Propane tank mounting

Another propane question as I don't see any answers online.

I just got my belly tank back, but I'm not sure if I am going to use it.  It will need a different regulator, but otherwise should be serviceable.  It looks to be a 11 gallon tank by the markings and is roughly 16" Diameter by 34 inches long.

Here are my issues:

1.  The floor of my box truck is 41 inches deep from the outer skirting to the frame rail of the truck's chassis.  Being a horizontal RV tank, it would have to be mounted to the outer edge of the floor to have access to the fill valve.  That would place it right under the heater and water tank, so it might be tough to find space to run bolts.

2.  Would it be better to run a horizontal tank running from the chassis to the edge of the box instead of running lengthwise of the bed like the RV tank.  They make some 40 lb tanks like that for semi-trailers, which would allow me to remove the tank for filling at locations who will not fill a belly tank.

I am finding that there are many around here that will fill a bottle off the truck, but not mounted to the truck, so that option has some traction with me right now.

I just don't have a feel on the rules involving propane tanks when used like this.  All that I know is that you should never keep a tank inside the vehicle or trailer and that the DOT regulations get stricter over 90 lbs., so a 40 lb tank seems like a good decision....even if mounted with dual tanks.

This is my last hurdle to getting my project vehicle finished, but I really am not certain how to work this propane issue.  It is really a shame that I couldn't mount it into the smaller compartment next to the heater (28"x41"x27" space)....or could I?

This is what I have now:



This would be the other option tank:

I had a welder welsba bracket under the the driver side  of the van to mount the tank. I had a video of it somewhere

Not sure I really understand what the question is, but I'd mount the belly tank I see in the first pic on the Left side of the truck with valve hanging down for filling.

I've never heard of a place that doesn't fill tanks attached to truck, so I'm no help with that.  But if that's the case, it sounds like it may be better to run a tank you can easily remove inside the truck.  Which I see no problem with if you have it away from heat sources, and have it mounted securely with a bracket.

BTW Mo you spelled Wubzzy wrong......."welsba".  

Should the tank be kept far away from the heater? Is that why most hoses that I see are 12' in length?

I have the heater and machine on the passenger side of the truck, as per your input a few years back Rob.. so its on the curb side.

Then belly tank is on the drivers side. I also have never heard of a place not filling a belly tank, when Im not near my usual fill spot I stop at any old chevron or 76 and they fill it for me.


U may have just run into a lazy employee at a fill station who thought it would somehow be more work for him because theres no difference in filling a bbq tank or a big belly tank. They actually love it when I come in because they know they are going to sell a good amount of propane.


I can show you a pic of where my 38gal tank is mounted if u need

I probably did just run into a lazy employee then, that is good to know. I'll have to call around some more.

I did look into maybe putting a 500 gallon tank in my backyard by the alley to fill my own tank from. Runs $55 a year for the lease, 85 cents gallon right now, and they will even lay the slab and deliver the tank.

I can also buy the tank outright for $525, but the lease sounds like a better deal if I decided to move later.

Lots of variables to consider right now.

milspec6 wrote:Should the tank be kept far away from the heater?  Is that why most hoses that I see are 12' in length?

I'm not sure but common sense makes me think that a heat source close to the tank isn't a very good idea.........even if heat causing tank expansion isn't a real problem?, a leak sure could be with it close to the heater, and it's too easy for a lazy filler guy to leave the bleeder valve open a bit causing a flammable leak. I've had it happen a couple times, and the reason I always check it after filling.

No idea about hose length either...sorry.

milspec6 wrote:I probably did just run into a lazy employee then, that is good to know.  I'll have to call around some more.

I did look into maybe putting a 500 gallon tank in my backyard by the alley to fill my own tank from.  Runs $55 a year for the lease, 85 cents gallon right now, and they will even lay the slab and deliver the tank.

I can also buy the tank outright for $525, but the lease sounds like a better deal if I decided to move later.

Lots of variables to consider right now.

Holy Cattle!!......... $.85 gal?!? Man I'd be all over that. For that price I'd even convert my van to run on it!

That price got my attention as well Davey. I can even lock it in for the winter compared to the $2.48 / gal. at the filling station.

The only trick would be filling the truck off of the tank and if there is a good location to place that tank.

milspec6 wrote:

The only trick would be filling the truck off of the tank and if there is a good location to place that tank.

You need an electric pump like the filling stations have right?.......or is there another way?

Farmers around here do it all the time, but I don't know about the pump. I know you can fill BBQ tanks directly without a pump.

