Dear Dave,
We recently purchased a portable grill that uses the small “disposable” LP bottles and would like to find a more environmentally friendly method to either refill them or use a 20 lb. DOT cylinder. I have read that the landfills are full of these little green containers. —Nancy
Dear Nancy,
This has been a very popular topic of discussion for several years with the increase of the number of people camping and the new portable grills and heaters that have flooded the market. Many of these devices are designed to use the “one-and-done” disposable bottle that is not designed to be refilled.
However, I asked a local retail grill store about what options are available. They indicated there is an adapter available on Amazon to refill these using a 20 lb. DOT cylinder. I did a search and, sure enough, there are a bunch of videos showing how to put the bottle in a freezer and refill them!
I do not believe this is a good idea. The Department of Transportation (DOT) classifies these 1 lb. bottles as DOT 39 cylinders. It states on the website to never refill them as they are not designed to withstand the stress of repeated refilling. You can find the information on the DOT website here.
And keep in mind that just because you see it done on the internet or someone states they have been doing it for years does not make it legal or safe!
What other option do you have?
The timing of this question is great as we donated our huge four-burner propane grill last year to the local little league and have been looking at a small tabletop or portable version. We decided on a Dyna-Glo portable grill [at Menards] that scissors down for storage and uses the DOT 39 cylinder. Doing some research, it looks like this will only run the grill for 2-3 hours, depending on how many burners we use and how hot. Most of the time this is fine. However, we might want to slow smoke our food at times and definitely don’t want to keep throwing the bottles away.
I have also recommended the catalytic heater models pictured earlier for supplemental heat when boondocking or dry camping. One of the DOT 39 cylinders would not last an evening.
My first thought was to purchase an adapter to connect a larger, refillable container such as the 20 lb. grill type or larger. We did this using an Extend A Stay adapter on the 2016 Thor Challenger and a Blackstone grill. The Extend A Stay was installed on the outgoing LP tank of the motor home with a quick connect hose adapter.
Notice the adapter is located before the LP regulator, so we had to confirm the Blackstone had it’s own regulator to make sure there was not a pressure issue.
According to the parts diagram in the Dyna-Glo owner’s manual, it also has an internal regulator. However, I was not able to get an answer from anyone at Dyna-Glo regarding the size of regulator and if it was acceptable for a 20 lb. cylinder or larger. If it is, I could just purchase a supply hose with an ACME connector for the 20 lb. cylinder and the 1”, #600 connector at the grill.
Introducing the Mr. Heater Fuel Keg
Until I can verify the regulator is safe, I will use this new product, the Mr. Heater Fuel Keg, that I bought along with the new grill. It has the 1 lb. cylinder with a vent at the neck and a fill tube that will connect to a larger refillable cylinder.
The fill tube and cylinder are sold separately and you can get the fill tube here.
You can get the Fuel Keg on Amazon here.
The initial cost is $30 for the fill tube and $18 for the cylinder. You can get the bundle on Amazon here.
Costs for LP cylinder options
The traditional 1 lb. “disposable” cylinders cost anywhere from $6-$10 each. A 20 lb. cylinder will cost about $20 to refill. That should give you approximately 18 refills since it has an OPD valve that only allows an 80% fill. This puts the cost of LP at just over $1 per fill. When you factor in the $50 cost of the Fuel Keg bundle, you have covered your cost in less than 10 refills and have not filled the landfill with the disposables.
If you don’t have a 20 lb. cylinder, you would have to factor that cost in, as well. But who doesn’t have one of those?
You might also enjoy this from Dave
One of my RV’s two-stage LP regulators hums. Is this a safety issue?
Dear Dave,
My propane’s 1st stage valve is humming. It’s a 7-lb. bottle, and the humming begins at 2 lbs. and continues to zero. The tank and 1st stage (hummer) is at the farthest distance (opposing side) from the other bottle and the main 2nd stage selector valve. Question: Why does humming occur at low quantity only, and only on the distant side? —Ron, 2021 Reflection 150 Series
MORE FROM DAVE ON LP
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- I’m told my LP tank needs recertification so can’t be filled, but I’m getting conflicting advice
- Why can’t anyone fill my RV’s LP tank?!
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
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Flame King also makes a reusable 1 lb cylinder. I’ve used them for years with no problems.
I use a small 5 lb cylinder that cost about $45. It cost about $3.50 to fill–unless you go to a boutique grill store. It’s small enough to carry over to the picnic table. It uses the same hose to connect to the grill as the 20# tanks.
Same here. We use it with a Blackstone griddle and it works great. It’s small enough to store and carry easily.
Yes, this is very handy. It has an advantage over the 1# cylinders, in that the pressure is more even. With the 1#, for my Little Red Campfire, I had to keep adjusting the setting as it emptied. Friends found the same with their 2-burner camp stove. (I already had the 5# cylinder when we added a single burner propane stove. We use white gas most of the time, but the option is handy.)
I’ve been using this product by Flame King for several years without issue. Appears to be less expensive than the product you mentioned.
https://flamekingproducts.com/products/flame-king-eco-friendly-1lb-refillable-reusable-propane-cylinder-refill-kit
Link you gave says $65, while Amazon for Mr Heater is $48…
You can also buy the Flame King kit. comes with a stand, fill adapter and 3 1lb bottles.
Home Depot has it for about $76.
I use the Flame King kit to refill the Fuel Keg refillable bottles which are a lot safer to use than the thin walled disposable bottles. The disposable bottles were not such a big problem before greed kicked in on propane prices.
I have refilled the disposable 1 pounders a couple times without any problems but decided to get refillable ones. I repurposed the disposables. 1st use the relief valve to make sure it’s completely empty. 2nd remove the plastic bottom (save it). If it’s hard to remove, soak it in hot water for a few minutes. 3rd cut the cylinder in half, I usually cut it at the seam around the middle. 4th use a file or sandpaper to remove any metal splinters. Use the plastic bottom as a lid and you have an almost watertight container for screws, nails etc. I use one for extra electrical fuses also.
Thank you for the discussion, Dave! I think we’ll take a 20 pound (?) refillable LP canister with an adapter hose to Alaska. The small canisters too often run out at inopportune times. Have a great day and safe travels!
IMHO- No. Just because you can; does not mean you should. From a licensed, insured master Plumber.