How do you keep propane tanks warm?

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AzOr

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hello outdoor brewers!
How do you guys keep your tanks warm while brewing outside? I live in Portland and brew on my covered patio. Normally, the temps are never an issue even during winter. Temps are usually in the high 40s or 50s.
However, we are about to enter a cold snap. According to the forecast, in a few days when I can brew, it’ll be in the 20’s. In the past, my propane grill struggles in these temps.

Any suggestions? I can leave my propane tanks in my attached garage (probably in the high 30s) before I connect to burner. Also, when I mash I put my cooler inside the house to maintain temps.
 
I brew in my attached garage with the door open (and a CO monitor near me). The tank seems to do fine in the cold ... I've brewed colder than 20s though I try to avoid it. It's not great when hoses are freezing and sanitizer freezes on the equipment before it dries.
 
In warmer situations one can stick a tank at risk of freeze-up in a large basin of water, though in this case it might be a race to see which freezes first...

Cheers!
 
MaxStout said:
Keep the tank inside the night before brew day.
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Yeah. In the past I’ve put the tanks in my attached garage.
I may have to stick it inside the house this time.
Maybe I can put a plant on top of it and pretend it’s a decoration. I’m sure my wife will love having a big propane tank in the kitchen.
 
Put them in the oven at 350F. You'll know when their ready! Just kidding! I've used an electric infrared heater from about 4/5 feet away. Just barely enough heat lightly warm the side and no open flames. It doesn't take much to keep it going.

Just remembered. I was going to try an electric blanket but never did.
 
AzOr said:
Yeah. In the past I’ve put the tanks in my attached garage.
I may have to stick it inside the house this time.
Maybe I can put a plant on top of it and pretend it’s a decoration. I’m sure my wife will love having a big propane tank in the kitchen.
Click to expand...

Draw a cartoon face on the tank and tell your wife it's Hank Hill. ;)
 
I pour 5 gallons of warm water in a tub around my propane tank. It gets me through the brew day when the ambient temps are near freezing.
 
AzOr said:
Yeah. In the past I’ve put the tanks in my attached garage.
I may have to stick it inside the house this time.
Maybe I can put a plant on top of it and pretend it’s a decoration. I’m sure my wife will love having a big propane tank in the kitchen.
Click to expand...
No. Never put your tank inside the house. Ever.
 
I’ve brewed at 10* f. Not fun. I leave my tanks outside all the time. No problems. Maybe you should get Alaskan propane...
 
I brewed last week with a high of 4 degrees in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. I leave my tank outside and brewed outside on my deck. I've never had an issue with a tank freezing up.
 
beermanpete said:
Propane has a vapor pressure suitable for use down to about -20°F or so. Maybe some regulators and/or burners won't work well that cold but most should.

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/docs/documents/1020/propane_C3H8_vapour_pressure.pdf
Click to expand...
When propane turns from liquid to gas it gets colder. So when it's already cold out it can get below - 20 in the tank. It could be full and still barely have pressure. I have 2 burners, a nice efficient Blickman and a no name loud vortex flame type burner. The Blickman sips propane to get the same 5 gallon boil comparatively. The tank on the no name is always colder. I guess my point is a more efficient burner might help. Using propane at a slower rate keeps the tank temp from dropping as far.
 
It ended being fine. I brewed in the high 20s and the tank and burner operated as they should. I was paranoid because I have a gas grill that sputters under 35f.
So obviously it must be a crappy grill.
FWIW I use a bayou burner.

Also- props to you guys brewing in the extreme cold! I think I would take a break til spring.
 
I've seen heating blankets/wraps specifically for parpane tanks, although they seem rather expensive. I would conjure a guess that a heated blanket wrapped around the cylinder may work, assuming connectors were kept dry.
 
Boiling in the snow.

20190209_124616.jpg


I did have an issue changing tanks. The new tank was covered in ice and I had to use a hair dryer to get the handle to rotate.
 
I don't... I converted my Edelmetal Bru Burner to natural gas and have never looked back!
 
When I lived in NW Iowa just a little below Minnesota, I used one of those fermentation heated wraps to keep my propane warm.

Then I moved to Florida, haven't had a problem since.
 
This brings up the question....how do brewers keep it from freezing up..ever. I've never brewed with propane but have done endless torch town flat roofs, pretty much the same thing when it comes to freeze ups. We never got past 3/4 tank before it froze up and we had to swap them out..and that was on a 100 degree roof....how do brewers use Propane without freeze ups?
 
shoengine said:
Only if there is a decompression and a rapid expansion of the gases.
Click to expand...
This is what could happen if the tank was under fire once all the liquid is boiled off and the steel is weakend by the heat. I know this is a joke but its also a real thing. I learned from a fire captain during safety training.
 
