Anyone use these 1lb propane bottles and just toss them in the trash when they are empty? After using them on a bbq, heater, or even a propane torch. Once it’s empty, in the trash it goes. Run to the store and buy a couple more for the next time you go camping or have a little bbq session down at the river. Not too long ago I could pick up a 2-pack of these 1lb propane bottles for $7-$8 USD. Not bad, $3-$4 a piece. Granted that was about 2 years ago and it was the last time I purchased any. No need to buy more, just refill them using a bigger tank and save some serious cash!!
Remember I said a single 1lb propane bottle was $3-$4… I took a quick trip down the to Walmart to check the price of them now. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!! They have doubled almost tripled in price for a singe 1lb bottle of propane!!
Even the 2-pack had doubled in price
Now I’m wishing I wouldn’t have thrown any of those empties away. Wow I was thinking about buying a couple just to have a couple more on hand but screw that!! You see all you need to do is pick up one of these fancy refill adapters for less than $20 and you can refill those empty 1lb tanks all by yourself.
I have 6 empty 1lb bottles laying around that need to be refilled. Been using that Buddy Heater of mine in the garage quite a bit this winter. I’m about to go do some cleaning in the garage and it’s pretty damn cold in there. I need to get my Buddy Heater propane heater going to make it a little more comfortable and knock the chill off.
In order to refill these spendy little buggers you just need a few things…
• 20lb Propane Tank
• Crescent Wrench
• Scale
• Empty 1lb bottles
First take the empty bottles and throw them in the freezer for 1/2 hour or so. Keep the big tank at room temperature. This does some magical thing with the liquid propane going from the warm tank to the cold… I ain’t no scientist so I’m not going to attempt to explain it. It just works ok…
While you are freezing those bottles, install your refill adapter onto the big tank. NOTE ~ It’s reverse threaded so the whole Lefty loosey, Righty Tighty saying isn’t going to work.
Tighten it down with a crescent wrench good and snug
These 1lb bottles hold… you guessed it. 1lb of propane or 16oz. That doesn’t include the weight of the bottle itself. Take an empty bottle and place it on a scale. ($15 at Walmart) to get the empty weight.
13oz… so when these bottles are filled the total weight should be 1lb 13oz. Now that we know the total weight and the bottles are good and cold let’s start filling them up.
Don’t be stupid and do this in the house or in your bathroom with the fan on. Take this project outside into the open air.
Next take the empty bottle and screw it into the adapter
Then flip the 20lb bottle with the 1lb bottle attached to it upside down
Tip it back a little bit to gain access to the valve and open it all the way
You will hear a bunch of hissing but don’t be alarmed. That’s just the liquid propane transferring into the 1lb bottle. Give it a minute or until you don’t hear any hissing or gurgling.
Shut the Valve. Then unscrew the 1lb bottle. You will get a little pop and hiss when the bottle is removed. Then place the bottle on the scale.
Looks like it’s about 4oz’s shy of being full. Screw it back into the big tank and open the valve again. If you don’t hear any hissing, close the valve pull it off and purge the bottle with a small screwdriver. Just let out a few puffs from the bottle.
Don’t be stupid and hold your face right over the top of it.
Point it away from you!
Then place the bottle back onto the 20lb tank and open the valve. When the hissing and gurgling stop… Close the valve and remove the tank and weigh it again.
1lb 13oz is the MAX
I had a few bottles that just wouldn’t fill all the way up. I think it’s because my 20lb tank was almost empty. So I had a few cans that I could only fill 3/4 of the way. Oh well that’s better than an empty one. It’s better to be a little under filled than to be over filled. It took me about 15 minutes to refill these 6 bottles. Granted in the long run it’s still gonna cost me money to refill my 20lb tank. Well let’s just see how much a tank exchange costs real quick.. A tank exchange at Home Depot costs $20… That’s $1 per pound of propane!! If I were to buy these tanks individually it would cost around $10 per bottle with tax. I’m saving close to $9 a bottle by doing this. That’s CRAZY. Let’s do the math and see how much I saved…
6 X $9 = $54
$54 worth of savings for 15 minutes of work… not bad not bad at all.
There is a section on the warning label of these 1lb bottles that says… $500,000 fine… imprisonment… So do this at your own risk. There are hundreds of YouTube videos on how to do this and I don’t see the propane police arresting them or fining them. Just don’t be…
Stupid
when refilling these tanks
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