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introverted · 29-09-2020, 17:02

I'm looking at buying a grill from an Australian company. They also sell a stainless lpg tank. It has a different valve than what you would see in the States, that much I know. all I need to know is if I will have trouble getting someone to fill it here. Otherwise I will only get the grill and figure out a tank option later. Thanks!

Benz · 29-09-2020, 17:24

Propane companies in my experience are very skittish about anything out of the box. I doubt they'd fill a non-US approved tank even if they had the fitting to do so, which I would doubt as well. They want to just see the same thing over and over.

capt jgw · 29-09-2020, 17:29

In the US recreational tanks must have the OPD valve with the triangular knob. No idea what the rules in Oz are but of it doesn't have the triangular knob no one here will refill it. You could have the valve swapped out, but again no idea if the threads would be the same. Getting tanks filled is a problem anytime you cross borders. LPG is available most everywhere but it seems the tanks and valves are different in every country.

**Jammer** · 30-09-2020, 06:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by introverted

I'm looking at buying a grill from an Australian company. They also sell a stainless lpg tank. It has a different valve than what you would see in the States, that much I know. all I need to know is if I will have trouble getting someone to fill it here. Otherwise I will only get the grill and figure out a tank option later. Thanks!

Cylinders manufactured for use in the USA and Canada must meet certain specific regulatory requirements and must be marked by the manufacturer to show compliance.

Propane dealers in these two countries, as a general rule, will not fill cylinders that aren't designed and manufactured specifically for use in USA/Canada.

Blue Heeler · 30-09-2020, 06:57

I cruised through USA with 2 x 20lb (9kg) Australian propane cylinders. OPD valves are not fitted to Australian cylinders so it is illegal to fill in USA. If the cylinders are fitted with prestolite (POL) type cylinder valves then they are the same threads as USA cylinders. Since they were galvanised and expensive I wanted to keep them. I simply bought a couple of OPD valves for 20lb size cylinders and replaced the originals.

**tkeithlu** · 30-09-2020, 07:07

Blue Heeler has got it. Here's the US valve for conversion:

https://www.amazon.com/Nashfuel-Prop...32471436&psc=1

It's worth noting that LPG has a vapor pressure of only about 125 psi. Messing with the valve mounted on the tank is no where near the dicy situation of messing with, say, an oxygen tank or a SCUBA tank at 2,000 or so psi.

zstine · 30-09-2020, 09:43

You can also fill it yourself from another propane tank provided you have a hose that can connect the two. Just have to suspend the full tank above the empty one. Plenty of youtube vids showing how. LPG can be Butane or Propane and I'm not sure what is used in Aus but I think Europe typically uses Butane in grills. Slightly different propane is (C3H8) and Butane (C4H10). Probably not going to make any difference in a grill....?

If you change the valve to USA standard, won't it be a problem attaching to the Aussie grill?

Cadence · 30-09-2020, 09:53

Just buy the grill. Filling the tank might be near to impossible in the US. Had you considered the other fittings and there thread. Hose from grill to regulator or visa versa?

**tkeithlu** · 30-09-2020, 10:37

Zstine, my somewhat cynical thought is that they are bottling what comes out the top of the cracking tower, and call it LPG because they don't want to be pinned down on how much propane, how much butane, and how much mixed volatile hydrocarbon crud is going into the tank.

dschnee · 30-09-2020, 18:06

Fs boat and for fuel c. The boat was for the stove and oven. I took the boat to British Columbia and found no service facilities in marinas that sold fuel including propane. Also, the jets in the stove tip and oven were different so they had to be replaced with jets for propane.
Good luck!

Nani Kai · 30-09-2020, 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Blue Heeler has got it. Here's the US valve for conversion:

It's worth noting that LPG has a vapor pressure of only about 125 psi. Messing with the valve mounted on the tank is no where near the dicy situation of messing with, say, an oxygen tank or a SCUBA tank at 2,000 or so psi.

tkeithlu is correct about the relative risk of removing a low pressure LPG tank valve versus removing the valve on a high pressure oxygen or compressed air cylinder. However, any compressed gas cylinder should be handled with caution when removing the valve. A bottle of champagne is pressurized at somewhere between 70-90psi. You certainly don't want to be hit in the eye with a champagne cork. Imagine if it were a brass valve under greater pressure. Best practice when removing any cylinder valve is to completely depressurize the bottle. If the bottle has an OPG valve it will not drain by simply opening the valve. It will be necessary to drain the pressure off by turning on the burner or other device the tank is connected to first, then remove it from the regulator. When you are certain the bottle is at its lowest possible pressure, slowly unscrew the valve one thread at a time. The easiest thing to do is take it to your propane fill station and ask them to drain the bottle and remove the valve. Much safer.

**Jim Cate** · 30-09-2020, 19:03

Mate, why would you want to pay the doubtless excessive price for an Australian tank and then pay the shipping to the States?

Buy one locally, avoid controversy and save money too. What's not to like?

Jim

RaymondR · 30-09-2020, 19:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Mate, why would you want to pay the doubtless excessive price for an Australian tank and then pay the shipping to the States?

Buy one locally, avoid controversy and save money too. What's not to like?

Jim

I've given up on owning tanks in Australia, refills are generally more expensive than the GasNgo folks and tanks going rusty is their problem.