JoeChiOhki wrote:

Well, in an inquiry to find out if I had defective valves on my 2 20lb horizontal propane tanks, I was informed by Manchester tank company that they deliberately reduce the holding capacity of their 20lb horizontal tanks to 3.2 gallons due to propane "Slosh", something the 1973 20lb horizontals didn't seem to suffer from.

So, given that 20 lbers is barely holding the equivalent of 1 30lb vertical bottle, (6.4 gallons vs 9 gallons, 4.5 gallons per tank like a normal 20lb vertical) I've been pondering the idea of eliminating the removable bottles and locating a permanent tank to install in their place, the biggest I can fit in the space available.

Can this be done without causing some DOT violation?

ticki2 wrote:



What the heck is propane slosh ? Are the old tank valves no good , how much did they hold ? Are they tanks or cylinders ? I thought the new cylinders with OPD valves were only filled to 80% .

Jennifer_Mann wrote:


Good day

The 20# horizontal cylinder is designed to be under filled, because the camper/unit can be unleveled, which means, liquid propane could get into the vapor withdrawal portion of the service valve, horizontal valves have longer dip tubes 4.7", to prevent this. There is not servcie to reset the valve.

Regards,

Jennifer Mann
Customer Service
ASME RV, DOT & Refrigerant Cylinders
Elkhart IN
Phone: 800-640-6327
Fax: 888-876-6449




-----Original Message-----
From: Lesley Shorter
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 8:48 AM
To: Jennifer Mann
Subject: FW: Contact Us - Manchester Tank Website

The information below was submitted from the "Contact Us" form on mantank.com. Please respond to the customer at your earliest convenience.

Thank you!



-----Original Message-----
From: sales@mantank.com
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 5:51 PM
To: mte.web.sales.contact
Subject: Contact Us - Manchester Tank Website

Here is the information submitted from the Contact Us form on the Manchester Tank website:

Name: Matthew T. Rivard
Company: Not a Company, a Consumer
Location: 31421 NW Reeder Rd, Portland, OR, 97231
Phone: 503-949-5053
Email: mrivard@fanworks.org
How did you hear about us: Current Customer

Products I am interested in:
DOT Propane Cylinders: YES
Forklift Cylinders: NO
Mower Cylinders: NO
Propane Hand Burners: NO
1# Refillable Cylinders: NO
Refrigerant Cylinders: NO
RV Tanks Equipment: NO
Autogas Tanks Equipment: NO
Vertical Dispensers: NO
Custom Fabricated Chemical and Industrial Tanks: NO Pressure Vessels and Air Receivers: NO

NO, don't send me emails from Manchester Tank.

Additional Comments:
Howdy, question. I have two 20lb Horizontal Propane Cylinders that I bought back in 2008.

From day one, the OPD valve in these cylinders is cutting off at 3.3 gallons during a fill instead of ~4.5 with a comparable 20lb Vertical Bottle.

I can see no reason why these valves are cutting out prematurely during a proper fill.

Do the OPD valves need replacing, is there a home service method that can be performed on an empty cylinder to reset to the OPD to proper cut off of 80%?

Thanks!

ticki2 wrote:

The conversion that I have read is 4.24 lbs per gal.
20lbs /4.24 = 4.71 gals
4.71 X 80% = 3.77 gals
3.77 X 2 = 7.54 gals

3.2 X 2 = 6.4 gals

30lbs / 4.24 = 7.1 gals
7.1 X 80% = 5.68 gals

The only real way to know what you are getting is by weight when you fill.

JoeChiOhki wrote:



Nobody on the west coast weigh fills propane tanks, its all done by gallons.

From personal experience with having them filled, on average 20lb vertical bottle holds roughly 4.2-4.5gal depending on the ambient temperature. My old horizontals held that much, and any 20lb vertical I've ever had held that much anywhere I filled them along the west coast and PNW.

However, their new 20lb horizontal has the OPD cut off set at less than 80%, in my case, its closer to 66%.

6.4 gallons of propane is a piss poor storage rate for those 2 20lb cylinders and the amount of space they occupy compared to what the camper came with when I bought it, but no one will recertify a Non-opd 37 year old propane cylinder.

Hence my reason for considering changing to a permanent tank which holds 9.8 gallons of propane and would fit within the existing storage compartment space.

However, I do not know if you can use a mounted tank legally in a dismountable RV or not.