On 6/26/2010 6:32 AM, vaughn wrote:
wrote in message
...

No chance except in very hot conditions. The latent heat requirements
of the propane soon cool the tank down to a point were the gas won't
vapourise off.

That is a huge overstatement. If what you say were true, then nobody would use
vapor directly from a propane tank. But actually vapor withdrawal is the most
common method!. How much gas you can draw from a given propane tank depends on
the tank's size and the outside temperature. Scroll down on this page for a
table that gives you the maximum BTUs based on tank size and outside
temperature. http://www.propane-generators.com/propane_usage.htm

I can connect a 20# BBQ tank to my 4000 watt generator at full load and the tank
will drop perhaps 10 degrees in temperature. I can draw the tank totally empty
without the slightest concern for tank freeze up. With that same generator on
a 100# tank, the cooling is barely detectible. From there, you can do the math
to extrapolate to the comparatively huge tanks the OP is considering.

Vaughn


In a very cold climate, the tank could be buried so as to absorb heat
from the ground but I haven't seen it done around here in the Southeast.
Around here, cold is a relative term.

TDD