A Little Trick To Know How Much Propane In Tank In Less Than 1 Minute.

When it comes to grill time and party is ready to go, running out of fuel through your outdoor party can bring your barbecue to a halt.

Not sure what the propane level is in that old tank you have attached to the grill? With this video you can easily find out how much propane you have left even if your barbeque grill doesn’t have a scale. All you will need is a quart of hot water! Without any tools, based on the results of this test, you can approximate how much grilling time you have left in that propane tank. And it can be done in less than 1 minute.

Image source: FIX IT Home Improvement Channel

Move on to the Next Page video: Easy Test to Check Propane Level.

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153 thoughts on “A Little Trick To Know How Much Propane In Tank In Less Than 1 Minute.

    • November 2, 2017 at 9:13 am
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      Just pick it up and feel the weight and swirl it around, if it’s half full it will feel like a jug of water half full, . When you get a full tank feel it’s weight and from that you can was my judge it’s content

      Reply
  • March 20, 2015 at 1:34 pm
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    Don’t most people own a bathroom scale? You could waste water and the energy heating it, or you can get a very accurate estimate by carrying your scale outside for a second. K.I.S.S.

    Reply
    • November 29, 2016 at 3:29 am
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      Most people don’t take a bathroom scale when they go rv’ing.

      Reply
    • December 25, 2016 at 3:28 am
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      And 95% of the people that see this do NOT know how much it weighs to begin with!!!!!

      Reply
    • January 9, 2017 at 1:38 pm
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      And mr. brilliant, how much does an empty tank weigh?

      Reply
      • February 11, 2017 at 10:24 am
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        Next time you buy propane, step on the scales w/o the tank, then step on the scales with the tank in hand. The difference is the weight of your full tank. Write down the full weight for comparison to when it begins to get empty. If you take it to a place for refilling, the guy doing the refilling can tell you the full weight and the empty weight.

        Reply
      • February 15, 2017 at 9:28 am
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        The empty weight is stamped on the bottle

        Reply
      • June 16, 2017 at 6:11 pm
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        It’s stamped in the steel. Tar weight.

        Reply
        • November 7, 2017 at 9:26 pm
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          Tare. Tar is on the roadway, generally filling the cracks.

          Reply
  • March 22, 2015 at 2:04 pm
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    Weighing works with out danger of over heating the tank. A quart or two aint goina hurt anything and should work. If one over heat a propane tank for any reason the relief valve will releave and loard help you if there is a flame near by. its a bomb.

    Reply
    • December 6, 2016 at 5:10 pm
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      You can’t over heat a propane tank with hot water even if you stick it in a tank of warm water. It doesn’t build enough pressure to blow off. No harm in way pouring water down the side to feel where the tank is cold. That’s the propane line. Been doing it for 25 years.

      Reply
  • March 23, 2015 at 9:51 am
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    Next time show this with the water going into another bucket or a garden. Water in Calif. is getting sp$#%&!@*, so it”s good to recycle as much as we can.
    Thank You for all your wonderful information.

    Reply
    • January 5, 2017 at 10:42 am
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      If you are really complaining about the scarcity of water in California, perhaps you should convince your regulators to put a stop to lipton. They are making a killing on bottled tea while using over a billion gallons a year. It would be more cost effective to lose that company and gain in the long run by having more water for the people !

      Reply
      • January 7, 2017 at 1:43 am
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        Water isn’t for drinking straight and unmixed anyway! It is for brewing coffee, tea, moonshine, and the such like. It is also used by some folks for things like fishing, boating, dating ( skinny dipping ), etc. Yes, I will agree that it is right up there with “air” as being necessary for life. Contaminating our water with chemicals which are not removed by natural processes like decay and filtering thru soil and plants is insane and self destructive. Did you know that much of our water, such as the Mississippi River, is already so polluted that the fish from there should not be eaten. That is a shame and disgrace to our species.Our precious water must be protected at all cost!

        Reply
        • January 11, 2017 at 7:47 am
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          Our precious bodily fluids ! As said by the General in “Doctor Strangelove” !!

          Reply
  • March 24, 2015 at 1:25 pm
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    We usually don’t take bathroom scales when we are camping. I don’t want to know what I weigh when we’re doing that. I’ve done the hot water thing for years.

    Reply
  • March 25, 2015 at 11:34 am
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    Just weigh the tank and deduct the weight of the tank that’s stamped on it. Divide that weigh by 4.24 and you have the gallons of propane in the tank.

