
Hello and thank you for this community. We are starting to get into camping this year.
I was trying an economical way to use small propane bottles with only 50% success. Using older bottles was problematic in that the they leaked. Next I will be trying a house attachment to a twenty pound tank to run my heater and stove.
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Philip Gragg Sweet video! Thanks. I’m going to give this a try the next time I go to refil/ a 16oz-er 🙂
I been refilling 16 oz bottles for years some that I have filled are ready for use for over a year. I can fill then with more propane than when you buy them new. And refill them many times. I have more than 40 16oz bottles to use anytime. This is what I do.
Use a full 20lbs tank that is above 60 degrees
Spin on 16 oz bottle
Clip on small hemostat pliers to the valve on the the 16 oz bottle. Pulling gentling will open it.
Turn 20lbs tank with 16oz bottle and hemostat pliers upside down.
Open 20lbs valve
Propane is now filling small 16oz bottle.
Gently pull hemostat pliers opening valve to bleed air from 16oz tank, when liquid propane comes out small 16oz tank is full.
Close 20lbs valve.
Turn 20lbs tank with 16oz bottle and hemostat pliers upright.
Gently remove pliers and spin off 16oz bottle.
Keep in mind that you might have to pitch/lean the whole assembly to keep the liquid propane filling the small bottle. Also try to orient the hemostat pliers and valve to a 12 o clock upright position. Also you only get 6-8 refills because of lose of pressure in the 20lbs tank but the 20lbs tank can be use for other things like BBQ or with hose run a heater.
The adapter for refilling 16oz bottles can be installed lose to allow orientation of hemostat 12 o’clock position. But it need to be tight to 16oz bottle. You will notice when spinning on some 16 oz bottles that they don’t always line up the same. So before turning over tank and assembly just adjust adapter with16oz bottle attached to orient the assembly for the hemostat valve to be upright.
When everything is done correctly liquid propane will fill small bottle displacing air pocket you also will you did it right when you shake bottle and it feels full.
Joseph Griesbaum Have you tried doing it the way in the video I shared above?
Freeze the green tanks, make sure big tank is 60+ degrees, fill them upside down connected to the 20lb-er and let fill longer then you would think. Does the trick for me.
You really can not refill the 1 pound bottles with the new larger tanks as you need to turn the larger tank upside down to get the liquid, when you do this a,safety feature keeps the propane from going out. You may also try and put the 1 pound bottles in the freezer for an hour before trying to fill them.
I never had good luck refilling the 1 pounders either.