As a propane service technician with the second largest propane company in the USA, I am really impressed by the amount of research You put into this You did a good job with this
This is a dream come true video for me. I've been looking for this kind of information for a few years. No one else has explicitly detailed what was involved in this specific situation. I even understood about half of what you stated. You engineers are awesome! :)
Yes, thank goodness for engineers!!! He is basically speaking Greek to me!!! Lol! I would have to watch it a couple of times and take notes to fully understand his presentation!!! I appreciate the through coverage of the topic though, so thanks to him for posting the video!!!
Nice work. As an aerospace engineer, I appreciate the research you did and the detailed and clear information you provided. Thanks for the links. My project is a 10 kW generator in a shed.
I did this exact project to supply gas to a gas range using all the same items in your parts list. For the home, I ran black iron pipe through the walls to the range with a shutoff valve at the point of entry and another at the termination point at the range. It worked out well. Now, I’m cooking with gas! Thanks for the video!
I'm not an "Engineer" but I play one on TV. Its about time I got this information! Thank you so much for doing the work, organizing it and making the video. Very helpful. So much better than the countless time wasted on countless other folks who don't know anything, can't tell you what information they used to make their decision... or really anything. Learned a ton - Cheers! Oh and I also had the same experience with my local propane companies (N.E. Arkansas). Forget them!
@DemonicAnimatronic its a joke. Like a trucker told me once that hes a PRE Profesional Relocator Engineer🤣🤣🤣 Sounds better then a trucker🤣🤣 As stupid as this world has become, practically no one would question it😆
This is what I have been looking for for weeks and weeks! I have been dealing with so much frustration with my local companies. This information is so sorely what I needed. THANK YOU. Seriously THANK YOU.
Found this video about 8 months ago. Copied this exactly as he did ,ordering exactly the same components. Just finally finished my kitchen remodel and couldn’t be happier. It’s works perfectly! Thanks for this video is was so helpful and informative and I’m thrilled to be free of the propane truck.
Remember, use PROPANE-rated hoses, not natural gas. NG is far lower pressure. Also, and this is a big one, do not use standard Teflon tape in threads. Use yellow tape, which is for gas. You can use pipe dope (if gas-rated) on threads that are NP (National Pipe) but NOT flared fittings, which do not use either tape or dope. Be careful out there…
This guy had the exact same experience I did, and am still having! His setup is exactly what I need to do. That setup is what was described to me by a company who told me I wasn't going to use enough for their service..
Excellent! Just bought a home with all electric. We are foodie so really wanted gas and this is the solution. Propane folks aren't interested for 1-2 appliances, and natural charges $100 per linear foot(!) for new service. Thanks for the level of detail on specs, and the "why" of it. Great video.
WOW! Great informative presentation. I'm also an engineer and have gone through a similar path. Your resources are great pluses I didn't think of. Thanks. Love the professional looking install!
Excellent presentation and content. Thorough explanation by an engineer but in a language that's understandable and make sense. Thanks for taking the time to produce this instructional video.
This is the route I’m going now. I did buy a small outdoor storage cabinet that the tanks fit in perfectly. Thanks for this video, very informative and helpful.
Thank you for all this info. Trying to find a propane company that is willing to actually sell us propane has been quite the challenge. Just like your experience, most companies either wouldn't return our phone calls or refused to do business with us for only 1 appliance. So we were stuck with only portable tank options that could be transported easily to and from the store ourselves. And then we have to DIY hook it up ourselves. There seems to be a massive market hole in the propane industry for homeowners who want propane for only 1 appliance like a range or gas logs. The propane industry seems to have no interest whatsoever in filling that need.
You are just scratching the surface of the problems/issues. I've went thru everything you went thru as well trying to connect propane. Why aren't we using Natural Gas? It's the old "well who's going to pay to run the distribution lines up the streets, or even out in the rural areas? Well one way is how the country got rural electric grid to the farms in the early nineteen thirties. REA's and such. But what I don't understand is the way the government backed huge loans to build massive pipelines from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico just export LNG to Europe and the Asian countries. This is big fast (easy) money for the big oil company's, while the tax paying citizens are freezing our asses off. Because NO ONE cares. Our electric grids are overloaded and in disrepair. We NEED energy diversification. We need Natural Gas Distribution lines. It was only a few years ago propane spiked to $5 a gallon with no regulation controls like Natural Gas has. (Rant Over).
This video was incredibly helpful and very well done. I copied this design fairly closely for my GE gas range (JGS760SELSS) that we added to the kitchen replacing our electric range. I used 15" Marshall-Excelsior pigtails as the 24" were not available. I also used the JR Products 07-30365 regulator (1/4" NPT in, 3/8" NPT out). I ran about 75" of 1/2" black pipe from the regulator to the stove. If anyone has a vaporization chart for a 40 LB tank, that would be useful information to collect here. I find lots of 100lb tank vaporization capacity charts, nothing for the smaller 20/30/40LB tanks (which are smaller in diameter than the 100lb tanks). The stove seems to run great. I plan to keep a second set of tanks in reserve so no rush trips to the store would be needed when the 'operational' two run out.
You should publish the names of the companies who don’t want business and don’t care about their customers. Give them bad press because they’ve earned it.