JONNYROTTEN said:
This brings up the question....how do brewers keep it from freezing up..ever. I've never brewed with propane but have done endless torch town flat roofs, pretty much the same thing when it comes to freeze ups. We never got past 3/4 tank before it froze up and we had to swap them out..and that was on a 100 degree roof....how do brewers use Propane without freeze ups?
Click to expand...
I have had good results by just putting the tank in a muck bucket filled with water. I then use the chilled water and i put my immersion chiller in there to pre-cool my hose water before running through my plate chiller.
 
Cantina De Jefe said:
This is what could happen if the tank was under fire once all the liquid is boiled off and the steel is weakend by the heat. I know this is a joke but its also a real thing. I learned from a fire captain during safety training.
Click to expand...
I wasn't joking. Just finishing off what a BLEVE requires (the Expanding Vapor part).

BLEVEs are astounding.
 
Wow this thread is begging for some advertisements for electrical brewing equipment ... lol
On a serious note, it can be done for under $100 guys...$40 stilldragon controller and a $25 element with some power cord and plugs from home depot.. brew in front of a window with a fan in the top section pulling air out and your off to the races..
 
augiedoggy said:
Wow this thread is begging for some advertisements for electrical brewing equipment ... lol
On a serious note, it can be done for under $100 guys...$40 stilldragon controller and a $25 element with some power cord and plugs from home depot.. brew in front of a window with a fan in the top section pulling air out and your off to the races..
Click to expand...
Get your hands off my propane and propane accessories. Loooool
th.jpeg
 
Cantina De Jefe said:
Do you want a bleve? Cuz thats how you get a bleve.
Click to expand...
I love the smell of bleve in the morning!

Better yet, instead of a fire, I think nestling the tank in a nice bed of hot burning charcoal would be just the ticket.

And then, try dry hopping with Tide Pods - you won't believe the flavor boost!


I am hoping my sarcasm came through clearly enough in THIS post, since it obviously didn't in the last.
Then again, if someone were dumb enough to build a fire around a propane tank, they probably deserve the result.

I'M A BLEVE-ER!!!!
 
In all reality, when I brew in the cold (I call it quits below 20*F, but will brew outdoors on my deck down to that), I keep 2 propane tanks on hand. When one starts to freeze up, I switch to a fresh one. If necessary and it's below freezing outside, I will bring the frozen one indoors to warm up (of course making sure it is well closed).

I know some may say it is ill-advised to bring a propane tank indoors, but as long as you don't smell it when around the tank it is okay (propane has additive so you smell it long before it reaches ignitable concentrations).
 
augiedoggy said:
Wow this thread is begging for some advertisements for electrical brewing equipment ... lol
On a serious note, it can be done for under $100 guys...$40 stilldragon controller and a $25 element with some power cord and plugs from home depot.. brew in front of a window with a fan in the top section pulling air out and your off to the races..
Click to expand...
You forgot to factor the cost of a divorce from when I brew inside again. ;)
 
I've never had my tank freeze up before even brewing in the teens. Maybe because I'm not running it for long enough or not at full blast. If I turn my burner all the way up flames are leaping around the edge of the pot doing no good. If someone wanted to be safe(r), they could fill a muck tub of water the night before and then set the tank in it the next morning. It would be warmer water than the ground temps.
 
Cavpilot2000 said:
I love the smell of bleve in the morning!

Better yet, instead of a fire, I think nestling the tank in a nice bed of hot burning charcoal would be just the ticket.

And then, try dry hopping with Tide Pods - you won't believe the flavor boost!


I am hoping my sarcasm came through clearly enough in THIS post, since it obviously didn't in the last.
Then again, if someone were dumb enough to build a fire around a propane tank, they probably deserve the result.

I'M A BLEVE-ER!!!!
Click to expand...
I love planking over my brew kettle during full boil. Makes for great selfies to post on Instagram.
 
Tank freeze ups are the result of flow rate vs ambient temperature, with flow rate the dominant factor. It takes BTUs to make gas out of liquid, and a modest burner puttering along while recirculating a mash won't have the gas flow rate of a pair of high output burners heating up strike and sparge liquor (or a roofing torch ;))

I've come close a couple of times when heating up and pre-boiling the brew day water with a pair of BG14s running about 3/4 throttle sharing a BBQ cylinder...

Cheers!
 

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