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Propane Tank and Adapter Dependability

7K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  MT4Runner 
#1 ·
We're doing a 6-nighter San Juan trip in a couple weeks with 5 people. We are bringing a two burner Coleman Stove and will use it for all breakfasts and dinners. I want to get a larger capacity propane tank and an adapter instead of bringing a bunch of 1lb disposable Coleman containers. From my calculations, a 5lb tank is ~5 of those Coleman cannisters, so may not be quite enough. I considered getting an 11lb tank instead, but my wife worries about just having one tank in case of failure. It makes sense I guess :p.

My struggle is that two 5lb tanks take up quite a bit more space than 10 1lb cannisters. We just have one 14 ft raft, a ducky, and a SUP for 5 people... so I'll be hauling all the gear.

Dimensions
11lb = 9*9*17 = 1377 cubic inches
5lb = 8X8X13 = 832 cubic inches * 2 = 1664 cubic inches
1lb = 4X4X8 = 128 cubic inches *10 = 1280 cubic inches

Has anyone ever actually had a propane tank or adapter failure during a trip? It seems like the most common tank failure would be accidentally leaving the valve open. I don't want to bring 10 1lb cannisters, but am struggling because it would take up less space than bringing two 5lbs tanks. The 11 lb seems to make the most sense, but I don't want to worry about a single point of failure that will leave us propane-less.
 
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#2 ·
yup a 4 burner partner steel gave up the ghost on us on day two San Juan a few weeks ago. Would not light.

Called the shuttle driver (Valerie is the best) who happened to be in Mexican Hat. She took one of our boaters back to Bluff, picked up a Partner 2 burner I happened to have in my truck. Met us as we were setting down for lunch in the Hat. And that was that.

I am a big fan of Partner Steel stoves but this one crapped out on us. After the trip the owner of the stove called Partner Steel was advised no warranty on that part as P/S did not manufacture it. So three things. One, Even Partner Steel stoves some times die on the river. Two some times even Partner Steel does not stand behind their stoves Three, for what it is worth never go on a multi day western river trip with just one stove. It does not matter what your load is, take a backup stove along.
 
#3 ·
I try to always have a backup. Instead of a second 5lb tank. I would bring 3 of the 1 lb tanks. But I would also probably start with the 11 lb tank too. And still bring 3. But that's me. I like to have lots of hot water. If you do lose your large tank then you still have 3 lbs and you make it work.
 
#4 ·
I've heard great things about Val. We've already scheduled her for our shuttle. I was planning to bring along my backpacking MSR pocket rocket as a backup, but think I may just get a single Coleman burner to supplement the stove so that we have 3 dedicated burners and a backup in case the 2 burner stove or the single burner fail.
 
#5 ·
I've seen more stove failures than tank issues. Just make sure you turn the tank off at night. I would probably take the 5lb tank and some 1lb back ups. I would also have another stove with me, at a minimum a jetboil or some backpacking type canister stove that you could use in a pinch to heat food and water for coffee.
 
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#6 ·
It amazes me how much trouble I've been having finding the proper conversion for this on the internet. I'm still not positive, but from what I've gathered: The 16 oz. for those refers to the weight and not the volume. From another forum, I read the the 16oz. of weight equates to just under a quart of volume (32oz)... so a 5lb that holds 1.2 gallons would equate to right around 5 quarts or 5 cannisters.

This shows that 1lb of propane weight = 32 oz of propane volume.
https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-to-weight
 
#7 ·
I deleted my post because I got confused researching further, too. I assumed the 5lb you mentioned was the standard BBQ, which is 20lbs. I believe the tank I have is 11lbs and it lasts forever. It took 2.5 gallons when I filled it the first time at our local propane supplier. Good luck!
We launch on the 27th for the SJ, maybe I'll see ya down there!
 
#8 ·
Thanks all! We are going to get a tall skinny Worthington 11lb propane tank, an additional Coleman single burner, a valve splitter, and two hose adapters. That way, we can have 3 burners going at once and will have backups for if the stove fails, the burner fails, or either of the hose adapters fail. We'll also bring 3 extra 1lb cannisters in case the 11lb tank fails. What sold me is the fact I can store the 11lb tank in a 5 gallon bucket in a drop bag instead of taking up all the dry box space with 10 1lb cannisters! We have a Deso Gray trip a month after the San Juan trip so this investment will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Senor D, have fun! We are launching July 1 so will be a few days behind you. Looks like there will be plenty of flow this year.
 
#9 ·
Just bring an extra 1# tank or 2, then put the 1# fill adapter in your repair kit in case you need to refill the 1#ers. The fill adapter is small and cheap. I paid about $10 for mine. There is a thousand videos on YouTube showing how to refill the 1# tanks. What I've found is it take 3 times between fill and air bleed to get it.
 
