I go camping pretty often at a local watering hole, about 20 miles away. Probably one weekend a month, whenever the kiddos are at mom’s place. As a result i have a modest collection of 1# LP cylinders. I got tired of finding a spot to recycle my empties, and at $10 a pair, can get costly over time. And my 20# hose with inches regulator got damaged and i havent repaired it yet so Ive been refilling the 1lb’ers, marking it on the bottle. I change out the gas rated schrader valves every 3 fills, and note this on the bottle as well. I bubble test each cylinder/valve before shelving, and each cylinder gets refilled to 80% capacity of what i buy it at (pressurized tanks like this usually follow a 80/20 rule - 80% capacity only, allowing for thermal expansion, and the weight i recieve them at is already 80% of its actual capacity.) When i refill it, its only being filled to 60-65% its actual capacity.
As the title states how many cycles can these bottles handle before it becomes dangerous? There is literature that the federal government puts out that says not to refill due to stresses from cycling full/empty. There is also literature that says these same refilled DOT 39’s arent transportable once refilled. While I understand this isnt implicit permission to refill, it is acknowledging them, and how they arent allowed to be transported. So, it sounds like its done, at least. There also exists off-the-shelf solutions for refilling bottles and youtube is replete with videos on how to do it.
Or am i reaching? Does anyone here refill their 1# cylinders for camping? Does anyone know how often this is safe? Is there literature elsewhere that can shed light on this? If i cant get a firm-ish number ill likely abandon doing this and just go back to my 20# tank and proper regulator out of concern for safety.
Thanks yall.
Please do not do this. The safe/okay number of times is ZERO(0). This is one of those times where the government is correct and not fucking around. It's illegal for a reason: these cylinders are simply not safe to refill at all. The standard disposable ones are not thick-walled enough, nor are they generally made of the right grade of materials to be safely refilled. They can rupture very easily. Repair/replace and use the 20# tank, or see if you can get a 5# one, that's what I used to use when I used a camp stove. If you really prefer the size of a 1# tank, there is actually a refillable 1# tank out there! Here ya go
thats what i figured. i have to find a way to dispose of the 3 or 4 full ones i have in the shed out back. the empties are recyclable as they are.
ill just end up replacing my hoses, and going that route.
I edited my comment, you can actually get refillable 1# tanks from Flame King. I had a 5# tank that I liked because it's way easier to lug around to a campsite. You can probably use the filled canisters one last time, because the main rupture risk is when the canister is being filled, or in an impact (which is why they're not transportable). Using them is the safest actual way to empty them that I can think of. Just recycle them when you're done.
Just get yourself a 5Lbs tank, they cost < 50$, and only a couple of dollars to refill.
5lb tanks are also very comparable to the footprint of 2 or 3 1lb tanks.
I haven't done it but I really can't imagine they'd be weakened a significant amount by refilling. I wouldn't worry, but I also have a lot of self inflicted scars and injuries, so, y'know, consider the source.
