Problem is that new propane tanks come with all kinds of crap stuck to the inside walls of the tank. Unless that material is removed, the tank will forever put particulates into the LPG in the tank. Once it’s removed, the particulate problem is resolved. New Half Ton containers have dip tubes welded to the unit from the liquid withdrawal port to the bottom of the tank and cannot be effectively processed to remove the particulates. We shot a video showing the gunk in the tanks and how our process removes almost all of the particulates. It shows 3 new 20 pound cylinders, selected at random. One was not processed at all and rinsed with 1 pound of butane - look at the stuff that comes out of the tank. The next was rinsed half way through our process - a lot less gunk, but not as clean as it could be. The third shows a tank after we cleaned it. Nice.
No need to clean gas. You paid for clean gas. Just make sure supplier didn’t re-contaminate it by refilling a cylinder that wasn’t dumped and decontaminated before refilling.
Pulling off the top certainly works, but leaves the mystery oil in the tank, which if recycled without cleaning, compounds the problem on subsequent fills.
how long would one have to leave a source tank in hot ass water to recover it the first time. gas feed it into my.tank instead liquid dump into collection pot and recover into ss solvent tank.I didnt have things set up right first time I tried this. it would have taken me forever it feels but w my solvent tank slammed.at -70f and the source tank on hot water will it take all day…just tryin to have to get outta cleaning out the collection pot
I’ve made a lot of comments on the importance of removing particulates from cylinders, it’s only fair to address this matter openly on this thread.
I reviewed with our plant manager this morning and that tank was definitely not cleaned. Not sure what might have happened, but this sure isn’t typical of our offerings.
Please privately message me so that we can get enough information to get a replacement tank to you. Would also like to get that tank back for an autopsy. Will let you know how to return it to us.
Few questions if you don’t mind taking a couple minutes:
Did you buy the tank directly from us through eBay or otherwise?
Did the tank come with a standard propane valve needing to be inverted for liquid withdrawal, or CGA 510 / 555 valve with dip tube?
Regarding the dirty tank we delivered to Baked-All-Day - - there was a screw-up at our fill plant.
There are no generally accepted procedures to clean the interior of these propane tanks. Most fill plants develop their own proprietary cleaning process and keep it confidential so other fillers do not benefit from their efforts. We developed 2-step process to remove particulates from standard sized propane tanks and like others, keep specifics confidential.
The cylinder of isobutane that went to Baked-All-Day only went through the first phase of processing. Not sure just how that happened, but it’s clear that it did not.
This mishap confirms Baked-All-Day’s post on a currently active sales-oriented thread titled “Butane, Isobutane, Propane Blends available”. Bake-All-Day and others wisely advise that all hydrocarbon solvents be distilled prior to use. Like most suppliers, we work hard to deliver as promised, but the fact is that problems occur from time to time. Please also be aware trace amounts of particulates can survive even the most robust cleaning procedures. Not sure how much gunk it takes to ruin a batch - but the whole matter becomes a non-issue if the gas is distilled prior to use.
Thanks to Baked-All-Day for giving us time to investigate the problem he experienced. A replacement tank is being sent.
I know that this is an old thread but hopefully someone will stumble across this question and have some input
I have been buying butane from a local place that is classified “food grade”. Distilling is always a must is the way I learned and butane from other sources (BVV) has always provided plenty of end result evidence that distilling before use is mandatory. I have purchased numerous #20 tanks from this local place and so far after distilling there has been ZERO residue left after distillation. Distilling is a pain in the ass… with “food grade” is there a difference?
Man I tap cans all butane all day and do a cold distill (around 40F over night ) on 30 lbs out of a master case and I’ve never seen any kind of residual like this being left behind. Cheaper for me to tap than buy tanks and they don’t require an account number to purchase. 30lbs for 100 bucks is very affordable for me.
is there some sort of explanation as to why ALL of the butane purchases I have made here seem to leave no residue behind? By “food grade” could he be speaking of it being used as is in the restaurant business… things like those brazing torches.
