How cold for above-ground LP tanks to have issues?

Comments

• GroundUp Member Posts: 1,110

  November 2020

  As long as you keep it above 5% full, you'll never see weather cold enough to cause problems.

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• EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 8,071

  November 2020

  What @GroundUp said
  
  Above ground tanks are quite common. Not an issue

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• Oliveone Member Posts: 7

  November 2020

  That funny

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• Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,247

  November 2020

  There is a formula for wetted surface of the tank (how full it is and type of tank), outside temperature, and btu/hr draw of vapor. 
  
  Technically, at -45F the liquid will not vaporize. 

  Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!

  

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• Zman Member Posts: 6,322

  November 2020

  Above ground tanks usually don't have issues. I do have a client with a 4,000 gallon tank and over 6,000,000 attached load in climate zone 7. They have issues and need to run a vaporizer to make it work.
  How big is the tank and boiler?

  "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
  Albert Einstein

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• EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 8,071

  November 2020

  Yes the tank has to have enough surface area to be able to absorb heat to vaporize the liquid based on the connected load

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• Robert_25 Member Posts: 272

  November 2020

  It depends on your btu load, and how full the propane tank is.  Google "propane tank vaporization chart" and you will see what I mean.  
  
  At -45F you could store the propane in a 5 gallon pail.  

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• sunlight35 Member Posts: 35

  November 2020

  Thanks, I think I was mistaken w.c. for psi.

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• hot_rod Member Posts: 14,397

  November 2020

  Zman said:

  Above ground tanks usually don't have issues. I do have a client with a 4,000 gallon tank and over 6,000,000 attached load in climate zone 7. They have issues and need to run a vaporizer to make it work.
  How big is the tank and boiler?

  I was on the maintenance team at Snowbird resort when it was first built, all LP boilers. The vaporizers were in a concrete vault in an avalanche path. Talk about a scary appliance to work on.
  They finally ran a NG line up the canyon.

  Bob "hot rod" Rohr
  trainer for Caleffi NA
  The magic is in hydronics, and hydronics is in me

  

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