Hopefully someone finds it helpful and saves some cash.
Refilling Propane Cans - Save Money On Engine Repairs
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You never get the throw away tank to fill properly. Played that game for years. Also illegal to refill flamable gas canisters and not have them properly marked. Ie map gas tanks shouldnt have propane in them. The valves like to leak after several refills both the over pressure valve and the main valve.
My uncle found these refillable tanks years ago. I have 4 in rotation for the past 5 odd years now.
https://flamekingproducts.com/produ...nable-1lb-refillable-propane-tank-lp-cylinder
There are a few other companies that sell similar products. Also there are better fill valves too, handy when you have multiple tanks to fill.
My uncle found these refillable tanks years ago. I have 4 in rotation for the past 5 odd years now.
https://flamekingproducts.com/produ...nable-1lb-refillable-propane-tank-lp-cylinder
There are a few other companies that sell similar products. Also there are better fill valves too, handy when you have multiple tanks to fill.
Yes you can and I explain all this in the video.
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I'm far from an expert, but I didn't think it was illegal to refill, even without marking- I was under the impression that it is only illegal to transport them after refilling. Either way, even the transport thing would be an issue most of the time.
Of course, the refilled container wouldn't necessarily be recognizable as being refilled.
I have a buddy who gets them pretty much full, iirc he hold in the little schrader valve to release the air pressure, with the big tank being held upside down. Either way, the little refillable cylinders are definitely nicer if you're refilling a lot.
I refill the torch sized propane bottles all the time. I use them to power my case annealer when I anneal rifle cases prior to reloading. I use one of the 20 pound bottles from the RV. I invert it on the bench, screw in the adapter to the empty small bottle and then screw the empty to the 20 pounder and open the valve and it fills them right up but prior to filling, I put the empty ones in the shop freezer to cool them down. A cold bottle fills much easier and quicker.
Of course it's not free as the 20 pounder has to be filled back up. Bought the adapter at Tractor Supply for 8 bucks years ago and I keep a number of the small ones in the fridge all the time. I haven't bought a new small bottle in years and I also use them to power the 'Buddy heater' in the deer blind as well. I bet I've filled them at last 20 times now, maybe more.
Weighed an empty one as well as a filled one and the filled one's weight is within an ounce or two of a factory filled one.
One, it's not free and two, the big bottle MUST be inverted to fill the smaller ones so the picture in the first post is wrong. You want liquid, not vapor to fill the smaller bottle with and the ONLY way to extract liquid is to INVERT the big bottle.
Finally, they are not tanks, they are bottles. Tanks are on chainsaws and gas powered engines. I know people use the term interchangeably but the correct term is bottle. Like I said previously, been refilling my small ones for years. I've never had a leaking valve and I always get them almost full and I never 'bleed' off anything when filling them, I fill them up and use them and fill them again. Have big bottles as well that contain the inert gas the welders use. I get them refilled at my local welding supply store that also has a compressor station. I get Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen and non medical Oxygen as well as Acetylene bottles refilled all the time. It would not be cost saving to buy a filled bottle every time in as much as the big ones are costly to purchase and I own all my bottles and I have them refilled and I own quite a few.
Far as I'm concerned (and remember I own and operate a welding and fab shop), it would be insane not to refill gas bottles (well, in the case of Acetylene bottles), the Acetylene bottles are actually filled with liquid acetylene and the liquid is absorbed in the media inside the bottle, hence it's called 'dissolved' and you NEVER use a dissolved acetylene bottle in any position but vertical as you only want to extract the gas, never the dissolved liquid. Liquid acetylene in a torch head would do very bad things very quickly.
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Also never pressurize acetylene above 15psi when it isn't dissolved in acetone, bad things can happen then as well.
Some things I don't allude to and that is one. Common knowledge when it pertains to people using it every day. Just like keep all your bottles vertical and securely tethered as breaking the valve off the top of any pressurized bottle be it flammable gas or inert can and will cause untold grief as well. They make great 'rocket engines' when the contents is released in an uncontrollable manner.......
Been using the Flame King refillables for years, really like them. I'm more of a liquid fuel type of guy, but propane is ridiculously practical in a lot of applications. Being able to refill instead of running out and having to run into town for more cylinders is a good benefit too.
The disposable cylinders are an exercise in lowest acceptable viability, based on one use. I know lots of people do reuse them and don't have any problems, but doing so with flammable gassed ain't my jam when something engineered to be reused from the beginning is available. I've had the disposable cylinders leak without being refilled.
The disposable cylinders are an exercise in lowest acceptable viability, based on one use. I know lots of people do reuse them and don't have any problems, but doing so with flammable gassed ain't my jam when something engineered to be reused from the beginning is available. I've had the disposable cylinders leak without being refilled.
