Posted: April 14, 2025

A Grill Tank Guide for Success

Maximize your outdoor cooking experience with Buster Brown’s help

Having a successful grilling season is about more than just cooking good tasting burgers, hot dogs and steaks. In order to truly know what you’re doing at the grill you have to know the ins and outs of your grill tank.

Not only does this help ensure that you are fully prepared before you step outside and turn your grill on, but familiarizing yourself with all things related to your grill’s propane cylinder helps keep you and your loved ones safe as well.

That is why Buster Brown Propane has put together this comprehensive and important guide to your grill tank. Whether you are new to using a grill or just need to refresh your memory, take a look at the below tips before you officially do any outside cooking.

Determining what size grill tank you need

The first thing you may need to determine when it comes to a grill tank (especially if your grill is new) is what size propane cylinder you will need. Typically, a grill uses a 20-pound cylinder for the fuel it needs, which can get about 18 to 20 hours worth of grilling done on a medium-sized grill. However, most portable propane cylinders can be used for grilling purposes.

Tracking your fuel levels

Knowing how much propane is in your propane cylinder is something anyone who is grilling regularly wants to be aware of. This will help you avoid a fuel run-out and will help ensure that you can actually use your grill for cooking purposes. There are a few fairly simple ways that a homeowner can do this:

• Install an external gauge: These devices can connect between your tank’s valve and your grill’s pressure regulator to track fuel levels.
• Weigh your cylinder: Put your grill tank on a household scale. Subtract the tank’s tare weight (TW) — marked on the cylinder — from the total weight to estimate how much fuel is left.
• Use hot water: Pour hot water over the propane cylinder and run your hand down the side. A cool spot indicates the current fuel level.

Replacing your grill tank

Of course, once your grill tank is empty you will need to replace it with a full one if you want to continue grilling. You can do this by following these easy-to-follow steps:

• Make sure your grill is completely off
• Double check that the tank valve is closed (turn it all the way to the right)
• Turn the grill pressure regulator to the left to unscrew it
• If your grill has a restraining bolt, loosen it and remove the empty tank

You can connect a full propane cylinder by following the above steps in reverse.

Before you do any grilling with your new tank, we recommend conducting a leak test. Spray the cylinder’s valve, grill regulator, and hose with dish soap mixed with water. Open the valve — bubbles indicate a possible leak or loose connection.

Keep your propane cylinder full with Buster Brown

With Buster Brown Propane’s cylinder refill service, you can always count on having enough fuel to get your grilling done. All you need to do is swing by one of our offices here in East Texas and someone will fill it up so that you can get grilling again.

Contact Buster Brown Propane today to learn more about our propane cylinder refill services.