Propane Tank Metal Tag ?

[Mark]

I've done some searching and still came up short. Hopefully someone here with some experience can chime in.

I sourced a Manchester propane tank from a mid 80's Westfalia.
It has usual light surface rust covering the lower 1/2, and the fill valve (at least) will require replacing.

The welded-on metal tag has let go on 2 of 4 spots. The tag itself is considerably worse than the tank and fittings themselves. This makes sense to me, seeing as where the tag is located, and it creates a 'pocket' between itself & the tank for water to collect, rust to form, etc.

I plan to disassemble, gas-free, sandblast, powedercoat & re-valve the tank.
My question is how necessary is the metal tag?
I know the new ones sold by Bus Depot & GoWesty have the tag welded along all sides.
I know there are decals available from www.decalsonly.com as shown below...

...to reproduce the original ones, but would like clarification as to the necessity or importance of having the metal tag welded on.

The tank will be installed on our '74 Westy and we are in BC Canada FWIW.

I would appreciate any valid input on the subject before I start this project. Thanks.
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[danfromsyr]

I've a propane tank I just took off Dad's 82 Diesel westy retirement vehicle. and I'll R&R the tank and remove the tag altogether.

I just don't see my propane guy getting down on his belly to verify or read that tag.. it's not like he sees any other VW campers.. if asked I'd just state.. 'Dunno, must be on the back side, go figure"..
long as the tank looks good, fittings work and look well and it's safe (quite a bit thicker then the 20# bbq tanks to start with)

I don't see any problem with it.. but thats my $.02 which is worth less in Canada these days even.
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[Mark]

I agree. I'm not aware of any need for the tag. I never understood why they were so poorly positioned and affixed to the tank like they were, (likely to make folks buy more replacement tanks is my thought).
At $300 and up (plus shipping & BS broker fee) I know I can safely salvage this $25 tank for far less and have the added satisfaction of doing it myself.
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[[email protected]]

The tag IS the certification for the tank, if it were me me, I'd want one on there!
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Markus

[MarkWard]

If the tank were to fail, I'd expect it to leak out a pin hole of rust, not a major failure. The tank steel is quite thick. I removed the tag. The bulk of the rust was under it. Bead blasted the tank. Painted it with rust encapslator, shot it with some white automotive paint I had left over and new fill valve. It looked brand new. Took it to the propane shop to have it inspected. They would not touch it without a tag. I was bummed.

Talked to a friend with an RV. He told me to put the tank back on and go to the local gas station that fills propane tanks as well. The attendant came out hooked up the fill hose and filled away. It may bite me one day on the road, but I know I can get it filled locally before I head out. After the first fill, I did check the entire system with soapy water for leaks.
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☮️

[Mark]

This is all good stuff to consider. I do have the tag hanging on by 2 welds, although I'm not sure how legible it would be after blasting.
I also have a spare tank from a late Bay camper. The tank is in worse shape, yet it's tag is more legible and intact. It too is only hanging on with 2 of 4 welds.
Mix & match with the mig...hmmm.
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[westylife]

[danfromsyr]

the ID plate states the fill, weight, capacity and tare for the tank, along with mfg information so that your refiller can know you didn't just make it yourself.. which I have seen at least one homemade propane tank on a vanagon, the guy was an engineer and I wouldn't doubt his ability to reason out the requirements.

does it make the tank any less safe.. well some people still knock on wood, or toss salt over their shooulders.. so to each their own, and the LAWS protect ALL PEOPLE for their own better good.

I mean why not just toss a BBQ tank in the back of the minivan for refill while your going to soccer practice? sure some people do, and some people wouldn't it's all in how an individual calculates risk.. and there's alot of Nancies out there.
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[Mark]

It's currently my intention to clean up the original tag when I get the tank blasted and weld it to the tank...along all 4 sides like Manchester ought to have done in the first place.

As for the decals, I'm not aware of them being needed to meet any legal requirement, except if you wanted them for stock appearance?
Damn, all this research just so we can have coffee in the morning and for washing dishes. Good stuff!
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[dbcdad]

You might try useing some epoxy to fasten the tag on instead of welding.

Have Fun, David C

[Mark]

I thought of going that route. The tank will be gas-free certified before any welding takes place. Otherwise... big ba-da-boom!
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[iltis74]

Fill it with water and weld away.

[Mark]

Exactly You got 'er!
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[Alan Brase]

fill it with nitrogen and weld away.
Radiators shops used to hook a running car's exhaust to a gas tank and purge it for a while to boil out all the gasoline. Plus it is full of inert gas at that point. the same would work on a propane tank.
Al
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Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home

[Mark]

Well la-tee-da this sucks now. I went to remove the tag from the tank and it broke in half. Son of a...

Since this is going on our family camper, I've decided not to half-ass things in lieu of any legal/insurance implications by not having the proper tank markings. That, plus I don't want to chance dealing with some service station attendant who's uber-keen on propane fill guidelines.

The worst part is I know the tank itself is in excellent condition and rust-free inside.
Too bad the tags on the original tanks are such crap, and in no way "should" indicate the overall condition of the tanks themselves.
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[annieq]

I just took my tank to an Amerigas dealer. The guy told me that the tag shows that this tank is not a DOT tank and therefore does not need to be have the new style valve in order to fill it. There was another post somewhere on this site that mentioned that these tanks were exempt from that requirement. Keep that in mind when you restore the tank.
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curlygirl and the sandeeman

[Mark]

Just to bring this back from the dead, a new tank has been fitted and the stove is working. I tested it outside with windows & doors open... just in case!

Some notes & observations I made during this job:

The regulator assembly on the tank from GoWesty wasn't fully seated, as discovered at the fill station after opening the valve

If you're fitting the newer tank to an earlier Bay camper, don't monkey around using the $20 brackets from GoWesty. Instead, get a couple 1' lengths of 2" angle iron, drill/paint, install with stainless hardware and you have yourself a clean and solid install. Our Westy didn't have the brackets, so I couldn't re-use the original ones.
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[mysticalclimber]

I don't know for sure because I haven't tried to do it yet but I heard you could take your tank to an Amerigas dealer (or somewhere like that) and they could test it and recertify it. I'm planning on doing this because my original certification plate is completely unreadable and my tank was pretty rusty. I had it sandblasted and it looks basically new now but I want to be sure it is safe before using it.

[pushkick]

these tags are to let everone know that the tanks are ASME certified. this is to ensure the safety of unit and to be able to trace accountability for the manufacturer if there are any problems. welding on a tank is a big no unless you know what you are doing. this could cause softening of the steel (annealing) and this could change the structural integrity or pressure rating. if you want to weld to it just have it recertified when you are done. there are places that will dot and asme certify tanks.

i have found that you can buy all the valves at pplmotorhomes.

[dlb]

searched the forum but couldn't find a definitive answer to my question. my propane tank is missing the ID tag. it had a very slight but constant leak when filled so i drained it, removed the tank, and took it to a local propane place. they said without the ID tag it was no good and they would have nothing to do with it. seems wasteful since the tank is still good and just needs a new valve and regulator, so i want to know if these stickers:

...are sufficient replacements for the metal ID tag.

thanks,
david