Stan Schaefer wrote:
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message ...
You sure it was presssurized with a gas so that it didn't
need to be purged?
Stan Schaefer wrote:
(Roy) wrote in message ...
Just what is involved with filling a new propane tank. I just bought a
brand new 100# tank. Took it to a gas supplier to get filled, and they
want a $25.00 initial fee supposedly to purge it..........what gives.
If its empty its empty. Its got the standard type of valve (OPD not
required on a 100# cylinder) so it can be opened and any air inside
can be vented to the atmosphere. Am I missing something here? Called
two others and they also said the tank needs to be purged since its
new.........I have bought new 20# and never had to have them purged .
I smell a rip off for some reason.
Maybe I just need to transfer some gas to give it a used smell into
this new cylinder and then act like its been filled before.
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I've bought several new propane tanks, they've all had to be purged.
You DO NOT want air mixed with your propane in there. Purging
amounted to opening up the bleed screw while propane pumping was going
on, screw remained open until propane fogged out of the opening. The
tanks were then filled to proper weight. I got to pay for the propane
that escaped, there was no extra charge for the filling station guy
having to use his screwdriver. You got ripped off. On two of the new
tanks there was considerable air pressure in the tank before they were
even hooked up. The last one I bled down before hauling it over to
the rental place where I get tanks filled, took less time that way.
It took about 15 minutes for the 60 lb tank to quit passing air after
I opened up the screw, there must have been a lot of pressure in
there. I suppose they use it for checking for leaks after assembly,
probably roll them through a water tank after pressurizing and look
for bubbles at the joints. At least being pressurized that way
assured me that it wouldn't leak when filled.
You need to find another, more honest, supplier.
Stan
Hey, I'm not sure what gas was in there, I just assumed it was air.
Tanks are cheap, you think some manufacturer is going to go out of his
way to put CO2, nitrogen or argon in there just to check for leaks?
They can't be easily shipped with any flammable gas in there, either,
lots of DOT regs on that. No matter, if it doesn't dissolve in
propane liquid, you're still going to get excessive pressure build-up.
Think what would happen if you took a closed tank full of pressurized
air and started pumping in water. It's going to raise the pressure
even more, right? Air will dissolve in water a little and I don't
know the solubility of gaseous air in liquid propane(and have no real
willingness to find out), so the cases may be a little different.
You'd still end up getting more pressure in the tank than just what
would be generated from vaporizing liquid propane at ambient
temperature in the tank. Purging the tank the first time its filled
is a pretty easy thing to do to avoid any possible problems.
Stan
We are all a little confused (us non-propane dealers). I've
had three new tanks recently and none of them were purged
the way it says on the tag. One of them gave me a little
trouble that eventually went away. All of them cost me
about $10 for a purge, nobody here does it for free. Most
around here charge a minimum fee which is for filling a 20#
tank. But, purging is for safety and reliability of the
appliance usage. It has nothing to do with the possibility
of the tank blowing up. Air in the tank when it is filled
isn't going to increase the pressure over what it would be
if filled without any air. After all, the valve is open to
atmosphere pressure when filling. And when you use the
tank, you use gas, not liquid, so the air comes out which is
the problem. At least that's my take.