Two weeks ago, when I posted an article on prepper propane, I had no idea that there was such a thirst for knowledge on the topic.  Nor did I expect my technical consultant, Chris Newman, to respond to each and every comment asked not only here but also on Before Its News.

Today I am sharing Part Two in the series “A Primer on Propane for Prepping and Survival”.  If you have not read it yet, part one covered covered propane safety, various types of tanks, the cost-benefit of refilling empty tanks and how to obtain free (or cheap) old-style bulk tanks.  What you learned in part on was how, with some creative scrounging and smart purchasing, to acquire enough tanks to provide at least minimal cooking and night lighting for about a year, at nominal cost.

If you haven’t yet read Part One, you’ll find it at here:  A Primer on Propane for Prepping and Survival.

INTEGRATING PROPANE INTO YOUR PREPPING STRATEGY – PART TWO

In this article we will cover the easy low-cost refilling of expensive (when new) green one pound canisters and some of the challenges that they can pose. We’ll also cover some of the main low-usage appliances for propane that will make life easier, and more secure, in a grid-down scenario while transitioning to a possible new world order.

Refilling One Pound Canisters from 20 Pound Bulk Tanks

With the right kind of adapter, described further below, it is a fairly simple process to transfer liquid propane from a bulk tank into small green canisters and vice-versa. There are a couple of critical things to keep in mind, however:

Propane in the container is in two forms: liquid and gas. These are both pure propane, but at room temperatures, the liquid will quickly and greatly expand in volume to a gas as the vapor pressure reduces. There are no practical uses for liquid propane, other than transferring it between containers, and lots of potential problems (such as explosive clouds of white gas), so you want to avoid releasing liquid propane, whatever it takes. If you deliver liquid form into a small propane heater, for instance, the liquid fuel can do some real damage, rendering the heater inoperable, with no easy repair.

A more critical example would be if you connected a one pound canister to a camp stove, with the canister either over-filled or upside down, so that the output is liquid, instead of gas: Liquid propane could jet out of the burners, it will quickly expand to a large cloud of gas just when you’re trying to light it and something’s going to go Boom! With any luck, the only thing that will get singed is your eyebrows, but you could also destroy the equipment and even suffer eye injuries that will be painful and take a long time to heal, just when you don’t have the time to waste.

Continue reading at:  http://beforeitsnews.com/self-sufficiency/2013/05/a-primer-on-propa...