I used to live in California and still read the online versions of the SF Chronicle and the LA Times now and again. I read that in CA,1 lb disposable propane tanks will be outlawed by 2028 and that only refillable 1 lb propane tanks will be available. The idea between now and then is to give CA stores and propane fill stations time enough to prepare for the switch. (I know that you can refill the disposable 1 lb tanks. From what I read, specifically designed refillable 1 lb propane tanks have extra safety features.)
It seems like a lot of folks on the forum use 1 lb disposable propane tanks. I’m curious if this is something that’s just happening in California or if other states and countries have either made this change or are talking about it?
When I started using 1 lb. tanks, I didn’t have a feeling for how long they would last. I bought a refill adapter to refill empty single use cylinders from a 20 lb. BBQ tank. It can be done, but it is not without its safety related peril as these tanks are not made to be refilled. You have to figure out how to evacuate them or they won’t fill completely. Then there is the lack of an overfill prevention device. I also managed a small bit of frostbite when I didn’t connect the two tanks correctly. I then bought a pair of refillable cylinders and all the valves and piping needed to refill them safely. In the end, I discovered that the single use cylinders will last as long as 4 - 6 months on each of my torch setups, so I sold the refillable cylinders, valves and piping. I live in NY and have not heard of any effort to outlaw single use tanks. NY being NY I am sure that they will be soon. At that point, I guess that I repurchase another set of refillable cylinders. I do wonder if CA and NY will allow you to refill your own or if you will have to take them somewhere for a lot of money…Rob
Hi Rob and All,
I remember researching refilling the 1lb propane tanks a while ago…I did buy the adapter to refill from the 20 lb barbeque tank, but I have not done it. From what I read, an “empty” disposable will refill to about 80-90% without using the valve on it (looks like a bicycle tube valve and it’s near the neck of the bottle) to empty it completely. Apparently if you use these valves to empty the tank, they can later leak, so the advice I read advised just refilling to that 80-90% level and leaving it at that. You can leave the 20 pounder in the sun and put the 1 pounder in the freezer before filling and that tends to increase the fill, but it isn’t strictly necessary to do this, either. As to overfilling, I didn’t read anything about that or how likely it is. The pressure in a 20 lb tank is supposed to be 145 psi at 70 degrees and 172 psi at 100 degrees…and the safety relief valve is triggered at about 200 psi. The 1lb tank has 100 to 200 psi pressure, “or even higher when the tank gets hot in the sun.” So evidently there isn’t much danger of overfilling, as the pressure ranges are the same. I am not telling anybody this is the exact truth, as it is just what I have read. Draw your own conclusions. -royjohn
royjohn…Thanks for the clarification. I don’t know what is in a single use cylinder, if anything, to prevent overfilling. I actually don’t know what is in a refillable cylinder to prevent overfilling either. I refilled my last single use cylinder a long time ago. The problem that I had with my refillable cylinders was that I couldn’t get my EZ torch to seal to them. I made thicker gaskets and it just didn’t make a difference. Having already determined that single use cylinders would last a long time, I gave up on refillable cylinders and eventually sold them. I do recall reading that you can only reach about 80% of the capacity of a single use cylinder when refilling if you don’t evacuate the gas in the cylinder. I also recall pushing in the valve stem as I was filling it until liquid propane came out of the valve and putting the 20 lb. tank in the sun and the cylinder that I was filling in the freezer. I have no idea what level of the capacity of the cylinder was filled with liquid propane at this point. Refillable cylinders have a separate valve that you can open with an Allen wrench until liquid propane comes out while you are filling it. This is when you close the valve and stop the refill process. I will watch the availability of refillables and buy them should they appear to be coming scarce as a result of NYS following the lead of CA. Thanks…Rob
Rob, That’s interesting that you couldn’t get the EZ torch to seal properly with a refillable 1 lb propane tank. That’s not good! Torches and gas leaks aren’t a good combination.
Hopefully when it’s time for me to make the switch to refillable 1 lb tanks it will be worked out by then. I wonder if teflon tape for gas fittings would solve the problem? I think teflon tape for gas fittings is yellow, where white teflon tape is for water.
Jeff…It was the gasket that sealed the cylinder to the valve body. Try as I might, I could not get it to seal. I am sure that there is a solution, but by then I had already decided to use disposables and didn’t pursue it any further…Rob