Propane or butane gas bottle reading

[landyrubbertramp]

a dumb question here i know but is thier a way of knowing how much or little you have in your bottle i.e a meter or sumthing i as this as i dont have too much room in my vehicle so i dont have room for two when was ges empty. But how do i knwo the one i have is not just about to go empty before i set off for a weekend. Aprt from seeing how heavy it is?
thanks

 

[Tbear]

a dumb question here i know but is thier a way of knowing how much or little you have in your bottle i.e a meter or sumthing i as this as i dont have too much room in my vehicle so i dont have room for two when was ges empty. But how do i knwo the one i have is not just about to go empty before i set off for a weekend. Aprt from seeing how heavy it is?
thanks

If its an ordinary exchangeable cylinder the only way is to take the weight of cylinder (marked on it) from total weight. Pressure gauge is no good for liquefied gases. Some refillables have a float gauge built in.

Richard

 

[oldish hippy]

I think you can buy a gauge but not sure how good they are ? The only way I can think of would be to weigh the empty bottle then weigh it each time ! Christ that would do my head in get a life and make space for a spare as seems to me it would be much easier ?????

wish i had room for a spare cupboard space maxed out do want to mod it but and dont have room at home to do it

 

[Firefox]

Gaslow do a gauge which screws in. It will give an indication but no more really as you are trying to measure liquid with a pressure gauge and it still gasses when it is low. I have one but don't use it for bottle full/empty. I use it for pressure testing my system. Ie Pressurise, turn off the gas and then how quickly the reading goes down shows if I have leak. Best thing is to have spare bottle. I have two 6kg, but you can carry a 6kg and a 3.9 or two 3.9s if short of space.

 

[steco1958]

If its an ordinary exchangeable cylinder the only way is to take the weight of cylinder (marked on it) from total weight. Pressure gauge is no good for liquefied gases. Some refillables have a float gauge built in.

Richard

Not quite, you can check with a glass of water, if you are using the gas , it must be flowing) pour the water over the body of the body, you will see that there will be a line appear below will ice, this is the level of the gas.

 

[Tbear]

Not quite, you can check with a glass of water, if you are using the gas , it must be flowing) pour the water over the body of the body, you will see that there will be a line appear below will ice, this is the level of the gas.

Hi Steco 1958

We used to use Nitrous Oxide cylinders on Anaesthetic machines and it was not unusual to have ice 6 or 8 inches up from the base when they ran out. If you rely on your gas and you have only one cylinder, then I would weigh it.

Richard

 

[Deleted member 2636]

The Gsslow gauges are not a lot of use. Ours just move off the "full" marker and the cylinder is less than half full.
There are stick on gauges for cylinders and people on other forums have found them pretty hopeless
As several people have mentioned, the only accurate way method is to weight the cylinder

 

[snowbirds]

Calor

Hi good morning

I have Calorlite on propane and they come with gauges but a bit pricy but I am happy with them

regards Snowbirds.

a dumb question here i know but is thier a way of knowing how much or little you have in your bottle i.e a meter or sumthing i as this as i dont have too much room in my vehicle so i dont have room for two when was ges empty. But how do i knwo the one i have is not just about to go empty before i set off for a weekend. Aprt from seeing how heavy it is?
thanks

 

[Deleted member 3011]

There IS an easy way to measure the liquid level.

But first, the ways that fail the KISS test

- So-called level gauges that are actually pressure gauges only start reacting when the liquid is all gone and there is only gas left in the bottle. Sure, it does give you a bit of warning that you are on the last little bit, but they are certainly misleading.
- Weighing the bottle and subtracting the tare weight is accurate but VERY inconvenient.
- Pouring cold water down the tank and looking for an ice line may work under certain conditions but only rarely at the sort of gas flow rates found in RVs

The easy accurate way?? No lifting! No expensive gadgets! Foolproof! Cheap! Accurate!

Pour a cup of boiling water slowly down the side of the tank in a narrow stream. Wait 5 seconds and then run your hand over the surface of the bottle starting from the bottom. Where the bottle changes from cool to warm and then hot is where the level of the liquid is.
Yes, does have a slight disadvantage in that you need to get the gas locker a little wet, but it should be drained anyway. Or you can put some towelling at the bottom to soak up the water.
If the whole side of the bottle is hot, the bottle is empty.

 

[landyrubbertramp]

Thanks for all your replies on this guys. I have a 6kg and dont have room to carry a spare which would of solved my problem landrover 110 dont have the room of a camper or mototrhome. Fire foxes idea of a 6kg then a smaller one might just work as i may have a space for a smaller bottle, or even just go for two smaller ones . thanks anyway on this

 

[vindiboy]

The only sure way is to carry a spare bottle then you will never run out, bottles come in all sizes and the smallest I would use is the GAZ 3.9 kg, it is available everywhere and will get you out of trouble every time. you must have room in your van somewhere to carry one , leave it under your van when parked up, chain it up of course, use it in emergency only when your main bottle empties .

 

[Deleted member 3011]

DON'T carry a gas bottle inside the passenger space of a vehicle or within the living area of a motorhome.