Using 1 lb propane bottles and how I was breaking the law!

tagurit

There have been a few discussions lately on some varied topics that became slightly hijacked with propane tank questions, so I thought I would like to share our experience in a little more detail for anyone considering the switch. We have been using "disposable" (DOT 39) 1 lb bottles for several months now with great success. The savings in both weight and storage space more than make up with the slight inconvenience of connecting the bottle every time we want to use the cooktop. We also cook with a 17 inch Blackstone griddle that uses 1 lb bottles. I mentioned in a previous post that we did a 24 day trip this summer and between the two appliances, we used a total of four bottles. Up to now I have been refilling the "disposable" bottles with an adapter from Amazon, it is a little tricky but can be done safely with the help of a kitchen scale and a spray bottle of soapy water, there are plenty of videos on YouTube and I have had no problems at all. However, I recently discovered although it may not be illegal to refill the bottles for personal use, it does say on the bottles it is illegal to transport them and may result in up to a $500,000 fine and five-year imprisonment; I did confirm this in 49 CFR 178.65. So, we have invested in a Flame King 1 lb refillable bottle system that is DOT approved, the refill kit and three extra bottles was less than $90 from REI. The bottles are only about a half pound heavier than a disposable bottle and the refill process is much easier but most important it is much safer and now we are legal.

Chaverim

There are also 1lb DOT refillable bottles from Manchester that have two different sizes. A tall thin one and a short fatter one.

TomD

Be aware of differing State requirements as well.

TennTim

@tagurit said:
may result in up to a $500,000 fine and five-year imprisonment

Wow.

Imagine explaining that while doing time.
“What are you in here for?”
“I refilled a 1 lb propane cylinder that wasn’t DOT approved to be refillable and drove it to a campground.”

BBsGarage

@TennTim said:

@tagurit said:
may result in up to a $500,000 fine and five-year imprisonment

Wow.

Imagine explaining that while doing time.
“What are you in here for?”
“I refilled a 1 lb propane cylinder that wasn’t DOT approved to be refillable and drove it to a campground.”

......and they all moved away from me on the bench........

TennTim

Ha!

LuckyJ

@BBsGarage said:

@TennTim said:

@tagurit said:
may result in up to a $500,000 fine and five-year imprisonment

Wow.

Imagine explaining that while doing time.
“What are you in here for?”
“I refilled a 1 lb propane cylinder that wasn’t DOT approved to be refillable and drove it to a campground.”

......and they all moved away from me on the bench........

I just love the image of this! Lol

Means while, on other topics, we argue about the question if a T@G should be towed with a vehicule that only as twice the capacity of the T@G for liability reason. Lol

With the disposable one pounder, the law is one thing, the real thing I have with them, is that the fact that they leak, even when new and it gets worst, when you screw and unscrew them. I now have to keep a torch on a bottle, cause I can here it wishtle when I remove the torch. I also keep the a disposable one pounder in a plastic tote when I travel on in house storage, and every time I open the tote, I can smell the gaz that leaked in the tote.

Michigan_Mike

How do you prove that a canister has been refilled and I’m betting that there has never been a conviction for this type of activity. And to clear the air, I neither approve or disapprove of this technique, nor endorse doing it.

I’ve used a lot of the one-pound containers and agree with Luc, the containers do leak occasionally and the 20# valves also are subject to leaking as was shown on national news in the last two days. I had a 20# tank that was expanding and letting off pressure. This is why you always shut the valves off on tanks too as propane is heavier than air and will settle in low areas. A co-workers son was severely injured when he attempted to light the gas BBQ grill on their deck. There had been a leak in the line, the gas settled beneath the deck and it blew up, destroying a large section of the deck and injuring his son.

http://amp.wlwt.com/article/police-woman-hospitalized-after-car-explodes-in-walnut-hills/23407650

I also had an incident where I stored a propane torch in a storage bin on my five wide little guy trailer. While setting up the trailer at a state park campground I opened up the bin and I could smell propane inside the diamond plate storage bin on the front of my trailer. The on/off control on the torch had vibrated to the on position and filled the storage bin full of propane. I immediately shut the torch off and removed the head and let the storage bin air out. I considered myself extremely lucky after that event and knew I’d make a big mistake and learned my lesson.

LuckyJ

@Michigan_mike,

As for how do you know if a propane container was refiled, I guess you can not, it is probably a law for propane suplier and to inforrmed people that it is not safe. ( btw, with all the links we saw, did anyone notice that you are not supposed to transport more than 3 of those container in a vehicule, I did not know this.)

For the leaky 20lbs valve, there is also a presure releave valve on those that will open if to much pressure set-in. To avoid catastrophic explosion but then again. And this is also why that they are not allowed to fill at more than 80% capacity (according to the law). And on home barbec, it is not always the tank valve that leaks, sometime it it the BBq valves and hoses.

And for transport, this is why a container that hide a propane cylinder should always have holes in the bottom. (Did any of you knew that yes, you can transport a propane cylinder inside a TV, but when doind so, some window should be open to make ventilation possible. This is also why a trunk lid should be open when transporting in a trunk.

So to recap, no containers are safe, refilable container have to be recertified every few years, and a perchased full 1 lbs propane cylinder should not be refilled (they are also not recertifiable).

Wonder how an inssurance company would react if they knew that this was not respected. Make me think of an other topic.

BBsGarage

So you cant transport more than 3, I guess they get shipped to the store only 3 at a time
This also reminds me of the signs I see when going thru tunnels that have the no propane symbol. Not that I have seen anyone stop or be checked, even motor homes or campers.

Im_Gone_Camping

As the DOT reg was explained to me By a retired LEO
No One cares until an event happens IE: bodily injury, property damage, a death
If the investigation finds that the bottles have been refilled you may be held responsible

BBsGarage

@Im_Gone_Camping said:
As the DOT reg was explained to me By a retired LEO
No One cares until an event happens IE: bodily injury, property damage, a death
If the investigation finds that the bottles have been refilled you may be held responsible

Kinda like New Jersey, everything is legal, as long as you dont get caught.

LuckyJ

@BBsGarage said:
So you cant transport more than 3, I guess they get shipped to the store only 3 at a time

Hey, get the proper transport permit and label on the side of you TV and TD and you will be able to transport as many as you want.

But compare to other, I am just trying to bring information w/o playing the fear card here.

And to translate a french expression a sometimes use, "The ears are yours, you do what ever you want with them"

Like on many post, I prefer to bring factual indormation and let people make theire own decision. And it is not because someone keep a blogs of all there adventure that what they do is safe.

Have fun and be safe outhere.

tagurit

Pleased with the Flame King refillable 1 lb bottles so far. They are built like a miniature 20 lb bottle but without the rotating shut off valve. The Schrader valve is gone and they have an automatic 80% fill feature that works, I filled four and they were all within one oz by weight. The verdict is still out on how the connecting valve will last over time, apparently there were some early production issues that led to leaks and a recall but current reviews are positive. They come with nice, heavy threaded plastic caps, I will see how they work but I will switch them out to brass caps with rubber seals if I notice any leakage.