Propane regulator facts, propane facts, propane 101, high pressure and low pressure, types of propane regulators, and 

a word about propane tanks

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Should I buy the highest pressure propane regulator to insure enough gas delivery?

There is no advantage of having a propane regulator with a lot more btu/hr output than you actually need.  

Depending on the number of btu/hr that the gas appliance(s) requires, one chooses the adjustable propane gas regulator which delivers the required number of btu/hr. Choose the propane regulator that is the closest match.  

As you choose a higher and higher pressure high pressure propane regulator, the degree of control that the propane regulator valve has over the gas output decreases; i.e., turning the valve an 1/8" in a 0-60 psi adjustable propane regulator has a lot more effect than turning the valve an 1/8" in a 0-20 psi adjustable propane regulator. Choose the high pressure regulator which most closely matches your actual btu/hr need.

How long will my portable tank of propane last?

  

These figures are all theoretical. According to a major 20-pound propane tank producer, Blue Rhino, their 20-pound propane tank will only contain about 4.1 gallons of liquid propane which weighs just 17 pounds.  The empty propane tank weighs about 20 pounds so if you add the 17 pounds of gas you have a full propane tank weighing around 37 pounds.  

Folks also ask: "What is the pressure inside my portable tank?"   According to the publication NFPA58, a tank with 20 pounds of gas at 70°F has a pressure of 145 psi, at 90°F would have 180 psi, at 105°F would have 235 psi, and at 130°F would have 315 psi.

My propane tank and regulator ice up and the propane output is dropping.

 

Often the source of the problem is water within the small, portable propane tank.  Water is not supposed to be in the tank, but usually is. The propane inside the tank is in a liquid form.  Propane leaves the tank in a vaporized state. That change of state from liquid to gas requires a considerable amount of heat.The heat to vaporize can only come from the metal tank that contains the gas. If the demand for the propane is very high, the tank and regulator get noticeably colder and colder.  If the demand for gas is very high the vaporized propane delivered will decrease. If there happens to water along with the propane stored in the tank, the water vapor will freeze internally at the tank valve and can even freeze within the regulator and will further reduce or block the flow of propane to the supply hose.  This is noticed more profoundly when the demand for the propane is at a high level and/or the amount of liquid propane left in the tank is at a lower level.  Water does not mix with propane but both propane and water have vapor pressures within the tank.  Moving or shaking the tank is not helpful.

What can I do when the propane tank and regulator freezes?  

What can you do?   Buy the largest tank you can lug around.  As the internal surface area increases the heat sink increases because the metal cylinder has a larger heat reserve available. You could also complain to your retail gas supplier.  Ask them to purchase the gas from a gas wholesaler that adds some methyl alcohol into the propane. Methyl alcohol acts as antifreeze. Wholesale propane gas suppliers in colder climates often do this in the winter months. If that is not feasible then occasionally pour some hot water over the tank valve and propane regulator.  You can try to keep the propane tank and gas regulator in a warm place. The colder the propane tank and gas regulator gets, the more prone the tank and gas regulator will be to experience a freeze up during high propane demands. Lastly, keep a spare propane tank and be prepared to make a switch whenever you sense a decrease in the flow of the propane.

Caterers often like to use a manual tank changeover valve to quickly change to a warm, full tank by the simple turn of a valve. After you switchover to the new tank the other frozen tank can have time to warm back up or you can changeout the problem or empty tank.  A freeze up will be more pronounced with a less than half-full or a near-empty propane tank, and occurs more frequently in a smaller 5 gallon propane tanks than a larger propane tank. Experienced caterers commonly use as large of a propane tank as they can and keep a spare tank nearby. The use of a twin stage regulator will certainly help reduce these freeze-ups because the gas expansion process is drawing heat from two separate regulators rather than just one.  A twin stage regulator also delivers a more steady and even supply of gas.

 

What is a btu?

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A btu, or British Thermal Unit, is the amount of energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.  

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A gallon of liquid propane contains 91,502 btu's.  

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A pound of liquid propane contains 21,591 btu's.

I have a low pressure regulator but it does not seem to supply enough gas for my appliance.

Unfortunately, many of the preset low pressure regulators available in the marketplace use 1/4"ID black hose and most are attached to a propane regulator with only a 1/4"ID NPT (National Pipe Thread Taper) outlet. There is a definite limit to the volume of gas that can be delivered through this small ID hose at a fixed low propane pressure of 6 ounces. 

What can I do if my preset low pressure regulator is not supplying enough gas?  Can I increase the pressure of the gas?

Why does my grill have little or no flame?

  

According to the Coleman company there are at least three possible reasons:

First is that the propane tank might have been improperly filled.  All tanks must be purged of air before being filled with gas. This purging requires filling with a small amount of gas and then emptying. Propane is heavier than air and will force the air out of the tank during the emptying. Filling with gas then can proceed.  If the tank is not purged then the air is the first gas to exit the tank and the grill will either have no flame or a very low flame for possibly over an hour until the air does fully exit the tank.
 
A second cause could be automatic activation of a surge protection device within the propane regulator. If you turn on the tank valve before you fully turn off each of the burner knobs on the grill, the surge protector could sense a leak and activate. The fuel flow will be reduced.  The remedy is to turn everything off, disconnect the tank, and reconnect everything before starting over.  

A third possible cause might be that the tank was overfilled.  All propane tanks are now fitted with Overfill Protection Devices (OPD) which is designed to be activated by a float valve.  The OPD feature prevents overfilling of the tank by shutting off the valve.  A 20% empty space is necessary to prevent the tank from venting large amounts of propane when the ambient temperature rises.  This OPD can also be inadvertently activated by tilting a very full tank during moving.
 

