Aluminum propane tanks, yea or nay?

[open01]

I run a propane generator off of my tanks, so wanted the 40# tanks. As I am reaching 70 years, the 10/20# difference in weight makes all the difference every time we fill them. I believe the original 1972 tanks were also aluminim; though when I originally replaced them I went with steel. When those needed replacement I had learned the lesson and went back to aluminum.

[m.hony]

My 2013 Classic came with 40# aluminum tanks.

[Adiredneck]

Unless I'm missing something, the exemption mentioned in Alan's post is only for *horizontal* cylinders, and "industrial trucks, industrial welding and cutting gases". Not sure how any of that applies to Airstream LP tanks... ???

[A W Warn]

Some Airstreams do have horizontal propane tanks.
This is a link to a photo of one of them at Colonial Airstream's website:
http://www.colonialairstream.com/pre.../images/01.jpg

[mikeinca]

Originally Posted by m.hony

My 2013 Classic came with 40# aluminum tanks.

So do the new Classics. For those with older non-certified 40# aluminum tanks I wonder if the new ones would be a suitable replacement, although I'm sure the price would be scary.

[B and R]

Originally Posted by Dan and Liz

We have a pair of 40# aluminum tanks for sale -- not pretty (one is scratched up) but recently re-certified and with new style valves. Can't see them under the tank cover anyhow. Right now they just take up space, so anyone interested can make an offer.

Hello, We have a 1987 Argosy with 40# horizontal tanks. Will yours work? I heard there is a difference between tanks that are made to be vertical tanks and horizontal tanks.
Thanks,
Bob

[perryg114]

I just had my Aluminum tanks upgraded to OPD valves and come to find out that a new tank is good for like 10 yrs and a old tank has to be decertified every 5 yrs which is a pain. I have not found a place that won't charge you more than a new 30# steel tank to recert the old tanks. It seems like the gas companies are more concerned with ripping you off than providing a service. I need to look into a welding place to recert the tanks.

Perry

[trvler]

My understanding is that in Canada you cannot re-certify steel tanks - they must be junked. But aluminum tanks are good forever since they do not oxidize (significantly) - you just have to re-valve them every ten years (only certain places do this) - it's cheap, but well worth the initial cost of aluminum tanks (plus the weight savings for lugging these around).

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by trvler

My understanding is that in Canada you cannot re-certify steel tanks - they must be junked. But aluminum tanks are good forever since they do not oxidize (significantly) - you just have to re-valve them every ten years (only certain places do this) - it's cheap, but well worth the initial cost of aluminum tanks (plus the weight savings for lugging these around).

We can actually get 10 year old tanks recertified here in British Columbia. Not sure how it is handled elsewhere in Canada

[gator.bigfoot]

You can all tanks recertified except BBQ tanks. They don't do them because it costs more than a new one.

[J. Morgan]

I like mine.... (ducking the punch!)

[mbubbaca]

I paid $15.00 for my 2 tanks to get certified with a sticker last week. They are now good for 5 years. They had a 1999 date inscribed in the collar. Never had a question getting them filled. The only reason I did was that we're going on the SW Caravan and figure that if there would be a problem, it would be as far away from competitively priced supplies was possible.

[Bill M.]

If I needed tanks I would buy the Al. Not “needed” but nice. My 2 sets are 30 years old each. And hidden under the cover. They are shaped nice and easy to handle.

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by gator.bigfoot

You can all tanks recertified except BBQ tanks. They don't do them because it costs more than a new one.

If you mean the little 1lb ones yes. If you mean the 20lb which I call BBQ tanks then it's cheaper to recertify them where I live.
$20 vs $30 then you are not adding to the landfill problem!

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by gandttimes

If you mean the little 1lb ones yes. If you mean the 20lb which I call BBQ tanks then it's cheaper to recertify them where I live.
$20 vs $30 then you are not adding to the landfill problem!

1lb no those are garbage. 20lb are not recertified where I live. You need to buy an exchange. The exchange with the tank filled is around $25-30 here. Filling a 20lb alone is anywhere from $13-18. All depends upon where you go. The exchange ones are obviously all recertified and they come a new paint job. So the only ones that contribute to the land fill are the 1lb.

[Smartstream]

Interesting comments, it appears they do recertify, just not on an individual basis.

I just bought two small 25 year old aluminum tanks. They had been converted to OPD valves but were way out of certification, you couldn't even read the tags. The guy who did the recertification had never seen tanks like them before and had to check with his boss. They are 6 lb. Worthington tanks. The guy carried them out to the pump and filled the tanks. He listened and smelled for leaks. He sprayed soapy water around the threads on one valve. After removing the fill hose he opened each valve to check that they remained closed with nothing connected. He put on new stickers and charged me $8 per tank plus the cost of LPG.

I'm good to go for 5 years. I don't know if they do anything different for steel tanks but that's is what he did for my aluminum tanks.

By the way my motorhome has a built in tank so I bought these for use with a bar-b-que, camp fire in a can and other toys.

[Dingo Girl]

I got a 30# aluminum worthington ($25)from 1986 on Craigslist recently.
It was 30$ for new valve, recertification & fill up. A bargain at twice the price.

[sstanley1975]

Do you still have these tanks?

[perryg114]

Nothing wrong with aluminum but they are expensive. Re certs on tanks can cost as much as a new tank and they only last 5 yrs. Your not saving much weight. I went to the trouble of having one of my aluminum tanks rebuilt and the cert has already expired and I spent about $100 getting it upgraded to the new OPD fill valve.



Perry

[Dan and Liz]

Originally Posted by sstanley1975

Do you still have these tanks?

We still have the 40# AL i posted a couple of years back.