Hot Dog Cart News reader Pete McGinnity turned me on to some cool propane tanks from Sam’s Club…
Steve I ordered your book and tapes about 2 months ago and they have been extremely helpful. I also find the items people share on your newsletter very interesting as well.
I have an item you may want to get out to everyone. I was in Sam’s Club recently and saw that they had 20 lb propane tanks on sale. The interesting thing about these tanks that I really fell in love with is that they have a gauge near the handle that tells you how much propane is left in the tank. This is a real help in trying to figure out how much propane is left in your tank . Thought I would share that with everyone.
Pete
Pete’s Diggity Dogs
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Thanks for a great conversation starter Pete!
I always exchange my tanks locally wherever the price is lowest, and living out in the country I rarely get to Sam’s Club so I haven’t had the opportunity to see these tanks in person yet.
A built in gauge sounds nice, but if these aren’t available in your area here are some other options…
Flame King Gas Meter
I use a similar gauge which you can buy separately just about anywhere that sells gas BBQ grills.
It works pretty well but the really nice feature was the integral safety shut off inside the unit. If the hose ever gets damaged or breaks off in an accident, the shutoff closes and prevents the propane from escaping.
I’m not sure what might happen if 20 pounds of gas was released all at once but I bet the result might be pretty scary. These gauges are also available at Amazon.
Grill Gauge
There is another product called the Grill Gauge from ChefTools that works by weighing the tank itself.
Simply attach the Grill Gauge to the collar of your gas grill propane tank and lift until the entire tank has cleared the ground.
The Grill Gauge will give an instant and accurate reading by directly weighing how much propane is in your tank. This obviously won’t work for secured tanks on a trailer, but if you keep your tank on the ground this would be a good choice.
What are you all using on your rigs? Gauges, no gauges? Are you refilling tanks that you own or do you exchange tanks at the gas station, WalMart, etc? What do you do for a spare tank? Where do you keep it?
Let us know in the comments!
-Steve
Thanks for the info Pete. I was aware of the “add on’s” but didn’t know about the ones at Sam’s.
Happy Doggin!
Thumbs Up !!!
Here’s something to consider when buying propane … most (if not all) tank exchange companies do not fill to the full 20# level. In fact, one of the most prominent companies only fills to 15# … couple that with the fact that the cost is nearly double what you pay at the fill station for a full 20#. It may seem insignificant but the cost adds up.
Another point to consider with the exchange tanks is the tank you get in return. I exchanged a brand new tank for a Blue Rhino and ended up with a very old repainted tank that was long past its expiration date … you can’t get these old expired tanks refilled … needless to say, the next time I went for an exchange I was very selective as to what tank I received in return … and now I have tanks that I can get refilled.
Regarding spare tanks … I keep mine in milk crates … the nice square bottom keeps them from tipping over and rolling around while being transported.
Every tank is filled to 15 pounds no matter if you own it or exchange it. This is regulated by the federal government for safety reasons. The valves that are required to be installed will not let you fill it beyond 15 pounds, if it does then I would actually be worried about that. If the tank can be filled to 20lbs with the correct valve installed then chances are good that it can’t bleed off under pressure correctly so you might want to run like hell.
Thanks for the insider info Rami. Good to know!
We use two different kinds of tanks. On each of our carts, we have one tank that we own and can fill up at the cheapest place. The other is a Blue Rhino, which we can exchange almost anywhere. The Blue Rhino is more expensive, and has less gas in it, but it’s great if we’re in a pinch on a Saturday or when the gas filling places are closed.
I can carry 2 tanks on my cart. I also have a couple of other propane appliances so I keep 6 tanks (in varying degrees of “fullness”) on hand all the time. To determine how much propane is in them I use a simple bathroom scale. I have weighed a completely empty tank and a completely full tank, so I know how much propane is in them based on weight. Because my cart is very fuel efficient I don’t change tanks a lot. One thing I try to avoid though is running out in the middle of the day, so before I get started for the day I’ll just “feel” which tank is heavier and make sure I’m connected to that tank on the cart. I have only ever run out of propane during an event once.
As far as filling versus exchanging, I do both. I have acquired some tanks that we kinda rough in appearance. These I’ll use until empty. Then I exchange them for nice shiny new tanks. I searched around and found a local grocery store that will exchange them for $15.88 (cheapest I’ve found anywhere). But If I have a partial full tank I want topped off I’ll take it to a local dealer and have it refilled. My local equipment rental yard refills them for $3.00 per gallon.
I tried a couple of gauges and were not real impressed. I had one similar to the flame king shown above and the needle was always sticking. It would show a full tank. But if you tapped on the gauge it would start to fall??? I also have a friend that has a deep fryer mounted on his trailer. He bought some similar gauges and hooked them to his fryer tanks. The fryer demanded so much propane that the gauge “shut down”…must have thought there was a leak or something.
Just my 2 cents but I like to keep things simple. I can put my tanks on the scales in the garage and in 5-10 minutes I know how much propane I have and how long I can go.
i found some interesting info on line about propane tanks. An empty tank weighs about 24 pounds if you include the weight of the overfill valve device. The tank actually takes four gallons which weigh about 7 lbs/GALLON. So a full tank weighs 52 lbs. This is for those that don’t want to buy a gauge, all you need is a bathroom scale.
The math is bad. An empty tank is 17lbs and full is 37lbs. This is an average steel tank, so could be less or a little more and old aluminum tanks are less. I deliver these tanks all day on average of 200 to 400 a day to retailers. If a tank weighed 52lbs they would throw my shoulders out throwing these two at a time.
Great info Pete! I miss Sam’s club since we left CA, but luckily there is a Home Depot just about anywhere, and they have a pretty good selection of gauges as well.
