Composite Propane Tanks

[Lp Gas Man]

Mr. Freesail that price does not include shipping and is for the Lite cylinders that are not of the same quality as the Ragasco Tanks. We are Ragasco USA and have the customer support of Ragasco in Norway. If I can ever help with anything please let me know. Also be careful you don't get a tank that is already 3 years old because you will be required to have it recertified in 2 years. Anyway keep in touch and happy sailing.

[Alaskaboy]

Hearthside is selling the 16 lb Composite Propane Cylinder for $34 now plus shipping. I was going to order but they are $52 each or so to ship to Alaska. I have no idea where they are located but the shipping is probably a lot less in the Lower 48. The path to there website is:
hearthsidedistributors.com/s.nl/it.A/id.34737/.f

Tell them alaskaboy referred you. Maybe it will help as I'm going to call and see if I can get it shipped less expensively. The '16' weighs only 9 lbs. plus packaging per their Norwegian website. It seems the other sizes are not on sale.

[Lp Gas Man]

Alaska Boy

Thanks for your email. Hearthside is in Tenn and he is selling tanks that are already 3 years old into a 5 year certification. He bought the inventory at a fire sale. If you like I have a distributor is Seattle Washington and he has 12 of my tanks. The shipping would be allot less from there. I am in Florida or I would send you 2. We have the 10lb tanks and 16lb tanks. Soon the 22lb will be here. If you don't mind me asking what is your application for the tanks?

Many Thanks,

Lp Gas Man

[Alaskaboy]

LP Gas Man, I'll be using the tanks with my 'Dickinson Newport Propane Fireplace P12000 Cabin Heater' (that I purchased a couple of weeks ago), max 9,700 BTU, on a Formosa 46 here in Alaska. I was over and visited the boat this last weekend. My brother, who is graciously living on/watching the boat this winter, had easily put in the stove replacing the Dickinson diesel which I'll probably keep as a back-up. Right now the gas unit is less expensive to run than the diesel and will pay for itself in a year. I found a real good deal on the internet. BTW, I think the heating range of 32/40 ft advertised by Dickinson is correct. Separating the aft 1/3 of the boat with a cut wool hanging blanket over the aft door leading to the engine 'hallway' area keeps the cabin very warm and very dry. The double chimney brings in outside air for combustion. Moving the hanging blanket to the aft cabin door (so some heat gets back there) keeping the forward 3/4 boat area comfortable. I'm very happy with the gas unit so far.

Right now I'm looking for a good deal in composite tanks. As far as I'm concerned, if 3 of 5 years are gone on the warranty, that's ok. Like I said, $34 is a great price, just the shipping to AK is high. Per the below (for those so inclined) it looks like in Europe they are testing them every 10 yrs or it's at least reasonable to test every 10 yrs. Looks like the $34 tanks still have 17 yrs of life just to get to the second test period.

16 pounders are small enough to fit anywhere. You can't lay down a 22 pounder, or can you??? Also, the housing is plastic so I doesn't scuff up the fiberglass.

I've read info on composites from fire department testing and they confirm they will not explode if put directly into the fire. If anything, they will slowly burn through and slowly release the gas/pressure until exhausted.

Yes, I'd be interested in talking to your Seattle distributor. But I gotta tell ya, I never pay full price. Like a friend said, "boat dollars are exponentially more valuable than US dollars."

Info from the Ragasco Norway website for those who are interested: "For filling and retesting, the CEN standardization organization has developed EN14763 and EN14767 as technical guidelines. These are approved by the member countries to CEN, but they are not yet referred to in ADR- they were not ready in time for the last ADR revision. In addition, RAGASCO has a product specific document covering the detailed instruction for filling and retesting Complet. Some countries stipulate 10 year retest intervals and other countries stipulate a 5 year retest interval. Ragasco is continuously performing tests to document the limited deterioration that normal use of the cylinders provoke over time (no corrosion, no permanent deformation) and thus convince the competent authorities that retest interval should be at least 10 years. In the USA, the cylinders are approved in accordance with DOT-SP-12706, which is based on ISO11119-3.2, CFR49, FRP-1 and DOT specific requirements. Authorized Testing Institute is the third party approval organization for the manufacturing line and product."

Tell me if my reasoning is wrong. I'm teachable.

[SV Enough]

Originally Posted by Lp Gas Man

Hello folks I would like a moment of your time. I am a Sales-manager for a company located in Florida call the xxx we have been selected to be the US Primary Distributor of Ragasco Composite Tanks. I have been viewing all the post about the Ragasco and Lite cylinders. Most of you seem to be very positive about this technology. Up until just 6 months ago we were a Lite Cylinder carrier. Our CEO is very adamant about offering the best and safest product available. He is a very techie type. He is a pilot, captain, and damn good business man. He made a 100% commitment to Ragasco. For many reason.