My high school shop teacher said he saw a large high pressure cylinder fall over and break the valve off. Said it flew like a balloon and went through a wall.
Years ago when I lived in Cleveland (long time ago), Welders Supply on Train Avenue caught on fire and it was spectacular to say the least. Bottles were going every which way, some straight up like rockets. 2500 psi even on a non flammable bottle equates to some serious force. Nothing much left of the place afterward. I keep my spares inside but always tethered to the wall with restraining chains. My greatest fear is having one fall over and break off the top. They look harmless but lots of dangerous energy inside, especially the acetylene bottles.
I've never had any issue but I buy name brand propane bottles for the most part. Sure is cost effective to refill them.
...and I do with my case annealing machine. It's a pig on propane.
I would like to see that machine. Did you build it?
No. I have an Annealeze. They have a website and are made by a guy in Florida. Nice machine. The new ones even come with a built in timer to set and record the dwell times. I've annealed over 2000+ cases with mine over the years. I even anneal the case mouths on striaghtwall handgun cases where there is a heavy crimp like 460 Smith's,.
I used propane annealers, but I'm now thinking of going with an AMP induction annealer.
https://shop.ampannealing.com/annealer/build/
Be ready to get your wallet out... I'm good with the Annealeze actually. I've used it so much over the years that I don't bother with Templac either. I can tell by the color of the case mouth when they are annealed correctly ( I turn the lights out to observe) and I can load multiple cases in the machine and walk away and let it do it's thing once I have the dwell time set correctly. The issue I have with any induction annealer, besides the price is, you can only anneal one case at a time and I like to load up at least 50 cases at a time, depending on caliber of course. I even custom machined feed rollers to run smaller straight walled pistol cases., which I do because the heavy crimp on the magnum cases causes the end of the case to work harden and split and big brass, like everything else today isn't cheap.
1400 bucks for the AMP and that don't include the necessary pilots which are extra is almost 5 times what I paid for the Annealeze. Haven't a clue what they cost today as mine is at least 8 years old.
When I'm done processing brass (and I only use John Whidden FL and NS bushing dies, custom machined to the individual chambers on my long range rifles) and anneal them, they look just like factory made cases, right down to how far the annealing process travels down the case body,
My last step prior to sizing them and loading them is annealing them
I only buy (at least in 223 and 308 flavors, OFMB and I always get them uncleaned.
First thing I do is remove all the primers,
I use a reloading press primer tool, none of my dies have primer punches anyway.
Then I tumble them in STS wet media and when dry (I run them through an RCBS case tumbler) to remove the pins and get most of the rinse water out of the cases. Then it's off to one of the lathes and I length resize all of them to SAMMI spec length using a Rotary case trimmer that chucks a 2 flute end mill.
Then I cut the burrs from inside the cases (only Norma, Nosler and Lapua gun drill their flash holes, everyone else including Lake City, punches them and it leaves a burr inside the case and I remove and the burr removal tool I use (in the lathe again) also reams the flash hole when removing the burr, then I chamfer the pockets (all of them whether they are crimped in primers or not don't matter).
Then they get ran in STS once again to remove any and all swarf and remaining powder residue. Then I resize all of them in bushing dies and keep in mind that I inspect each case carefully as I perform the various operations and I toss any and all suspect cases in the scrap bin and that is a continual process that I do with every operation. Any severe dents in the case body or any dent in the shoulder datum equals a toss. If the case mouths are deformed and I cannot insert my deburring tool, they get a quick trip over the appropriate sizing button in a blanking die.
Then they get ran through the Whidden dies for whatever rifle I'm loading for and I set the neck tension from experience and I machine my own die bushings here from oil hard drill rod.
After sizing, I set the primers using a hand primer tool (RCBS) because I can feel when the primers are correctly seated and then I load them with the appropriate propellant and pills and put them away for the eventual 'rainy day' use.
I seat all my bullets with an RCBS micrometer front load bullet seater and I machine all my own seater stems (for whatever bullet I'm seating).
I only use Federal or CCI primers and only Hogdon propellants.
I probably toss about 25% of the cases I buy, sometimes more, depending on how mangled they are. Always buy uncleaned brass in bulk. I don't need the cleaned or 'polished' as they like to refer to it as. They get cleaned here and I'm not paying some outfit to clean them and charge me extra for a needless operation.
On the extreme long range and match loads, I check and correct the concentricity using a Hornady concentricity jig with a dial indicator. Like my match and long range loads to be within 0.002 concentric.
On the long range large bore loads they also get checked for concentricity and corrected as required.
Finally, other than the .223's I never load to SAMMI specs, I always 'jump' the bullets most times 0.005-0.010 off the lands and that requires Wyatt boxes and magazines for all my LR sticks as the standard box won't accept a jumped pill and all the rifle stuff with the exception of the 223 varmint loads are loaded with Berger pills and in the case of handgun rounds, Sierra hollow points.