Interesting Facts

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One gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds.  It takes one btu to raise each pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit or 8.33 btu's to raise one gallon of water one degree Fahrenheit. Knowing that, it is simple to calculate the number of btu's required to raise a known number of gallons of water to boiling...(assuming 100% thermal transfer of the heat from the flame and knowing the starting temperature of the water).  This is useful in determining approximately how long your tank of gas will last.

What is the better fuel, Propane or Natural Gas?

Volume to volume propane delivers more btu/hr than natural gas.

 For example, at 60 °F a flow of 1 cubic foot/hr of natural gas will deliver btu/hr but 1 cubic foot/hr of propane will deliver btu/hr...about 2.5 times more heat.  The reason for this is that methane (natural gas) has one carbon atom bound to four hydrogen atoms and propane has three carbon atoms bound to eight hydrogen atoms.The oxidation (burning) of a propane molecule releases 2.5 times more heat because the process is breaking many more chemical bonds within the molecule.  The end products of the complete oxidation (burning) of both a natural gas molecule or a propane gas molecule are the same, carbon dioxide and water. The difference is that you get a lot more carbon dioxide and water with the burning of the propane and, of course, a lot more heat.  

Natural gas is a reliable and cheap fuel. Many people opt for it if it is available. Propane is the more practical choice if your have a mobile cooking setup.  Our low pressure cast iron burners, pipe burners, and jet burners can be configured with different size orifices to give the same BTU/hr output regardless of which fuel you choose.

More propane 101

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A 20# LPG tank theoretically contains 4.72 gallons but in practice may only contain 4.1 gallons since gas cylinders are not supposed to be filled more than 80% full.    

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What are gas grill regulators and do you need to replace yours?

The term &#;regulator&#; is usually used in the grill world to describe the gas grill regulators, hoses and fittings that bring gas from your LP tank and connects it to your grill.

Technically, the regulator is the silver colored disc part that looks like this:

The hose connects it to the brass fitting which is the part that screws onto your grill. Right next to the regulator is a collar that twists freely. That&#;s the part that screws onto the LP tank. Though you should always turn off your LP tank when you&#;re done cooking or when you&#;re changing the regulator, LP tanks are made with an automatic shut off valve. It will only work when a regulator hose is connected to it.

How do you know when it&#;s time to replace your regulator?

As I mentioned, the regulator brings gas to your grill burners. Here are some indicators you need a new gas grill regulator

• Low heat coming from your burners when your gas is turned on high. Do a visual check on your burners to make sure they are all in one piece and there are no obvious holes or problems.
• Your burners light up unevenly. For example, if the burner on the far right flickers or hardly lights, the middle burner has low flame, and the left burner has a normal looking flame.
• Over time your grill gets less and less hot. Last week it took 10 minutes to grill some burgers, but today it took 15 to grill the same burgers.

WHY? Regulators, for safety reasons, close down slowly over time as they &#;go bad.&#; You probably won&#;t notice one day your grill is perfect and the next it doesn&#;t light at all. The burner closest to the source of gas will light up better than those farther down the manifold. Your grill will get to lower and lower temperatures over time, even on &#;high&#; heat. The main indicator of needing a new regulator is low heat or low flames, especially if it&#;s getting worse over time.

What else could go wrong?

Keep in mind that you may also have a problem running along the hose. Be aware of the smell of gas even when your grill is off or a tiny hissing sound.

Some animals like to chew on the sun-baked rubber hoses. (Don&#;t knock it &#;til you try it?) If this is a problem for you, they have invented handy-dandy hose guards. Check them out.

If you think there&#;s a leak, but you&#;re not sure, you can check the hose with some very soapy water. Rub the suds all the way along the line of the hose. Turn on the gas tank. If there is gas escaping, it will cause the soapy water to bubble at the point of the leak.

What are the differences in gas grill regulators?

A single-hosed, standard regulator is the most commonly used part on grills. It&#;s the picture I used above. These regulators let out up to 60,000 BTUs of gas.

If you have a side burner, check out this dual-hosed standard regulator. There is one regulator (remember that&#;s the disc) and there are two separate hoses. Sometimes one hose comes off the regulator and splits into two hoses, forming a Y shape, and sometimes there are two hoses coming directly out of the regulator itself. Either will work and they are interchangeable.

Updated June : Many of our gas grill regulators now support high-flow needs (let out up to 90,000 BTUs of gas). These are compatible with grills that originally used a standard flow. However, please note that your high setting might give you more heat than before. Pay attention the first time you grill with a new regulator and take note of the cook temps!

How do you know?

Usually, the removal and visual inspection of your regulator determines which replacement you need. It&#;s also a good idea to measure the existing hose and/or the space a hose needs to stretch to reach from the tank to the valve or manifold. If you&#;re not sure, call 678-272-. The staff at GrillPartsSearch.com is always happy to help.

Special Cases

Keep in mind, a standard regulator and hose will not work if you have:

• Natural gas grill (NG)
• A crimped hose onto the valve or manifold in your grill. You will know because you won&#;t be able to unscrew the hose from your grill. In this case, you need to contact your manufacturer to replace the entire valve system.
• Male fitting on the end of the hose that connects to the grill.
• Hose fitting larger or smaller than a 3/8&#; flare, which translates to about a 5/8&#; inner diameter measurement of the opening at the end of the fitting.

Here&#;s a picture of the fitting:

You can&#;t measure the 3/8.&#; It&#;s confusing, I know. Like I said, check for a 5/8&#; measurement.

The good news is that this can be the easiest, cheapest part of your grill to fix!

Remember, not all regulators are created equal. Lower quality rubber will degrade and break more easily in the sun. A lower quality regulator can go bad more quickly.

(This theme came from our FAQs. Let me know if you have a question in our comments section and I can answer it there or even write a blog for you!!)

Spring is coming!!!
-GG

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