The Collar is designed to fit your hand better.
The Collar opening is larger.
The Tank is 1 piece instead of 2.
The protective cage around tank is much more substantial
The tank wont twist inside of the Cage.
And Ragasco has never had a safety issue.

The bottom line the Lite cylinders are Mickey Mouse. The Ragasco is superior in design, style, easy of use, and safety. We actually have had 3
10 lb Lite cylinders that when the consumer had them filled they leaked all the gas at Two piece seem.We off Course returned their money and paid for shipping.
Ragasco has produced and sold 3,000,000 units and has actually been around longer than Lite. Its is just in the past year they have become available here in the US.

A Worthington PDF is attached for reference.

We use the Worthington 4.25 lbs cylinder. A pair perfectly fits in the topside propane locker we have where the two cylinders, switchover valve, regulator, and shutoff solenoid is located. We store two additional 4.25 lbs cylinders on deck in standard 5 gallon buckets with lids on the cargo boards with the portage' jugs for water and fuel. We find the four cylinders more than meets our needs as we are not limited to the gas stove as our only means of cooking and we don't use propane for anything else.

The 12 inch high by 9 inch diameter overall are limiting critical dimensions as it is the maximum size the locker will accept.

Assuming the metal tank valve boss corrosion can be sorted we would very much want to go to 4 composite cylinders to replace the steel ones.

What are the prospects for these 9 inch standard diameter sizes for fewer than 10 lbs capacities becoming available to go with the current 12 inch diameter used for 10 lbs and up composite cylinders? There are folks that don't need, want or can use larger cylinders. Being able to store the 4.25 lbs cylinder in standard 5 gallon buckets available at home improvement stores makes that size good for OOPs backup even for folks that use the big cylinders.

Your friend,
Mark Fay

[SV Enough]

I sent an email to the Lite Cylinder folks and they replied to the inquiry I made here.

Mark,
Thank you for your inquiry on our lite cylinders. We will send you an
answer back on Monday, as we will be able to get the exact measurements. We
were just at the boat show in Miami Beach looking at this very same issue.
Regards,

Shelley Moeller
Sales & Marketing
Lite Cylinder Company
139 Southeast Parkway Ct.
Franklin, TN 37064

[SV Demeter]

So what is the verdict on the Lite tanks? I am looking at getting a pair of 10lb tanks from sure marine but if they are inferior to ragascos then I will go that route.

[lorenzo b]

I carry three 100 lb tanks and four 20 lb tanks, all steel. I check them once in a while and if I see any rust I clean it up. What's the big deal?

[SV Demeter]

I really like the idea of the composite tanks because you can see how much fuel is in them. I know folks who have had tanks refilled in the caribbean that ended up not getting a full tank when they paid for one. A visible fill would prevent this along with the corrosion issue although you are right its not really that big of a deal if delt with correctly. I was more worried about the alleged stories of the Lite brand cylinders leaking .

[Dedzaboy]

Anyone had any problems with UV degradation on composite tanks? We had two 10lb Lite Cylinders on our boat which were great, stored in a locker. Since then however I've seen a number of Lite Cylinders that when stored outside in the tropical sun appear to be degrading, the resin is disappearing and leaving loose strands of glass. Despite numerous emails to Lite Cylinder in the US and the original manufacturers in Sweden I've had no sensible reply and get the impression they're waiting for me to give up and go away...the Lite Cylinder website clearly shows tanks being used and stored outside but there is no mention of the UV degradation which I'm seeing. Anyone else come across it?

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Dedzaboy

Anyone had any problems with UV degradation on composite tanks? We had two 10lb Lite Cylinders on our boat which were great, stored in a locker. Since then however I've seen a number of Lite Cylinders that when stored outside in the tropical sun appear to be degrading, the resin is disappearing and leaving loose strands of glass. Despite numerous emails to Lite Cylinder in the US and the original manufacturers in Sweden I've had no sensible reply and get the impression they're waiting for me to give up and go away...the Lite Cylinder website clearly shows tanks being used and stored outside but there is no mention of the UV degradation which I'm seeing. Anyone else come across it?

I havent had any UV issues with my Lite cylinder but Ive only had it out for a few months now. I am having a sunbrella cover made for it and the regulator/solenoid assembly though as I can imagine tropical sun doing a number on the tank.

[skipgundlach]

Our composite tank has been outside for close to 4 years with no visible changes other than some loss of translucency (more difficult to see propane level)...

However, ours are not "lite" - I forget the brand...

L8R

Skip