One thing I NEVER do is advise anyone on propellant loads or tell anyone how much of what I use. Lets just say I usually load well in the excess of what a reloading manual suggests because I jump the bullets, I can do that without fear of anything blowing up in my face.
I build all my loads using my own private 350 yard range and I chronograph every shot as well and record everything, always.
I like most of my loadings to be around 2000fps and not much more because excessive bullet speed erodes the rifling lands and custom barrels are expensive. I like and use Bartlien barrels and Jewel triggers and I install and time my barrels here and install the triggers as well and everything is of course bedded as well.
Guess I do something right as everyone I hunt with (there are 4 of them), only shoot my handloads and they have dropped a ton of large game as well. Between the 4 of us, we have hunted every where except Africa and Europe.
1400 bucks for the AMP and that don't include the necessary pilots which are extra is almost 5 times what I paid for the Annealeze. Haven't a clue what they cost today as mine is at least 8 years old.
When I'm done processing brass (and I only use John Whidden FL and NS bushing dies, custom machined to the individual chambers on my long range rifles) and anneal them, they look just like factory made cases, right down to how far the annealing process travels down the case body,
My last step prior to sizing them and loading them is annealing them
I only buy (at least in 223 and 308 flavors, OFMB and I always get them uncleaned.
First thing I do is remove all the primers,
I use a reloading press primer tool, none of my dies have primer punches anyway.
Then I tumble them in STS wet media and when dry (I run them through an RCBS case tumbler) to remove the pins and get most of the rinse water out of the cases. Then it's off to one of the lathes and I length resize all of them to SAMMI spec length using a Rotary case trimmer that chucks a 2 flute end mill.
Then I cut the burrs from inside the cases (only Norma, Nosler and Lapua gun drill their flash holes, everyone else including Lake City, punches them and it leaves a burr inside the case and I remove and the burr removal tool I use (in the lathe again) also reams the flash hole when removing the burr, then I chamfer the pockets (all of them whether they are crimped in primers or not don't matter).
Then they get ran in STS once again to remove any and all swarf and remaining powder residue. Then I resize all of them in bushing dies and keep in mind that I inspect each case carefully as I perform the various operations and I toss any and all suspect cases in the scrap bin and that is a continual process that I do with every operation. Any severe dents in the case body or any dent in the shoulder datum equals a toss. If the case mouths are deformed and I cannot insert my deburring tool, they get a quick trip over the appropriate sizing button in a blanking die.
Then they get ran through the Whidden dies for whatever rifle I'm loading for and I set the neck tension from experience and I machine my own die bushings here from oil hard drill rod.
After sizing, I set the primers using a hand primer tool (RCBS) because I can feel when the primers are correctly seated and then I load them with the appropriate propellant and pills and put them away for the eventual 'rainy day' use.
I seat all my bullets with an RCBS micrometer front load bullet seater and I machine all my own seater stems (for whatever bullet I'm seating).
I only use Federal or CCI primers and only Hogdon propellants.
I probably toss about 25% of the cases I buy, sometimes more, depending on how mangled they are. Always buy uncleaned brass in bulk. I don't need the cleaned or 'polished' as they like to refer to it as. They get cleaned here and I'm not paying some outfit to clean them and charge me extra for a needless operation.
On the extreme long range and match loads, I check and correct the concentricity using a Hornady concentricity jig with a dial indicator. Like my match and long range loads to be within 0.002 concentric.
On the long range large bore loads they also get checked for concentricity and corrected as required.
Finally, other than the .223's I never load to SAMMI specs, I always 'jump' the bullets most times 0.005-0.010 off the lands and that requires Wyatt boxes and magazines for all my LR sticks as the standard box won't accept a jumped pill and all the rifle stuff with the exception of the 223 varmint loads are loaded with Berger pills and in the case of handgun rounds, Sierra hollow points.
One thing I NEVER do is advise anyone on propellant loads or tell anyone how much of what I use. Lets just say I usually load well in the excess of what a reloading manual suggests because I jump the bullets, I can do that without fear of anything blowing up in my face.
I build all my loads using my own private 350 yard range and I chronograph every shot as well and record everything, always.
I like most of my loadings to be around 2000fps and not much more because excessive bullet speed erodes the rifling lands and custom barrels are expensive. I like and use Bartlien barrels and Jewel triggers and I install and time my barrels here and install the triggers as well and everything is of course bedded as well.
Guess I do something right as everyone I hunt with (there are 4 of them), only shoot my handloads and they have dropped a ton of large game as well. Between the 4 of us, we have hunted every where except Africa and Europe.
