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Propane and propane accessories.
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Chainsaw
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:40 am    Post subject: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

Hey ya'll, a few questions regarding the propane tanks on westies.

Do the tank have to get a recertification every twelve years like a BBQ tank does or will tossing in a good double check filler be good enough?

Has anyone had any luck plumbing in say a 20# bbq tank for extra burn time? I have a sweet little #15 tank that would be great for extended trips should the need arise but dont want to do anything to....explosive. Eh?

Any other advise is greatly appreciated
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wcdennis
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

No advise--I just thought a picture of Hank Hill was called for.
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Microbusdeluxe Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

Unless your trip is going to last over a month or so, the propane tank has plenty of gas to keep you cooking and that's if you are also running the fridge on propane. Using the tank only for cooking and you have more like 3 months of travel time before you run out.
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E1
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

If the reference helps anyone, we're full-timers and average a refill on our stock 3-gallon tank every 10-14 weeks.

We probably average 1.5 cooked meals a day. Refrigerator has been replaced with organization. Very Happy
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Chainsaw
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

Wcdennis Indeed it was!

Microbusdelux, the plan is to get a propex in the van pretty short order for full four season camping. Often 4-5 nights at a time, hence the big guestion of burn time and adding an auxiliary tank externally. It is against my nature to run out of things
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Sodo
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

Chainsaw wrote:
It is against my nature to run out of things


you may run out of space
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SSWesty
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

Chainsaw have you done the calcs to confirm your propane usage on a 5 night trip? You may or may not run out depending on your daytime usage, sleep top up or down and how well insulated things are. Propane is like using water from a tank so it's somewhat easy to calc. Frig uses x amount, propex uses x amount, cooking uses x amount like 2,000 BTUs in the morning and 4,000 btus to cook dinner in the evening. Do that for 5 days and you have 30,000 fewer BTUs in the tank. A gallon of propane is around 91,000 BTUs.
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:11 pm    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

an extend-a-stay kit for an external tank or a 2nd westy tank are fairly easy to plum in.
do some searching, there's a few well detailed threads how-to.

I have a propex & XL propane tank, my brother has dual westy tanks and a suburban furnace a friend has an extend a stay and furnace another friend has just an external 20#.. they all work well within their own pluses & minuses

we like (need) to stay warm here in upstate NY. to extend our season well into frost.
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thunderstick12
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 8:16 am    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

I went to Amerigas in Pacific to have my tank tested and the repairman there said the tank has a stamp on it. ASME. which he said means it doesn't need to be tested. Steve
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blackglasspirate
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:09 am    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

wcdennis wrote:
No advise--I just thought a picture of Hank Hill was called for.
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I get all my propane and propane accessories at Strickland. Talk to Hank and tell him Rusty Shackleford sent you.



As far as run time on a stock tank, I'll echo what's already been said about the stock tank lasting 2-3 months living in the van full time. There's no way you'll run out on a 5 day trip unless you're leaving it on 24/7. So unless you're running additional non-stock accessories off propane, I don't think you need to worry about a bigger tank.
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Ahwahnee
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:57 am    Post subject: Re: Propane and propane accessories. Reply with quote

When we full-timed in ours we got the tank topped up every 14 days and never ran out.

This was a stock Westy (no Propex, etc) with the fridge running 24/7.

Vehicle tank requirements are much stouter than what is required for a BBQ tank, hence the long life w/o recertification.
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