Thanks guys!!
Matt
Costco has the same tanks with the gauge as well. I also use the Grill Gauge for quick reads, works great. The gauge on the Costco/Sam’s tanks are not as accurate as I would like and should be used only as a guide line because I can get an additional day out of a tank that shows Empty.
We keep two twenty pound tanks on our cart at all times. One is connected the other is a spare. If we run out in one tank we simply swap the hose to the extra tank. The empty tank is set to the side. It is refilled as soon as possible and placed back in the cart as the spare. We refill at a local feed co-op. If the tank test date expires then we take it and swap it out. We are never out of propane.
Good information, however, I recently came across a 2.49 item at a Fred Meyer Store that is a strip that sticks onto the side of the tank and registers content, if you pour some hot water on it. Don’t know if it’s workable. And I don’t exchange tanks, I just go to whoever does fill-ups–about 2.75 per gallon, not bad.
Steve, I subscribed a year ago, and just recently bought a nice unit. I have an offer from a clinic to come set up in front and will go talk to them shortly. I have a question about how to handle credit cards, I assume I should accept cards, does anyone do that, and if so, how do they handle the gateway, etc? And do they use wireless?
Awaiting with baited breath: Bob “Man Bites Dog”
I bought 2 similar tanks at Costco with the built-in guages. I found them to not be very accurate. Both were registering almost empty when they were still half full. Had the same accuracy problem with add on meters. Would love an accurate one.
Great information!
Hope everyone had a great Halloween. We attended our nightclub location and sold out in less than two hours!
We’re having some great weather here and the snow receded for the moment so we’re making the most out of the warm weather.
I’ve found that the meter tends to show false readings if the valve isn’t opened painfully slow.
The best price hands down for propane has been from Costco, which is about ten dollars or more cheaper than anywhere else. Not sure if it’s the same down there in the states.
I have the same thing Bob has. It’s a magnetic strip that you stick to the tank and when you pour hot water over it, it will show you where the gas line is inside the tank. Where you apply it may vary, but you will always see exactly where the top line of the gas is.
I have one 20# tank that usually lasts me about 2 weeks and I get it filled at a local station or wherever it’s cheapest.
Hay Steve,
I used to be in the propane business. Here is some information on 20# tanks. You can weigh the tank. On the collar of the tank look for a stamp T.W and a number like 18.5. T. W. means tare weight or empty weight. so a empty tank would weigh 18.5 lbs. a half full would weigh 28.5 lbs 18.5 for empty tank and 10 lbs of gas. A gallon of propane weighs 4.11 lbs. A gallon of propane = 36 cu ft or 18 lbs of liquid propane = about 150 cu ft.
Thanks Don. I’m keeping this useful data handy. I have a 40 lb propane tank on the front of my hot dog cart and I fill it at any of several U-Haul stations in my area. I will be looking at my tank for that TW stamp you mentioned and figuring the full and half-full numbers. Thanks again.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the imformation about the CDs that came with Carts of Cash.
Roy Burtt(Roys Dog House)
Most wal-marts have blu-rhine but beware.. you are not getting 20 pounds of propane in your 20 pound take and, if you return a tank with lets say 5 pounds of propane in it, you lost those 5 pounds. You end up paying full price for a used tank with a net gain of only 10 pounds of propane. I have an 84 lumber near my home and they charge a fee baised on the amount of propane they put into your tank. If you bring in a tank with 7 pounds and they fill to 20 pounds, you get charged for 13 pounds. (My store charges less then 50 cents a pound.)
Jesus loves you.
I have a 2 burner hot dog cart and count the hours the tank is running. Once I get to 38 hrs I replace the tank. Counting the hours works well for me!
I own the gas meter and used it for awhile. The problem that I saw was sensitivity of the gauge or lack of. In my carts case (2 burner and 4 burner) it wasn’t enough of a warning from green to yellow to empty. While the gauge might display green in the morning the amount of time it takes to drop in the red are not enough for 5-8 of hot doggin’ so I found myself still doing the hours in my head and doing a tank lift and shake in the mornings. Having the extra shut off was nice though. I’d say the better solution for us hot doggers would be the the stick on strip like Bob from Man Bites Dog suggested. I think it might even be a cheaper solution than the gauge as well if I’m not mistaken.
I get full tanks 6 at a time for 15 dollars each delivered to my garage by a local propane sales guy. I have 8 tanks and room for 2 tanks in my cart, so I run them empty and when I am down to 2 tanks, I call and he brings me 6 full tanks for 90 dollars, usually the same day I call him.
These are the newest tanks to hit the market. The gauge is a liquid level gauge inside the tank. The gauge is removable and can be used with Sureflame tanks.
Check it out……….
http://www.amazon.com/Manchester-Tank-Equip-Sureflame-Cylinder/dp/B000SZM6XQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
Here’s a good tip. LOOKING FOR EXTRA TANKS FOR FREE? We refill our tanks at a local propane dealer. I always ask him if he has any tanks he is going to throw away for any reason. I usually go home with a free tank that I use at the exchange stations. They recondition my old throw-away and I get a new reconditioned tank with 15lbs of gas for less than it would cost me for a new tank.
hi all the hotdoggers out there i am just getting into the biz after being a chef for 30 years and i was wanting to see if any one out knows about lowes and home depot i know how to apply and all that but i cant fined anything on the cost to street eats or profit please help i am in kansas city area thanks jd please help thank you
Do you know Darrell McIntire?
Bought the “Grill Gauge” propane scale and LOVE IT! It works immediately and is always accurate…only cost me about $13!
Thanks!
Chris
Thanks for the recommendation!
P.S. That pressure-type gas meter was useless. It said full in the winter and full in the heat of summer – even when tank was near empty! Ugh.