Propane Tank how long do they last?

[CampGG]

I have 2022 Minnie 2529RG, new to me, with 2 propane tanks and I'm wondering how long a tank will last. I know it depends so I'm wondering with temps lower than 40 and only the furnace running, so plugged up for other appliances.

Also, is there gauges to show tank levels?

[Blue Sky]

Welcome!

Originally Posted by CampGG

I have 2022 Minnie 2529RG, new to me, with 2 propane tanks and I'm wondering how long a tank will last. I know it depends so I'm wondering with temps lower than 40 and only the furnace running, so plugged up for other appliances.

Also, is there gauges to show tank levels?

You're right about depending on useage, so can't answer that one directly. You will know your needs after a few trips

Cooking and heating uses larger amounts of propane. Your refigerator (if on propane) uses very little.

To limit the use of propane, we use the microwave when we can. Also we use small electric heaters to warm the room. That way we can set the thermostat higher so the furnace comes on less often. That has worked well for us in temperatures in the 20's.

Can't offer any comment about gauges because we don't use them. Others posters will have good advice. We use one tank until it runs out and then fill it before the other is empty.

On a long trip in cold weather I would bring an extra tank. It really depends on your location and how convenient refills are available.

[Morich]

We find the propane lasts long enough to not be a real problem. But we also rarely go when below 30. For our use, we plan for electrical when winter and use space heater for electrical heat as primary with the furnace only running when really colder!
I have connected 1500 watt heaters to home style thermostats to get better , more level heating but they let us use far less propane for heat and the electrical is included on camping. But we are not cold weather folks who do the winter thing!

There are a number of different gauges that can be found for propane tanks and they work at different levels. Some are kind of okay while some are a joke! We never found it worthwhile as we had ways to work around the issue.
One of the most reliable is to do it like the propane fill folks and weight the tank. Deduct the tare (empty) weight of the tank and you know how much propane is left. For this, I could feel by lifting and tell if it needed a refill, so we just made sure they were full before trips.

When in use, a simple plan is to pour water down the tank side, as using them makes the tank side different where empty versus liquid propane. The condensation/frost line tells you how much is left!
There are strips for gauges that stick on the tank side to sense the temp change. If careful one might be able to feel this change by hand?

The trick is to adapt the plan to what you do at the time? But also hard to know until you get details of what you will do! Keep a spare tank and plan so to avoid freezing??

[Eagle5]

Hi Richard,
I would add pour a glass of "hot out of the tap" water slowly down the side of the propane tank. The cold-to-hot transition is the fuel level.
Thanks, Eagle5

[creativepart]

Missing important info... Some TTs come with 30lb Propane Tanks and others come with 20lb Propane Tanks.Obviously, the larger tanks last longer than the smaller tanks. So, if you told us what size tanks you have that would be a help.

But asking how long your propane will last is like asking how long is a string.

Without knowing if you are using propane for the water heater, the refrigerator, the stove top, possibly an oven AND the RVs furnace then there is no answer to your question.

Here's how you can know. Presumably you have a tank switch to choose between one or the other tank OR to connect to both at once. Well, fill both tanks full. Install them in your TT. Set the selector lever to ONE of the two tanks and go about your merry way using what you use. When that runs out, simply switch to the other tank and now you know how long one tank of propane lasts.

While living off of the second tank, take the first one to be filled. And viola! no worries and you have gained full and complete knowledge.

[Ray,IN]

The calculation is; rated input BTU of each LP appliance running X run-time of each appliance, then divide the BTU per gallon(91,500) of propane by that first result, then X times the number of gallons of propane you have available.

[Wayne M]

A century ago: If you have an automatic cross over, that is when one tank gets empty it switches to the other tank automatically - don't use it. You will not know when the 1st tank runs out and the 2nd tank will run out at 2 a.m. in the morning.

Don't ask me how I know when I had a 5th wheel with auto crossover.

Williams, AZ, 27˚ outside. Six hours later the propane dealers opened. DW was not a happy camper.

[powercat_ras]

How Long Are Small Propane Tanks Good For?

Portable Propane tanks, also called DOT propane tanks, of 100 pounds capacity or less have an expiration date of 12 years from the date of manufacture in the United States. Once those 12 years are up, you can either try to exchange the tank for a un-expired replacement, or have it inspected for requalification for an additional five years of use.

To check what the expiration date is:

Near the handle, you’ll find a series of stamped markings. These provide important information about your tank’s origination and capacity rating. A date should appear on the handle, near the valve indicating the manufacture date. It most often reads in a standard Month-Year format. So if your tank was built in June of 2020, it would read “06-20.”

In this example, it would not expire until 06-2032.

Tanks can be re-certified and this extends their expiration date. depending on the type of tank and method of re-certification it can be re-certifed for 5, 7, or 12 years. Typical propane dealers do 5 year re-certification, and often use a sticker rather than stamping the recertification information near the handle.

A propane tank’s recertification date is most often indicated by a letter instead of numbers. The letters A, B, C, and D, correspond with a quarter of the calendar year. The letter “A” would mean the tank had been recertified in January, February, or March, followed by the two numbers of the year. In this case, a tank stamped with “A 20” would indicate the first quarter of 2020. Additional letters indicate the type of recertification, which helps determine the frequency of follow up inspections.

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Most motorhomes uses fixed propane tanks that are not removable and these are ASME tanks and have different standards.

ASME tanks are approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

They’re not removed for refilling – they’re refilled with the tank in place.

ASME tanks don’t have expiration dates nor is any certification period stated or required. However, (and this is VERY important), ASME tanks do require periodic visual inspections.

When a propane retailer fills an ASME tank on a motorhome, they should be visually inspecting the tank. And in states that require motor vehicle inspections, the ASME tank on a motorhome should also be inspected at that time.

[TN8S]

Try the Mopeka tank monitoring system! Works using sonar with the sensor mounted on the bottom of the tank. You will be able to monitor levels via the Mopeka app. Works great!!

[TN8S]

Also try Mr. Heater F232000 Portable Buddy 9000 BTU Propane Heater. Using the small green propane tanks you can get appx. 5 1/2 hours on low. Hooked up to a 20 lb tank you get about 100 hours.