# Answer to "How long do 1lb Coleman propane bottles keep?"



## ai731

Seven years ago, I lived in a small apartment in the city that only had electric baseboard heating. As part of my emergency equipment I purchased 2 small propane heaters and a half-dozen 1lb Coleman propane canisters to go with them. 

We're going camping next week, and the area is under an open fire ban. I usually take a hibatchi bbq to cook on, but they are banned at the campground. My naptha backpacking stove is similarly banned (the campground is banning pretty much everything except propane as a safety precaution - they have 80 acres of tinder-dry pine forest).

So I borrowed a 2-burner Coleman propane stove from a friend (I'm also taking our Sun Oven). I just dug the propane canisters out of their (cool, dry) storage container and tested them with the stove. They work fine. 

So the answer to "How long do 1lb Coleman propane bottles keep?" is: at least 7 years!


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## AngieM2

Thanks for this information.

Have fun camping.


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## Usingmyrights

I've got some 1lbers that I bought in '04-05 that still have some in them. One feels empty and a few feel light, don't remember using them, but they were stored in the garage so it could just be over pressure bleed out. These are Coleman and I think ozark trail is the other brand.


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## sleeps723

They leak over time. The gas/liquid will last forever. The canisters are what break down.


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## terri9630

We went camping last weekend, saw my first wild bear up close and man was it HUGE! 

Anyway, we too some propane canisters that were given by a lady who quit camping in 2000 when she broke her hip. Had to clean the threads of 2. They had rust on them but worked fine.


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## Hears The Water

This may seem like a silly question, please forgive my ignorance. Is it safe to store these canisters inside? I don't have a garage, living in this apartment like I do. So would it be safe to store them in a closet? I had wondered about this as an alternate heat and cooking source but wasn't sure about the storage. Thanks,
God bless you and yours
Deb


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## sleeps723

They do leak. I don't think I would keep them in the house. A he'd or shop would do.


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## Hears The Water

I do have an outdoor storage closet. So perhaps that would be a better choice. Thanks for the information.
God bless you and yours
Deb


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## Kevingr

You should never store propane inside a building, especially the little 1 pounders, they do leak over time. The valves can also freeze and leak all the gas out at once. Propane is not the fuel of choice for winter camping (think frozen snow cold type camping).


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

if they still feel full shake them , i have had some that as long as you never attached them to anything , screwed them on they should be good , you can usually tell if you pick them up and shake them if they are full,

once you attach them to a stove or lantern , they usually leak when you take them off

i had one on a torch i seldom used for 8+ years 

my torch is map now , just better more heat for sweating joints


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## Gary in ohio

until they are 1/4lb containers.


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## Bearfootfarm

Normally they won't leak if they aren't attached to anything


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## forfreedom

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I had to break one out this morning when we had a power outage to make coffee. It was brand new, but now attached to the little Coleman stove. Should I detach it back? Don't know next time I'll need it.


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## terri9630

I always unhook them. Most of the time you can smell or hear them if they leak and screwing them back on to your stove and then back off will USUALLY stop all but the smallest of leaks. If you want to check for small leaks you can dip them in water to see if their leaking. If I can't stop a leak I toss them since they'll be empty next time you need it.


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## CajunSunshine

Once upon a time, I had no access to outdoor storage for my lil' one pound propane bottles. I stashed them inside of good quality ice chests/coolers with super tight fitting lids. Over time a couple of the bottles leaked, but the propane stayed inside of the ice chest. Because I heat only with wood, I have peace of mind knowing that I don't have to worry about a propane leak creating more excitement than I can handle.



.


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## Harry Chickpea

I have a couple of old propane torch heads that I keep on any that I have opened. The valve in the head is much more robust. With propane, don't store it in enclosed places or where the gas could "puddle." It is heavier than air.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

well as long as you resurrected the old thread , LP won't go bad in a tank , the tank may someday leak 

you should probably remove the tanks form most devices , some tanks then leak once removed if they do and you have a device to leave them screwed onto then you can otherwise your not loosing that much and let them vent outside 

very shortly after this thread was started back in 2012 we were cleaning out grandpas garage as he had died and grandma was down sizing I gto a few 1# tanks that are probably every bit of 20 years old and they work fine 

if you use them a lot it may be worth wile to purchase a tank the standard 20lb grill cylinders are the most common and least expensive , but they make a 5 pound short squat tank that travels a bit easier


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## forfreedom

I don't use them at all, they are preps for emergencies, so 1lb works just fine.
But, i should get more of them. Really enjoyed that batch of coffee when the power was out.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

my gas grill , outdoor 2 burner cook top , camp stove , and some other tools and such use LP , with the adapter hose the camp stove runs off a 20 pound bottle for a long long time like every meal for a month for a family of 5 , when we moved to this house it was all electric appliances, I knew I wanted gas appliances it took a month to get lines run and gas service in the mean time we cooked with the camp stove on the front porch never had to change out the cylinder in that month

when our power is out it stops the gas oven because of the ignition but the burners can be lit with a match just fine and cooking can be done in the kitchen much like normal. 

I have accumulated a collection of 20 pound cylinders and try to always keep a few full so that when one goes dry i can swap it out quick and get back to what i was doing 

I liked to wait for when someone offered a deal on a fill , used to be the hardware ran a memorial day labor day deal with 10 dollar lp tank fills I would bring sometimes 8-10 cylinders in for a fill as friends would leave me their empties to get filled also 

the hardware stopped doing that but i found my co-op fills tanks I drop off my tank and pick it up the next day or a few days and save a few dollars over the other places that fill tanks , if they can do them all at once then they pay the guy just for that time and not to run back and fill every time someone brings one in they can also do repairs so when i had a valve that was a problem they replaced the valve , it was about 8 dollars less than a new tank on sale for the valve but better than not.


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## TripleD

I've kept 4 of the 1lb bottles in my gun safe for over 3yrs. They are new and still have the caps on them......


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## Spinner

I agree on canisters breaking down. I have a 2 pack that is less than a year old. Both bottles still have caps in place and one of them is now empty. The other is still full. Check them by weight when you buy them and weigh at least once a year to be sure they have not leaked off. If one weighs slightly less when new, it's a leaky canister and you might be able to exchange it.


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## Shrek

Hears The Water said:


> This may seem like a silly question, please forgive my ignorance. Is it safe to store these canisters inside? I don't have a garage, living in this apartment like I do. So would it be safe to store them in a closet? I had wondered about this as an alternate heat and cooking source but wasn't sure about the storage. Thanks,
> God bless you and yours
> Deb


I have kept anywhere from 40 to 200 one pound canisters stored in a closet in my house since the 1990s. There is no more leak risk to storing one pound 4 packs than the leak risk of having wall mounted propane heaters connected to a outside tank that are completely shut down during warm months.

If a canister leaks bad enough to be a risk you will smell the odor additive and take the same precautions to ventilate as you search for the leaking canister by the smell , frost/condensation or low cost gas leak detector in the closet where they are stored.

Of course canisters stored indoors do not deteriorate and rust as those stored in a shed, garage or other non-environmentally controlled area.

There's not much safety wise you can do with in house stored containers if the house catches fire other than get out and warn the firemen.


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## Explorer

I have had unused ones stored inside for over 30 years with no problems. Gave a couple to my niece last year and they were fine. I think I may have paid about a dollar each then.


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