How Much Propane do I have?

[DMobley232]

I just bought a used 2017 Jayco Jayflight 28BHBE from a private seller. When I asked the owner about the capacity of the 2 propane tanks, he wasn't sure.

We looked on the tanks, but not seeing anything. When I look on rvguide.com it says capacity is 14.2gal/60lbs. Since I have 2 tanks, does that mean I have a total of 28.4gal/120lbs?

I think that is the case. I removed the tanks from the trailer and when I weighed them on my house scale, they were about 55lbs each. Just seems like a lot of propane, but just wanting to know for sure.
Sorry, I am a noob, and this is my first camper.

[oldmanAZ]

Your first camper's propane tanks are virtually full! If you run your furnace and/or water heater (on propane) it won't take long and the amount you have won't be nearly so much.

The stove and refrigerator don't go through propane as rapidly as the other two.

BTW, we all started out as noobs of some degree.

[RogerR]

Your propane tanks have the empty weight and the full weight imprinted on the collar or handle area around the valve.

You can test how full by weighing each and then deducting the empty weight from that total.

Mine reads 21.6 /47.6LBS So if I weigh it I deduct 21.6 lbs from the total and whatever is left is my tank amount. This is for a Jayco supplied 20 pounder. My grill tank says TW17 meaning empty equals 17lbs.

30 pounders also have numbers like this system.

[Atlee]

A 2017 Jay Flight should have 2 30 gal cylinders, for a total of 60 gallons.

Originally Posted by DMobley232

I just bought a used 2017 Jayco Jayflight 28BHBE from a private seller. When I asked the owner about the capacity of the 2 propane tanks, he wasn't sure.

We looked on the tanks, but not seeing anything. When I look on rvguide.com it says capacity is 14.2gal/60lbs. Since I have 2 tanks, does that mean I have a total of 28.4gal/120lbs?

I think that is the case. I removed the tanks from the trailer and when I weighed them on my house scale, they were about 55lbs each. Just seems like a lot of propane, but just wanting to know for sure.
Sorry, I am a noob, and this is my first camper.

[RogerR]

I think those might be 30 pound tanks, which are about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.

[GHen]

While on the road, I use a cheap fish weighing scale to check how many pounds I have. I release the holding straps, leave the hoses attached, the use the hook on the scale to pick up the tank by the slots for the handle. It’s not as accurate as unhooking the tanks but is still reasonably accurate.

[RichR]

Originally Posted by Atlee

A 2017 Jay Flight should have 2 30 gal cylinders, for a total of 60 gallons.

You need to change the 30 gallons to 30 pounds.



If you need to check the level in the tanks pour som hot water done the side of the tanks then slide your finger on tank starting at the bottom. When you feel the temperature change to warm that is at the approximate level of the liquid.

[Bendmac]

I just added a Mopeka TankCheck setup to my 24FBS...can be checked via an app on smartphone or tablet, or via the monitor. I use the monitor and mounted it under the little door inside the trailer where the light switches and slide/awning controls are...

Very accurate, easy to set up, variety of readings...pounds, gallons, inches, etc. Also changeable for various tank sizes...

[ttavasc]

As others have indicated you can find the tare weight (TW) or empty weight of the cylinder stamped on the collar. I use an inexpensive travel scale to weigh the tank. Subtract the tare weight from the total weight to get lbs of propane in the tank. Propane weighs 4.25 lbs per gallon so dividing the number of pounds of propane by 4.25 gives you the number of gallons. A 20lb tank will hold about 4.7 gallons of propane and a 30lb tank will hold about 7 gallons.

[DMobley232]

Originally Posted by Bendmac

I just added a Mopeka TankCheck setup to my 24FBS...can be checked via an app on smartphone or tablet, or via the monitor. I use the monitor and mounted it under the little door inside the trailer where the light switches and slide/awning controls are...

Very accurate, easy to set up, variety of readings...pounds, gallons, inches, etc. Also changeable for various tank sizes...

I like that option. I'm going to look into that. Thanks.

[DMobley232]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

Your first camper's propane tanks are virtually full! If you run your furnace and/or water heater (on propane) it won't take long and the amount you have won't be nearly so much.

The stove and refrigerator don't go through propane as rapidly as the other two.

BTW, we all started out as noobs of some degree.