#10 ·
I've started hauling two 5# tanks on any of my trips that last more than three or four days.
I've been surprised by low propane my last night in camp on 7 day trips...most likely caused by a leak.
My slender tank fits in my 2 gallon hand wash bucket. I also keep a 1lb'er in my kitchen for emergency-emergency use. Haven't needed it in a couple years.

Ben
 
#11 ·
We just have one 14 ft raft, a ducky, and a SUP for 5 people... so I'll be hauling all the gear

.... and possibly a passenger and a sup or ducky, at some point.
I’ve come to realize, that if I have a sup or ducky on my trip, there is a good chance the thing ends up on my raft for a while, because they get cold, tired, wet, etc.


It’s alway good to have some type of back up tank, even if it is a big tank, and a green tank or two. I have had propane tanks screw up on a trip before, and I’ve had people melt through my propane hose with the stove, so some type of redundancy is always good, even if it is just enough to make do.
Depending on what you plan to cook, redundancy, could just be your fire pan, and an emergency supply of fire wood or charcoal for starting a fire, and sticking a pot in it...
 
#19 ·
It’s alway good to have some type of back up tank, even if it is a big tank, and a green tank or two. I have had propane tanks screw up on a trip before, and I’ve had people melt through my propane hose with the stove, so some type of redundancy is always good, even if it is just enough to make do.
Depending on what you plan to cook, redundancy, could just be your fire pan, and an emergency supply of fire wood or charcoal for starting a fire, and sticking a pot in it...
This all day! It doesn't take much room to bring along one or two 1# tanks for $5 ea as backup
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the recommendation! I ended up getting a new 11lb tank from AAA Propane at 44th and Wadsworth.

I went to Camping World initially because they confirmed they had 11lb tanks online and over the phone. "Our parts experts confirmed. We have them in the back." Now I see why that place gets such bad reviews. The dude looked in the back and said there were no 11lb propane tanks anywhere. Luckily AAA Propane was only ~10 minutes away from there.
 
#13 ·
I wonder if they have used 5lb'ers. I love my 5 for the same reason I love my 10(appropriate size for occasion). Unfortunately my 5lb(weekend) is not aluminum like my 10lb(for up to a week) and two 20lbs(for over a week and the Grand).

Long ago I've been in that store on Wadsworth for fittings not available elsewhere. Do they still stock a room full of propane paraphernalia?
 
#14 ·
The regulators is what fails most often. Next are the gaskets/o-rings. Let me reverse that order.

If you still use regulators it is not a bad idea to carry a spare along with fittings and hose clamps appropriate to do the replacement in the field. I carry spare O-rings for the tank fitting in my repair kit and if necessary, stoves(my stoves tend not to need o-rings but if you own a Partner for example you should carry a rebuild kit).
 
#16 ·
Every time I’ve been there, they’ve got a whole shop full of stuff to make/repair just about anything. Call first to see what tanks they have, usually a full selection of new, but I like the used ones freshly painted for a little but less, I’m going to scratch them anyway.
 
#17 ·
Thanks! I will definitely give that Arvada Propane store a call to see if they have the 11 lb tank. It's not too far from my office.

Does this seem like sufficient redundancy? Should we get an additional O ring for the tank valve itself?

One of these splitters:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LPY9R8U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?smid=AXO3Y8HYXC74B&psc=1

and two of these adapter hoses to hook up the 2 burner stove and the single burner at the same time:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y5XFF6F/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?smid=AXO3Y8HYXC74B&psc=1

If the splitter fails, just hook up one hose. If one of the hoses fails, just use the other hose.

Assuming we don't need an additional regulator. The tank will just be the valve that we'll hook the splitter and two adapter hoses to. The stove and single burner are both Coleman with dials to regulate the flow. In addition to the 11 lb tank, we'll bring 2-3 1lb cannisters in case of tank failure.
 
#22 ·
refill 1#

I have a dozen 1 pound bottles that I collected over the years, and refilled them once so far, in one batch from a 20# tank. This batch will probably last me another year or so, since I only use about 2 per year to run a small stove. I checked the weight of each bottle before and after the fill to see how much was getting in, and the first 3-4 were overfilled. I cooled everything overnight on a -5F night.

I recommend watching a couple Youtube videos to see what's being done. Actually, it is not hard to overfill, and you probably don't want to do that; it will result in droplets of liquid propane sometimes getting through your regulator and causing flares. I ended up flaring off the excess with a torch, but have otherwise been happy with the results.
 
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