Since I got my new griddle I've been cooking on it everyday. The other day the flame was weak and it didn't get as hot as it usually does. So I figure I must have run down the tank. No worries, I had bought a second tank. Hooked it up and nothing. Our weather for the past week has been 10F during the day and below 0 at night, which coupled with the strong winds have put us with a WCF of -14F. I'm new to propane, does cold weather affect it, and what do you die hard outdoor cookers do in the winter? I see they have heated blankets for the tanks. Is this some accessory I now need?
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I do remember during my smoking days that bic lighters don't work well in the cold. Nor my lighter for the charcoal chimney for that matter. Try sticking the tank by your "vent" and see if that helps....Last edited by HawkerXP; January 16, 2020, 07:27 PM. -
Cold weather definitely affects how propane evaporates, it is stored under pressure in a tank in liquid form and is drawn from the tank in vapor or gas form. In cold weather it losses pressure and does not evaporate as well which also causes it to to get colder. A large tub of warm water for the tank to sit in will help your situation. Even in warm weather, if you draw propane out of a tank quickly-you can cool a tank enough to make it frost on the top portion where the gas or vapor is. I have seen people pour a pitcher of warm water over the tank to warm it up and raise the gas pressure. If you have a warm place to store a tank safely. Keep it warm and hook it up to cook while it is warm and you will get better results.Comment
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Thanks, I figured I'm going to have to keep it warm. I guess I could just bring it in the house and set it on the hearth by the firebox! ;-) -
Not recommended to store any propane tank in a house or totally enclosed structure because of fire danger if a leak develops. Just storing in an outbuilding that stays above freezing would help it a lot. -
Oakgrovebacon Of course I was just joking. I'll have to figure something out, my old farm had an above ground pumphouse that I kept heated with a milk house heater. My new 'pumphouse' is actually dug into the ground, so the pressure tank and plumbing is in a hole six feet deep.
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Check for ice build up or a frozen regulator.
I'm certainly no expert but my gasser stays outside year round and I've never had a problem and we get some pretty cold temps here over the years. Once in a blue moon water does get in, freezes, and cause problems.
Plus its a liquified gas, its stored at -425ish or so anyway if memory serves me.Comment
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pkadare If the tank lasted long enough to touch, without venting enough pressure to blow out the tank would build up in no time. -
Opps on the storage, at least I got -4ish right.
Hope you get it figured out, nothing worse than a new product that works perfectly then gives you problems.
Still hanging my hat on the regulator....
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I have had the tank itself freeze. Once that happens it shuts down. I had to put something around the tank to keep it from freezing. One good thing about that is you will know how much propane you have left in the tank.Comment
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I have used them and the tanks form ice, but that was in good weather. And you are correct, it gives an idea of how much is left. No ice on the tanks now, everything, including the stove, lines, etc. are cold from the get go. I agree though, at the least the tank needs some warmth. Temps will be back up to freezing (that just sounds wrong!) in a couple days and perhaps that will help.
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I’ve never used propane for cooking or heating, but it should continue to flow until it reaches -44 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point the pressure will be 0 psi. As vapor is drawn off the tank, the liquid evaporates (or boils). It requires a lot of heat for the propane to boil and that heat is taken from the liquid in the tank. This lowers the temperature of the tank. Normally as the propane slowly cools, it will absorb heat from the air around the tank and the temperature and pressure will not drop much. If you pull vapor off too fast or there’s not much heat outside to continue boiling the propane, the tank temp will keep dropping and when it hits -44 the pressure will be 0.Comment
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When er have cold temps here at my location i take the gastank and put it on the hester flo og in my hall.for a few hrs.. That usually does the trick so i can get my gasgrill going.Comment
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You have probably already done this but I wanted to share my experience with my Blackstone. First, I never open my tank more than a quarter of a turn. Secondly, I find that I have to reset the regulator fairly often. Since you replaced your tank you obviously reset the regulator, but I also wanted to share this. But the quarter of a turn on the tank makes a huge difference.Comment
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Thanks, I'll give that a try. I didn't realise regulators needed resetting, here's a how to video I found from Blackstone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er0sOanacDs
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Temperature is a huge factor. I work with propellants in my job (I am a chemical engineer) and in the winter we generally store the tanks inside a warmer area. The tank itself is the only thing that needs to be kept warm, not the regulator. When you bring the tank out in the cold, it will take a while to cool back down, so pressure should be ok.
If you have a safe place to store the tank, it would help a lot. I'm not keen on storing propane in my house though. Red Man is correct on the pressure too.
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I'm certainly no propane expert, but I used to have a Jeep golden eagle pickup with a propane system on it. On days with temps near zero it would not start or run on propane. The only way to get it going was to flip the switch and run on gasoline.Comment
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You could store it in SoCal and not worry about it but then you would need a bunch of permits and fees to use it again.Comment
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