Can a horizontal propane tank be used vertically?

[Riwright]

Anybody done it? The slide on my unit makes it a chore to remove a tank. You have to close the slide to get them off. I was thinking that for longer stays that I could remove the tanks and set them on the ground. Not sure if the tanks can be used while sitting upright.

[commodor47]

The horizontal tanks have to be used in that position. When staying in one place for more than two weeks I remove both tanks, place them on the ground and secure them to the frame. Our propane pigtails are just long enough to make this setup an easy work around for pushing in the slide to remove a tank.

The first photo here may help:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...&pictureid=473

Dick

[Riwright]

Thanks for the info and the pics. Any idea why they have to be used horizontally?

Originally Posted by Riwright

Thanks for the info and the pics. Any idea why they have to be used horizontally?

They must be horizontal due to the location and shape of the vapor line. The diagram I attached is a bit misleading because it shows a liquid draw line, but if you ignore that the diagram shows how the vapor system looks. Liquid draw is used on fork trucks among other equipment.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I'm certainly no propane expert, but I disagree. Although I have never tried it, I don't immediately see any reason why a horizontal tank cannot be used vertically, at least most of the time. Here's why:

As MisterP noted, the TM appliances burn propane vapor, which is the gaseous phase that sits on top liquid propane when the propane is stored under pressure. As the propane is consumed, the liquid phase gets smaller, and the gaseous phase gets bigger, until all of the propane is consumed. If you were to attempt to use a regular VERTICAL tank in the HORIZONTAL position, and the tank was more than say half full, liquid propane would higher than the position of the valve. Thus, when you opened the valve, you'd get liquid propane, and and liquid propane pouring out of the stove would not be good in the TM.

The horizontal tank fixes this problem. In the horizontal position, the valve is always higher than the liquid phase, so you always get gaseous propane. In the vertical position, there may be a short period where the liquid phase is higher than the valve when the tank is completely full, but OPD valves are supposed to close the valve when the tank is 80% full, so I doubt that would ever happen. Comparing the horizontal and vertical tanks in the vertical position, the valve in a horizontal tank is not much lower than that of the vertical tank.

My understanding of the reason why horizontal tanks must be filled in the vertical position is due to the design and function of the OPD valve, which is basically the same (or I think perhaps even exactly the same) as the OPD valve in horizontal tanks. I had the valve in my tank replaced, and both the old one and new ones were the same. I still have it if anyone wants to see a photo, but it basically looked like this:



They consisted simply of a plastic tube (the black tube in the photo) with a float that rode inside. The clear tube is the vent tube, where propane escapes through the vent when the OPD valve closes. When installed, and the tank is horizontal, the tube is parallel to the ground, rendering the OPD feature useless. When vertical, the float inside the tube does what it's supposed to do -- it floats atop the liquid phase, and closes the valve when the tank is full (or 80% full or whatever). So presumably, horizontal tanks can indeed even be filled horizontally, but doing so defeats the OPD valve, which isn't safe. That's why there's a big sticker on it saying it must be filled vertically.

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

Call Manchester and ask them....if you can get through to someone with technical knowledge, you may actually get a useful answer.

Dave

Dave, you are correct. I mixed up the question about using them horizontally with the requirement that they be filled vertically.

IIRC, a horizontal tank gauge shows content level for either horizontal or vertical position. There is no need for the tank to be horizontal to use it.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I just looked at my tanks (which are replacements from the originals where I had the valve replaced), and there is a sticker on them that says that a special replacement valve must be used -- part number v20691.1.

Looking that up, I quickly found one on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/20LB-PROPANE...-/171214561358

...and that valve (which is presumably the one in my new tanks) is different from what was in my old tanks. But I don't think this changes the bottom line of my above post.

Dave

[Bill]

You're making me nervous, Dave. I don't know much about the internals of the valves, but my Manchester tanks, OEM to the TM, clearly say "Doan do dat!" RIWright, sending a query to Manchester is good, but in the meantime, have you looked at the labels on yours?

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Yes, I have the same exact label, Bill. My explanation of why the label says what it says is:

- the tank must be upright when filling to avoid defeating the OPD valve as I mentioned above, which would be dangerous.

- the "Top when in use" indicator points to the valve being at the top when mounted horizontally. If you hung the tank in the horizontal position from a ceiling or wall, the valve would be at the bottom, and you'd get all liquid, which would be very dangerous. I do see on the sticker where it says, "Use in the proper horizontal position...."

I think my explanation is sound (otherwise I wouldn't post it), but as I said before, I'm no propane expert, so I wouldn't bet my life on it and would defer to those who are. I'd check in with Manchester, and if they said no, I'd simply put them on the ground horizontally as Dick does. Easy enough solution with no downsides and no added uncertainty.

Dave