1LB Gas Cylinders freezing

[Rockin_n_Vermont]

Hey crew,

Last season i bought a Mr.Heater Buddy heater that takes the 1lb cylinder coleman gas tanks. On really cold days, the gas cylinders would freeze up on the outside and they end up not lasting as long as they should. I tried finding neoprene covers for them, but google wasn't any help. Any ideas to keep them from freezing? I would rather not lug around a 20lb gas tank. I guess I could do a 5lb tank if that was the best option.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Keegan

[Rockin_n_Vermont]

Did a little more reading up. I guess a cover (koozie) won't help and this seems like a known issue. I guess I could try the 5 pounders this year.

[3300]

bring plenty of spares and rotate them as they freeze. some make ice holes to float them in after a freeze. i find that it's the last 1/3 tank that likes to freeze or when it is more air than gas. you reuse the once frozen ones after they thaw out some while your on ice.

i keep them in a rectangle cat litter bucket and bring what i need from that or bring the whole bucket. they lay inside flat and i keep the caps on and the threads lubed and i refill them. if you end up refilling, they won't hold as much as they did new, so just bring plenty always.

[tbern]

Did a little more reading up. I guess a cover (koozie) won't help and this seems like a known issue. I guess I could try the 5 pounders this year.

. Try a sock (as your koozie ) big enough to slip over the tank with a small hand warmer placed inside of it.

[mudchuck]

I switched to 5# tank, never a problem ever since.
Except 1 time down to Bomoseen, -10F at sunset and dropping fast, didn't bring the tank inside the pop up fast enough and had it freeze up. Once we thawed it out it was fine the rest of the night.
It fits well in a bucket with an insulation blanket around it...cheaper than 1# disposables in the long run too...

[mjmeyer]

Did a little more reading up. I guess a cover (koozie) won't help and this seems like a known issue. I guess I could try the 5 pounders this year.

I have three of the Koozies. When they first came out I bought two and then got one as a door prize somewhere. That was before the thermodynamics of the system struck me.

They freeze anyway and that makes sense. The cylinder is self chilling with the release of the gas. The Koozie seals this and doesn't allow any heat from the tent to warm them even slightly.
The ONLY thing I can see the Koozie as helping would be to keep the warmed cylinder as warm as the car for a little longer.

[Lavman]

The key to the little bottles is keeping them warm. I store mine inside the house in the winter (bring them in the night before I am heading out anyway) and I bring them on the ice in a soft side cooler that also fits my cordless drill (auger) batteries. When I get the pop up set up I always keep the heater up off the ice on an upside down milk crate. This gets the heater up higher into the warmer air in the tent (the heat in the tent stratifies, always much cooler down on the ice and maybe 2' above - imagine that!). The bottles always frost up as the heater runs but I can get more run time out of the bottles by keeping the heater up in the warmer air.

[Rockin_n_Vermont]

The key to the little bottles is keeping them warm. I store mine inside the house in the winter (bring them in the night before I am heading out anyway) and I bring them on the ice in a soft side cooler that also fits my cordless drill (auger) batteries. When I get the pop up set up I always keep the heater up off the ice on an upside down milk crate. This gets the heater up higher into the warmer air in the tent (the heat in the tent stratifies, always much cooler down on the ice and maybe 2' above - imagine that!). The bottles always frost up as the heater runs but I can get more run time out of the bottles by keeping the heater up in the warmer air.

That's some good advice Lavman. was thinking of getting a drill powered auger this year so maybe a soft side cooler for batteries and gas bottles will work out. Thanks

[Rockin_n_Vermont]

I switched to 5# tank, never a problem ever since.
Except 1 time down to Bomoseen, -10F at sunset and dropping fast, didn't bring the tank inside the pop up fast enough and had it freeze up. Once we thawed it out it was fine the rest of the night.
It fits well in a bucket with an insulation blanket around it...cheaper than 1# disposables in the long run too...

Was curious if it actually was less costly in the long run, getting a 5lber refilled, vs buying 1lbers all the time. 1LB tanks are like 3.99/ea, 5lb tank full to start is around $60, and about 3.25/gallon of propane... Might take a couple years for it to even out. haha

[mudchuck]

Was curious if it actually was less costly in the long run, getting a 5lber refilled, vs buying 1lbers all the time. 1LB tanks are like 3.99/ea, 5lb tank full to start is around $60, and about 3.25/gallon of propane... Might take a couple years for it to even out. haha

I pay around $12 to fill my 5# tank each time.

[Ice Scratcher]

I pay around $12 to fill my 5# tank each time.