    Reply
  • March 26, 2015 at 7:03 am
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    Travis and Kenneth are spot on. Just wiegh it! I have a crappy old bathroom scale in the shed for this!

    Reply
  • March 26, 2015 at 8:10 am
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    We don’t have enough water in California to pour it out on propane tanks.

    Reply
  • March 27, 2015 at 6:57 pm
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    If you hook up a line from your house gas you need not worry if you’ll run out.

    Reply
    • December 25, 2016 at 5:39 pm
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      House gas is fine as long as you change the jets on the burner controls for nat. gas otherwise you will create a blowtorch in others words leave alone and buy a backup tank of propane unless you really know what your doing Floyd retired Fire Fighter

      Reply
      • January 2, 2017 at 8:03 am
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        FYI propane jets are smaller you won’t get enough natural gas through them no blow torch just not a big flame

        Reply
    • December 19, 2016 at 8:15 am
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      It took me over 5 minutes. ..close to 10 minutes to find the video. ..LOL…pain in the ass.

      Reply
  • March 29, 2015 at 10:18 am
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    BTW, magnetic thermometer strips are available for just this purpose. No hot water or scales needed.

    Reply
  • March 30, 2015 at 12:47 am
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    it sucks that these links are to pages that are chock full of malware/spyware. Whats wrong with just posting the video directly here without having to leave fb?

    Reply
    • January 7, 2017 at 2:10 am
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      Excellent point, Dallas.

      Reply
  • March 31, 2015 at 8:16 am
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    Do it the way that works best for you, can’t people comment anymore without arguing?

    Reply
  • March 31, 2015 at 7:49 pm
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    The tank is marked for weight, weight the tank any weigth over the marked weight tell you how much gas is left in the tank ! No Problem !

    Reply
  • April 3, 2015 at 9:21 pm
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    the best way to check it is to open it up all the way and use a lighter to check in side the little hole if you dont blow up themn it could be emty

    Reply
  • April 5, 2015 at 12:07 pm
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    I leave my tank on an old bathroom scale. Just look down and see how much is left by weight . 18empty 36 full give or take a few pound or two

    Reply
  • April 6, 2015 at 7:31 am
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    There is 92,000 btu’s per gallon of propane. If the propane cylinder is filled at a actual propane company (you get an actual full tank) you will get 20 pounds of propane in your tank devided by the specific gravity of propane 4.2174 equals 4.74 gallons. 4.74 X 92,000 = 436,080 btu’s worth of propane in your full tank. 436,080 devided by 30,000 = 14.535 hours of grilling time. At a exchange cabinet they only give you 15 pounds of propane (3/4 of a tank) which would give you 10.73 hours of grilling time. That is if you only cook on high everytime you cook. Who cooks on high the entire time they are cooking? Second if you are using your grill for approximately 10 minutes and pour tap hot water over your cylinder while in use it will form a moisture line at the top of the liquid propane and you can easliy see how much is left in the cylinder. Propane is a liquid and you pull vapor off the top of the cylinder while in use you are dropping the pressure in the cylinder the liquid propane in the cylinder starts a type of boiling effect to repressurize the cylinder this in turn causes a drop in the temperature of the liquid propane in the cylinder thus causing the moisture line on the outside of the cylinder when hot tap water is applied. This is the easiest method to know how much propane is in the cylinder and quite accuate. You can also weigh the cylinder as another person commented but all cylinders do not weigh the same empty. They range from 16 pounds to 21 pounds depending on the maufacture. There is a TW stamped on the collar of the cylinder that is the tare weight (empty weight of the cylinder) any thing over that would be the weight of propane left in the cylinder.

    Reply
    • February 7, 2017 at 11:10 am
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      I dont agree with your logic, I have a propane torch that connects to a 20ln tank and has a max output of 500,000 btu, if 1 gallon only has 92,000 how is that possible?

      Reply
      • May 31, 2017 at 5:42 pm
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        The torch has a maximum output rating, not that you are actually getting it from propane, try oxy/acetylene.

