so living in Florida i experience hurricane irma and was without power for a few days, i had a craftsman 5500/8600 B&S engine generator that got me thru the few days and not losing the fridge contents. Since the last big hurricane we had was probably 10 years before that, i was caught off guard a little by not having a good quality cooler like an RTIC to keep ice for a week, or the simplest thing like a box fan to circulate air in the house.

i recently sold my first generator to a family member for a deal and just bought off ebay a dual fuel generator 10kw, that can run off of propane or gasoline. i also bought from the local bass pro shop a propane burner turkey fryer combo for cooking/boiling water since they were on sale for $39 right before thanksgiving. i still need to get propane cylinders for the house.

My question is, am i off better buying 1 or 2 of the 100# cylinders and having them filled at the house and just storing in the corner of the garage, or am i better off going with a bunch of the 20/30# bbq style containers, which are easier to move and transport, but take up a lot of space in the garage ? also what about the cylinder life of each tank. and putting a tank in the yard is not feasible due to being a rental house, and living in not the best neighborhood.

The Honda dealer told me not to use the smaller tanks to use hundred pound tanks at minimum smaller tank somehow don’t put out enough pressure and it won’t run correctly I have a Honda 5500KW hope this helps maybe contact your manufacture if you do buy hundred pound tanks make sure you keep the receipts because when you take to get them filled they will ask you to prove that you own them

Are you wanting to run a 10KW from grill tanks? A 100# bottle and 10KW will maybe last 3 days. Can you get a 250/500 set anywhere on property? Maybe a couple 100# and a manifold?

100 pound tank will get you about 36 hours.

A 20/30 pound tank will freeze up with any kind of demand worth running the 10kw generator for. 100 pounders will also freeze up, BT/DT. One solution is to put the propane tank about 16 inches in front of the exhaust, which is what I did for weeks on end. The exhaust warms the tank. Liability statement: don't do that generator exhaust propane warming thing, splody stuff and all.

You want both, IMHO. I would skip the 30 pounders though. The ONLY reason to have 20 pound tanks is so you can exchange them, which is the second most expensive way to buy propane (1 pound bottles are the MOST expensive). It is FAR cheaper to fill 100 pound cylinders. Its actually best to get setup with at least a 250 gallon tank though. No freeze up issues, you can get a deeper draw if needed, no constant refilling, etc. All good stuff.

I ran over a month with a 9kw Champion duel fuel, did a thread on it here in the SF.

What you may want to do IMHO:

• Change ends on your generator propane hose to the 100 pound style ends, not the hand-tight 20 pound cylinder ends. Makes the hose universal.
  
• Buy a longer hose, at least 15 feet. In fact, just put a new 100# style end and a new regulator on this new hose. This gives you a second hose/regulator. You will want a longer hose...
• Get a smaller generator, no bigger than 3.5kw that runs on propane. This will save major fuel when you don't need big loads, which is most of the time.
• Make sure you have a whole-house generator input setup, ideally at your FIRST breaker panel. Lets you run whatever you need to on the property.

I made a manifold to run multiple small bottles of propane on my
13000 watt surge - 10000 continuous generator.
I can’t move around full 100 pound tanks in snow and ice, so I use multiple 20 pound tanks and move them easily. I use also a very large regulator IIRC it’s a 200,000 BTU regulator.
To prevent freeze ups in very cold weather I place the tanks about 4 or 5 foot in front of exhaust.
I made the 4 tank manifold with all parts available at Lowe’s except the two 1.5 foot black hoses that connect the manifold to the regulator, and the 200,000 or 500,000 (I Think) BTU regulator.
I bought the items I could not get from Lowe’s at a local propane supplier that also had a showroom and parts for sale.
The reason one small tank won’t work is the boil off head space in one 20 pound tank is not enough for the liquid propane in the tank to turn into A gas vapor and provide the volume needed for a large engine. So either multiple small tanks are needed or a large tank.





I put on/off valves for each tank when I built the manifold hookup.








Here is the new larger BTU regulator, make sure to get larger than needed regulator to help prevent freeze ups.
I can’t remember what size it is and be 100% accurate.






X

Here is what happens when you use to small a regulator.
It freezes up.

We don't store propane inside the house or garage.

We don't run a generator now, but heat our cabin & RV trailer with propane as we wait for our home to be finished.  The trailer has two hooked up and one to run to the fill station.  It takes a lot of truck gas to run into town every couple of days.  7.1 gal of propane per tank.

A friend gave us a larger tank (60#?) for the cabin.  Just enough to keep the chill off and things from freezing.  It's a pain to unload from the truck when full and roll to the cabin.  It seems to last a long time.  When it gets low the heater doesn't work right...time to get it filled.

Is the 100lb valve called a POL valve ? I was looking to get the tank from tractor supply since local , or even a small hardware store that has the tank for $90 new

DO NOT STORE PROPANE TANKS IN THE GARAGE!!!
Propane is heavier than air.  If a tank leaks the propane will sink to the lowest level and may creep toward a source of ignition.  Propane tanks should be stored away from you house and at least 10 feet from a source of ignition.  
A small number of 1 lb propane tanks for Buddy heaters or portable grills can be stored in the garage away from any source of ignition.

Yes

Propane gennys for the home are best used when wired to home and a large tank like 500gals. Smaller bottles are merely for some jobsite work. My dewalt 7k gas genny ran my fridge (large 11amp fridge at that) a 5k btu AC and off and on use of a toaster oven or Kcup machine for almost 17hrs per full tank of gas (7gals). The built in run meter adjusting to load was very handy in tracking runtime.

I grabbed a 100 pound from TSC for a propane fireplace. The total weight is 167lbs when full. A bit hard to move and get into a pickup.

