DIY propane tank fills

[kaiser715]

I was sorting thru my propane forklift tanks tonight, deciding which ones to fill for this weekend. I hate starting a trip with any less than two full tanks, so I got several tanks that maybe have 1-3 gallons each.

I know that A) you can put a wet leg on a big tank for refilling at home and B) they have a dohickey that will let you refill the 1-lb bottles from a 20-lb tank.

These two facts lead me to the question: Can I make up a hose to connect two forklift tanks together to gravity feed from one to the other? I know I probably could not fill up to 8 gallons, but if I could get 75% of a normal fill, I'd be happy. Say I got 3 tanks with 2 gallons each...could I get enough transfer flow to get one of the 3 tanks up to 6 gallons, emptying the other two???

I have thought about putting in a 250 or 500 gallon home tank, but the only other thing I'd use it for is shop heat, and I only went thru 3 of the 20 pounders this winter, so it's really not worth the expense.

 

[upnover]

The way mine is set up, I can do that with my Jeep. I sit the one to be filled on the ground, and the other where the pick up is in the optimal position. crack the bleeder on the one to be filled and open the valve for the donor. then open the valve to the one to be filled. It's slow, but it will work. The pressure from the donor will push the pane into the one being filled.

Having a tank at home to fill from is an idea, but, the pane company (from what I have learned) won't set you up because of liability, and insurance. I was told you had to have a $1,000.000 policy in order to get set up to do that.

I have mine filled at a company that only charges me for the gallons I get, that way a partial tank doesn't cost me as much to fill. I know some places charge per tank, not per gallon. They do have a progressive rate though. One charge for up to 20 gallons, and a lesser charge for over 20 gallons.