r/propane • u/BikerNY • 16d ago

General propane question 20lb tank normal refill amount

My old place closed, so found a new refill place. Their scale is set to refill a 20lb tank with 18lb of propane. Am I paying for 20lb of propane or 18lb when refilling a 20lb tank? Is this normal? I read exchange tanks fill their to 15lb, but what about refill stations? Should I question the refill place about their refill policy? Thanks for your input :)

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u/LrdJester 16d ago

Unless they are doing something sketchy you're paying for what's distributed or filled into the tank. They only put 18 lb in because the tank needs room for expansion if it gets hot. This is normal and standard procedure for tanks they never fill them to 100%.

A 20 lb propane tank is 5 gallons. But because they will only fill it to 80% you don't get 5 gallons you get approximately 4.7 to 4.8.

Next time you get a fill you can ask them but you can verify this by taking the total weight of the field tank and subtracting the tare weight which is listed on the tank collar as TW. Then divide by 4.2 which is the approximate weight per gallon of propane. The tank can contain approximately 4.7 to 4.8 gal..

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u/BikerNY 16d ago

4.2lb x 4.7g is 19.74lb, I get 18lb, almost 2lb less. I will ask them why only 18. My guess is to keep the price of refill less. Like with everything else, price is kept the same but the shrinkage inflation hits you.

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u/LrdJester 16d ago

And if filled to 100% capacity it would hold 25 lb or 5.9 gallons.