Flame King 1lb Propane Refill Kit

[Philip]

Can't say for sure if they freeze more or less, but like I said above, I ran 2 full Flame King tanks for 2 hours and it ran strong with only some minor frosting on the tanks.    They do sell some sort of tank "coozy" that you can put on them to keep them insulated a bit better.

This would only help for the first few minutes that the tank is warm, after it'll actually make the situation worse. Covers protect the tank from the cold on the outside. The inside of my shanty is warm, the issue is the cold caused by depressurization which is an internal thermal loss system.

Two ideas I may try this year-

-Thermal reflector angled to reflect heat from the front of my big buddy to the side where the open tank compartment is

-Use copper pipe on the front of the heater that leads to a loop around the tank, the copper is thermally conductive and will heat the tank

[Philip]

Do you guys have any freezing issues with the 5lb tanks? That might be the move. Sick of paying $4+ for lbers

[DTro]

What I’ve found that helps with the 1lbers and sputtering or freezing is that it’s mostly from tank getting low and a loss of pressure.   You can tilt them or shake them a bit and it will work for another 20 min.  I’m thinking if you opened the cover and propped the tank up so it’s angled a bit that should work too. 

[Philip]

What I’ve found that helps with the 1lbers and sputtering or freezing is that it’s mostly from tank getting low and a loss of pressure.   You can tilt them or shake them a bit and it will work for another 20 min.  I’m thinking if you opened the cover and propped the tank up so it’s angled a bit that should work too.

Pressure loss is due to state change inside the tank, the propane liquifies in the cold temp and does not provide adequate gas pressure to feed the heater, so shaking it wont help on a 3/4 full tank that froze. Only thing that works is getting it back to "room temp". The couple seconds of holding it and shaking will warm it up enough to run for another couple minutes but its not a perm solution.

I do not recommend titling them, I am under the impression this can cause a flame ball by feeding LP directly into the heater (instead of gas) This is what happens to guys who over fill their tanks

[DTro]

Yep, probably right, just saying what has worked for me.   I’ve never seen one freeze up at ¾ full though.  Whenever it’s happened to me it’s been ¼ or lower.   Getting the heater up off the ground on a crate or something would probably help too.

[fishville]

I just bought a heater this year.  I've heard about 1lb's freezing.  Would the disposable toe warmers stuck to the tank help?

[Philip]

I just bought a heater this year.  I've heard about 1lb's freezing.  Would the disposable toe warmers stuck to the tank help?

I dont think so. The tanks freeze up good. They'll have a 5mm crust of ice on the outside when they stop working, a chemical toe warmer might help for a few minutes but once the condensation starts freezing up I think its game over. I was also considering those Zippo butane hand warmers or something like an electric heating element such as those rechargeable foot warmers.

Ive searched pretty heavily online but no one seems to have a solution besides changing to a bigger tank. I'm surprised that they havent created a channel inside the unit to make the compartments heated (using the radiant heat)

 I guess another option would be a hose for the 1bers, allowing you to put the tank 2 feet in front of the heater

[mushroom_capd_1]

I dont think so. The tanks freeze up good. They'll have a 5mm crust of ice on the outside when they stop working, a chemical toe warmer might help for a few minutes but once the condensation starts freezing up I think its game over. I was also considering those Zippo butane hand warmers or something like an electric heating element such as those rechargeable foot warmers.

Ive searched pretty heavily online but no one seems to have a solution besides changing to a bigger tank. I'm surprised that they havent created a channel inside the unit to make the compartments heated (using the radiant heat)

 I guess another option would be a hose for the 1bers, allowing you to put the tank 2 feet in front of the heater

we've been using a Heater/cooker with the 1lb. tanks and just turn the heater on it's back whenever it freezes up and starts to die out. When it starts to die out again, simply stand it upright...we can usually empty the 1lb. tanks fully this way.