AWESOME VIDEO. I'm looking to do the same thing to get around the exorbitant prices for a large tank and for getting gas service extended to my location. I had been told a 100LB tank was the way to go, but it sounds like having multiple 40LB tanks actually has a number of advantages from an operational standpoint as well as lugging them in to be refilled. I didn't realize how complicated the gas vapor pressure BTU/hr stuff is to figure out so you have a safe an effective install that is just as good as a natural gas source. MANY THANKS!!
I did a similar set-up, but used an RV-type two stage regulator that has an auto-switchover to feed your appliance from the second, full tank, while still allowing for removal of the original tank from the hook-up in order to take it away and have it refilled when convenient. There may be others, but I chose a Flame King ACR6a 2-Stage Auto Changeover LP Propane Gas Regulator. It comes with a rain cover too.
I used the knowledge I learned from this video to connect an old residential furnace converted to propane to a pair of 30lb propane tanks , heats my garage perfectly until I can run natural gas out to the garage :)
Great video, I too found the same answers for trying to setup propane in our little barn apartment I am building. This answered all my questions, quite helpful.
I am preparing to do the same thing you’ve got going only I’ll be using two 100# tanks. I’m intending to use only one at a time, the other is backup. My end goal is to replace my stove first, then water heater, then furnace, possibly a dryer (that’s optional). I’ll be calling those folks you mentioned for some advisory input. Good video, I’m glad I came across it.
Incredibly helpful and informative. I opted for an induction cooktop since it would have been the only gas appliance in the home and local suppliers are gouging homeowners buying or renting underground tanks in my development where they are required to be buried. I hadn't even thought of being denied service because of low volume. This video is great, however, because I do plan on an outdoor gas cooktop and gas firepit and would rather not use standard 20 lb. tanks. Thanks!
I really found this video helpful. Nice clear information and attractive, clean setup. Sometimes I'm just looking for a video just like this to get me started. Essentially, yes this is possible and you can do it too. The links to the parts are helpful. Thank for taking the time to post this.
Thank you for all that hard work. You answered every question I had. Now I’m more confident telling the gas co to come and get their tank. Our house use to use a lot more propane (heat was gas, but now electric), but now only have a gas range. We only use about 100gal a year with just the range, so the propane co charges us a $100 minimum use charge because we aren’t using enough.
I understand you completely, been there done that, i tried to go the propane way with my stove for sometime now, but it`s a uphill battle with the county regulations, gas companies not wanting to deliver small amounts of gas and plumbers who ask for a kidney for installing it. I do have a motor home too, and it have a 30-40 propane gallon tank build in it, i didn`t think about it, but seeing your video now, it make a lot of sense to go the RV way, it`s simple and straighforward, also having two small tanks, make it more easy for somebody like me in the 60`s to go pick them up from anywhere. Just have to find a place to exchange or refill them. Thank you very much for your video.
The temp in winter where I live goes into the single digits and fluctuates into the 20s. I have a five burner stove purchased at Lowes that runs on one propane tank. I normally use one 40lb tank and have never experienced any issues you describe.
Fyi you can buy a 100lb tank with a multi fill/multi use valve on top right from a big box store for under $200. This allows your tank to be filled right from the truck and use any supplier you want.
Are you sure you need to be 10 feet away from any building? It depends on the tank size. The 20 pound and 30 pound tanks are small enough that they can legally be right next to your house as long as they’re 10’ away from any opening. Meaning 10’ away from any doors or windows.
I always try and keep things on the Easy side. I built my wife a summer kitchen in a shed, I put a LP stove in the shed with two 20 lb tanks, I went with the 20 lb tanks because they are easy to carry and almost every place sells them, and when the 20 lb tank runs dry I just connect to the other tank.
I've been looking to do something similar to my cabin in northern WI for supplemental heat with a 14,000 BTU heater. Also an engineering, my concerns are the same. This winter temps have been down to -26 Deg F. This is climate zone 7 which is the coldest it gets in the lower 48. That alone is a 96 Deg swing to bring the cabin up to 70.
Excellent video, although I can't say I like the word "Demonic" in your video attributes. Our LPG service guy found a pressure leak in the system which consists of what may be a 100 pound LP gas tank and about 50 feet of rubber coated flex pipe to the cooktop. Like you, the only gas appliance we have is a cooktop. We just had a single quote for replacing the gas line, and it was a totally outrageous $2500 to $2800 for the job. Needless to say, we ARE going to get other quotes. Interestingly, whenever we have a contractor whose first comment is something like, "this is a nice place you have", the quotes that follow would bring tears to your eyes.
A couple comments. The flex metal hoses likely have a plastic liner, many will use the rubber reinforced hoses. But in both cases although Propane in a vapour state is non reactive to both hoses, when the temperature drops at night and the hoses cool faster than your tanks, a little Propane will condense in the low spots of the hoses, it will react more with rubber hoses and still possible with the plastic liners. If you turn the bottles or raise the regulator to cause a gentle slope into the bottles the potential problem will be eliminated. I would have used an automatic switchover regulator, but it or any regulator should be positioned higher than the bottle valves as your’s is as the same reaction can occur in the regulator on the dormant side or both if the cook stove is pilotless. The gauge on a switchover regulator must be protected from rain or it will fail on most regulators. You mentioned it was hard to find a 1/4” inverted flair to pipe threads, you can take a pipe to 1/4” compression fitting and simply remove the compression nut and ferrule and you will have the exact same thread as 1/4” inverted flare.
