Gas forklift bottle level indicator

[ColeyS1]

A few of you may remember the thread where I was asking for advice about my forklift. Since the head gasket has been fixed it runs like a dream....other than a small leak on the radiator which I can live with.
It started being silly the other day but it was just an empty gas bottle. A proper gas bottle level indicator is £200+ which was out of my price range for what's realistically only an annoyance. I weighed an empty bottle vs a full one and wondered if it was possible to use the weight of the bottle as an indicator.
As you can see this is very much a prototype! Lol

I've tied the scales around the bottom of the bracket that clamps around the bottle and the other end is tied around the flashing light on the roof. Really rough and ready but i think it will do the job, it seems to work. The empty bottle rigged up the same way showed a weight of 13kg and a full one showed 25kg. I used it earlier to offload a timber delivery and it's dropped to 24.25kgish. I think the next step is to have a proper go so the bottle is being lifted a little more evenly. It's only slightly raised from where it should sit but it's a little lopsided due to where the bailer cord is tied.

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[sunnybob]

is the bottle 305mm wide and 800 mm high when standing?
If so its a 15kg bottle. That applies to the gas thats inside it, NOT the all up weight.

Because every bottle weighs different due to manufacturing, the empty weight should be painted on the bottle around the top of it in KGs. Whatever that weight is, plus 15 kg is the full bottle weight of THAT bottle.
Using your scales you need to weigh the bottle, deduct the weight of the cylinder, and then take that away from 15 to find out how much gas is left.

but usually a gas bottle will become inconsistant when the contents are 20% or less as the gas stops expanding.

In very cold weather you can get an electric blanket (12 volt) to wrap around the bottle which will expand the gas more and give you another 10% usage.

 

[novocaine]

yes that will work, be better sticking a bathroom scale under the tank.
will only be of use till your down to about quarter full.

 

[ColeyS1]

is the bottle 305mm wide and 800 mm high when standing?
If so its a 15kg bottle. That applies to the gas thats inside it, NOT the all up weight.

Because every bottle weighs different due to manufacturing, the empty weight should be painted on the bottle around the top of it in KGs. Whatever that weight is, plus 15 kg is the full bottle weight of THAT bottle.
Using your scales you need to weigh the bottle, deduct the weight of the cylinder, and then take that away from 15 to find out how much gas is left.

but usually a gas bottle will become inconsistant when the contents are 20% or less as the gas stops expanding.

In very cold weather you can get an electric blanket (12 volt) to wrap around the bottle which will expand the gas more and give you another 10% usage.

It's an 18kg bottle Bob.

Weighed properly on bathroom scales an empty bottle weighed 17.4kg and a full one (on these less accurate hanging scales) weighed around 36.5kg. The 17.4kg weight was after it had ran out or the forklift would no longer run on it. I was using the scales more as a gauge then an acreage reading of the weight inside. I guess because the bottles pivoting and not hanging fully it'll never be able to show a true reading ?
I've had a proper good look on the bottle around the top

But can't find any weights on the bottle. The bottom of the bottle is stamped a lot, the only thing that looks something like a measurement is 43.6l

Perhaps the paints wore off ?
I didn't know about the heated jacket. That might account for the weight fluctuating when I came in at 7am to when I used it at 1pm.

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[ColeyS1]

yes that will work, be better sticking a bathroom scale under the tank.
will only be of use till your down to about quarter full.

So longs it'll roughly give me an idea it's gotta be better than nothing.

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[bourbon]

The forklift I drive has a built in Gauge. We fill ours from a bulk tank, Sometimes twice a day! I would have thought the safest way, would be to get one of these bottles, Ask your Calor agent what deal they can do. Also please remember that they also have a safe working life and should be returned on expiry.

 

[sunnybob]

I'm so used to our lpg that I hadnt twigged you are using pure propane.
Cyprus has its very own mix, of propane and butane, because of our extreme temperature variations in winter.
Today was MINUS 1 at 7 am on the side porch (I guess as low as minus 3 in the middle of the night), and 16 at midday. :shock:

By a strange twist of life, your bottle also weighs 18Kg (approx).
So a full bottle should come in at 36 kg. Empty would be (around) 22kg.
(18kg bottle weight, plus 20% of gas weight, which is when normally the gas will not expand any more).
Bottled gas is a license to print money. You buy 18 kg, but return 3 kg, which they then pump back into their tanks. Then they fill 18 kg for you to buy. 20 -25% pure profit on every tank sold.

 

[nev]

Do these things work?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gas-Level-In ... 1488688924

 

[ColeyS1]

The forklift I drive has a built in Gauge. We fill ours from a bulk tank, Sometimes twice a day! I would have thought the safest way, would be to get one of these bottles, Ask your Calor agent what deal they can do. Also please remember that they also have a safe working life and should be returned on expiry.

