Propane tank gauge

[Midwest Jeffk]

Does the chinsy looking gauge on the propane tank work? Mine hasn't moved off the 1/2 mark for the last week of camping. Anyone have experience with this?

[oldmanAZ]

Most of those cheap gauges measure the pressure in the tank and will show when the tank is out of propane. The pressure of the propane vapor is nearly constant so as long as there is liquid in the tank, so the pressure gauges don't help very much.

My tanks are vertical on the TT tongue and I can feel and tap on the tank side and make a reasonable guess as to how much liquid propane is left.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by Midwest Jeffk

Does the chinsy looking gauge on the propane tank work? Mine hasn't moved off the 1/2 mark for the last week of camping. Anyone have experience with this?

You know, mine seems to go down to 1/2 and then kind'a hangs there too. I was thinking about just running it down, in the driveway, and seeing if it was going to go below.

But Spring Break called. I had to refill and it took 6.8 gallons to "fill". *If* the tank is about 13 gallons then, yeah, 1/2 a tank would be 6.8,

But no one 100% fills a propane tank. You go to 80%.
So if that's the case, then I was below 1/2 and the gauge is whacked.


I dunno.
Maybe on the return trip I'll just let it empty and watch the gauge.

[TWP723]

I've been using a Gauge Master gauge and it works pretty darn good and seems somewhat accurate.

[reitrof]

Hi Jeff,

I'm assuming you have a class C.

Mine works fine with no issues. It can last quite a while as long as you don't use the heater, in cold weather it can chew up quite a bit.

I find my gauge works well enough for me.

[Robbbyr]

Our motorhomes have a permanently mounted ASTM propane tank and the gauge works off an internal float valve. It has nothing to do with tank pressure on our tanks. The internal float transfers its reading magnetically (through a diaphragm) to the gauge dial you view at the tank. And as others have noted they are known to not read very accurately.

What I have found on all of my 3 owned Class C units is, that while they may not read the exact level, after a while I could use the gauge to predict the actual level. My last unit read artificially high, when the tank was empty it would show 1/4. My current Seneca is just the opposite, when empty it shows below empty. But I have learned to interpolate the readings and now can generally predict closely what it will take to fill the tank.

It will take some use but I suspect eventually you will be able to do the same.

[RedHorse1]

I'm with "oldman" on this, they tell you when it's empty. I've seen the mechanical gauge an I think it'd be a good choice particularly if the TT has a single tank.

[JEFF1963]

A LOT of evaluations, critiques on a variety of propane tank gauges. My experience, for what it's worth - bought a "cheapie" from WalMart for $11 ?), attached it at various times to my home 20 # tank and my TT 30 # tank. It NEVER registered over 1/2 full in either application (when both tanks I knew were full). HOWEVER, it DID alert me as it went into its "Lower Zone - RED" that I might need to look for some more propane. Having said that though, when I went to refill that 30 # tank, I needed only 2.5 gal on that 7.4 gal tank. I suppose one could surmise, "it erred on the side of caution" - which I would prefer. BUT - I also would offer it isn't very accurate. This, obviously, was a portable gauge. Infer what you will.

[Robbbyr]

You really don't have many choices when it comes to gauges on these style tanks that motorhomes have. You generally have to live with the installed gauge which works off the internal float.

One thing I did not mention before is that if you try to read the gauge with the unit not level it can change the reading significantly. To be "repeatable" you have to have the unit level.

[NorthPoint5r]

poor hot water down the side of the tank and the tank level will be evident. Cost 0$

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by NorthPoint5r

poor hot water down the side of the tank and the tank level will be evident. Cost 0$

Hard to do and see the results in a compartment-mounted tank like the OP has in his motorhome. Works on exposed removable tanks but motorhomes have ASTM tanks as depicted above.

[NorthPoint5r]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Hard to do and see the results in a compartment-mounted tank like the OP has in his motorhome. Works on exposed removable tanks but motorhomes have ASTM tanks as depicted above.

how about AP products 024-1000 sonar level. The are magnetically held on the tank bottom and wireless to a cell phone or display. Now 90$ but do they work?

[Robbbyr]

An interesting concept. I wonder if AP Products would say whether it is meant to work on a horizontal tank? Would be very exposed to the elements driving down the road but perhaps no more so than tongue-mounted tanks on a TT.

If this is the better mousetrap it might be on my list! They do sell single tank versions that just use the app to communicate to the smart device.

[RyRoRyan]

In addition to what Robby said in regards to the float valves. Since our motorhomes have horizontally mounted tanks, the widest part is in the middle of the tank. Due to this, it is the middle of the tank..the half way mark that has the most liquid per vertical inch in the tank. Your gauge does not account for there being less gas per vertical inch on the top and bottom and due to this, if you burn the propane out at a constant rate, then what your gauge will do is move quicker at the top and bottom and will slow down and move very little in the half way spot.

[Cosmik Debris]

I have one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-LPGC1.../dp/B00Q7379X0
No use to me because I'm colorblind, but my wife can use it and it seems to work very well.

[blujay40]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

An interesting concept. I wonder if AP Products would say whether it is meant to work on a horizontal tank? Would be very exposed to the elements driving down the road but perhaps no more so than tongue-mounted tanks on a TT.

If this is the better mousetrap it might be on my list! They do sell single tank versions that just use the app to communicate to the smart device.

According to their website, they do work on a horizontal tank. I am using them on my 2 30# tanks that are behind a body panel on our new Eagle TT and work really well.

Products – Mopeka Products, LLC

[SMS1115]

Dad has been using this... Tank Level Gauge for about 3 months and says he likes it. Sends weight to his cell phone via bluetooth and an app.