sparky60 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hi all. getting my 1983 toy/dolphin back from paint shop soon. Gonna finally use it soon too. Been rebuilding it ...seems forever now. Anyway..my question is when I take out the horizontal propane tank to get it refilled ..do I transport it horizontally ? Does it get refilled horizontally ? I know this sounds dumb, I've only ever used upright tanks in the past. Not sure about these ones...Thks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Sparky, the tanks fill vertically! Also if you have trouble getting them filled because they dont have OPD valves point out that they are exempt, there are no OPD valves available for these tanks. But they do have to be certified (every 10 yrs i think). The tanks are a bit tricky because in effect you are filling them from the side, in the US the tanks get vented and filled until the propane liquid vents, not so in Canada or Mexico. Venting may leave a bit of propane liquid in the tube leading to the top of the tank, this liquid propane can cause serious trouble. When I reinstall a fresh tank, I set it on its side on the ground and crack the valve for maybe 1/2 second, this clears the liquid and leaves you good to go. One tip that I just learned is that you should open the propane valve all the way when you are using it, there is an O ring that seats to seal the valve stem......Cheers Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Can you post some pics of your tank? It should fill the same way its mounted. Mine is bolted in and is refilled in-place but its a 92. My previous 86 was the same. How many gallons is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted June 7, 2009 Author Share Posted June 7, 2009 Sparky, the tanks fill vertically! Also if you have trouble getting them filled because they dont have OPD valves point out that they are exempt, there are no OPD valves available for these tanks. But they do have to be certified (every 10 yrs i think). The tanks are a bit tricky because in effect you are filling them from the side, in the US the tanks get vented and filled until the propane liquid vents, not so in Canada or Mexico. Venting may leave a bit of propane liquid in the tube leading to the top of the tank, this liquid propane can cause serious trouble. When I reinstall a fresh tank, I set it on its side on the ground and crack the valve for maybe 1/2 second, this clears the liquid and leaves you good to go. One tip that I just learned is that you should open the propane valve all the way when you are using it, there is an O ring that seats to seal the valve stem......Cheers Tony Thanks nibs...great info... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted June 7, 2009 Author Share Posted June 7, 2009 Can you post some pics of your tank? It should fill the same way its mounted. Mine is bolted in and is refilled in-place but its a 92. My previous 86 was the same. How many gallons is it? Don'y know how many gallons it is..but its probably 10 gals or so , not big but a bit larger than the bar-b-q ones. I'm gonna figure out how to post pics here someday.....when I can get the time...thks to alll,,,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I had a Dolphin with the horizontal removable tank and it was a 7 1/2 gallon. Same size as the chassis mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Hi all. getting my 1983 toy/dolphin back from paint shop soon. Gonna finally use it soon too. Been rebuilding it ...seems forever now. Anyway..my question is when I take out the horizontal propane tank to get it refilled ..do I transport it horizontally ? Does it get refilled horizontally ? I know this sounds dumb, I've only ever used upright tanks in the past. Not sure about these ones...Thks depends whether it is a "tank" (mounts permanently in a horizontal position) or is it a "cylinder' like on a bbq grill which could be mounted any which way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 There are two types of tanks one is meant to be vertical the other horizontal by design the ideal is to allow gas only into the lines. If you lay a bbq tank on its side it will allow liquid propane into the lines and that's a no no same is true of a horizontal tank if it is set upright. As far as transport it really does not matter the tanks are filled as a liquid and measured that way but there is space above the liquid where the discharge to the lines are that is the ideal of the new type of valve so that the tanks can not be over filled and run a risk of liquid fuel in the lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoyhomme Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Attached photo shows the 2 propane tanks in my 83 Sunrader: Looks like BBQ tank Smells like BBQ tank But they're not BBQ tanks. These tanks are made for RVs. 20lb/5 gal each, just like a BBQ tank. They are filled to 80% capacity. These tanks must be removed from the RV for filling. Must be in the vertical position for filling, and must only be used in the horizontal position as shown. These are fairly new tanks with OPD valves. Unlike BBQ tanks, thesee tanks are considerably more expensive. Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklebill Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 We have one 5 gallon tank that looks similar to the ones in Allens picture and it mounts horizontally. The gauge on it has 2 scales - one for horizontal and one for vertical implying that you can use it either way. But, when empty, it will only take 2 1/2 gallons of propane if you try to fill it in the vertical position. It will only totally fill up in the horizontal position. None of the propane people I have talked to can explain it. It has the OPD valve on it and was manufactured in 2002. It might be some weirdness in the valve itself but I always have to warn the people who fill it to do so only in the horizontal position. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 We have one 5 gallon tank that looks similar to the ones in Allens picture and it mounts horizontally. The gauge on it has 2 scales - one for horizontal and one for vertical implying that you can use it either way. But, when empty, it will only take 2 1/2 gallons of propane if you try to fill it in the vertical position. It will only totally fill up in the horizontal position. None of the propane people I have talked to can explain it. It has the OPD valve on it and was manufactured in 2002. It might be some weirdness in the valve itself but I always have to warn the people who fill it to do so only in the horizontal position. Bill There is a float inside of the OPD tanks to keep them from overfilling never tried to fill one on its side you might ask a propane dealer about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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