Propane tanks - what are common sizes other than 20lbs?

[rr14]

I'm just curious what common sizes are other than 20lb bbq units. I'd like to get a bigger one but only see the 20's.

 

[Lazyman]

I see 100 pound units on Craigslist all the time, used by RV's and the like for camping. Was thinking of picking up 2 to run a big Co2 generator for ~6 months between refills! True that would probably cost about $200 for the refill, but whatever.

 

[Securityfirst]

Hi Lazyman, I also share your appreciation for the cool nights. Keeps things cool. lol

Here is my Ebb and Grow. I traded an ounce of lower bud GDP for it. Notice the taller

Chem D in back.

 

[Lazyman]

Aw man all I get is a red X for the pic, I DO love to trade for gear, clones, whatever is needed though!

 

[JackTheGrower]

Aw man all I get is a red X for the pic, I DO love to trade for gear, clones, whatever is needed though!

All kinds.. I have a 35 Gal..

It's whatever has been made.. Mostly they have to be fit with modern valves.

I can lift a 35 by myself more than that and I would need help..

Jack

 

[Phillthy]

my 20 pound could see 2 months of service between refills.

 

[AtomicBetty]

I usually use a 40, but most places like gas stations and box stores won't fill bigger than a 30. At least in our area. We have to go a specialty gas store.

 

[rr14]

hmm... I was thinking of getting a 40. It's been about 11 days since I hooked up my 20 and gen, but the tanks is starting to get a bit light. The 100 weights about 200lbs full and is 48" long, which probably is a bit much for me to handle since I work alone. I'll probably pickup a 40. I found them brand new for $90. I'll see what I can pickup on craigslist first though.

 

[Sleepy]

40 lb. tank rocks!

 

[LolaGal]

I got a 500 gallon tank. It's a pretty common size, as are 100 gallon, 250 gallon.

 

[AtomicBetty]

I got a 500 gallon tank. It's a pretty common size, as are 100 gallon, 250 gallon.

Lola, do you have a service that comes in and fills it for you, like it's attached to your house for your dryer and stove and stuff?

 

[rr14]

it's been about 12 days and I'm still good with my 20. I was worried that it would be like bottled co2 and I'd have to refill every week. I think a 40 would be perfect. That would put me at about a month or so. The 1st 2 weeks of flower I go much lower on the co2 also, so it may last more than 4 weeks. Room is a 10 by 10.

 

[LolaGal]

Lola, do you have a service that comes in and fills it for you, like it's attached to your house for your dryer and stove and stuff?

yes, but i just run stove off it.

 

[Lazyman]

it's been about 12 days and I'm still good with my 20. I was worried that it would be like bottled co2 and I'd have to refill every week. I think a 40 would be perfect. That would put me at about a month or so. The 1st 2 weeks of flower I go much lower on the co2 also, so it may last more than 4 weeks. Room is a 10 by 10.

Well, assuming you have an 8' ceiling, you have an 800 cu. ft. space. I'll assume your generator makes 10 cubic feet of CO2 per hour, but yours may be different than this rating. To raise the Co2 concentrations by 1200 (300ppm "naturally") to get to 1500ppm gets us this:

Grow room area: 800 cubic feet
Amount of CO2 required: 0.96 cubic feet
On time: 5.76 minutes

At this flow rate:
If you are using a 20 pound CO2 bottle with a regulator, it will last 17.48 hours.
If you have a CO2 Generator a 5 gallon propane tank will last 54 hours.

So that's 54 hours of runtime, which is 3240 minutes. Since this theoretical generator takes 5.76 minutes to fill the room, and each fill lasts for 3 hours, you will run 4 cycles per night, per flowering room. So do some math, you can "burn" for 562.5 burn cycles X 5.76 minutes on a single 5 gallon tank. Get a dual tank hose/regulator and double that. At a rate of 4 cycles per night, that is 140.625 days for a 5 pound, 281.25 days. That is if you don't have co2 leaks, of course!

Whew my head hurts now...

To make your own stats for CO2 usage, go to http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/co2_calculator.asp

By the way, I was thinking about this earlier today. The Hydrogen (water-cooled) CO2 generator makes up to 46K BTU of heat/CO2 generation, about double that of the big GEN2 which is around 23K BTU. If you're on a well, it will need to be run very infrequently, so just run it to waste and you can CO2 even HUGE rooms with it. Damn thing is basically a tankless water heater with fancy controls. Run it on high hot and fast and the heat will go right down the drain.

 

[Lazyman]

Lola, do you have a service that comes in and fills it for you, like it's attached to your house for your dryer and stove and stuff?

Love big tanks, yes they bring a big truck to your house to fill it. Just gotta cycle through multiple gas companies if you use it up alot. But your neighbors would notice, if you have any. Then I saw a guy do a writeup here on how he runs his clothes dryer and water heater off a little 20# tank! I hear of guys who do off the grid grows, cycling propane companies to run big propane generators out in the sticks. You do it big enough and I guess it pays for itself at some point.

When I fantasize about rooms, I dream of a natural gas line inside my room, a year-round stream nearby, privacy and a 200 amp electrical service filled with breakers. Mmmmm... good stuff!

 

[vancityj]

Propane tanks up to forty pounds usually have a different 'OPD' (overfill prevention device; valve system inside tank...open valve and contents won't empty) valve design that can be filled almost anywhere; tanks larger than forty pounds have a 'POL' valve (open valve and contents will empty), and will need a $30 brass adaptor to attach to your standard CO2 generator coupling. Not a good idea to lay tanks sideways; a 60-100-lb tank is usually about 4-ft tall, versus the shorter/larger diameter 50-lbs tank (easier to transport standing up). A full 100-lbs tank is 170-lbs - a full 50-lbs is about 85-lbs.