So, 4 years later, are you still using this setup? We're 5.5 years into a new house we built and I had a 250 gallon tank set and we aren't big users with just a gas oven and gas insert fireplace. I had 100 gallons put in back in Oct 2021 and still have a decent amount left unless the gauge isn't working right. They charge $150/year rent since I'm a low volume user so, when this tank lowers more, I'm going to change over to the twin 40 pounders like you have done. What brand tanks did you go with? Did you ever get your usage figured out? Thanks in advance for any info and a great video.
I have been using 20 pound barbecue tanks for years to power our range. You do NOT need a fancy setup like this, and a tank will last for months unless you're using the oven all the time. We always have a full one at the ready.
Honestly there isn’t really anything here that’s fancy. It’s two tanks connected to a regulator. And most of the time you wouldn’t run into an issue as you noted. However if a single tank gets low and you are using the oven and all burners at the same time, especially if it’s cold, you can use more gas than can vaporize inside the tank. This can cause the tank to freeze up, cause the regulator to freeze up, or lead to swings in temperature and consistency in cooking. A lot of things shown here are for reliability and safety, and like many things, stuff doesn’t go wrong until it does. The regulator is very necessary as you can’t connect the tank to the range without one, the one we chose was chosen such that we could limit our potential problems. Poor quality lines can degrade and leak etc. Now people can say that one small tank in the snow will run their high performance range perfectly and it never freezes or has inconsistent baking, but thermodynamic laws don’t agree. Now if it’s warm where you are and your range burners are not very powerful you would probably be fine as you noted.
@@DemonicAnimatronic I get what you are saying. We just have a standard range manufactured by Whirlpool, not a Wolf commercial range that requires more fuel. Sometimes I have to go brush the snow off our tank/regulator if our flame is yellow - I'm learning here....
We bought a gas range a few weeks ago and it's been absolutely impossible to get a propane company to set a tank and install it for us. I'm not big on regulations, but propane companies are mostly unregulated, and they don't have to help you if they dont want too, unlike most other utility companies. It's pretty sad. Anyway, I too am an engineer, I've DIYed just about everything, but never gas. So, thanks for the confidence to duplicate this project. I'm still on the fence whether to buy a cheap pipe threader from HF for $40 to do it all the iron pipe under the house, or to essentially stub down from the kitchen and stub into the crawl space with iron and then connect them together with CSST avoiding all the pipe threading and precise distance measurements in my crawl space.
Having done a bit of pipe threading with the big machines, I can say I would stay away from the cheap threaders, the die tolerances are just not there and it’s asking for a leak or at least a ton of frustration and choice words, I generally prefer iron pipe or professionally done copper gas line, but I would choose most anything over self threaded black iron.
There's always the flexible gas pipe (yellow) that is commonly used for natural gas but if I remember correctly some local building codes have heartburn over them being run vertically and I'm not sure if they are proper for LP... but worth looking into. If acceptable, and used for just a single appliance, that would eliminate a bunch of pipe threading and assembly. Edit: Just looked it up. Good for propane too. This brand unlike CSST; gasflex.com/
@@DemonicAnimatronic is there any way you can give me the parts list to duplicate your set up I know you stated Marshall excelsior as the store to purchase everything any help would be appreciated ty
use csst where you can. and just get fittings to switch to pipe where needed. Its so much easer to install. Pressure rating is different though. Pipe can carry propane furthest, than i think its csst, than copper. May be wrong about that order tho....
CSST is what's under our house. Connects to a shut off then normal 36" LP hose to stove on one end then to the exterior wall through PVC protected hole to the connection at the exterior ( per my state codes)
good one diy me too if you ever had a leak you would smell it hope fully the dish soap spray bottle no worries we used copper pipe with compression fittings no leaks after ajusting nut tension with thread lpg tape
FWIW, a gallon of propane amounts to about 93,000 btus. A gallon of propane weighs about 4.3 pounds. As an example, my hottest burner is 18,000 btus. 93,000 / 18,000 = 5.167 hours of running that burner at full blast to consume one gallon of propane. A 20 lb tank is actually 4.6 gallons of propane. Running the 18,000 but burner at full blast would give you about 5.167 hours x 4.6 gallons = 23.77 hours of nonstop maximum burner time. Unless you are trying to boil your own beer on a kitchen range, a gallon or propane will go quite a ways considering that you only use the high setting at the beginning of the setting for most foods. I use a pressure cooker and that really cuts down on cooking time. I typically use the smallest burner for simmering soups and stocks. When I make beer I use a 50K btu burner designed for handling large pots and start off with about 7 gallons of water. You need some serious heat to make that happen in about an hour. Love the video, very informative. I will be ordering some parts to set up my new range with a 100 lb tank and two forty pound tanks.
You mentioned weather covers but I didn't see one. If it snows or freezing rains at all where you are you may want to buy or modify some kind of cover for the tanks. From experience I can say that removing a coating of ice from the tank fittings is not fun and potentially dangerous. Nice setup, good luck.
When I lived in Alaska, we had a tall tall tank outside our kitchen that was for the gas stove only. Propane company would fill it up as we needed it. We had very low temperatures in Fairbanks, down to -40° f it worked great. I have recommended to clients that this is an option if they are all electric and want to have a gas range.
