OT: Propane tank disposal/trade in

[SmellsFeeshy]

I am going to be moving up to Norcal soon and the movers won’t transport my propane tank for my grill. The tank is still about half full. I don’t really want to transport it myself in my car due to risk of accidents/leakage in the car.

Does anyone know of a place that would take a half full tank and possibly give me some kind of trade-in value? I was hoping that a place that does trade-in like Home Depot would allow me to get a voucher and pick up another one up in the bay area but they don’t do anything like that.

Worst case I can try to give it away to a friend but if I have to dispose of it last minute is there any place that would even just take it off my hands?

[outtamojo]

Maybe you can find someone to empty it and then take it with you in your car?

[all]

Barbecue every day?

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=outtamojo]Maybe you can find someone to empty it and then take it with you in your car?[/quote]

I thought about that but I’d still worry that it wasn’t completely empty. Plus I don’t have a lot of room in my car so I’d prefer to save space for other things.

captcha:
Even if I grilled every day I probably wouldn’t be able to use it up by then 🙂

[UCGal]

Craigslist?

[Coronita]

I think we should rechannel our energies and give you 101 ways to use up your propane….

Standard safety warning/disclaimer applies…

#1. You ever wonder what you can do with balloons filed with propane instead of helium?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoOM9pzySXw

[SmellsFeeshy]

LOL flu. Might as well just shoot the tank itself if you want to really go big.

UCGal: Thought about craigslist but I don’t want to go through the hassle for the amount of money I would get for the tank. CL is such a PITA these days. For every 10 emails that I get maybe one person is actually serious about it and then usually they either stop responding to phone calls/emails or never show up when they say they will.

[Hatfield]

Pfft.

the fun begins at 2:45

[sdduuuude]

Yay Mythbusters:

[sdduuuude]

Releasing LPG (Liquid Propane Gas) from it’s container is a cool thing.

I mean – cold, actually.

You can use the release of propane to chill beer – much faster than the ice/water/salt method. Do it right, use a coil and you’ll have iced beer in a few seconds.

OK. It’s stupid cuz its expensive, but fun things usually are.

I’m sure there’s a video but I couldn’t find one on the usual tube.

[Hatfield]

Yeah, the big fire installations at burning man go through so much propane so fast that the latent heat of evaporation freezes the tank. So to prevent that, some of the installations will have a water heater running off one propane tank recirculating hot water into a bathtub, and in the bathtub they’ll have the propane tank used for the flame effects.

[svelte]

Not really sure why they won’t move it – when we moved, the moving companies would simply open the valve and let it completely drain before loading it onto the truck.

Maybe laws/rules have changed since our last move.

I’d just give the thing to a friend if I were you.

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=svelte]Not really sure why they won’t move it – when we moved, the moving companies would simply open the valve and let it completely drain before loading it onto the truck.

Maybe laws/rules have changed since our last move.

I’d just give the thing to a friend if I were you.[/quote]

The valves on modern propane tanks won’t let the gas come out unless you have something connected to them. I’m sure it might be possible to drain out the gas but it’s not as simple as just opening the valve.

I’ll probably just end up giving it away like you suggested.

[Fearful]

[quote=SmellsFeeshy]The valves on modern propane tanks won’t let the gas come out unless you have something connected to them. I’m sure it might be possible to drain out the gas but it’s not as simple as just opening the valve.

I’ll probably just end up giving it away like you suggested.[/quote]
I think you’re being paranoid. In fairness, I did the same thing when I transported a propane tank once. I later realized I was being silly; the tanks are really tough, and RV’s carry them around all the time. The tanks are tougher than your car’s gas tank, and the propane is actually safer because it rises into the air if it is released, whereas gasoline puddles on the ground and evaporates into flammable vapors. Any crash that ruptures your propane tank will be really bad news for everyone involved.

One reason moving companies prohibit them is not because of the potential of explosive release but because the tank would be in an enclosed space, so if it leaked slowly, an explosive combination of gas might develop.

It’s also a cheap tank, so just leave it as a baby on a tank exchange place’s doorstep.

Maybe Home Depot would take it and let you pick up a fresh one at your destination.

[Anonymous]

The moving company drivers don’t pay much attention to their own rules. Many years ago I had a motorcycle as part of a move. The “instructions” the moving company provided said that the gas tank had to be drained before moving. A few days before I carefully drained the tank and let it air out to remove any fumes.

When the guys came to load the truck, I told them the tank had been drained. The driver gave me a look like “why did you do that?”

Drain the propane tank and put it in a box, label the box with “grandma’s underwear” and they will just throw it on the truck.

[Author]

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