How To Change Your Grill’s Propane Tank

We can quickly and conveniently refill your propane cylinder today!

As is usually the case in late spring on Cape Cod, the weather is just about perfect. This begs the question: why aren’t you grilling out every night of the week?

If you haven’t opened up your freestanding propane grill since last year, an empty propane cylinder might be keeping you from enjoying a plethora of flame-grilled burgers, salmon fillets, tofu dogs and much, much more.

At Cape Cod Oil and Propane, our propane delivery team keeps many built-in grills and outdoor kitchen sizzling. And if your grill depends on a portable propane cylinder, we can help with that too. We provide propane cylinder refills at the following convenient locations:

• Cape Cod’s Head of the Meadow Shell Station, located at 435 Route 6 in North Truro, MA
• Blackfish Variety Convenience Store & Shell Station, located at 1600 State Highway in Wellfleet, MA

We can also provide some valuable tips for swapping out your propane cylinders and knowing how much fuel is in your portable tank.

Three tricks to figure out how much propane you have left.

How do you determine how much propane is left in your cylinder if your barbecue doesn’t have a scale or meter? Here are three tricks:

Weigh your tank on a home scale. First, look at the neck of your cylinder and find two numbers listed there:

• TW or Tare Weight is how much your empty cylinder weighs.
• WC or Water Capacity is how many pounds of propane the cylinder holds.

Weigh the cylinder, then deduct the TW. After that, divide the resulting number by the WC. That’s the current percentage fill of your grill’s tank.

Use hot water. Fill a bucket with hot water, then pour it over the side of your cylinder. Since propane absorbs heat, the cylinder metal will be cool where there’s fuel. This will give you a sense of the current fill line.

Buy an external tank gauge. You can find these on Amazon and at most hardware stores. They attach between the grill’s regulator and the cylinder valve. Depending on the product, you can get an analog or digital readout, information about remaining cooking time and connectivity with your smartphone!

Swapping out your propane cylinders.

Once you have a full propane cylinder ready to go, it’s time to attach it to your grill. First, confirm that the grill is fully turned off and the current cylinder’s valve is closed.

Here’s how you detach the old cylinder:

1. Remove the grill’s pressure regulator by turning it to the left.
2. If your grill has a restraining bolt for the cylinder, loosen it.
3. Remove the cylinder from the storage compartment.

Here’s how you attach the new cylinder:

1. Put the full cylinder into your grill’s storage compartment.
2. If applicable, tighten the restraining bolt.
3. Attach and tighten the pressure regulator to the cylinder valve.

You’re not done yet. It’s always a good idea to do a basic leak test after attaching a new cylinder.

1. Spray the cylinder’s valve and the grill’s regulator and hose with soapy water.
2. Open the valve. If you see bubbles, there might be a leak or loose connection.
3. Close the valve, tighten all connections and open the valve again. If you still see bubbles, you might need to replace the hose or tank.

If you have an issue with your propane cylinder, grill or another outdoor living propane product, contact Cape Cod Oil & Propane. We’re here to help!