propane tank replacement?

[sbb2112]

My 77 has lived its life in Michigan and Although the tank holds pressure fine it is extremely rusty. I'm not sure if I can get it filled like that. I thought about cleaning it and epoxy painting it so it doesnt freak out the guys at our local propane fillup. That won't fix the problem but unless there is an easy replacement available I don't know what else to do with it. Any info would be helpful.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

1977 C22C would have a 42lb horizontal ASME tank (ref pdf page 11 of http://www.winnebagoind.com/service/wincd/1977/77ic22c.pdf).  Those do not require periodic recertification like the OPD (Bar-B-Que Style) vertical tanks do.  They do need to be kept neat and well cared for though.  So clean it up and repaint it (white only) and you should be good to go as long as there are no obvious issues with it.  If you do want to have it checked out for integrety (valves, gauges, etc.), then you will have to find a company that deals with propane systems to check it out.   A normal propane refiller  most likely would not have the ability to check it all out.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

As long as you purge the tank completely before sandblasting it or sanding it, its safe to bring it down to bare metal and repaint it.  As long as the pits aren't deep in the metal, go ahead and repaint it and save yourself a lot of money!

Kev

[sbb2112]

Well I went out and washed off the dirt from the forward end of the tank and thought wow thats really pitted. I had a wire brush and started to scrub and it turns out the tank was covered with a greasy goo. I cleaned a small spot and it looks way better than I first thought. Still rusty but not a throw in the towel. The big sticker warning about overfilling is toast but it says the same thing on a tag on a fitting. Not sure if I need the sticker or just need to make sure I tell the guy filling the tank to pay attention as it seems it isn't one of the newer style pressure relief valves. or at least thats what I think that means....

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Different processes are used for filling OPD vs ASME tanks.  OPD tanks a]are placed on a scale and filled by weight.  ASME have a 80% vent valve used to tell when it is full.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Also horizontal tanks don't require the new style valves.  It is however up to the discretion of the propane seller to reject filling a tank if it looks too bad...That's another good reason to clean it up and repaint it if necessary.

On our first RV, the Ark, I removed the tank completely and sandblasted it...just don't do what I did and think it was empty!  I thought it was completely empty and after the sandblasting was done, I opened the valve and more propane came out!  I was very lucky I didn't blow myself up!  The only real way to purge a tank completely is to fill it with water...which I know now.   D:oH!

However, just a wire brush won't require purging the tank.  After I sandblasted the tank, I painted it with a good grey enamel after masking off the stickers and valves and whatnot...it ended up looking new.

On our last RV, Excalibur, I didn't bother since it was a California RV originally and the tank only had some surface rust.  Although that surface rust did cause one propane supplier to not sell me propane once.

On our current RV, the Nautilus, the tank looks pretty new, so we don't have any problems getting this one filled.

Kev