That's what it costs for 20lbs here, are they getting a 20lb price to fill your 5lb?

My 5lb costs $3 to fill, $6 for my 10lb..

I have two fives, and one ten I like em all a bunch!

<°)))>{

[bowmandan]

They charge the same for a 5 as they do for a 20.  Need to pay for the labor I guess

[Raquettedacker]

LP gas, liquid propain,  should be sold by the gallon not by the pound...
I have several 20lb tanks and take them to a place that charges by the gallon and it's half price of the place that charges by the pound... And there just as full and last just as long... JMO....

[Ice Scratcher]

They charge the same for a 5 as they do for a 20.  Need to pay for the labor I guess

If that's the case, I would have em fill up a 50lb then lol...

<°)))>{

[grampieshanty]

I wonder if you got a container that was larger in diameter than the gas cylinder, put it in then get some spray foam ,fill it , let it cure, then you would an insulated covering for it. Hmmmm

[Meetwood flac]

Get creative with some sheet metal and build a hood to capture some of the heat to direct it back to the tank...

[rdhammah]

have never seen a 5# tank. would it fit in a 5 gal bucket?

[Gills-only]

have never seen a 5# tank. would it fit in a 5 gal bucket?

.     Sure it will

[Ice Scratcher]

.     Sure it will

X2...

One sitting under the bench of my fx100..

<°)))>{

[chilly-willy]

Seen in the tractor supply add there was a 5 pound tank on sale I think it was $59.99 for the tank plus fill up.. for those looking for a black friday deal on one..

[Ice Scratcher]

Home depot has always been pretty cheap for the 5lb, order/pay in store, shipping to home was free...

Here's one of my 5lb tanks in a 5 gallon bucket...

<°)))>{

[bootstrap]

i have 2 of the 5ers. super handy.

[filetandrelease]

I use a 5#er  , mine stays in a cut down pail with a sun flower cost about 3 dollars to fill , plus I have a 11#manchester but doesn’t fit in a pail so I use a pail top ,   I use an old radiant 5 for my 1 man , not sure what they cost do to filling my own 1# bottles , I allow warm air to circulate around them seems to keep my bottles and tanks from freezing

[aquarium234]

check out the ice shanty thread 5lber fill on the main page, They show how to fill your 5lb tank off of your 20 lb tank for those of you without a good place to fill it. I only use my 10lb and 5 lb tanks. 1lb tanks were just too much of a hassel to be bothered with, hose on the big buddy works great, even have a splitter to run a grill on the days we want to with out shutting off the heat.... :-)

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=349259.msg3722419;topicseen#new

[thefishingweatherman]

I use the small green tanks, and never really have a problem with them freezing up. I have had issues with the rubber gasket not sealing properly where the tank screws in on the Lil Buddy heater, resulting in a fireball, and the need to collect molten plastic/blackened metal from the ice. Haha. As has been said, the tanks get cold due to the decompression of the gas, so insulating it only slows the process of the air warming it back up, making the problem worse. That said, even at really cold temps, never really had no pressure coming out of a tank, unless it was nearly empty. Those green cans are way more pricey than they ought to be. I purchased an adapter nozzle that fits onto a BBQ grill sized propane tank, and it works great for refilling the small ones. You need to make sure that the big tank is room temp, and the green one cold (place in freezer), in order to get enough pressure to fill the tank. You also need to set the big tank upside down to force the liquid in. Works great, and saves a lot of money!

[paddock]

I got the adapter to refill my 1# green tanks last year, but they seemed to only last about half as long as store bought ones. The internet told me to fill them for 2 minutes, but maybe that’s not long enough? Empty tanks were frozen, but I didn’t have the big tank at room temp, so maybe that’s part of the problem?

How do you guys dispose of the empty 1# tanks if you’re not refilling them?

[thefishingweatherman]

I got the adapter to refill my 1# green tanks last year, but they seemed to only last about half as long as store bought ones. The internet told me to fill them for 2 minutes, but maybe that’s not long enough? Empty tanks were frozen, but I didn’t have the big tank at room temp, so maybe that’s part of the problem?

How do you guys dispose of the empty 1# tanks if you’re not refilling them?

Yeah, they never seem to fill up completely, but you can get them pretty close if you warm up the big tank and freeze the green ones. I also let them fill till I don't hear any more noise. I brought a few out onto the ice today that I filled yesterday, and I would say they were 90 percent full. I just bring a couple extras along for really cold days like today. As for the spare tanks you are ready to toss, seems dangerous to throw them out when there is still a little propane in them. You can also shoot them with a rifle from a good safe distance to really empty them out! Haha.