Glad I cross to this vid. I was considering a100lb tank and have someone out to fill it. Ah no . I’ll continue to take my pair of 30 gal and fill them up myself . I use propane for my stove and heater . No more electric
I have dual 100-lb tanks and have been trying to find a propane company that will come out and fill them for literally a decade. I have contacted dozens of companies and have never found one.
Thank you for the informative video. I'm ready to give up my 100 lb propane tank. I have a couple of 30 lb and one 40 lb. What are your thoughts on using two different sizes together. Thank you.
I’m looking at the hundred pound horizontal built in dolly a little more money. Better vaporization Vera vertical because more surface area for liquid to gas to happen . There are in fact though no videos at all talking about that. Wish there was a comparison and performance video on it.
We have a gas log set up that we just started using for winter during the night. It's running off a 100# tank which has about 2 gallons left I think. Anyways, we have an electric range and want gas. We were thinking of the 140 gallon tank, but, the propane company want's $800 to get us started, filled tank an all and that's at $3.99 a gallon. It would FAR cheaper to go the route you did and being in our 60's, I can manage the 40# tanks as our 5th wheel RV has 2 30 pounders. So, that all said, this gives us another option and CHEAPER to go for our range when we get it.
Looking to add an outside tank to supply LP to a new range and was wondering if after conversion kit installed on range (orifices) and a built in regulator on the range is an external regulator actually necessary at the tank? I haven't hooked anything up yet would like some feedback. I don't believe I will need the capacity you have here as we will not be running all burners ever. Any help. Thanks. M
can this setup be done or copy with a 100lb tanks? dual setup? meaning will there be more pressure on this model regulator and will it be overpresurized if we use all these materials you showed on this video! can I instead use the smaller tanks you have in the video and replace them with two 100lb tanks? the hundred lbs tanks have roughly 23 gallons of propane when filled up!
Great video. Started thinking about vaporization capacity and thought to myself why don’t they make your 40 gallon tank in a horizontal option? Your surface area for the vast majority of the time would be huge especially with two in parallel. Hmmm
Actually, there is at least one 40 gallon propane tank with a horizontal option, and it also has an integrated dolly so it can be moved around when full without too much hassle. It is the Flame King YSN100HOGb 100 LB Pound Horizontal & Vertical Propane Cylinder, which is sold by big box stores and by Amazon too. Pricey, though.
Your regulator should be mounted above the snow line. Vent of reg needs to be kept clear for safe operation. Seems a little low depending on this location.
We are in the same boat. About to redo kitchen but no natural gas. Essentially all phone calls almost elicit laughter at us for even considering propane. We won’t meet annual requirements, etc. Virtually impossible to get a contractor, -lumber to help us solve the issue. Likely to end up with electric.
As a propane service technician with the second largest propane company in the USA, I am really impressed by the amount of research You put into this You did a good job with this
This is a dream come true video for me. I've been looking for this kind of information for a few years. No one else has explicitly detailed what was involved in this specific situation. I even understood about half of what you stated. You engineers are awesome! :)
Yes, thank goodness for engineers!!! He is basically speaking Greek to me!!! Lol!
I would have to watch it a couple of times and take notes to fully understand his presentation!!! I appreciate the through coverage of the topic though, so thanks to him for posting the video!!!
Nice work. As an aerospace engineer, I appreciate the research you did and the detailed and clear information you provided. Thanks for the links. My project is a 10 kW generator in a shed.
I did this exact project to supply gas to a gas range using all the same items in your parts list. For the home, I ran black iron pipe through the walls to the range with a shutoff valve at the point of entry and another at the termination point at the range. It worked out well. Now, I’m cooking with gas! Thanks for the video!
That will be against the law soon ;-) Seriously! Went from a commercial tag line to banned. We need to tell these lunatics "NO!"
I'm not an "Engineer" but I play one on TV. Its about time I got this information! Thank you so much for doing the work, organizing it and making the video. Very helpful. So much better than the countless time wasted on countless other folks who don't know anything, can't tell you what information they used to make their decision... or really anything. Learned a ton - Cheers! Oh and I also had the same experience with my local propane companies (N.E. Arkansas). Forget them!
Hes a SME
Social
Media
Engineer😂😂😂
Who? Cause if you mean me then no, I’m pretty sure ABET doesn’t accredit social media.
@DemonicAnimatronic its a joke. Like a trucker told me once that hes a PRE
Profesional
Relocator
Engineer🤣🤣🤣
Sounds better then a trucker🤣🤣
As stupid as this world has become, practically no one would question it😆
The nice thing about the 20,30 and 40 lb tanks fit nicely in a a milk crate to help keep it upright.
This is what I have been looking for for weeks and weeks! I have been dealing with so much frustration with my local companies. This information is so sorely what I needed. THANK YOU. Seriously THANK YOU.
Found this video about 8 months ago. Copied this exactly as he did ,ordering exactly the same components. Just finally finished my kitchen remodel and couldn’t be happier. It’s works perfectly! Thanks for this video is was so helpful and informative and I’m thrilled to be free of the propane truck.
Any way you share links or information on what I need to buy for this exact setup??
@@GIL-rl7mz its all in the description...
