Winter's coming - How to protect tank and regulator

[Jamey]

OK, the trees in my yard are almost naked. Snow is right around the corner.

What should I do with my propane tank and regulator outside? Does it need to be covered? If it is covered, does there need to be vent holes? Is it ok to sit on the ground? (very likely to freeze to the ground if left there, is that ok?) I need an easy system to access since I use a quick connect each time I torch.

I haven't had to deal with this before, so I don't have a clue what should be done to "winterize" my stuff.

Thanks!!!!!!

JameyLynn, Howaco Glass

[daffodildeb]

I think your first job is to clothe those nekked trees... After all, the children might see!

Sorry--couldn't resist.

[Karen]

I have a 'little house' for my propane that has legs 10" above the ground, a screened bottom and vents in the sides (just in case the snow gets deep - which is really unlikely given its location). Others have posted that they up end a garbage can over their tanks. If you put it on one of those little craft store stools (the little, cheap ones) and an upended garbage can, it seems to me that that would work.

[Dale_M]

Tens of thousands of propane tanks sit out side summer, winter and the in between seasons with out any protection. You can do what ever makes you feel good, protect it or not protect it. If your regulator is a typical pancake regulator (BBQ style), it needs no protection. If you have a welding type regulator I think it should be protected (but I see a lot on service trucks with no protection on their cutting torch equipment year around). Something as simple as a plastic bucket turned upside down over tank and regulator may be enough. You you can be more elaborate and put tank and regulator in some sort of enclosure if you think it necessary. Just remember to have ventilation in bottom of enclosure in case there is a propane leak, and you don't want it to pool in enclosure and cause a hazard.

Dale

[Karen]

Dale's absolutely right on this. We keep our tank ready to go because we use the grill all winter. (Prime rib on the rotisserrie on Christmas is a favorite at our house!)

[Molly Butson]

Karen
And yep, yummy bbq turkey for thanksgiving!

[Karen]

That too. Also pork loin. 'Course, we use the grill whenever we eat at home, all year long. My DH does all meat cooking now. Has really revolutionized my life. Still hate to cook, but at least I don't stress about it anymore.

[Vince]

Propane tanks can sit outside. All over the world, in all climates, propane tanks sit outside and are none the worse for it. As the temperature drops past minus twenty degrees F, the pressure will begin to be reduced, but that's the only effect. Even that small problem can be solved with no more sophistication than installing a normal light bulb on a drop cord next to the tank to warm it slightly. Fifty to one hundred watts should be more than enough.

Depending on what sort of regulator you have, a cover such as an inverted plastic trash can to keep off the snow and rain might be a good idea, but it's not for the tank, but for your adjustable regulator. If your regulator is of the non-adjustable type, then no additional protection is needed.

Vince

[Jamey]

Thanks folks! Winter is just to darn cold for me. Are you nuts????? Grilling in the winter!!! bbbbrrrrrrr. Makes me shiver just thinking about it. I could hybernate, no problem. I think I will get the tank off the ground, since there is a good chance it would be buried by the snow. My regulator is adjustable, so I guess I will confascate the trash can in the garage. Who needs one in there anyway?

JameyLynn, Howaco Glass

[margi]

Jamey, I just keep a large plastic bucket over each of my regulators, with a piece of sheet metal taped to the outside bottom of each bucket to weight it down and keep it from blowing off (you could use almost anything to add a little weight). That way, all I have to do is lift off these small buckets when I want to use the regulators.

I share your feelings about winter. I hate it. Pure and simple. Especially since I heat both my house AND my schoolbus/studio entirely with wood. Every day and night, both spaces. Talk about labor and money-intensive. Every season, it seems that I go straight from lawn mowing and weed-whacking to wood-gathering and fire building, without even a week off to relax, and I just...HATE it!

Have I mentioned that I hate being cold yet? God help me, but I do not intend to spend my "Golden Years" shivering for six months of every year. As the Stones (I think) said in one of their songs long ago, "I'm gonna get out of this place...if it's the last thing I EVER do!" And I'm not in some godforsaken Artic Northland like Minnesota, I'm in CaliFORnia, fer heaven's sake. But a high, COLD part of California, at the foot of the highest of the High Sierra!

Did I remember to mention that I HATE winter?

Margi