I have a 500 gallon propane tank that shows 75% full on the gauge.

I have three--two radiant-one blue flame--propane heaters.

I have used these, problem free, since 1998, in all kinds of weather, and a lot colder than it was last night.

The outside temperature was 7* Fahrenheit, at 6:AM.

The heater, that I left on, had shut-down, sometime after midnight.

It lit right off and burned maybe three minutes, then sputtered out.

I tried another heater, same thing.

They will light easily and burn the pilot-light continuosly; but, once the thermostat is turned up to heat, they will burn weakly for from 30 seconds to five minutes, then start sputtering and go out.

When the outside temperature got up to 15*, they worked fine.

I have never had this problem before.

Do I have a regulator going bad??

What are your thoughts on this??

Thanks.

 

just a guess here. sounds like ice in the regulator or the lines. good luck

 

I'm in MN. , see more of those temps. maybe , what I've found is that when your really pulling a lot of LP / propane , that it will freeze the small tanks , regulators , of hose & lines that are too small , for that amount of fuel flow , not big enough for the expansion of the liquid to gas .
See if you can find a frosty / cold spot some where from tank to heater , then get a larger of that / regulator , hose , adapter fitting .

 

I called the gas place today, and talked to some little old lady that answers the phone.

None of the "guys" were in, at that time.

She said someone else was having the same problem and one of the guys added some methane to the tank to fix the problem.

How on earth would one go about adding methane to a 500 gallon tank of propane??, not like I would attempt it myself.

I was supposed to call them back, later, when the men returned; but, I got side-tracked and didn't think of it until too late.

Once the outside temperature got to 15*, everything works fine.

It has never done this, before, in temperatures a lot colder than last night.

Maybe a big slug of ice formed in the regulator.

It would burn the pilot, no problem; but, turn it up to heat and it would soon sputter and go out.

I'm not gonna panic; I have enough good wood to last three hard winters, new pipes on the old stove, and a good Stihl, for when the pile gets low.

Thanks.

 

Not methane, methanol. Just like gas line anti-freeze for cars.

They blow it in under pressure using a special tank.

It sounds like something was icing up, and if the tank has not had a shot of methanol in a long time that certainly won't hurt.

 

Depending on what the load you are using and the amount of gas that is boiled off in the tank. The lower the outside temp the lower the psi will be in the tank. when there is a big load it will suck out the gas and leave you with low psi in the tank that will affect your heaters. that doesn't happen to often it could be your regulator going bad or frozen up. tell the gas company to have a regulator in the truck if they come out. Other wise you could try to heat your tank.
Also they would blow down the line from the tank to the appliances with the meth

 

It started this mess again, once it got late = colder.

I had the wife man the heater, while I went out with a light, looking for a frosting line.

I didn't see any frost build-up.

I sort of pecked on the regulator, and it perked up and did fine, for about half an hour, then quit again.

The wife said that she could hear me pecking on the regulator, and as soon as I started pecking, the heater livened up and quit sputtering.

Stuff like this never happens on a Sunday night, so I have five working days to remedy it.

It always happens just before the weekend, when it is going to be ice cold, and everything is closed.

Also, the gas company office is fifty miles from here, mutter mutter durn little hooterville town mutter.

 

My lp experience comes from my days with a grain dryer. It would shut down at night (colder) when the tank was full or empty. At about a half tank it would run longer as there was more surface area of the liquid to vaporize. The neighbors would throw a fit when we would set a salamander type heater directly on the tank to help the vaporizing process. The liquid needs to consume a fair number of BTUs to vaporize. If this is a real concern you can get a liquid line from the tank to a Vaporizer which will keep you supplied with the needed vapor. All they really are is a tank with a heater to help the process (very much like a water heater).

 

Back again , go to the hardware store and get an electric heat tape [ if you are not getting frost than feel for a cold spot and put it there ] if no cold spots then it may be the relitive temp in and out side of the tank , then you may want to try a electric blanket over the tank .
Most of my expirance with this is using propane , haven't heard of the methonal trick , but I was just solving my problem with out having someone to call .

 

i have never had a problem in the 5 years of running propane. possibly my company puts something in the tanks, i only have 2 100 gal tanks. it sounds like the regulator is freezing up, or your gauge is wrong. is there a frost line on the tank of where the liquid line is? have you ever tried to use your propane grill in the winter? same thing is happening to you. i would not think that 7 degrees would cause a problem though in a tank that large, which makes me think your regulator needs replacing. we get down to -40F and no problems with the propane....i love propane, no filters, no freezups, no smell.

 

glad to see someone recommend a electric blanket. i was laughed at years ago on a camping trip. guy like to froze with small gen. electric blanket. tried to use blanket in camper. wouldnt wrap blanket around propane bottle. i thought it would work to keep heat in camper. i have never tried it but it sounds logical.

 

You really need to call and talk to your propane guys. Here in Tx, ours dosen't ever see those temps, however, with our inlaws motor home, thiers does, and when they got into cold climates, would do the same as yours.

It may very well be that your tanks have a bit of moisture in them. Our propane man came over and shot something into thier tanks, whch allowed the moisture to flow on thru and it just evaporated when it got to thier furnace burner.

They have been in some very cold places since and never had an issue again. Those guys really know what they are doing. You should call. Even if you have to pay them, your going to pay less than you'll pay to start replacing pipes, floors and ceilings and furniture when your pipes freeze and bust.

 

sounds like your having a regulator problem do you have one or 2 regulators some installation got one high pressure at the tank and after before intering tha house a low pressure or a kit

usually a high pressure is red and its right at the tank ora you have a kit its brow right at the tank or you have a red at the tank and a grey before entering the house
the regulator your hitting on is probably the culprit see what propane company dont tell you is that there is a couple of grades of propane a cheap grade has some oil in it to check that out close the tank take regulator out and check for oil at the entrance if oil got in there it brings pressure down you dont have problem in the day cause oil is thinner but when its cold it brings down regulated pressure
heres something you can do close tank unhook copper or whatever you got hose etc put some methanol in hook hose back up unhook regulator at exit side open tank it will flush regulator you will probably see oil coming out from there and its gona smell like old propane

hope this helps

 

i used to work for irving propane and we used to put methanol when loading
you only need a special fitting to put it in tank but we flushed lines all the times its usually a maintenance thing

 

Mine used to do the same when it got real cold and The water heater, the furnace and the freestanding stove were all on together. I went with a new gas co. and had them bury the tank in the hole I dug. It has not happened since. I know my gas grill freezes up and won't work in real cold temps unless I bring the tank in for an hr. or so.
Joe