Remember, use PROPANE-rated hoses, not natural gas. NG is far lower pressure. Also, and this is a big one, do not use standard Teflon tape in threads. Use yellow tape, which is for gas. You can use pipe dope (if gas-rated) on threads that are NP (National Pipe) but NOT flared fittings, which do not use either tape or dope. Be careful out there…
that realy clarifies the subjust of lpg standards lots ask that and need to now that
I assume I cannot use a standard BBQ regulator?
I just need to run a range
@@unibuzzer ask your gas supplier. There are many many different types of regulators.
Thank you for all this saying, i am planning to do a propane line.
This guy had the exact same experience I did, and am still having! His setup is exactly what I need to do. That setup is what was described to me by a company who told me I wasn't going to use enough for their service..
this setup is dumb. get a 100gal tank. some people are not wimps
Excellent! Just bought a home with all electric. We are foodie so really wanted gas and this is the solution. Propane folks aren't interested for 1-2 appliances, and natural charges $100 per linear foot(!) for new service. Thanks for the level of detail on specs, and the "why" of it. Great video.
WOW! Great informative presentation. I'm also an engineer and have gone through a similar path. Your resources are great pluses I didn't think of. Thanks. Love the professional looking install!
Pairing detailed images and text with so much informative content could significantly increase the impact value of this tutorial...
Excellent presentation and content. Thorough explanation by an engineer but in a language that's understandable and make sense. Thanks for taking the time to produce this instructional video.
This is the route I’m going now. I did buy a small outdoor storage cabinet that the tanks fit in perfectly.
Thanks for this video, very informative and helpful.
Fantastic video. This is exactly the type of setup I'm reasearching for the future.
Thank you for all this info. Trying to find a propane company that is willing to actually sell us propane has been quite the challenge. Just like your experience, most companies either wouldn't return our phone calls or refused to do business with us for only 1 appliance. So we were stuck with only portable tank options that could be transported easily to and from the store ourselves. And then we have to DIY hook it up ourselves. There seems to be a massive market hole in the propane industry for homeowners who want propane for only 1 appliance like a range or gas logs. The propane industry seems to have no interest whatsoever in filling that need.
You are just scratching the surface of the problems/issues. I've went thru everything you went thru as well trying to connect propane. Why aren't we using Natural Gas? It's the old "well who's going to pay to run the distribution lines up the streets, or even out in the rural areas? Well one way is how the country got rural electric grid to the farms in the early nineteen thirties. REA's and such. But what I don't understand is the way the government backed huge loans to build massive pipelines from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico just export LNG to Europe and the Asian countries. This is big fast (easy) money for the big oil company's, while the tax paying citizens are freezing our asses off. Because NO ONE cares. Our electric grids are overloaded and in disrepair. We NEED energy diversification. We need Natural Gas Distribution lines. It was only a few years ago propane spiked to $5 a gallon with no regulation controls like Natural Gas has. (Rant Over).
This video was incredibly helpful and very well done. I copied this design fairly closely for my GE gas range (JGS760SELSS) that we added to the kitchen replacing our electric range. I used 15" Marshall-Excelsior pigtails as the 24" were not available. I also used the JR Products 07-30365 regulator (1/4" NPT in, 3/8" NPT out). I ran about 75" of 1/2" black pipe from the regulator to the stove. If anyone has a vaporization chart for a 40 LB tank, that would be useful information to collect here. I find lots of 100lb tank vaporization capacity charts, nothing for the smaller 20/30/40LB tanks (which are smaller in diameter than the 100lb tanks). The stove seems to run great. I plan to keep a second set of tanks in reserve so no rush trips to the store would be needed when the 'operational' two run out.
thanks for more details, I will ditto you guys as this has given me a lot more confidence
Well done! You're an exceptional speaker 🎉
You should publish the names of the companies who don’t want business and don’t care about their customers. Give them bad press because they’ve earned it.
Last one is likely amerigas based on personal experience.
Wow, it's hard to express how incredibly helpful this video is. Thank you so much!
Your explination helped me understand the stages of regulation between the tank and the appliance. Thank you!
AWESOME VIDEO. I'm looking to do the same thing to get around the exorbitant prices for a large tank and for getting gas service extended to my location. I had been told a 100LB tank was the way to go, but it sounds like having multiple 40LB tanks actually has a number of advantages from an operational standpoint as well as lugging them in to be refilled. I didn't realize how complicated the gas vapor pressure BTU/hr stuff is to figure out so you have a safe an effective install that is just as good as a natural gas source. MANY THANKS!!
I did a similar set-up, but used an RV-type two stage regulator that has an auto-switchover to feed your appliance from the second, full tank, while still allowing for removal of the original tank from the hook-up in order to take it away and have it refilled when convenient. There may be others, but I chose a Flame King ACR6a 2-Stage Auto Changeover LP Propane Gas Regulator. It comes with a rain cover too.
This explains why I blow through my RV propane in the winter months. Thanks!
I used the knowledge I learned from this video to connect an old residential furnace converted to propane to a pair of 30lb propane tanks , heats my garage perfectly until I can run natural gas out to the garage :)
Great video, I too found the same answers for trying to setup propane in our little barn apartment I am building. This answered all my questions, quite helpful.
