Propane Tank Questions

[Huskee]

My dad always weighed the tank when it was empty and kept a fishing scale (the ones with the hook) in the grill's cart next to the tank to check it every so often. Fool proof on the cheap!

[DavidNorcross]

I dont know a number, but I would guess 8 to 10 cooks. I always open my tank a quarter turn and try to cook on low to medium unless I am searing. I rarely cook on high. I keep multiple tanks on hand. However, if I want to check I just pick up the tank and if it is light I have another tank ready.

[WillTravelForFood]

Ditto what everyone said.

Get a 2nd tank, you’ll high five yourself every time you find up needing it.

When it comes time to get more gas, do a refill rather than a tank exchange, you’ll get anywhere from 3-5 additional lbs of propane, which should be at least one addt cook for you.

[Panhead John]

I think you’re right. Thanks

[Huskee]

I too gain 3-5 additional pounds for every additional cook.

[jfmorris]

I don't know that I count the cooks, but I get several months of cooking once or twice a week with my 6 burner Camp Chef griddle on a tank. All of the tanks I currently have came from Costco and have a little gas gauge type pressure gauge on the tank valve, that gives you a rough estimate of how much you have left. More accurate would be weight.

I will say that if you don't have a spare tank, get one. Nothing like running out of propane in the middle of a cook. I have the griddle, the gas grill, and various burners for brewing, and 4 propane tanks. When I get down to the last one, its time to go get them all topped off. My dad only has one gas grill, but still keeps two tanks, so that he can always swap for a full one and go get the other refilled at Costco.

[Panhead John]

Thanks Jim. Sounds like I might get more cooks than I thought out of a tank, we’ll see.

[radshop]

I have 7 tanks - 3 in use at any given time. So monitoring them isn't really an issue for me (No, I don't need 7 tanks, but since I have a reputation as the insane guy with too many cookers, some people have actually given me empty tanks when they were moving or whatever.)
So back to the point... I was getting my tanks filled at Tractor Supply, and another customer told me there are sensors you can stick on the tank that monitor the gas level and you track it with an app on your phone. Another guy there said there are also weight sensors you can track with an app. Note that I don't use any of these, I'm just passing on what I heard from random dudes while filling tanks at TSC.

https://store.lci1.com/lippert-propane-tank-sensor-2021130655

https://flameking.com/product/ysnps1-2/

[Panhead John]

How many cookers you got?

[Dan Deter]

Similar, I have 1 gas grill and 5 tanks. Two from the inexpensive grills my wife and I each had when we got married, and three that came with the Summit when I found it on Craigslist. Rotate 3 currently, if I ever get either the dual fuel generator or a griddle to go with the grill I'll need to increase that...

[radshop]

I think I have 11 or 12 - I'd have to think too hard to know for sure. 5 of those are propane several charcoal, and 1 log burner.

[Panhead John]

Thanks everyone for the great responses, even yours jfmorris 😂 JK……I’ve looked around my garage and found I’ll have room for another tank in a small closet in my garage. I’ll need to throw a few things out, which I’ve been needing to do anyway. I remember running out of gas a few times without a spare, many years ago. I don’t want that to happen again, as I know I’ll be using my griddle pretty often.

Even though a lot of your suggestions would work, I don’t wanna be buying stuff, weighing or sloshing things around to try and find out if I need to go get another tank. The simplest thing is to do what a lot of you said, keep a spare tank on hand, much easier and less stressful.

My next question is, I didn’t know that Costco refills tanks on site, and I’m a member. I visit my local Costco every 2-3 months on average, never paid attention to that propane thing. So, are y’all recommending I buy 2 tanks from Costco and getting them refilled as needed? It’s cheaper in the long run that way right? vs exchange?

[jfmorris]

The exchanges are for a tank that is only 3/4 of the way full - 15 pounds in a 20 pound tank. If you refill a tank at Costco, assuming yours has propane service, its a full 20 pound fill. If TOTALLY EMPTY that takes about 4.5 gallons of propane, at whatever the going rate is. I filled all 4 tanks in February or March, and they all were about 7 to 8 bucks to fill. The exchange places are more like $20, so its a much better deal.

Not all Costco locations have propane service though.

