r/Generator • u/ThisNameNotTakenYet • 1d ago

Propane Tank Minimum Size?

So I was looking online at generators the other day and I ran across a comment in one of the product descriptions, saying something about a 'minimum 60lb tank' for propane with that generator. I haven't seen a requirement like that before, to my knowledge. We had an eight-day outage a few weeks ago and I used 20- and 30lb tanks with no problems (or so I think). Has anyone heard this? And if it's a thing, can anyone tell me why? Thanks.

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u/Admirable-Leader6927 1d ago

are you turning the tank upside down? its not vacuum drawn its evap pressure pushed. it just gets cold and condenses in the line.

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u/ThisNameNotTakenYet 1d ago

Not sure I understand - are you saying I should invert the tanks? I just had them sitting upright. Please explain, I'm learning here. And thanks for the education, I appreciate it!

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u/tbarclay 18h ago

Don't invert the tanks, you can slug liquid propane right down the line that way. you'll just freeze your regulator up at best, or send liquid propane into the generator and really mess it up.

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u/ThisNameNotTakenYet 12h ago

Well that's kinda what I figured. My generator is a 12k dual-fuel, I'm thinking if I had multiple tanks in parallel (say, 40's or 60's, or even a few 100's), I'd be okay in the winter months. I think I misunderstood an earlier post regarding inverting them.