Re: refilling a propane tractor

Posted by Kerry on March 26, 2004 at 16:25:54 from (208.180.145.93):

In Reply to: refilling a propane tractor posted by Brandon on March 26, 2004 at 10:09:35:

Brandon, it's not a big deal to fill it from the big tank once you get used to it. You need to be sure the tank has a liquid line (a dip tube to draw liquid from the bottom of the tank) because you can't fill it with vapor.

On warm sunny days, be patient, you may have to leave the vent open for 10 minutes for the pressure to drop enough and let the liquid start flowing. I have one of the big valves I got from the local propane place but I usually just use the little vent screw on top.

The other guys are right, be careful, but it's not really that dangerous if you do it right. I guess I don't need to tell you that you need to make sure nobody is smoking and there are no open flames or sparks around since you're venting raw propane! Also, wear good heavy gloves, it will freeze your skin in a second. When I was a kid and thought I was immortal, we used to freeze cokes with it in about 8-10 seconds.

Don't be surprised when the vapor attracts flies and bees, they'll go away when you turn it off.

You can get the hoses from the propane company, tell them what you want and they'll fix you up with hose, valves, fittings, etc. Check at a few different places, usually you can just have them fill the tractor up for you if you tell them to just stop by when they're in the area so they're not making a special trip.

One more trick - there's a pop-off valve in the tank to prevent leaks from a broken hose. First, turn on the valve at the tank just a little crack to put propane in the hose. Crack the valve at the end of the hose just enough to purge the air out of the hose (otherwise you'll pump it into the tractor's tank), then close it. Screw the hose on to the tractor's fitting, then open the valve at the end of the hose to let gas start flowing. While you're there, open the vent on the tractor to let the vapor out, just unscrew it about 1 or 2 turns, no more. Now open the valve on the tank some more, slowly. If you hear a metallic-sounding click, you opened it too far and the pop-off valve cut it off because you had too much flow. If it does, just turn the tank's valve all the way off then back on slowly - not so far this time!

Watch the vent on top of the tank, when it comes out white (liquid), turn off the valves and close the vent screw. Be patient, it may take a while, especially with the small vent screw. Ask the guys at the propane company about a fitting to put on the vent outlet on the tractor, my guys just gave me a spare one they had but I don't know if they can really sell you one.

Good luck! It's really not as hard as my description sounds. Just be careful, wear heavy gloves, and be patient. Oh, if your big tank is less that about 15% full you won't get much out of it and it will take quite a while to fill up the tractor.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: refilling a propane tractor Mark 19:25:19 03/26/04 (0)

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