Vandwelling 101 How much propane do I have left

 How much propane is left in my tank.

Today I sold a BBQ grill with a weight scale telling me how much propane is left in the tank. Cute idea but if you've ever camped in freezing blizzards or cold winter,  you have several ways to tell how much propane is still in your tank.

Method 1

Feel the tank. It's colder when you have propane.  

Method 2

Pour some water on the tank.  Just a little. 

You'll easily see how full it is 

Method 3

Pick It up 

A standard tank is called a 20lb tank. It takes about 7 gallons of propane. Full tank is heavy.  Empty tank is light. 

Propane tips.  Turn the knob on the tank all the way on. Adjust propane on appliances. 

Don't fill half full tank. They have to exhaust all propane to fill them.

Don't keep a leaking propane tank. 

Turn off tank first,  then the appliances hooked up to it. Otherwise you have propane in your hose.

Propane is heavier than air. If you smell propane,  turn off everything and exit leaving doors open.  Propane smells like rotten eggs.

If you have appliances with pilot lights,  make sure that the pilot light stays lit.

Otherwise you will have a small propane leak.

Storing propane tanks on a hitch mounted shelf is not a good idea. 

It adds weight to rear axle. If you are rear ended,  it can be very dangerous. 

I used to store my propane in a milk crate right next to a side barn door or passenger front seat floor.  In case of emergency,  open door,  kick out,  drive at least a couple hundred feet. 

Never travel with propane hooked up to stove or heaters. 

Cost of refills is less than $16. Cost of exchange is about $20

Cost of 20 1lb containers is about $80

Currently 1lb propane bottles are about $4 to $5 each. Generally you save  $64  each time you refill a 20lb propane tank rather than buying 1lb cannister 

See you down the road 

Lou

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Vandwelling 101 - The Morning Routine

Today both my vans are at the mechanic, and I'm ill at a friend's place temporarily.

It's nice to wake up,  heater on,  bathroom three feet away with running water. 

However,  my morning coffee routine is disrupted. 

First,  he uses a different brand than my favourite tasters choice freeze dried coffee.  It's good,  but every sip jars my senses telling me it's not my coffee. 

Second,  he uses pure white sugar.  I'm used to the flavor of the raw sugar.  

And my beloved little Kira's affected as well.  Every morning she's allowed drop of coffee off my finger.  She gets 3 wet fingers of coffee,  a total of 6 drops of coffee.  She's the only dog I've ever had that doesn't sneak sips of coffee out of my cup.  She's had her 6 drops of coffee and curled back up against me.

The one thing in my world that speaks of civilized behavior is the sacred morning coffee. 

Good coffee to you

~Lou and Kira~

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