Thank you. So far we have gone 7 days and have yet to run out. Running Refrigerator occasionally with them, Hot Water heater, and the gas grill. I'm going to look at them closer this weekend and determine how large they are and how long they last.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by DMobley232

Thank you. So far we have gone 7 days and have yet to run out. Running Refrigerator occasionally with them, Hot Water heater, and the gas grill. I'm going to look at them closer this weekend and determine how large they are and how long they last.

Our 28BHBE came with 2x30lb tanks. We generally had moderate propane use. We were mostly hooked up to city power when out, so we used electric space heaters (so furnace use was minimized and it only ran a lot when it got REALLY cold), we ran the fridge on gas while in transit, we would run the water heater on gas during shower time to speed up the hot water recovery, and we used the stove to cook about two meals per each day of camping.

In the over 4 years we owned that rig, I refilled each of the tanks ONCE. The auto-changeover regulator would flash red, I would flip the dial, refill the empty tank and keep right on truckin'!

FWIW, I loved never having to worry about running out of propane; we had more than plenty for our use. It's the furnace that really eats up the propane...

[Ruth]

We have dual 30lb tanks in our 27.5rkds. We use only 1 tank at a time, not the auto changeover. We also use the old fashioned way of determining how much liquid is in the tank. We tap the tank with a screwdriver and listen for a change in the pitch. Has worked pretty well for 40 years...

[bdreinv]

Gosh never thought I would say this we are old fashion.Do not use auto change over.When we run out of propane we know were out. And manually switch over to other tank!Of course that almost always happens at 3 in the morning! LOL

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by bdreinv

Gosh never thought I would say this we are old fashion.Do not use auto change over.When we run out of propane we know were out. And manually switch over to other tank!Of course that almost always happens at 3 in the morning! LOL

That's the beautiful thing about an auto-changeover! And it's even better when you have 2 large tanks. I could fill the empty tank at my convenience and you'd never find me fiddling with the propane at 3 am in my skivvies. Well ... not often anyway!

Now, with the MH, I just have one tank, so I have to keep a close eye on things.

[DMobley232]

Originally Posted by DMobley232

I just bought a used 2017 Jayco Jayflight 28BHBE from a private seller. When I asked the owner about the capacity of the 2 propane tanks, he wasn't sure.

We looked on the tanks, but not seeing anything. When I look on rvguide.com it says capacity is 14.2gal/60lbs. Since I have 2 tanks, does that mean I have a total of 28.4gal/120lbs?

I think that is the case. I removed the tanks from the trailer and when I weighed them on my house scale, they were about 55lbs each. Just seems like a lot of propane, but just wanting to know for sure.
Sorry, I am a noob, and this is my first camper.

Looks like my tanks are each 71.5.bs/TW25.4

[DMobley232]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Our 28BHBE came with 2x30lb tanks. We generally had moderate propane use. We were mostly hooked up to city power when out, so we used electric space heaters (so furnace use was minimized and it only ran a lot when it got REALLY cold), we ran the fridge on gas while in transit, we would run the water heater on gas during shower time to speed up the hot water recovery, and we used the stove to cook about two meals per each day of camping.

In the over 4 years we owned that rig, I refilled each of the tanks ONCE. The auto-changeover regulator would flash red, I would flip the dial, refill the empty tank and keep right on truckin'!

FWIW, I loved never having to worry about running out of propane; we had more than plenty for our use. It's the furnace that really eats up the propane...

Thanks for the info. Helps a ton, especially since I had no idea about the 2 stage auto changeover regulator until you mentioned it.
Now I know how that works and how to check and properly use it, lol.
The jayco manual says it should go between red/green, however the model I have, the "Winntec 6020" 2stage is only clear(full) or orange(empty), as far as my research has told me.

[Duke4857]

Originally Posted by DMobley232

Thanks for the info. Helps a ton, especially since I had no idea about the 2 stage auto changeover regulator until you mentioned it.
Now I know how that works and how to check and properly use it, lol.
The jayco manual says it should go between red/green, however the model I have, the "Winntec 6020" 2stage is only clear(full) or orange(empty), as far as my research has told me.

If you need to know how much propane is in the tank you can pour hot/warm water over the tank. The empty part of the tank the steel will heat up and be hot. Where the tank turns cold is where the fuel level is or close. I always start from the bottom of the tank and work up to the top. I just use hot tap water to check levels with. It will take about half a gallon or less to heat up the steel tank to show the level.

[bdreinv]

Good question when my tank is empty I know its time to filler up!Thanks

[jpurvis]

Definitely 30’s on the flights. Unless you are doing a lot cooking or cold temps it should last quite a while. Can buy gages but mu sure how accurate they are.