I have a buddy that delivers LP and happens to drive right by my house on his route, so I will always have easy access to a refill without waiting.

I still have to look into if the city will object and how the filling cross tanks would work, but for 85 cents / gal it sounds worth it.

Hmmmm, maybe with higher pressure in the big tank it just will feed/fill the smaller truck tank.

How big of a tank do you have to put at your house?..and is there a min. amount you need to buy per month or buy so they will come out and fill it?

If I could get that low price here I'd prob put a tank in my backyard too.....I'll have to look into that.

They sell / lease 100, 500, and 1,000 gallon tanks in my area with the 500 being the most common.

No min. amount to purchase either. They just come and fill the tank when you request a filling as needed.

Could probably run an underground line to the detached garage to run a heater as well.

u need a pump for sure

They told me that you could fill a belly tank without a pump just from the pressure difference, but it would probably take overnight.

So, yes, the pump is needed for any real usage.

No you don't need a pump. If you have a liquid outlet tap on the main tank. And it want take over night either just open the bleeder valve on the tank your filling. I had a 100 lb cylinder filled last winter it had a pin hole leak in the bottom. So I connected a straight tube between the two and turned the 100 lb upside-down so the liquid was at the valve transferred it to two 30 lb and the rest into 20 lb tanks saved it all but the vapor in the 100 lb tank.

ACE Services wrote:No you don't need a pump. If you have a liquid outlet tap on the main tank. And it want take over night either just open the bleeder valve on the tank your filling. I had a 100 lb cylinder filled last winter it had a pin hole leak in the bottom. So I connected a straight tube between the two and turned the 100 lb upside-down so the liquid was at the valve transferred it to two 30 lb and the rest into 20 lb tanks saved it all but the vapor in the 100 lb tank.

Interesting.....will need to talk with the tech instead of the salesman I think.

Think about your pump up sprayers. How much air pressure do you need to push out the liquid not much but the more pressure you have the faster the liquid flows. Ask what the psi is in a tank of lp it will be the the same large or small the press reg is what controls the press to the burner. Now think about this if you push a liquid into a sealed tank the air inside compresses so that is why you have to open the bleeder valve on the tank to bleed the vapor off the tank to make room for the liquid.
All a pump really does is measure gallons.

Okay, that makes sense. That backyard bomb is starting to look pretty good. I could always camouflage it to look like a giant hot dog or something.

Now as for the truck's tank, that is still unsettled.

On the belly tank that I have, the engraving is too hard to read. I tried rubbing it with a crayon, but I still can't make it all out. It is a Manchester tank and by the dimensions, it is likely a 10 gallon model.

The fact that I can't see the date of the tank and that the propane shop couldn't find all the parts to rebuild it due to age, I am guessing that this is a rather old tank and might be well passed the 12 year mark. One of the parts that couldn't be sourced was the level gauge, so I would not know the amount left in the tank if used.

That has convinced me to just buy a new tank and regulator. Here is the deal though, I still kind of like that idea of mounting dual forklift tanks in the compartment next to the heater. The box on this truck is not airtight and the rollers in the doors allow a constant gap to vent to the outside.

This is the compartment that I am thinking about. The heater presently is installed in the compartment to the left of this shelved one. It may not look it, but it is a large space (42 inches deep, 28 inches tall per shelf, and about 32 inches wide).



The traditional option is to mount another manchester belly tank beneath the box. I would have to cut an access panel in the aluminum skirting to get to it, but that would also work. It is just that the 30 lb forklift tanks can be taken out for filling in town without complaints from the service station, plus if gives me a use for that storage compartment.

Look at the forklift tank close most that I've seen the valve is marked liquid out because it is liquid not vapor to the motor. You're LG heater uses vapor no saying that it cannot be converted just check it out. Propane is 50:1 expansion. Better safe than sorry.
If you are looking for a standard belly tank I have one I sell. It's set up for the 3ht heater but can be changed.

u need a pump

you cant take a big storage tank 2000lbs and turn it upside down to use the gravity,    and pressure filling like u were told is going to take like 6-8hours

a bbq tank ya u can let the pressure fill it,   but a big belly tank on a truck would take forever

if u didnt need one I dont think any of the filling stations would have one


not sure what size your belly tank is but your going to be doing this a lot... i think its a good idea to get the big tank in your yard and maybe you should consider converting the TNT engine to propane since it will be so cheap

A hell just sell the little giant and buy a heat exchanger probably save you time money and aggravation

It might happen Mo...it might happen.

How is your Hx plans working out?