        Reply
  • April 6, 2015 at 7:32 am
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    There is 92,000 btu’s per gallon of propane. If the propane cylinder is filled at a actual propane company (you get an actual full tank) you will get 20 pounds of propane in your tank divided by the specific gravity of propane 4.2174 equals 4.74 gallons. 4.74 X 92,000 = 436,080 btu’s worth of propane in your full tank. 436,080 divided by 30,000 = 14.535 hours of grilling time. At a exchange cabinet they only give you 15 pounds of propane (3/4 of a tank) which would give you 10.73 hours of grilling time. That is if you only cook on high everytime you cook. Who cooks on high the entire time they are cooking? Second if you are using your grill for approximately 10 minutes and pour tap hot water over your cylinder while in use it will form a moisture line at the top of the liquid propane and you can easily see how much is left in the cylinder. Propane is a liquid and you pull vapor off the top of the cylinder while in use you are dropping the pressure in the cylinder the liquid propane in the cylinder starts a type of boiling effect to repressurize the cylinder this in turn causes a drop in the temperature of the liquid propane in the cylinder thus causing the moisture line on the outside of the cylinder when hot tap water is applied. This is the easiest method to know how much propane is in the cylinder and quite accurate. You can also weigh the cylinder as another person commented but all cylinders do not weigh the same empty. They range from 16 pounds to 21 pounds depending on the manufacture. There is a TW stamped on the collar of the cylinder that is the tare weight (empty weight of the cylinder) any thing over that would be the weight of propane left in the cylinder.

    Reply
  • April 6, 2015 at 8:14 am
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    Thanks for the lesson uncle Danny aka hank hill you learn something new every

    Reply
  • April 10, 2015 at 4:58 pm
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    Ken, you bring up a good point, but most of the kids coming out of school today can’t do the math. I guess they are able to tell warm water from cold though?

    Reply
  • April 11, 2015 at 1:02 pm
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    It’s so much easier just to have a full one on hand to swap out when the first runs dry.

    Reply
  • April 12, 2015 at 4:34 am
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    I keep a second tank and have a scale, and also have a grill that weights the tank. All of these work!

    Reply
  • April 12, 2015 at 5:01 pm
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    does not matter what the lvl is in the tank, it will not tell u thet you have enuf for what ur doing. keep a spare tank, that easy

    Reply
  • April 12, 2015 at 7:18 pm
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    Funny you should mention that. I ran out in the middle of grilling steaks friday night. Just exchanged it a couple hours ago. Luckily, Deidra and Dave were out of town so I rode the bike over there and stole theirs. 5 minutes later I was back in business. Lol

    Reply
  • April 13, 2015 at 4:38 am
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    If ever there were a statement made more true than this one, I certainly haven’t seen it.

    Reply
  • April 13, 2015 at 6:40 pm
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    But, but, but.. Then you wouldn’t get infected with my spyware/virus/malware. That kind of defeats the entire purpose now doesn’t it?

    Reply
  • April 14, 2015 at 4:46 pm
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    The empty weight of the tank is marked “TW” on the strap. Propane weighs about 4.25 lbs per gallon. Weigh the tank and do the math.

    Reply
  • April 14, 2015 at 7:44 pm
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    I’ll bet your favorite politician wears at least one of these decals, just like a nascar driver.

    Reply
  • April 15, 2015 at 4:49 am
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    Saving you the trouble… pour hot water down one side of your tank. The propane will absorb the heat so when you run your hand down the tank you will feel where the cold area begins – that is the level of the propane. If you have a 30,000 btu grill, a full tank will last 8 to 10 hours.

    Reply
  • April 15, 2015 at 10:49 am
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    All you have to do is light the tank on fire. Then, after the initial explosion, measure the height of the plume of smoke in the air. If it’s really high, then the tank was probably full.

    Reply
    • December 31, 2016 at 5:15 pm
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      See, if I’m in doubt I take it out back and start shooting my AR 9000 at it until I find the liquid.

      Then I know….simple and fun!

      Reply
  • April 18, 2015 at 4:31 am
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    drill a hole into tank and shine light in to see.make sure you i use br$#%&!@* bits as to not cause a spark. BBQ hack

    Reply
  • April 21, 2015 at 6:31 am
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    On the top of every tank it has its empty weight. TW is tank weight mine is 16.6

    Reply
  • April 23, 2015 at 9:35 am
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    I have a hand held scale made for this type of tank. It shows how much you have. Pick one up at any LP Gas Store. Less than $10

    Reply
  • April 28, 2015 at 6:09 pm
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    you feel the side of the tank where it is cold / cool move your hand up till it is warm and that how much u have in it…….

    Reply
  • May 1, 2015 at 11:56 pm
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    Use a cutting torch , just heat it up til its red hot, then feel where its the coolest.

    Reply
  • May 3, 2015 at 5:35 am
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    Most people dont realize when they exchange tanks they are only about 80% full. When propane went up in price they stopped filled them so full to keep price the same .

