Gauge for Propane Tank

[241]

Was in the market for a way to tell how much propane I have left in my tanks. Found this baby at Ace Hardware for about $10 that measures the weight of your propane tank to tell you how much you have left (ballpark). You hold the top end in your hand and lift the tank with the fish hook end.

Did a quick measurement before and after a brew and saw what I think is accurate enough for my needs (full reading with a new tank, about 3/4 left after mash and boil of one brew).

Anyway I highly recommend it and you can't beat the price, will probably pay for itself after a few cycles

It is also sold on Amazon and gets great reviews. Shown here next to my iPhone 5 for size comparison.

 

[241]

Here's the pic

 

[SpikeBrewing]

You could buy a standard scale, zero it out with propane bottle and you'll know how many pounds you have left.

 

[241]

You could buy a standard scale, zero it out with propane bottle and you'll know how many pounds you have left.

This is true! Can't beat $10 though

 

[SpikeBrewing]

I bet you can get a scale for like $5 plus you won't have to lift it to see the weight!

 

[daksin]

I got one of these.

Cheap and works perfectly every time. No lifting required, and you know exactly how much gas you have left. $13.

 

[45_70sharps]

Pretty cool. I don't use no stinking BBQ grill size tank for beer though! I figured that a guy needs at least double that, plus the BBQ tank for a backup.

Good easy solution for figuring out how much gas you have left though.

 

[jpc]

I got one of these.

Cheap and works perfectly every time. No lifting required, and you know exactly how much gas you have left. $13.

There is no way that a pressure gauge will work properly. The problem with this is exactly the same problem with the high-side gauge on a CO2 regulator; The gas is stored as a liquid; the pressure above the liquid will remain the same (well, technically, it will vary a bit with temperature) until all the liquid is gone. When the liquid is gone, the pressure will drop, but it will happen very quickly.

 

[45_70sharps]

I use to have one of the stickers on the side of my R.V. propane tanks.
They work pretty well most the time.
It just senses the temperature difference in the areas with liquid or gas propane

 

[najel]

I just use the scale I use to weigh out my grains. It goes up to 25 kg. My propane tank actually has the tare weight printer on it's label, too. And then you know how much propane you get with a fill, so you can actually start recording how much you use for each hour of running the burner, and eventually figure out pretty well how much you get out of a fill.

 

[ajlee]

You could buy a standard scale, zero it out with propane bottle and you'll know how many pounds you have left.

I was going to suggest this also. I'm pretty sure my 20 lb BBQ tank weighs 16 lbs when empty.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

I was going to suggest this also. I'm pretty sure my 20 lb BBQ tank weighs 16 lbs when empty.

Tanks should be stamped on the top collar with their empty weight. At least our 40# tanks are.

 

[daksin]

There is no way that a pressure gauge will work properly. The problem with this is exactly the same problem with the high-side gauge on a CO2 regulator; The gas is stored as a liquid; the pressure above the liquid will remain the same (well, technically, it will vary a bit with temperature) until all the liquid is gone. When the liquid is gone, the pressure will drop, but it will happen very quickly.

My common sense says exactly the same thing, but my gauge decreases linearly and accurately predicts the runout of the tank. I can't explain it, but then I've never spent a moment's thought on it.

You're right, though. I have no idea how it works, or doesn't.