Propane For Dummies | How to Reset Your Propane Tank OPD Valve Low Gas Flow Fix

How to use store and safely transport propane and low pressure resetting OPD valve.

[kriskersey]

50 years old and been grilling for over 30 years.. I have never heard of this safety valve. I have had problems with this before but never understood it until now. Thank you so much.

[EliasSreyes]

Heck I’m 6 years old and never heard of this!! 😳 Thanks a bunch! I’ll keep in mind when I buy my first grill.

[jays]

Heck I’m 60 years old and never knew this. Thank you for letting us know.

[Commut]

Note to welders using oxy-LP for torch cutting! OPD valves can sometimes reduce flow to insufficient levels for heavy cutting and in that case the larger cylinders without OPD are preferable.
(For those not familiar, BBQ cylinders are tapped fora a CGA 510 AKA "POL" thread which is used for welding fuel gases too.)

[druss]

Have had the issue of very low pressure coming from the propane tank several times, never understood why until now, very informative, thanks for posting…

[RetreatHacker]

Oh man, this explains so much frustration over so many tanks

[ChristianIndian]

Thank you. My daughter bought me a wok burner for my birthday. I've always cooked with gas, but never a propane tank. Your sound information saved my day. I'm confident that I can cook safely.

[fungusmushroom]

LP technician here. What you are describing is called an excess flow valve which activates when flow exceeds what is required to operate the appliance typically 200, 000 Btu per hour. The excess flow valve is located inside the the type 1 female connector attached to the regulator, not the male connector on the OPD valve on the cylinder.
The OPD valve automatic shutoff used when filling the cylinder is a secondary safety device and is not used as a means of determining cylinder volume. Only the fixed liquid level gauge (commonly mistaken for a bleed valve) is used for measurement when filling the cylinder. The fixed liquid level gauge consists of a dip tube extending inside the cylinder and a bleed screw all part of the OPD valve which will present liquid propane when the tank reaches 80%. The only accurate way to measure cylinder volume is by weight.
The reason for transporting and storing cylinders upright is to keep the relief valve (also part of the OPD valve) in communication with the vapor space inside the cylinder to prevent venting of liquid propane.
For general information 20 pound exchange cylinders are only filled to 15 pounds.

[MadAColt]

I learned with zero bloat. Exceptional delivery, thank you.

[CleoCat]

thanks bruh! Spent like 10 minutes trying to get my fire pit started after refilling the tank. Watched your video and learned some stuff, so I disconnected and reconnected everything and turned on the valve real slow, then waited a little bit, then turned the fire pit knob lol. but after about 1 minute of turning the pit off and on slowly, it finally started up full flame, yay! back to normal. can't believe how fast a 50, 000 BTU fire pit sucks up the propane! Thanks!

[skyepilotte]

Great info that most people are not aware of...thx

[tuberez]

Tank you sir! The low pressure was driving me nuts. Never heard about opening slowly.

[staciemarks]

Very useful information. I had a new attendant where I filled my tanks who overfilled one of them and then even after I opened the bleed valve and released some of the pressure, the tank still wasn't working so I found this video and followed the procedure as explained, bingo bango it works like a charm... Thank you so much for the info.

[HeatherHughes-kd]

Thank you! We are first-time campers and I KNOW the service guys roll their eyes with our numerous newbie questions.

[Robb-jfvg]

The store I worked at for 20 years sold the 20, 30 and 50 pound tanks.
Then without warning, the distribution stopped shipping us those 50 pound tanks! They were a best seller too. And our customers who came in regularly every few years to get their new tanks were very pixxed off!

[streetsbolt]

Had low pressure after swapping out the tank, happened to me for the first time last night. This video explains why. Thanks! Now I'm convinced they are always listening.

[DRT]

I have had this about 3x and never knew what was happening and burned the hair of the back of head screwing around with it taking the valve on and off a couple of times. Then when I finally hit the igniter while stooping in front of the base of the grill. The cold weather caused the gas to flow down into the base and it blasted a flame over my back like a flash bulb. It happened so fast I did not know what happened. I was lucky to have a fleece jacket but it was flash burned over half of my back. This should be common knowledge and it is not. I will telling all my gas supply store that I buy gas from and tell them to instruct their customers on this issue. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO. IT MAY SAVE SOMEONE FROM GETTING SERIOUSLY BURNED!

[marshallness]

Thank you Sir. I knew how, now I know way to explain to others.

[BluesBoy-ijrb]

Amazing how many people using propane grills for 40+ years did not know about this, myself included

[tomjones]

Well done. No silliness or music background. Just the facts. Thank you!