Propane Use Below Freezing

[cekkk]

I discovered that my propane furnace would not work at 10° in northern Arizona one night. Turns out the problem was not so much the propane as it was the empty propane tanks!

[bluztoo]

Just did such a camp in Duluth Minnesota. Propane was fine. Had a problem getting it filled at 5 below. I still don't understand but the attendant told me the tank would not fill. I filled it up further south. The other problem I had was that my Melbourne leaks air in and out like a sieve. Steps coming into the RV and the gap along the slider were the principle culprits.

[Leon]

Propane can turn to a liquid at - 20 Celsius or minus 4 fAhrenhiet when the level of the tank is low .I live in Canada and the propane company’s that fill your tank at recommend to not let your gas tank level go below 30% for this reason so as long as your tank level is up it should be ok otherwise on smaller tanks (30 pounder)I put a 50 watt light bulb at the lower part of the tank and rap insulation around it then get full usage out of your propane

[tljwYaki]

We ran ours at -5* to +10* in Mountain Home Arkansas during a January winter. Only thing we experienced was thin icing, like frost on the tank. We could actually tell how much propane was left by the frost line. Insulate, everywhere you can. Block the wind, everywhere you can.

[JohnWedell]

Many thanks to everyone who responded. Last night the temperature got down to 8° and the windchill was below zero (although the windshield doesn’t really matter). Everything worked perfect, in fact the trailer got too hot we had to turn the thermostat down. A big relief.

[tljwYaki]

[bearkeller]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

Maximum BTU draw at 70 degrees on a 30 pound tank is 118,000 btu's
Maximum BTU draw at 0 degrees on a 30 pound tank is 45,000 btu's/hour

Bill is correct. Propane is a liquid in the tank. Above the liquid is the gas. The colder it gets the less gas is produced in the tank and thus less pressure created. That’s why there’s a regulator. High use gas appliances like furnaces and water heaters use more than the tank will produce when cold and will cause erratic gas flow

[jimmoore13]

https://www.hunker.com/13418816/how-...-propane-tanks

[Duke4857]

Neighbor across the street lives in a 5er year around on their property. They rent out the house to the sister. I hear the fifth wheel furnace burnning at all temps here in OR. We had no trouble with our furnace in the TT at 8 degrees. Just my experience.

[Marcm157]

Hank Hill says once again Grumpy is right....Those of you who know, know!

[craigav]

Keep in mind that Propane is an LPG, but LPG often is not 100% propane. The more butane in it the less pressure it will have at colder temperatures (as others have mentioned). Butane has (if I remember correctly) no pressure when the temperature is below freezing. However, most LPG, especially in Northern areas is mostly propane (up to 100%). While Propane maintains ample pressure at very low temps, one thing to consider is that as propane (or any lpg) vaporizes, that evaporation causes the liquid product to become colder than ambient temperatures. So even if it is warm enough with ambient temps, the liquid will become much colder with more usage, to the point where pressures could be too low (especially with propane/butane blends) when under high usage. If that ever happens though and you have the ability to do so, you can warm up the LPG bottle and bring the pressure back up. ~CA