Incredible video and detail! Thanks for taking the time to professionally explain all this!!
Thanks for sharing your in depth research on this subject. Very informative.
I am preparing to do the same thing you’ve got going only I’ll be using two 100# tanks. I’m intending to use only one at a time, the other is backup. My end goal is to replace my stove first, then water heater, then furnace, possibly a dryer (that’s optional). I’ll be calling those folks you mentioned for some advisory input. Good video, I’m glad I came across it.
Incredibly helpful and informative. I opted for an induction cooktop since it would have been the only gas appliance in the home and local suppliers are gouging homeowners buying or renting underground tanks in my development where they are required to be buried. I hadn't even thought of being denied service because of low volume. This video is great, however, because I do plan on an outdoor gas cooktop and gas firepit and would rather not use standard 20 lb. tanks. Thanks!
Great video and setup. Thanks for posting this DIY.
I really found this video helpful. Nice clear information and attractive, clean setup. Sometimes I'm just looking for a video just like this to get me started. Essentially, yes this is possible and you can do it too. The links to the parts are helpful. Thank for taking the time to post this.
Ooh, just discovered how to view the hardware links. So exciting! Great work. Engineers rock!
Thank you for all that hard work. You answered every question I had. Now I’m more confident telling the gas co to come and get their tank.
Our house use to use a lot more propane (heat was gas, but now electric), but now only have a gas range. We only use about 100gal a year with just the range, so the propane co charges us a $100 minimum use charge because we aren’t using enough.
100gal a year ?
In the end, it's all about the comments! Great content and lots to ponder.
It was interesting watching your video knowing that you are an engineer. It became obvious after a short while.
I understand you completely, been there done that, i tried to go the propane way with my stove for sometime now, but it`s a uphill battle with the county regulations, gas companies not wanting to deliver small amounts of gas and plumbers who ask for a kidney for installing it. I do have a motor home too, and it have a 30-40 propane gallon tank build in it, i didn`t think about it, but seeing your video now, it make a lot of sense to go the RV way, it`s simple and straighforward, also having two small tanks, make it more easy for somebody like me in the 60`s to go pick them up from anywhere. Just have to find a place to exchange or refill them. Thank you very much for your video.
Thanks so much for this. I was working on this myself but you pulled it all together for me/us.
I set mine up almost exactly like this video and it works perfectly !!! Thank You !!
ive had that hookup since 1991 👍 so yes it works great
You did the over-thinking so I don't have to.
Thank-you!
excellent info and just the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you!
A light, simple cheap shady enclosure will eliminate any UV concerns, and insulating it will increase the cold weather performance
The temp in winter where I live goes into the single digits and fluctuates into the 20s. I have a five burner stove purchased at Lowes that runs on one propane tank. I normally use one 40lb tank and have never experienced any issues you describe.
Im thinking of doing this with two 40s and and a RV regulator .
how long does the gas last?
Fyi you can buy a 100lb tank with a multi fill/multi use valve on top right from a big box store for under $200. This allows your tank to be filled right from the truck and use any supplier you want.
Thanks, I used this information when setting up my vented heater.
Thank you for your well presented explanation and sources beneath the video. Much appreciated!! Will do this set up at my cabin.
Excellent presentation of very informative information!
So informational!! Ty for doing all the thinking . Really alot of of science behind this.
5 stars! Well explained, super helpful, thank you
😞🙏
Fantastic video! Answered all my questions.
Great info.
By the way, that security cable you have on your tanks can be clipped off in about five seconds.
And we’re talking little clippers.
I need to be a minimum of 10ft away from any building with propane tanks. But i wanna do this, propane stoves are awesome
Are you sure you need to be 10 feet away from any building? It depends on the tank size. The 20 pound and 30 pound tanks are small enough that they can legally be right next to your house as long as they’re 10’ away from any opening. Meaning 10’ away from any doors or windows.
Thank you! awesome video and very thorough and understandable. I'm going to do this setup for a dryer while we live out in the boonies.
I always try and keep things on the Easy side. I built my wife a summer kitchen in a shed, I put a LP stove in the shed with two 20 lb tanks, I went with the 20 lb tanks because they are easy to carry and almost every place sells them, and when the 20 lb tank runs dry I just connect to the other tank.
This is what I've been looking for
So simple even an engineer could figure it out.
Dude, this was very helpful.
I've been looking to do something similar to my cabin in northern WI for supplemental heat with a 14,000 BTU heater. Also an engineering, my concerns are the same. This winter temps have been down to -26 Deg F. This is climate zone 7 which is the coldest it gets in the lower 48. That alone is a 96 Deg swing to bring the cabin up to 70.
That would have been really cool had you taken a video of the assembly process while describing it.
Looks great. Did you use a back check or back-flow preventer? Or does this exist in the regulator?
How long do you need to swap tanks?
Excellent video, although I can't say I like the word "Demonic" in your video attributes. Our LPG service guy found a pressure leak in the system which consists of what may be a 100 pound LP gas tank and about 50 feet of rubber coated flex pipe to the cooktop. Like you, the only gas appliance we have is a cooktop. We just had a single quote for replacing the gas line, and it was a totally outrageous $2500 to $2800 for the job. Needless to say, we ARE going to get other quotes. Interestingly, whenever we have a contractor whose first comment is something like, "this is a nice place you have", the quotes that follow would bring tears to your eyes.