[Panhead John]

Wow Jim, $7. or $8. is all? That’s great. The one I got at Kroger was $18.00 for an exchange. I’m gonna check with my Costco and see if they have it. There’s 3 that are fairly close to me.

[Panhead John]

The only Costco in town that refills propane tanks is 20 miles away from me, about a 20-25 minute drive. They charge $3.19 per lb. It would cost about $14.35 to fill there, VS $18.00 exchange at my Kroger, 1 mile away. With $4.00 a gallon gas, and my truck probably using 2 gallons round trip, Kroger is definitely my best deal.

[FireMan]

I mean c’mon PJ. Are ya gittin nerdy on us or whut? Who gives a rip how many cooks you git approximately or unapproximately. Dig in yer pocket & git a backup tank. Then ya don’t have to count, approximate or anything else. You’ll be ready, yessir.

[hoovarmin]

Everyone has given you such good advice. I, however, want to encourage you to buy your own propane refilling station so that you never have to worry about running out during a cook. A 10k gallon tank buried under your driveway is all it would take. You owe it to yourself to do this.

[Panhead John]

I am still LMAO as I type this. 😂 Good one bro!

[texastweeter]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GASONE-Gas-One-Propane-Tank-Gauge-Capacity-Adapter-50120/310727272

[jfmorris]

That is basically what is built into my Costco tanks, and its really a pressure gauge that gives you a relative idea of tank level. It spends a long time in green, then towards the end of the tank progresses to yellow then red.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Tons of good advice here. At the moment i have 8 different items, cookers/heaters/weed burners, that take propane and i have 6 - Off Topic, Non-Food, Non-Cooker Discussions tanks and will still run out during the winter when i'm using them to stay warm in the He Shed watching TV and having a Cigar...HA!! So make sure that you have at least one backup tank just in case you either run out or something happens and it leaks out??
As far as how to tell when it's empty......just pick it up and note the weight as best as you can. Under 20# it's empty, or while using it just run your hand down the side and note the temp difference....or sometimes if it's vaporizing off fast you can see the frost line on the tank.

[Dan Deter]

Like everybody else I can't really give you an answer on how many cooks.

But I did want to add another trick if you want to know how much is in the tank that I learned when I was a kid...pour some warm water down the side of the tank. See where the tank stays warm and where it gets cold again quickly. That change from warm to cold will show you how much of your tank is left.

Oh, I also have multiple tanks. 5 I think, but I rotate 3 of them, usually get 2 filled at a time. Hurricane season I try to keep 2 full on hand, since I can run both my grill and my coleman 2-burner camp stove off of them (with an adaptor).

[Starsky]

I keep 3 on hand. I just pick them up and judge if they're heavy or not. Not scientific but works for me. How many cooks depends on what I'm using. Smoker, Weber Genesis, or Blackstone

[Attjack]

Lift the tank to see if it's low and keep spares on hand. I probably have 10 tanks between the 2 properties. My Weber has a built in scale that tells me about where I'm at.

BTW this week in California I refilled a tank for about $19 and I had to do an exchange and that cost me $25. I wonder how prices compare fir other members in different locations?

[Attjack]

Panhead John well, they're typically new or recertified and "as good as new". I was told recently that if they're 10 years old they have to be recertified. I also know that if certain conditions are present such as rust they also need recertification.

[Uncle Bob]

There likely are wide differences due to location, inventory turn (prices are dropping slowly), etc. Yesterday I did exchange because empty was 12 y.o. and won't be filled by any bulk suppliers near me. HD had best posted exchange price of $22.95. Compare to TSC bulk refill at $4 per that pencils out to $7 premium for a "new" tank. Empty new tanks are $35-40 around here so $51-56 for "safe" fill of 4 gal. A filled tank, no exchange, at HD was $68.95.

[texastweeter]

Exchange is $19 here

[Dan Deter]

Just realized my spares are all empty...time to go refill them!

[Panhead John]

Attjack Boy, I was way off on my Kroger price for a non-exchange new tank, it is $49.99…NOT $24.99 as I mentioned earlier. Don’t know where I got that lower price from.🧐

[Uncle Bob]

Yeah, that makes more sense. Market conditions matter. One you're in a dense population center that's more competitive. Two, you're very near the refineries that produce the propane, so not as much transportation and handling woven into the pricing.