Blue Rhino

Rusty · 01-14-2019, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swnoel

If they do fill it to 100% you'll be able to see how the relief valve works as soon as the propane warms and expands!

YUP..BOOM!

Patofnaud · 01-15-2019, 11:59 AM

What you push to your heater/gas grill is GAS, not a liquid. What they put in the tank is LIQUID.

The reason you do not fill a tank 100% is that you need space on top of the liquid for the liquid to 'flash' to gas and then said gas is pulled off that to burn.

If a tank is at 100% you have a flamethrower, not a source of gas.

The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) is a float not unlike what is in your toilet that is designed to not let the liquid get into your lines if the liquid gets too close to the outlet.

Old propane tanks dod not have that. You could actually turn them upside down and refill small green camping stove tanks with an adapter hose.

To the person asking if they can run their furnace off of a 20lb tank if the big torpedo goes dry? Yes, maybe,,, sometimes.

Reason being is that depending on the BTU of the heater, it requires a certain amount of gas per second to be 'flashed' off the liquid in the tank. Bigger tanks have a bigger surface area to 'flash'. As long as your burner does not exceed the flash capacity of the tank, it will run fine as long as your regulator and lines are kept somewhat warm. You see, flashing creates cold (that's how an A/C unit works with Freon) and as your smaller tanks will be flashing faster than a big tank, they will create considerably more cold. More cold to the point of the lines and regulator can turn ice up.

01-15-2019, 11:59 AM	#2
Patofnaud Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Tilton/Paugus Bay Posts: 239 Thanks: 13 Thanked 64 Times in 45 Posts	What you push to your heater/gas grill is GAS, not a liquid. What they put in the tank is LIQUID. The reason you do not fill a tank 100% is that you need space on top of the liquid for the liquid to 'flash' to gas and then said gas is pulled off that to burn. If a tank is at 100% you have a flamethrower, not a source of gas. The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) is a float not unlike what is in your toilet that is designed to not let the liquid get into your lines if the liquid gets too close to the outlet. Old propane tanks dod not have that. You could actually turn them upside down and refill small green camping stove tanks with an adapter hose. To the person asking if they can run their furnace off of a 20lb tank if the big torpedo goes dry? Yes, maybe,,, sometimes. Reason being is that depending on the BTU of the heater, it requires a certain amount of gas per second to be 'flashed' off the liquid in the tank. Bigger tanks have a bigger surface area to 'flash'. As long as your burner does not exceed the flash capacity of the tank, it will run fine as long as your regulator and lines are kept somewhat warm. You see, flashing creates cold (that's how an A/C unit works with Freon) and as your smaller tanks will be flashing faster than a big tank, they will create considerably more cold. More cold to the point of the lines and regulator can turn ice up.