What do you do with green 1lb DOT-39 Propane tanks?

Is there a store that recycles these? Local recyclers? Trash?

I have seen that it's not a great idea to try and refill them. Some google searching shows that the DOT does not think it's safe. 

What do you do?

I quit using them and bought an adapter hose to run 20lb tanks.    

Used to refill them or use them for target practice. Now I'm in the adapter club, big tanks beat smalls all the time.

Space considerations make 20lb tanks difficult for me, but I love that idea. Thanks for sharing.

we go through a bunch of them at the deer lease for heaters in deer stands, so we hang on to the empties to refill, the key is to put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and then fill from an upside down tank to get the liquid to flow in.  

I've also seen people suggest to open the relief valve to "purge" extra air while filling. 

I saw a special recycling bin for these at a large campground we were at over the summer, so someone must recycle them.   Check with any avid campers you know.   

Stop buying them. 

I use a 20-pound tank around the house. 

I use a 5-pound tank camping. This one. 

I sometimes refill.  I would have to look into the actual engineering of the 1 lb cans, but I know that refillable tanks (like a 20 lb for instance) are stoopidly over engineered to the point of ridiculousness.  I would assume that the same level of engineering applies to all tanks, but it wouldn't hurt to check.  Vapor pressure of propane at STP is around 150 psi, so it's not anything nuts.

Check your local groups- here in Ann Arbor, it turns out that they will take the bottles, and in return will give you a coupon for the legally refillable version of the bottle.  I plan on getting two of them and giving them all of our bottles.

And we've also seen a handful of campgrounds that also take them for recycling.

I tried an adapter for my Blackstone grill, but it still flowed way too much propane, so my grill ran super hot. Guess I need one with some kind of regulator built in. Any suggestions?

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I sometimes refill.  I would have to look into the actual engineering of the 1 lb cans, but I know that refillable tanks (like a 20 lb for instance) are stoopidly over engineered to the point of ridiculousness.  I would assume that the same level of engineering applies to all tanks, but it wouldn't hurt to check.  Vapor pressure of propane at STP is around 150 psi, so it's not anything nuts.

It's not the pressure that's the issue, it's that the valve isn't designed to be opened more than once- which is for safety anyway.  And once opened, they have a good chance of leaking.

A friend used to sit them next to the campfire, then put a hole in them with a rifle.

Probably best to not do that.

ShawnG said:

A friend used to sit them next to the campfire, then put a hole in them with a rifle.

Probably best to not do that.

This is the way in NH.

ShawnG said:

A friend used to sit them next to the campfire, then put a hole in them with a rifle.

I guess it wouldn't be right to throw them in a creek in the woods by my house.  
 

Sorry - that's my go to joke with tires, batteries, or used oil.  Never really goes over well but it always cracks me up. 

alfadriver said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I sometimes refill.  I would have to look into the actual engineering of the 1 lb cans, but I know that refillable tanks (like a 20 lb for instance) are stoopidly over engineered to the point of ridiculousness.  I would assume that the same level of engineering applies to all tanks, but it wouldn't hurt to check.  Vapor pressure of propane at STP is around 150 psi, so it's not anything nuts.

It's not the pressure that's the issue, it's that the valve isn't designed to be opened more than once- which is for safety anyway.  And once opened, they have a good chance of leaking.

You mean the little check ball in the top of the tank?  Interesting.  Makes sense, although I never had an issue taking a 1lb bottle off in between use.

That also means we're all breaking the law when we take this stuff camping... we're either leaving it attached which is a violation of DOT laws, or we're taking them off to legally close the valve and risking an explosion.  DOT law says that the tank valves must be closed for transport.

I'm not exactly afraid that the propane police will pull me over for a spot check, but it's interesting that the design is counterintuitive to the law.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

No, the relief valve on the side of the top.  Most refillers open that up to completely fill the bottle.  If you are not messing with that safety valve, you may be ok- but you won't fill with 1lb of gas...

In reply to alfadriver :

I gotcha.  I never mess with the relief valve when I refill.  I never noticed a difference in operating time when I fill from an upside-down tank.  Just takes a while for it to "burp."

I'm using these with a Little Buddy Mr Buddy space heater in a tiny shack where space is minimal. I don't think I can use anything but the 1 lb tanks, unfortunately. 

I'll ask around my area. Sounds like none of the big box retailers recycle them. 

In reply to CyberEric :

Used to sell Mr. Heater at the tool store.

They make an adapter hose for the buddy heaters to use them on a bbq tank.

Amazon is probably your friend for that.

They do make an adapter hose for the little buddy, and it is the same as an adapter hose for anything else. You do want a regulator. Put the tank outside the shack, with the hose running in.

If that doesn't work, put a seat on top of the tank and call it your stool.

Toyman! said:

Stop buying them. 

I use a 20-pound tank around the house. 

I use a 5-pound tank camping. This one. 

I have one of the 15lb fiberglass tanks, the only issue is they can be hard to find places that will fill them.  and of course its not as convenient as swapping a tank at any number of places that have them. 

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

I tried an adapter for my Blackstone grill, but it still flowed way too much propane, so my grill ran super hot. Guess I need one with some kind of regulator built in. Any suggestions?

This is the first complaint I've ever heard of a Blackstone getting too hot. Please explain.

Ooo baby tanks, so one of the small portable ones with only one or two burners and I'm guessing the garbage Blackstone regulator?

RevRico said:

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

I tried an adapter for my Blackstone grill, but it still flowed way too much propane, so my grill ran super hot. Guess I need one with some kind of regulator built in. Any suggestions?

This is the first complaint I've ever heard of a Blackstone getting too hot. Please explain.

Ooo baby tanks, so one of the small portable ones with only one or two burners and I'm guessing the garbage Blackstone regulator?

Yeah, 22" Blackstone with two burners. No matter how much I turn it down, or have the valve on the propane tank just barely cracked, I still get flames coming out from the edges of the cooktop and it's way too hot.

I used this regulator with an elbow adapter to match the fitting on the Blackstone.

In reply to matthewmcl :

Good to know, I might try that, thanks!

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Have you tried cleaning your burn tubes or putting up wind guards? When I was getting big ugly flames on my 36" I had a spider in one tube and clutch of spider eggs in another. They'd light, but burned very terribly with big ugly orange flames instead of the appropriate blue. 

I just suspected trash stock regulator because it turns out I'm not the only person who lit their whole Blackstone on fire seasoning it.