Cure for freezing propane bottles

[premmington]

For the liquid to turn to gas, it is actually boiling, the boiling point is very low, much lower than the boiling point of water, so forget the 100 degree thing. As it is boiling, or evaporating, if you like, the temperature of the liquid drops, and the lower temperature prevents the transition in gas.

The more you turn the regulator up to counteract the pressure drop, the more the liquid chills. During the summer on hot days, this would not be so much of a problem, but once the weather gets cooler it becomes worse, as the ambient temperature is not warming the cylinder.

Insulating the cylinder will not help at all, only make it worse. The only way to overcome this, is to warm the cylinder, which is impractical, or reduce the burner nozzle size, which again is impractical for the job, or couple two or more cylinders together to reduce the rate of takeoff from each cylinder.

There are no other cures.

We get the same problem discharging from refrigerent bottles - but we use a heated belt - trace heating thing.

Manifolding the bottles does help - reduces the discahrge rate.

 

[Kram]

I would not use one of those without a feedback loop to a pressure sensor.

Unnessasary provided it has proper temperature limiting. Most gas containers warn about temperatures above 50c, so 30-40c is a nice safe number. I would expect a thermal fuse or several, and perhaps a PTC heating element that may become ineffective as it approaches the target temperature - Im unsure if PTC's exist in that temerature range as it depends a bit on materials.

Perhaps in winter you could use one of TYA's petrol burners?

Alternative to the electric heating belts you could form a copper coil of 8mm pipe around a cylinder and fill with warm water, small battery pump and a burner on a heat exhanger so that your heating indirectly, and a thermostat thing.

 

[Erie Fred]

Unnessasary provided it has proper temperature limiting. Most gas containers warn about temperatures above 50c, so 30-40c is a nice safe number. I would expect a thermal fuse or several, and perhaps a PTC heating element that may become ineffective as it approaches the target temperature - Im unsure if PTC's exist in that temerature range as it depends a bit on materials.

Perhaps in winter you could use one of TYA's petrol burners?

Alternative to the electric heating belts you could form a copper coil of 8mm pipe around a cylinder and fill with warm water, small battery pump and a burner on a heat exhanger so that your heating indirectly, and a thermostat thing.

Or just use the proper tool for the job eh ?
"Red Dragon® Liquid Torch Kits are designed for those applications where continuous use is required. These kits are ideally suited for colder climates where operations at sub-zero temperatures are required. The self-vaporizing torches are excellent for road repair, surface drying, preheating castings for welding, weed burning, melting snow and ice and many other jobs. Two kits to choose from. All Red Dragon Torches are made in the U.S.A. Red Dragon® Liquid Torch Kits require a liquid withdrawal propane cylinder."
Or just turn the tank upside down......

Liquid Torch Kits

Red Dragon® Liquid Torch Kits are designed for those applications where continuous use is required. These kits are ideally suited for colder climates where operations at sub-zero temperatures are required. The self-vaporizing torches are excellent for road repair, surface drying, preheating...

flameengineering.com

 

[gaz1]

Alternative to the electric heating belts you could form a copper coil of 8mm pipe around a cylinder and fill with warm water, small battery pump and a burner on a heat exhanger so that your heating indirectly, and a thermostat thing.

that ones possible and should work with just a copper coil thats joined together with just a small blow torch within a box on the side of it with a pump

just slide it over the bottle insulate the top of it and get going

 

[not done it yet]

Dunno about the real temperature at which the propane evaporation/boiling slows too much, but a gas bottle immersed in water will not drop much below 4 degrees Celsius at the bottom, as long as any ice, forming on the water, is above the liquid level in the gas bottle.

 

[Islander71]

My wife was a potter. Her kiln went up to 1280*C for the stoneware glaze firing, and was fired with propane. It needed 3 of 47Kg propane bottles linked together to enable the rate of gas consumption - it fed 2 large Bunsen type burners, even with the 3 bottles linked they would still have heavy condensation on them showing the liquid level. There were 3 more 47Kg bottles inked up with a changeover valve if the bottles started to get low. It was the final 40*C that took ages to get to. The partly depleted bottles were then used for the next bisque firing to 900*C. When they were too depleted for that they were transferred to be used on the gas cooker. Even then, up to 4 years ago, it was the major expense of making the pots.