I'm not sure it'd be worth buying a larger quantity tbh. I think a bottle could last me 3-4 months, perhaps even more now I don't have to forklift boxes of offcuts around. As it stands I just ring them up and they exchange for another full one, I always keep a spare one it's just knowing if it needs changing or the forklifts playing silly pippers. How big is the tank that you refill from ? How many smaller tank fills can you get ?

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[ColeyS1]

I'm so used to our lpg that I hadnt twigged you are using pure propane.
Cyprus has its very own mix, of propane and butane, because of our extreme temperature variations in winter.
Today was MINUS 1 at 7 am on the side porch (I guess as low as minus 3 in the middle of the night), and 16 at midday. :shock:

By a strange twist of life, your bottle also weighs 18Kg (approx).
So a full bottle should come in at 36 kg. Empty would be (around) 22kg.
(18kg bottle weight, plus 20% of gas weight, which is when normally the gas will not expand any more).
Bottled gas is a license to print money. You buy 18 kg, but return 3 kg, which they then pump back into their tanks. Then they fill 18 kg for you to buy. 20 -25% pure profit on every tank sold.

Your figures aren't far out Bob. The only slight difference is the empty bottle weighing 17.4kg vs your estimated 22kg. I've got another empty so will double check it when I go over later on. It's like a different machine now. It'll tick over quite happily for as long as I leave it turned on where as before it would be coughing and spluttering like a goodun !

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[Phil Pascoe]

... You buy 18 kg, but return 3 kg, which they then pump back into their tanks. Then they fill 18 kg for you to buy. 20 -25% pure profit on every tank sold.

Why would they pump 3kg out then 18kg back? Why not just put 15kg in and save a job? :?

 

[ColeyS1]

Do these things work?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gas-Level-In ... 1488688924

I haven't tried it Nev so can't say for sure. I spoke to the calor man and he thought there wasn't any cheap easy solution. I found another gauge that looked like it would work buy it had the wrong thread.

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[ColeyS1]

This one's dead at 18.7 vs the previous one of 17.4.

That's 1.3 kg of something difference. Could that be the difference in bottle weight you mentioned Bob ?

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[sunnybob]

... You buy 18 kg, but return 3 kg, which they then pump back into their tanks. Then they fill 18 kg for you to buy. 20 -25% pure profit on every tank sold.

Why would they pump 3kg out then 18kg back? Why not just put 15kg in and save a job? :?

Because they dont know how much of the weight is the bottle and how much is the gas. Every bottle is a different weight because of its cast construction. we use 10kg bottles for our domestic cooking.
Sometimes people return bottles that are half or even 3 /4 full if they have no further use for them. The bottles are all weighed empty and noted in paint on them. there can be as much as 3 kg difference in empty weight, but theres always 10kgs pumped in, so every bottle has a different full up weight.

 

[bourbon]

I didn't mean get a bulk tank, I meant the gauge bottle. You didn't specify on your OP that you have a guy deliver to you. If so, and you have a spare, why bother weighing it? Just wait till the truck splutters to a halt,then change the bottle. ( we sometimes do that, but it's embarrassing and everyone takes the P out of you) The bulk tank is a couple of thousand litres I would say. Gets filled couple of times a month. We used to have nearly 50 gas trucks onsite at one time. not so many now though.

 

[ColeyS1]

You look like a very happy chappy on the forklift lol !! Ever since owning it its ran like a bag of spuds so I guess it'll take time to get use to it being reliable. Having an idea of how much gas is in the tank by just glancing will help pinpoint why it could be performing.

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[ColeyS1]

Your truck looks better than mine. Mine is retro [WINKING FACE]

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[bourbon]

That was a long time ago! to be honest, the Toyota trucks aren't a bad bit of kit. I've been driving them for 34years now and have driven lots of different makes, even a Coventry climax a few times No power steering it was a puppy to steer!

 

[novocaine]

the strip gauge works but it isn't ideal for you. they are like those thermometers you use on a kids head, the liquid is colder than the gas space above so it shows a level. you are using liquid take off with it mounted sideways so it won't give you a true reading of fill level.
what you've jerried up is a pretty good compromise.

Bob, we don't weigh the tank and mark it like that in the UK.
the weight on the side is the gas weight when full, so stick it on the scales and subtract that to get the Tare weight (which as bob says is anywhere in a 10kg range). write it on a sticker and slap it on the tank so you know what you're aiming for. :wink:

 

[sunnybob]

Good grief, dont tell me Cyprus has a better system than the UK! I darent tell anyone here, it will go to their heads. (hammer)