Thank you for this video, very nicely explained
Very helpful. Thanks
A couple comments. The flex metal hoses likely have a plastic liner, many will use the rubber reinforced hoses. But in both cases although Propane in a vapour state is non reactive to both hoses, when the temperature drops at night and the hoses cool faster than your tanks, a little Propane will condense in the low spots of the hoses, it will react more with rubber hoses and still possible with the plastic liners. If you turn the bottles or raise the regulator to cause a gentle slope into the bottles the potential problem will be eliminated. I would have used an automatic switchover regulator, but it or any regulator should be positioned higher than the bottle valves as your’s is as the same reaction can occur in the regulator on the dormant side or both if the cook stove is pilotless. The gauge on a switchover regulator must be protected from rain or it will fail on most regulators.
You mentioned it was hard to find a 1/4” inverted flair to pipe threads, you can take a pipe to 1/4” compression fitting and simply remove the compression nut and ferrule and you will have the exact same thread as 1/4” inverted flare.
Now we're talking...
So, 4 years later, are you still using this setup? We're 5.5 years into a new house we built and I had a 250 gallon tank set and we aren't big users with just a gas oven and gas insert fireplace. I had 100 gallons put in back in Oct 2021 and still have a decent amount left unless the gauge isn't working right. They charge $150/year rent since I'm a low volume user so, when this tank lowers more, I'm going to change over to the twin 40 pounders like you have done. What brand tanks did you go with? Did you ever get your usage figured out? Thanks in advance for any info and a great video.
Thanks, great information and video.
I have been using 20 pound barbecue tanks for years to power our range. You do NOT need a fancy setup like this, and a tank will last for months unless you're using the oven all the time. We always have a full one at the ready.
Honestly there isn’t really anything here that’s fancy. It’s two tanks connected to a regulator. And most of the time you wouldn’t run into an issue as you noted. However if a single tank gets low and you are using the oven and all burners at the same time, especially if it’s cold, you can use more gas than can vaporize inside the tank. This can cause the tank to freeze up, cause the regulator to freeze up, or lead to swings in temperature and consistency in cooking. A lot of things shown here are for reliability and safety, and like many things, stuff doesn’t go wrong until it does. The regulator is very necessary as you can’t connect the tank to the range without one, the one we chose was chosen such that we could limit our potential problems. Poor quality lines can degrade and leak etc. Now people can say that one small tank in the snow will run their high performance range perfectly and it never freezes or has inconsistent baking, but thermodynamic laws don’t agree. Now if it’s warm where you are and your range burners are not very powerful you would probably be fine as you noted.
@@DemonicAnimatronic I get what you are saying. We just have a standard range manufactured by Whirlpool, not a Wolf commercial range that requires more fuel. Sometimes I have to go brush the snow off our tank/regulator if our flame is yellow - I'm learning here....
Great video, exact issue I have encountered. I only need a stove, hold the fees 🤣
We bought a gas range a few weeks ago and it's been absolutely impossible to get a propane company to set a tank and install it for us. I'm not big on regulations, but propane companies are mostly unregulated, and they don't have to help you if they dont want too, unlike most other utility companies. It's pretty sad. Anyway, I too am an engineer, I've DIYed just about everything, but never gas. So, thanks for the confidence to duplicate this project. I'm still on the fence whether to buy a cheap pipe threader from HF for $40 to do it all the iron pipe under the house, or to essentially stub down from the kitchen and stub into the crawl space with iron and then connect them together with CSST avoiding all the pipe threading and precise distance measurements in my crawl space.
Having done a bit of pipe threading with the big machines, I can say I would stay away from the cheap threaders, the die tolerances are just not there and it’s asking for a leak or at least a ton of frustration and choice words, I generally prefer iron pipe or professionally done copper gas line, but I would choose most anything over self threaded black iron.
There's always the flexible gas pipe (yellow) that is commonly used for natural gas but if I remember correctly some local building codes have heartburn over them being run vertically and I'm not sure if they are proper for LP... but worth looking into. If acceptable, and used for just a single appliance, that would eliminate a bunch of pipe threading and assembly.
Edit: Just looked it up. Good for propane too. This brand unlike CSST; gasflex.com/
@@DemonicAnimatronic is there any way you can give me the parts list to duplicate your set up I know you stated Marshall excelsior as the store to purchase everything any help would be appreciated ty
use csst where you can. and just get fittings to switch to pipe where needed. Its so much easer to install.
Pressure rating is different though. Pipe can carry propane furthest, than i think its csst, than copper. May be wrong about that order tho....
CSST is what's under our house. Connects to a shut off then normal 36" LP hose to stove on one end then to the exterior wall through PVC protected hole to the connection at the exterior ( per my state codes)
good one diy me too if you ever had a leak you would smell it hope fully the dish soap spray bottle no worries we used copper pipe with compression fittings no leaks after ajusting nut tension with thread lpg tape
Very helpful. Thank you!
Wow prefect video with the exact amount of information thank you sir
FWIW, a gallon of propane amounts to about 93,000 btus. A gallon of propane weighs about 4.3 pounds. As an example, my hottest burner is 18,000 btus. 93,000 / 18,000 = 5.167 hours of running that burner at full blast to consume one gallon of propane. A 20 lb tank is actually 4.6 gallons of propane. Running the 18,000 but burner at full blast would give you about 5.167 hours x 4.6 gallons = 23.77 hours of nonstop maximum burner time.