    Reply
  • May 7, 2015 at 9:34 am
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    now you are tracking water, grit, and dirt into the house when you go get the meat.. and your wife becomes pissed instead of glad you are grilling. The best this to do is keep a spare tank on hand.. just sayin.

    Reply
  • May 9, 2015 at 9:41 am
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    Walmart sells a luggage scale, 0-85 lbs, for about $15.00. It is a handle with a hook, I keep one for weighing my RV propane tanks.

    Reply
  • July 31, 2015 at 5:52 am
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    That is pretty handy Bob, of course there is also my way; get everything ready, meat prepared, several “pre-event” $#%&!@*tails dispatched, THEN discover there’s no propane.

    Reply
  • July 31, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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    I tried it tonight, even without the warm water you could feel a distinct change of temp- nice to know!

    Reply
  • August 1, 2015 at 6:27 am
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    An easier way is to just weigh it on a bathroom scale. An empty tank weighs 20 lbs. and a completely full one weighs 40 lbs. It’s a simple calculation to determine how much is left. At 30 lbs. it is half full and so on.

    Reply
    • December 6, 2015 at 4:16 am
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      Not really; although they are called 20# cylinders, the new “safety” valves only allow a 17# fill. And if you check the signage at most pick-up locations, they clearly indicate that you are purchasing 15# (net weight) of LPG.

      Reply
  • August 5, 2015 at 5:28 am
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    Do not watch the video, adware virus!!!!!!got 51 of them when I tried to watch it!!!!!!!

    Reply
  • August 8, 2015 at 7:55 am
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    I really don’t worry how much I have in tank. I always have a back up in the shed and if I run out no big deal. Then I go and replace the empty tank w/a full one.

    Reply
  • August 11, 2015 at 9:55 am
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    And when it’s empty… have it refilled at Mortimer’s Hardware……8to5 Tues thru Sat 661-270-1770

    Reply
  • August 14, 2015 at 6:51 am
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    All you need is a bathroom scale. A 20lb. propane bottle weighs 38 lbs. full and 18lbs.empty! No brainer. If you have 2 lbs. left and want to grill dogs or burgers, u are good to go. If you going to grill something for an hour, u might want to have a new bottle on hand. Another tip,quit wasting your money exchanging your bottle for anotheer full one. Have it filled at a local co-op or some hardware stores fill them for around $13.00.

    Reply
  • August 20, 2015 at 4:52 pm
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    a real man can tell just by picking it up… plus he ha 12 more full ones behind the shed

    Reply
  • August 21, 2015 at 3:55 am
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    WTF do I have to go the next page to watch this stupid video. So tired of these hack sites.

    Reply
  • August 21, 2015 at 5:41 am
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    when something wants me to go to another page to watch it is time to just move on and not watch.

    Reply
  • August 24, 2015 at 6:05 pm
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    Thx, I guess I used the left/right arm balance beam scale to $#%&!@*ess the relative weights. 🙂

    Reply
  • September 16, 2015 at 8:22 am
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    CONGRATS ON OWING THE ONLY GRILL WORTH BUYING!!!

    Reply
    • October 4, 2015 at 2:13 pm
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      How much do you owe the grill? What if you don’t pay it? Will it refuse to cook?

      Reply
  • November 30, 2016 at 1:15 pm
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    Just a thought – BUT – if you can afford paying a water bill, and pay for a water heater and the gas or electric to run it, and can afford to buy a plastic bucket, you can afford to buy a gauge. Just saying.

    Reply
    • December 1, 2016 at 2:46 am
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      Actually, all the gauges they make for the propane bottles cause a very slow leak at the fitting. They can’t get it right. I was always having to refill my RV bottles which was confusing because we didn’t use that much gas. Then an employee at a propane company told me that ALL propane gauges have slow leaks and to disconnect ours. I disconnected and lo and behold, the leak stopped.

      Reply
  • January 9, 2017 at 1:48 pm
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    Well after reading all of these comments to a very simple idea, I figured that the geniuses aren’t and I could tell who voted for Hillary. You only get 80% when you fil the tank, and none of the geniuses took into account the temperature at the time of fill. I like the first idea, it was simple and works, the others…….well…………

    Reply
  • January 10, 2017 at 9:26 pm
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    Replace your grill with a Natural Gas like I did and problem solved.

    Reply
  • November 7, 2017 at 10:15 pm
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    Just let the wife cook and when the fire goes out she wil know the tank is empty. She’ll yell for you to go get some more. Dinner will be late but you can pick up some more beer on the way back. No water wasted, no scales needed just an upset wife and that’s ok.

    Reply

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