Refillable 1 Lb Propane Bottles

[AbleGuy]

Saw this pop up ad yesterday for safely refillable small propane bottles, and since it’s a new product (to me) I thought I’d share this info with you guys:



If any of you have experience using these, maybe share your opinions?

 

[FordGuy1]

My camping buddy loves these. He has a Skottle, and has had great success.

 

[craig333]

I have one () but I normally run everything off my big tank. Nice to have a safe backup.

 

[dstefan]

I would like to use these, but when I researched them a little over a year ago, I found that FlameKing, who made the ones available at the time, had a massive recall sometime prior to 2020 for safety issues. I also found a number of peoples comments about using these and having the valves leak.

For quite a while, you couldn’t buy these anywhere in places that used to carry them, for instance REI, dropped them.

I never knew if the problems were with the older versions and there’s a newer version that’s safer available or not. Does anybody have any further information on that?

 

[tlrols]

I have these. No issues…but…the vent valve is an Allen headed needle valve made of brass. I suspect it will be “augered” out after maybe a dozen uses or so unless you are very, very careful tightening it. So far I have used and refilled these about a dozen times and the valve head is getting sloppy.

The math works out on these though and the landfill says thank you. You do want to freeze the reusable tank to get a solid one pound fill.

 

[AbleGuy]

You do want to freeze the reusable tank to get a solid one pound fill.

Wow! This is a new idea for me. Never heard of this. How’s this work? How long would you have to toss it in the freezer?

 

[crazysccrmd]

I bought some back around 2017 and they leaked and were pretty awful all around. Ended up with a 5lb tank that’s been flawless for the last six years and is fully reusable while also being pretty portable.

 

[JaSAn]

. . . How long would you have to toss it in the freezer?

For me about 10 minutes with ambient temps around 70º. This usually gives me a little less than 1#. Any longer in the freezer and I get more than a pound.
I want less than a pound for safety so I weigh them after filling.

 

[Laps]

I bought several of the Flame King 1 lb. tanks and the refilling kit in 2019, and they have been performing just fine.

 

[jkam]

I carry three different sized propane tanks.
10 gallon and 5 gallon to run the RV.
1 gallon to run the grill.
And the onboard 10 gallon that came with the RV.
My buddy has a stove that uses the little bottles and he wants to adapt it to use a big bottle.
Refilling the little ones isn't very efficient, even freezing the bottle first.

 

[IdaSHO]

I've been refilling the small tanks for decades
All that's needed is bigger tank, an adaptor and a custom tool to operate the bleed valve.

Only in the past 4-5 years have we converted over to Isobutane for backpacking, simply due to weight.

 

[Ragman]

We use these and really like them. There was a recall a while back and the supply of bottles was going to replacements but they now seem to be available again. The benefit is that they are designed and engineered to be refilled, unlike the normal Coleman bottles. As such they are also legal to transport (by the DOT) once refilled which may or may not be an issue for individuals as I imagine the risk of getting caught is pretty much nil however the safety aspect of a properly engineered system may be more important. Once purchased these are so much cheaper if refilling from a 20 pound tank and you only need to carry the amount of fuel needed.

We did a video for the YouTube channel a while back if anyone wants to have a closer look at the Flame King system-

 

[alia176]

I have one flameking refillable and the rest green 1# non-refillable bottles that I refill. As stated already, stick the 1# bottle in the freezer and toss the 20# tank in the sun to make transferring easier. Sometimes I use a scale but often times when the liquid comes through the relief valve, it's GTG for me.

 

[slomatt]

Sports Basement (an outdoor chain in CA) sells these bottles for ~$12 with lifetime free refills if you are a member. Technically I guess its not a refill since you get a different filled bottle each time, similar to a 20g propane bottle exchange. I have three that I've used for about 4 years with zero problems.

 

[robgendreau]

Like slomatt I used the Sports Basement refill program; basically free propane to loyalty members. Tanks worked fine; no issues. i've now switched to a ten pound tank though.