Refilling 1lb propane bottles...

Ken & Peggy

Ken & Peggy

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I've never tried it, until now, and it's not been a rousing success. Seems that it'd be a straightforward process, too. I've heard Never Do It and heard that it's not an issue.
My situation is that I only get a couple ounces into the bottle and no more. And when I disconnect it there's a quick burst of released pressure. I start with a full 20# tank and the setup pictured here, made just for this process.
Anyone have thoughts? Do I have to relieve pressure in the 1 pounder somehow??
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You can buy special 1lb bottles and the kit to refill them. The kit includes a fill valve that attaches to a 20lb bottle and a stand to hold the 20lb bottle upside down. Some national parks no longer accept disposable 1lb bottles. I have 6 refillable bottles and keep several ready to go: stoves, heaters, torches and an outboard motor.
 
If you watch the refill of a BBQ bottle, you will notice the tech opens a valve on the tank while the liquid propane is going in, closing it when the fill is complete. This relieves the pressure in the bottle so the liquid can go in without increasing the pressure. The little bottles don't have a way to do this. As the liquid goes in, the pressure goes up and when it is equal to the pressure in your source bottle, no more will go in.
 
I finally found a YouTube video that shows a guy relieving the pressure using a needle nose pliers on the bottle's pin to make room for the LP. I filled 4 1lb'ers just now using that technique. I kept them all at just under 30 oz when full. Pretty simple.
At anywhere from $7 to $9 a pop for a 1lb Coleman propane bottle, I paid for the $13 refill adapter gizmo on it's first use - even if these bottles don't get filled again.
 
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K&P: I too was concerned about the cost and waste associated with the 1lb bottles when I got the Mr Heater Big Buddy, and considered refills as an option. Mr Heater Buddy Connection To Aux Propane Port? A shallow internet dive dissuaded me from pursuing that approach. There are far too many safety drawbacks to make it a worthwhile. I won't bore you with the lengthy list; Google AI can give you enough eye-raising, and eyebrow-singeing reasons that you may not have considered, and which make them a vastly different animal from the standard refillable propane tanks.

I have come up with a number of hose and fitting/ quick-cup solutions that use either 1) the front tank on a "Y" (if you need unregulated 100-200 psi to run to your appliance), 2) the quick-cup side port (for things that require semi-regulated 20psi) and 3) a further fully regulated 11" WC (0.4psi) hose which also connects to the side port. I do still carry the 1lb bottles for those few times the hoses won't reach, or for convenience, or back-up. But have abandoned the idea of ever refilling them.
 
K&P, can you post the video? I looked into this some time ago, and just gave in and bought a quick disconnect hose to a 1lb cylinder hose --- which works just fine. I've had a couple of times, though I wanted something so I could just take the heater and not my camper too - and I forsee this even more frequently in my future.

I 've seen the light green refillable cylinders - how well do those work?

@Steve and Karen --- been a while, nice to see you around again :)
 
After filling 4 empties, I've kept them outside and have been weighing them regularly. One of them has a slow leak, which is enough for me to realize that these disposables are not going to get refilled again. They have thinner walls and are also more apt to develop rust inside than bottles that are made to be refilled, which I will buy in the future.
 
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