Unless you are trying to boil your own beer on a kitchen range, a gallon or propane will go quite a ways considering that you only use the high setting at the beginning of the setting for most foods. I use a pressure cooker and that really cuts down on cooking time. I typically use the smallest burner for simmering soups and stocks.
When I make beer I use a 50K btu burner designed for handling large pots and start off with about 7 gallons of water. You need some serious heat to make that happen in about an hour.
Love the video, very informative. I will be ordering some parts to set up my new range with a 100 lb tank and two forty pound tanks.
You mentioned weather covers but I didn't see one. If it snows or freezing rains at all where you are you may want to buy or modify some kind of cover for the tanks. From experience I can say that removing a coating of ice from the tank fittings is not fun and potentially dangerous. Nice setup, good luck.
Fantastic information - thank you so much for sharing this!
doing the same thing right now. got a small plastic shed im going to put it in for aesthetics
Appreciate the detailed analysis. Thanks.
When I lived in Alaska, we had a tall tall tank outside our kitchen that was for the gas stove only. Propane company would fill it up as we needed it. We had very low temperatures in Fairbanks, down to
-40° f it worked great. I have recommended to clients that this is an option if they are all electric and want to have a gas range.
That is not an option in most of the country. The vast majority of propane companies will not come to your house for any tanks under about 250 lbs.
@@bwzffgh7 The local suppliers 'round here minimum is 100 gallons!
Did you use a 100lb tank?
@@seeunow44 yes, I think so. It was my first experience with propane. I live on a couple of acres in california and I have a 500 gallon tank.
@@aprilcooke8340 Thanks for prompt response April!! I am going to use to support gas log set…
Glad I cross to this vid. I was considering a100lb tank and have someone out to fill it. Ah no . I’ll continue to take my pair of 30 gal and fill them up myself . I use propane for my stove and heater . No more electric
I have dual 100-lb tanks and have been trying to find a propane company that will come out and fill them for literally a decade. I have contacted dozens of companies and have never found one.
Thanks for making the video
I thought I was the only one who couldn't get someone to bring a tank for a furnace in my wife's salon In our pole building 🙃
Thank you for the informative video. I'm ready to give up my 100 lb propane tank. I have a couple of 30 lb and one 40 lb. What are your thoughts on using two different sizes together. Thank you.
I’m looking at the hundred pound horizontal built in dolly a little more money. Better vaporization Vera vertical because more surface area for liquid to gas to happen . There are in fact though no videos at all talking about that. Wish there was a comparison and performance video on it.
We have a gas log set up that we just started using for winter during the night. It's running off a 100# tank which has about 2 gallons left I think. Anyways, we have an electric range and want gas. We were thinking of the 140 gallon tank, but, the propane company want's $800 to get us started, filled tank an all and that's at $3.99 a gallon. It would FAR cheaper to go the route you did and being in our 60's, I can manage the 40# tanks as our 5th wheel RV has 2 30 pounders. So, that all said, this gives us another option and CHEAPER to go for our range when we get it.
How has this set up held up over time? Any inconveniences? Anything you would change?
Looking to add an outside tank to supply LP to a new range and was wondering if after conversion kit installed on range (orifices) and a built in regulator on the range is an external regulator actually necessary at the tank? I haven't hooked anything up yet would like some feedback. I don't believe I will need the capacity you have here as we will not be running all burners ever. Any help. Thanks. M
Here's my like...awesome video...thank you very much
Love to install this system! Does anyone have a list of items needed to build it. please let me know. Thanks!,,
Would this work for a single 120,000 btu tankless water heater with no other appliances?
Thank you for this video.
Does the regulator differ from one that automatically switches to full tank
Can this set up be used to run a mobile home furnace?
They make warming blankets for thatose tanks, pricey but certainly helps with the lower temps
How often did you find that you need to refill the 40LBS tanks now that it has been in service for a few years. Thanks for having this video.
can this setup be done or copy with a 100lb tanks? dual setup? meaning will there be more pressure on this model regulator and will it be overpresurized if we use all these materials you showed on this video! can I instead use the smaller tanks you have in the video and replace them with two 100lb tanks? the hundred lbs tanks have roughly 23 gallons of propane when filled up!
Great video. Started thinking about vaporization capacity and thought to myself why don’t they make your 40 gallon tank in a horizontal option? Your surface area for the vast majority of the time would be huge especially with two in parallel. Hmmm
Actually, there is at least one 40 gallon propane tank with a horizontal option, and it also has an integrated dolly so it can be moved around when full without too much hassle. It is the Flame King YSN100HOGb 100 LB Pound Horizontal & Vertical Propane Cylinder, which is sold by big box stores and by Amazon too. Pricey, though.
Your regulator should be mounted above the snow line. Vent of reg needs to be kept clear for safe operation. Seems a little low depending on this location.
We are in the same boat. About to redo kitchen but no natural gas. Essentially all phone calls almost elicit laughter at us for even considering propane. We won’t meet annual requirements, etc. Virtually impossible to get a contractor, -lumber to help us solve the issue. Likely to end up with electric.