LP Gas Gauge

RedHorse1 · 08-26-2011, 12:35 PM

Do they work? How accurate are they?
Cheers,
T_

jbwjbw · 08-26-2011, 02:31 PM

I bought this one based on the reviews (on amazon) this year for my camper (as I only have one tank and really needed to know when I'm getting low).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T4M522

As best I can tell it's working just as it should. Looks like I'm around or a little below 50% and that seems about right to me.

- Justin

RedHorse1 · 08-26-2011, 03:10 PM

Thanks jbwjbw. I'm currious how they work. I assume the guage shows pressure. I think propane is a liquid in the tank with an LP gas pocket. We draw gas from the top (unless it's a special horizontal tank it has to be upright to make sure we only get gas, not liquid) to the appliance. When gas is flowing the liquid "boils" due to the reduced pressure. The boiling will cause the temperature of the liquid to drop which is why the tank gets cooler when in use. So, the measure of pressure is more of an indication of the propane temperature than how much is in the tank.
I have a deep fryer that has a stick-on strip on the tank and color change is supposed to show you the level (the liquid is colder) but it's never been useful to me. I remember the instructions saying to run water over the tank (warm up the gas filled part) and look for the diffent colors blah, blah blah. Too much trouble, I run it till it's out of gas and maybe we eat raw turkey or catfish or whatever was dumb enough to fall in the oil.

Anyway, I can't figure out how the dang things work. I think like jbwjbw all I really want to know when it's time to fill (the bride really doesn't like raw catfish).

Maybe when the liquid volume gets really low the temp drops really low (less liquid to cool) and the pressure will drop.

Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this and should take my meds...........

Murphie · 08-26-2011, 03:52 PM

I just bought one from Costco and I am a little disappointed in it. When we bought our trailer in the end of May I was surprised to find out that we went thru a 20 lb tank as quick as we did. We used the furnace a lot and consequently the tank didn't last long. Normally I take one of the 20lb tanks and place it beside the picnic table. My plan is to put it on the tank left behind. I knew that the tank I took off was getting real low so I decided to put it on this tank to see how it worked. I was surprised to find the tank read half way thru the green. When the tank was in use it registered the tank as low , which it was. It did not read that I needed to fill it yet but from the weight I knew it needed to be refilled. The next use the tank quickly ran out of gas. My plan is to put it on the tank I just refilled and see if it can do a better job from the get go. It has one reading when you turn the valve on which didn't seem accurate and another reading when the tank was in use. This reading was more accurate but never gave enough of a window to let you know that it should be refilled. Sorry for the length of this but I wanted to let you know my experience.

RedHorse1 · 08-26-2011, 04:46 PM

Thanks Murphie. I'm thinking the tank has to be in use to see anything meaningful and that it will only tell you when it's mostly empty. I'd appreciate an update when you learn more.
Cheers,
T_

Terry · 08-26-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

Thanks Murphie. I'm thinking the tank has to be in use to see anything meaningful and that it will only tell you when it's mostly empty. I'd appreciate an update when you learn more.
Cheers,
T_

I think you are right...I don't see how they can be very accurate since the pressure coming out the tank should be fairly constant until it gets low....so it is either green or red.

Here is my method -- I kind of slap my hand against the tank with my wedding ring. As you move up and down the tank you can hear the difference and come pretty close to figuring out the level. You really can "learn" the sound of your tank and have a good idea on how empty it is....

I just filled up one of my 30#s today...I think I have about 11 days of water heater, stove/oven, and some fridge. I was just below 50%.....

RedHorse1 · 08-26-2011, 06:24 PM

Ahhhh, that's good input Terry. About 11 days on a half-tank. Your "ring" method is probably more accurate than anything but a scale, and a dang site more convenient.

Murphie · 08-26-2011, 06:58 PM

I like the wedding ring idea.I've used that way before. Another good reason to be married.. Most of the time just picking the tank up gives you a good idea how full it is, or pour water over the tank. With the tank snugged down in the holder, if a person was able to just open the top hatch and read the gauge that would be handy and the reason I bought it.
The new gauges that are able to read your holding tanks and your propane tanks would be the optimal solution. They read the tank from the outside of the tank, ultrasound maybe. You would then have a digital readout in the trailer.

jbwjbw · 08-26-2011, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

Thanks jbwjbw. I'm currious how they work. I assume the guage shows pressure. I think propane is a liquid in the tank with an LP gas pocket. We draw gas from the top (unless it's a special horizontal tank it has to be upright to make sure we only get gas, not liquid) to the appliance. When gas is flowing the liquid "boils" due to the reduced pressure. The boiling will cause the temperature of the liquid to drop which is why the tank gets cooler when in use. So, the measure of pressure is more of an indication of the propane temperature than how much is in the tank.
I have a deep fryer that has a stick-on strip on the tank and color change is supposed to show you the level (the liquid is colder) but it's never been useful to me. I remember the instructions saying to run water over the tank (warm up the gas filled part) and look for the diffent colors blah, blah blah. Too much trouble, I run it till it's out of gas and maybe we eat raw turkey or catfish or whatever was dumb enough to fall in the oil.

