Refilling "Disposable" Bottles of Propane

[WyoDoug]

I hate throwing those one pound empty propane bottles away. In fact, I have more than a dozen empties from last years camping trips. I have been seeing versions of this product advertised to refill them instead of putting them in landfills where they only occupy space. Question is are they safe? Are they effective? Anyone have experience using these? Do I need to check certain things on the one pound bottle first and after?

The Easy Fill - Propane Refill Tool

A must-have for survivalists, hikers, outdoor enthusiasts, tailgaters, campers, fishermen, hunters, handyman, and anyone that cooks on a small grill! SAFETY- Equipped with a built-in safety feature that will ensure you never over-fill your smaller tank. Well-constructed, heavier, bigger, and...

gearmeupnow.com

 

[mplane72]

I've been looking at that too. Online reviews I've seen are mixed. I have a buddy that uses one and he says it works well.

 

[rwc101]

I thought about getting one of those, but the reviews seemed sketchy at best. Ended up buying a 5lb tank. Not very big and anyone will refill them.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

I use it before every outing.Great tool!
The only problems I have come across are the one pounders
don't re-flll all the way,so I made a tool to loosen the bleeder valve
while filling.Be careful! No sparks!
Second is the valve on top of the one pounder will leak sometimes
after a refill.Just re-seat it with a non-metalic tool.(Chop Stick works). 〽

 

[Brandon270]

They work great, I use one all the time for my camping stove and small bbq. I have the all brass mr. Heater one, but it's the same concept.

Couple tips for you....

-The threads on the big bottle are left handed threads so to attach the filling adapter to the supply bottle you thread it on turning to the left. The little 1 pound bottle with thread on to the adapter clockwise like normal.

-You get the best fill if you have the supply bottle in the sun keeping it warm and throwing your empty one pound bottles in the freezer for a half hour or so. The temperature difference helps with getting them full, otherwise you can only get them about half filled.

-Also, when you fill the little bottles put the supply bottle upsidedown to help fill the little bottle better. (Gravity and liquid propane).

-After youre done filling, put water where the fill valve is and the pressure relief valve is on the 1 pound bottle to check for leaks. You'll see bubbles if you have a bad valve, I've only had a couple from the hundred or so times I've refilled these.

You'll be glad you got that adapter, it pays for itself really fast over buying those little bottles new all the time.

 

[mtmuley]

I wouldn't do it. I know of one really bad wreck using one. mtmuley

 

[wyflyguy]

My dad uses one of those all the time. Agree with all comments here as his experience has been consistent - can't get them all the way filled and certain brands always leak at the valve after filling.

 

[MThuntr]

Just get one of the bulk tank adapter hoses and skip the nonsense. If you're using it for a lantern get a lantern tree. Problem solved without the hassle

 

[MNElkNut]

My cousin had his truck burn up because of one of these. I don't know the details, but it all stemmed from filling a 1 pounder. Could have been user error as I don't know the cause. Be careful.

 

[choc dogs]

Pretty sure 1 lb cylinders are labeled not legal for transport if refilled. Don’t know how a law officer would know. Still bet there is a reason. Get a bulk adapter, use it instead.

 

[sbhooper]

I have used this device many times. It works well.

 

[gburk]

My vote is a 1-20lb adapter hose and never mess with the 1lbers

 

[WyoDoug]

I use adapter hoses when I am in base camp. However, I carry a 1 pound bottle when I am packing and plan on a hot meal. I have close to two dozen one pound bottles I am trying to avoid throwing away.

Something I noticed with adapter hoses though, if you are buying the quick connect type, newer ones do not fit older pre-2000 RV connections. There is a difference between the 1/4 and 3/8 hose connectors too and a difference between the different manufacturers. They are not as universal as they should be. I resorted to buying both male and female connectors and getting them from one source so I know they fit. No issues with the adapter hoses that connect direct to a propane tank though that I know of.

 

[MT_Chad]

I thought about getting one of those, but the reviews seemed sketchy at best. Ended up buying a 5lb tank. Not very big and anyone will refill them.

This is what I do as well.

 

[PrairieHunter]

Works great. Just have to be smarter than what you are operating and pay attention to what you are doing. Using temp to make the exchange faster works also.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I use the adapter hoses.

 

[WyoDoug]

Did some more research. It is against the law to refill disposable bottles due to the nature of their relief valves. It is however, legal to refill bottles marked as legal. It is illegal to transport refilled disposable bottles due to potential for explosion during transport. Disposable containers have relief valves that tend to rust or corrode. Refilling often damages these valves. Refillable bottles are marked as such and hard to find. Anyways, I am going to keep the refill adapters on hand for temporary use if I need to refill one and too lazy to run to town.

I too am gradually accumulating adapter hoses and stuff that I can plug into my camper quick connects. That includes the laterns and portable heaters and plan to keep some on hand so if I have a buddy that uses propane. I also usually take 4 20 pound tanks on a 15 day hunt.

Still, I hate those disposable 1 pound containers going to the landfill because they do not break down for more than 5000 years.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

I have used one a few times. The tip above on putting the 1 pounds in the freezer works great and be content filling to 75%. Like others, prefer not to toss in the trash although they do make nice targets.

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

I would never take a refilled bottle inside a tent again. I was using it on a Mr Buddy heater and when the bottle ran low the odor was terrible. We would just turn it on for a few minutes in the morning but never again with a refilled bottle. I now use the refilled bottles around the house for my torch or lantern. They apparently don't add the odor to the new small bottles. We now have two long hoses and a small 1 gallon propane tank. You will get the same odor when the 1 gallon runs out but we are careful to not let that happen on anything inside the tent.

 

[406dn]

It AMAZES me the risks people will take to save a dollar.

I worked in an oil refinery for many years. Part of my job was testing propane. Propane is potentially VERY dangerous. There is a reason they went to the float shutoff valves in refillable tanks. While it is not likely you could overfill a one pound bottle,,,how would you know???

Nothing about how they designed the throwaway bottles was designed for multiple refills. There is no fail safe way to limit the amount of the refill.

The reason the hint to put the larger bottle in the sun and the one pound bottle in the freezer is to create a vapor pressure differential between the bottles. After you connect the bottles the small bottle will fill until there is equal vapor pressure one each container.

What I do is what others have suggested above. Get a five pound bottle and a hose with the appropriate fittings. You will save money on propane,,safely.