Tankless Water Heater

8 Responses to “I ran out of propane can I hook up a five gallon tank to the water heater to tide us over for a few days?”

1. joea
   July 7th, 2010 @ 6:44 am

   no. for safety reasons, propane tanks are not allowed inside homes or enclosed areas. i strongly do not recommend this – think of your safety first – await your lp supplier’s refill date -

2. mike m
   July 7th, 2010 @ 7:18 am

   you could hook up a 100, or even a 20 pound cylinder…if you had the proper regulator, propane is not sold by the gallon. gas is a weight not a volume, it changes greatly depending on temperature. that is why a propane tank should never be filled past 85%

3. Propane Guy
   July 7th, 2010 @ 8:03 am

   Yes you can hook up a 20Lb cylinder and it will run fine. A water heater is the same btu load as a grill is so the cylinder can easily vaporize enough fuel for that. The regulator is sized to the appliance, not to the supply tank so nothing is different there. If you were connecting it to a 30,000 gallon tank you would still be using the same regulator system. It will only give a couple of days of use before it runs out so get a delivery arranged right away.

   By the way…For the benefit of other responders, propane in portable cylinders is sold by the pound, and when delivered by truck it is by the gallon. Truck meters are temperature compensated.

   Edit: I did not say to take the propane tank inside…and the way the question is worded it is a propane system we are dealing with, NOT natural gas! If the line at the existing large propane tank is disconnected it can be reconnected to a smaller vessel until the larger one is refilled. Just make sure you use a 50/50 solution of dishsoap and water to leak check the connections.

4. JaneM
   July 7th, 2010 @ 8:21 am

   no problem. just hook the bottle up the the regulator on your large tank and open the valve on the five gallon tank. its legal its safe if done right and its done all the time. of course you can not put the bottle inside your home. there are rules [ie--laws where a bottle can be inside a building--construction etc.] but not for the general public..be careful and check for leaks after you hook up the bottle with soapy water. make sure the bottle is secure and remains in an upright position.

5. DogDog_Dad
   July 7th, 2010 @ 9:01 am

   NO NO NO!!!!!. Don’t listen to these idiots. If your H2O heater is not a propane system you will most likelyeither damage your heater, cause a fire or die of carbon monoxide pPoison NNaturalgas has a sspecificgravity that is ddifferentthen Propane. This will cause the burner to burn improper.

6. HDRIDER
   July 7th, 2010 @ 9:30 am

   Propane guy is right on the money! I’m in the business too.

7. Elliott M
   July 7th, 2010 @ 10:18 am

   absolutley no further discussion needed. just make sure your connections are tite.

8. lebois777
   July 7th, 2010 @ 10:58 am

   Why not, I used a 5 gal. tank on my clothes dryer. Make sure of your fittings and your spacing.

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