Anyway, I can't figure out how the dang things work. I think like jbwjbw all I really want to know when it's time to fill (the bride really doesn't like raw catfish).

Maybe when the liquid volume gets really low the temp drops really low (less liquid to cool) and the pressure will drop.

Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this and should take my meds...........

It has to go on more then just pressure as says it's not going to be very accurate when you first connect it until you use propane for a few minutes. So it must gauge on pressure and flow or something like that, not 100% sure.

When I fill up next spring for the camping season, I'll have a pretty good idea of how accurate it is.

- Justin

yddad45 · 08-26-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbwjbw

I bought this one based on the reviews (on amazon) this year for my camper (as I only have one tank and really needed to know when I'm getting low).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T4M522

As best I can tell it's working just as it should. Looks like I'm around or a little below 50% and that seems about right to me.

- Justin

This looks very simular to the gauge I bought a couple years ago at Walmart. I used it on my grill but I'm sorry to say it did not work very well. It would either be Green or Red and when I say Red I mean empty. After Leaving some steaks on the grill a couple of times while I went to get propane, I lost faith in my gauge real quick. I now use the pickit up method. You pickit up and best guess.

Terry · 08-26-2011, 08:58 PM

Quote:

I like the wedding ring idea.I've used that way before. Another good reason to be married..

One caveat - after 20 years my ring is no longer round and has a pretty good crack in it...lol...guess I should quit using it like a multi-tool....

jbwjbw · 08-27-2011, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yddad45

This looks very simular to the gauge I bought a couple years ago at Walmart. I used it on my grill but I'm sorry to say it did not work very well. It would either be Green or Red and when I say Red I mean empty. After Leaving some steaks on the grill a couple of times while I went to get propane, I lost faith in my gauge real quick. I now use the pickit up method. You pickit up and best guess.

I saw some reviews of others that look very similar that had some so-so reviews. The one I bought seems to have pretty reviews on amazon. As I've been using propane this summer, the gage has been slowly going down, no where near red yet. The other option I'm not sure anyone mentioned was to use hot water on a cool morning, run it down the side of the tank. I may do this some day to see how close the gauge is.

RVhiker · 08-27-2011, 07:26 AM

Those who have dual tanks might want to consider using an automatic changeover valve. It has a switch on it that controls which of the two tanks are primary. It will show a fully green indicator as long as the primary tank has propane in it. When the primary tank is empty, it will automatically changeover to the other tank, and the indicator will be half red and half green-- and you know to fill your empty tank.

Tyreguy · 08-27-2011, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tafische

One caveat - after 20 years my ring is no longer round and has a pretty good crack in it...lol...guess I should quit using it like a multi-tool....

Not to threadjack, but...knowing I will subject my wedding band to these circumstances, I intentionally had my band made from tungsten.

I too have the same LP guage as others mentioned here, and it seems to work well, very little problems with it. But I'm going to try the hot water and 'ring' methods out of curiosity.

Seann45 · 08-27-2011, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVhiker

Those who have dual tanks might want to consider using an automatic changeover valve. It has a switch on it that controls which of the two tanks are primary. It will show a fully green indicator as long as the primary tank has propane in it. When the primary tank is empty, it will automatically changeover to the other tank, and the indicator will be half red and half green-- and you know to fill your empty tank.

I have that.. BUT if you use the tank cover you dont know when its changed over till the second tank runs out of propane... I always leave tank 2 turned off then when tank one goes empty I flip it over and know the next day or so to refill tank one...

Joan617 · 01-31-2019, 08:07 AM

I have 3 tanks and have been drawing off the single one. Sounds hollow with the wedding ring test but I have no baseline for context (we are new). There is morning frost on the bottom of the single tank. Can I assume that it is empty because the frost is from the last of the gas expansion? I don't yet have a gauge or scale but will fix that soon

2nOZ · 01-31-2019, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joan617

I have 3 tanks and have been drawing off the single one. Sounds hollow with the wedding ring test but I have no baseline for context (we are new). There is morning frost on the bottom of the single tank. Can I assume that it is empty because the frost is from the last of the gas expansion? I don't yet have a gauge or scale but will fix that soon

I use the Truma propane tank tester. You press it against the tank in various places from top to bottom and by using ultrasound gives you a red or green indication. Red is no propane in that area and green means there’s propane. I have used it for two years and I know how much i have left in my tank.

gladecreekwy · 01-31-2019, 09:11 AM

When the gas is flowing take a cup of water and pour it over the tank. You will see the level of gas remaining as a line of frost on the side.

Rklingborg · 02-09-2019, 06:54 PM

I use Mopeka tank check and tells how much is in each tank, and the company is great they stand by the product

Hog3loves · 03-08-2019, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rklingborg

I use Mopeka tank check and tells how much is in each tank, and the company is great they stand by the product

I saw your endorsement for Mopeka and went online. Just ordered two and the monitor for our 40 lb / 10 gal tanks. Hoping for an end to the guessing game of how much is left. Thanks.

You may also like: