420 Pound Propane Tank with no gauge


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Old 01-13-18, 04:18 PM
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420 Pound Propane Tank with no gauge

Hi all,

I own my own a 420lb propane tank that I use for heating my garage. If you're not familiar with a 420lb tank it 4' tall x 3' wide and holds 120 gallons . The issue is that this tank doesn't have a fuel gauge, and never did. It was manufactured w/o a gauge nor does it have an inlet on the tank to install a gauge. My question is, can a gauge be retrofit for this tank. I've looked on-line for hours and have yet to find any type of gauge for this specific size tank. I don't care what type of gauge it is, (float, pressure etc) anything would be better than nothing. I know the trick about spraying warm water on the tank to get an idea of how much propane is in the tank, but I'd rather not have to do that.

Any help is appreciated.

thank you

mross
 
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Old 01-13-18, 04:41 PM
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Under pressure propane is in a liquid state so it would have to be a float type gauge and usually that would be built into the tank. You cannot add anything to a DOT approved propane container.... meaning no cutting any holes or welding or brazing on the tank.
 
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Old 01-13-18, 07:30 PM
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Pete,

thanks for your reply. There are lots of smaller propane tanks that have pressure gauges, that are connected through the service/regulator valve, though I've never seen one on a 420lb tank. The pressure type gauges seem to work ok on these smaller tanks. Would there be any reason they would work on a 420lb tank?

cross
 
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Old 01-13-18, 07:43 PM
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Since the bulk of the propane is liquid and all a pressure gauge reads is the actual pressure..... it will show basically the same pressure until the liquid is just about gone. The gauge can't tell how much liquid propane is in the tank.
 
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Old 01-14-18, 04:41 AM
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Without a float type gauge you can watch the outside of the tank for condensation if the weather permits. Or, with a thermal camera you can see the liquid level inside the tank if you look at it whenever the temperature outside has changed.
 
 

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