Propane converter
Convert propane between volume, weight and the heat it gives, for grill tanks, home tanks and heaters.
That's 4.2× as much as a 1 lb camping canister, while a 20 lb grill tank is 4.7× more. That runs a 12,000 BTU/h grill burner on high for about 7.648 hours.
What it means
How much propane is that?
Liquid propane at about 15 °C: 4.24 lb per US gallon; 91,500 BTU per gallon (higher heating value). Tanks are filled to about 80 %.
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That propane in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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4.24 lb a gallon
Gallons × 4.24 = pounds. A 20 lb tank is 4.7 gal; 100 lb is 23.6 gal.
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From the oil refinery
Walter Snelling, a US chemist, bottled propane in 1910 after noticing it boiling off gasoline; it became a rural cooking and heating fuel.
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Water gallons, propane gallons
Tank sizes are water capacity. Tanks are filled to 80 %, so a 500 gal tank takes 400 gal of propane.
Shortcuts
Popular propane conversions
Background
About propane
Propane is sold as a liquid by weight or by gallon. A US gallon weighs 4.24 lb, so a standard 20 lb grill tank holds about 4.7 gallons. Burned, a gallon gives about 91,500 BTU, 26.8 kWh of heat.
Home tanks are measured in gallons of water capacity and filled to 80 %: a “500 gallon” tank holds 400 gallons of propane.