If I ever play with filled 100lb propane tanks the tall 2 wheel moving dolley goes and they get strapped to the dolley.  This gives me wheels for moving the tank and a steel frame if I want to slide it up the tailgate and into the truck bed and don't feel like trying to pick it up outright.

I have a dozen or more of the 20lb tanks around, do not have a 4 tank setup like pictured but I guess lowes or homedepot may be getting some money next year when I make one.

To some extent if it did not cost a whole lot more I would get 3 of the 40lb tanks but I expect I could buy 2 of the 100lb tanks and have money left over for what the 40lb tanks go for.

Now and then my co-op runs a special if you buy a tank from them on a cheap fill up for it, so asking around can help.

I never can find new tanks on clearance or I would have some around.

For the most part my propane stuff runs fine on the 20lb propane tanks.  And while expensive to exchange, it is nice to get em filled til they expire and then exchange it at wally world or whatever for an in date tank.  For those wondering, I worked at wally world for a bit and the way it was explained to me is walmart makes it part of the deal with whoever they do exchange stuff through to accept any tank.  Not gonna train people to worry about in or out of date or whatever.  Someone brings in rusty ol tank, walmart will do exchange.

This year I did pick up a 10k watt gas or propane generator.  I also have an outdoor use, drafty use is my opinion, propane heater that would probably freeze up a 20lb tank quickly.

I can get by with what I have but would run the 2 above items at lower than full rated power.

Have a way to hook onto NG too, it may flow before the electricity does.

LP has ambient pressure in the tank (15ish pounds/1bar). The pressure is developed when lp mixes with o2. It expands 277 (IIRC) times it's volume, making the needed pressure. LP also "boils" at 45°f. We have a 250 tank on site for forklift fills and our CNC oxy/fuel table.

If natural gas is in the area then being able to use it is a reasonable option.

I rent.  Even if I buy a place I not likely to have natural gas so not too worried about it.

One thing that manifold or whatever you want to call the hookupof 4 smaller propane tanks offers is getting by with whatever is available and it is portable.

Lots of folks leave instructions for the wife to be able to power up the generator and get power to the house.

Depending on the person involved dealing with smaller tanks may be a lot easier.

Exchanging them is expensive, but it is also dang simple and easy.

I guess I just like it because of the options it offers.

20 pounders have another advantage. When it needs a re-test, just swap it at a propane cage/station for a fresh one.

-yes, use hand truck for 100 pound tanks. A straight lift is asking for problems.

Those swap out tanks are a spendy way to buy propane.  When I was given the big tank it cost $15 to have it tested and stamped.  The little tanks we had that were too old and needed to be tested I just gave to the gas company as a  new tank didn't cost much more.

We refill 20 lb and larger tanks rather than exchanging them at the store I own.  We fill them with 20 lbs of propane rather than the 15 lbs that they are prefilled to in the local tank exchange places.  It is one of our selling points, as our charge to fill the tank is easily several dollars less then the exchange tank areas even with the additional propane we put in their tank.  We do recommend that people take their damaged or out of inspection tanks there for replacement however, since I can not sell them a new tank for less than the exchange.

Not sure who can re-certify a tank.  Can my local co-op do it?  I never asked.

There is a big place down the mountain, maybe 45 minutes to an hour one way, that I know could do it.  They do all the gas and tank stuff so should not be a big deal.

We also get into the game of hauling the tank around.  I don't know if it is ok to haul a 100lb tank on its side laying down in the pickup bed.  Properly braced and what not.  I would not care empty, but what about getting it filled and once filled?

I have never bought a new propane tank other than the expensive little green 1lb tanks.

I always traded into the 5 gallon sized tanks or someone was throwing out their propane grill that rusted out and I hauled it off just to get the tank the owner no longer wanted.  I always ask.  They never seem to want it.

Back when the valves all changed I exchanged my old tanks out.  I have not checked dates since then and for the past 3 or 4 years I have not used propane much cause my current place has actual central heat and air.  I almost miss window ac and propane heaters mounted on the wall.

Anyway, no one method will fit all needs or wants.  I know for some people I know it might be a lot simpler to skip explaining refill at the co-op and tell em to just go to wally world and exchange it and yes it is more expensive but it is really simple.  No re-fills are not hard at most places but some folks don't want to mess with it.

I like my local co-op.  I get my tanks refilled so the tank makes the most of its size.  And at the same time, I would exchange an out of date tank or a tank I felt was questionable.

I have transported many 100# cylinders full on their side in a pickup bed. Zero issues.

The big propane dealer (Amerigas?) will not allow you to put a large tank on it side.  I asked about it because we have toppers on our rigs.

The guy we get our propane from gave me a wink as he props up the valve end of the tank while filling the tank while in the bed.  Works OK.  I tie those tanks down tight for the drive home and thankfully it is a short drive.

My understanding of why the tank should not be transported on it's side is because of the pressure relief valve.  A propane tank is usually filled to 80% of it's liquid capacity with liquid propane.  The pressure relief valve is located on the top, and is designed to release propane vapor (gas) in the event of an overpressure situation.  If the tank in on it's side, the valve may be under the level of the liquid, which in the event of an overpressure situation would release propane liquid which would expand to vapor at any temperature over -50.  One gallon of propane liquid will expand into 270 gallons of propane vapor (gas) at normal atmospheric pressure.  In the bed of a pickup truck this would not really be an issue, but in an enclosed automobile it could be, where even an a few ounces could fill the volume of the auto with propane vapor.

I like to fill the tanks standing, because I like to use the bleeder valve to confirm 80% full, and that only will be accurate if the tank is standing on it's base.