school me on propane tractors

glennster

Well-known Member
ok, never been around propane tractors. i am assuming to re-fuel them you are taking lp from a bulk tank. got to looking at my bulk tank today for my grain dryer. where are you connecting the fill line to the bulk tank? the fitting on the right is the liquid line going to the dryer. assume the valve on the left is where to tap from? the yellow cap looks to be gas side, not liquid? is there a booster pump used (kind of like when you get a bbq tank filled? heres a pic of the tank.


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I would connect the liquid line to the tractor tank. If the tractor tank is completely empty liquid will flow into the tractor tank. If there is a lot of pressure in the tractor tank you will need to vent of some vapor inorder to have the liquid enter the tractor tank. There should be a small vent on the tractor tank to squirt out liquid when the tank is full. The liquid to the fuel regulator will turn to vapor as it goes through a heat exchanger on the tractor. That is how my tractors work anyway. I stopped using my propane tractors, it was just to much trouble to transfer fuel. Stan
 
Hook to same one as drier(liquid).
The transfer of liquid takes place when you open bleeder on tractor thereby dropping tractor tank pressure. I highly reccomend you have your supplier walk you through any thing you arn't sure about. It's a free service.
 
Stan, so the connection is made to the valve on the right? This is a half inch copper line. I assume the fill hose is a flexible hose.
 
Not for the person who isn't savvy about the way these things work. You need to have a good hose with the right connectors. The best thing to do is find someone who knows what to do and have a filling party so you can be safe the first time and every time. Too many ways to get hurt.

One thing I could never figure out: Where in the world do all the flies come from? Even in the winter??? Anyone who fills from a tank like this knows what I'm talking about.
 
Talk to your supplier let them make the connections and supply the hose, they know what they are doing, and it might be free.
 
ted, i dont have any propane tractors, i was just curious as to how the whole process worked.
 
Yep, Glennster, you want to fill off the liquid side of the tank. The filler hose will be flexible, and have a hand tightened adapter for the tractor tank. You just bleed off the pressure while you fill. A pump is not needed.
 
You are correct. The existing valve needs to be connected to the rubber nurse hose and fitting to the tractor tank. A pressure pump is best practice as it pushes liquid propane into the tank, and doesn't rely on the propane pressure to do it. It takes 1/5 the time with a pump, and wastes less Propane. Jim
 
The problem is that most modern residential tanks dont have a draw straw to be able to transfer liquid.
 
I didn't read all the opinions so far, but to me the liquid line is not near the fill line. I would not be in the picture.
On my tank it is 3/4 of the way to the end of the tank. Do you have a valve there?
 
You have your facts off a bit. All ASME tanks after 1956 were required to have a liquid withdrawal valve. Most likley for repair purpose.
 
I don't think every tank has a liquid valve added. My shop tank does not have a valve, Just a port that a valve could be added to. My house tank did have a liquid valve that was unused. My supplier added a hose and fittings to it so I could fill my BBQ grill tanks with it. I assume I could also fill a tractor. It saved me a lot of money since it already had the valve. Otherwise my suppler would have had to drain the tank and add the valve.
 

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