor does not have a hose
Do you need a filter ?
Interesting, fills just a paintball CO2 tank, only more flammable. Same process, though. Chill it in, then fill it up to weight.
Isnt there a point when the big cylinder will stop filling the smaller tank even though theres still gas in bigger tank...?
When the pressure is equalized between the tanks. That's why you read of people putting their tanks in the refrigerator before filling. For a given volume lowering the temperature lowers the pressure. Inside the tank there an equilibrium will be established- temperature dependent. For a given temperature rise Propane expands 17 times that of water. There are two concerns with re-fillling these. The first is overfilling. That's why tanks specify only filling to 80 percent. The other concern is valve leaks at the seals. Since these tanks are not certified as re-fillable you don't really know what your margin of safety is- thus the prohibition against transport. When the author is burping "air" he is really releasing some Propane and lowering the pressure in the tank so more propane can flow.