Home propane system-can i add a 20gallon tank w/its own regulator?

Question

my heat, hot water & clothes dryer are propane gas w/ two 100 gal tnks thru 1 regulator running the system. I have another outdoor valve intended for my grill. I'm @ 15% supply & plan to switch suppliers @ the end of the summer(2mos). I'm worried i'll run out before then. I have an old 20 gallon(not 20lb) tank & regulator. Can i hook that up to the free valve to get me thru the summer & leave all of them supplying the system?

Answer 1

Can you,  as in are you able to?  If it fits yes you can.  Is it safe may be another question.   If the tank is in good condition and If the regulator is set to the same pressure as the rest of your home then It should be OK.   These are some pretty big "ifs".  If there is any rust on the exterior of the tank, don't use it!

But why not just hook it up where the 100 gallon tanks are when they run empty.  I have always been advised not to let my tank get below 10% (as this reduses the overall preasure of flow from the tank to the regulator) and to call for a fillup when it is at 20%.

Answer 2

It may work but the line supplying the location for the grill is probably going to be too small to supply the amount of gas needed to run all the appliances.The best choice would be to hook up where the other tanks are.The total BTU load and the length of the entire gas line are used to determine the size of the gas line.The gas line will be largest at the tank location and sometimes get smaller after it branches off to each appliance.Depending on where the grill outlet is you might be trying to feed from the small end of the gas line that is only sized to feed the small BTU load for a grill.By code a leak test must be done on any gas line that has been depressurized.This is not done by soaping the fittings it requires the correct tools and the knowledge of how to setup and use them.

Answer 3

Yes, should be no problem as long as it's regulated.