That is right, the propane you buy is a liquid, sold by the gallon.
Inside the tank it slowly turns into a gas and that is what we burn. A
gauge would have to have a float, like the gasoline tank has, that
mechanically reads the level of the liquid inside the tank.

The stove might work on a small bottle without a regulator, never tried
so I don't know for sure. The fridge won't work that way since it relies
on a fairly precise mixture when the main burner is on. The stove has a
knob you control so you may be able to compensate for the excess
pressure with that. Myself, I would never hook up even the small can
without a regulator since that is not how the kitchen equipment was
designed.

I have camped many hundreds of nights using the Westy kitchen. A full
propane tank is good for 2-3 weeks, running the fridge all that time and
cooking most meals. With all the other costs that we typically incur
while traveling or camping, filling the propane tank is a pretty small
$. I too wish I had a way to know how much is left in the tank but
filling it before every trip doesn't cost that much in the big scheme of
things. We use a propane grill for BBQ a lot at home. I find that if I
take the tank for that with me when I fill the Westy, the propane places
add the total propane for both tanks and this keeps me from having to
pay the usual minimum  fee  for just a tiny amount of propane if the
Westy tank does not take very much by itself.

Mark

Edward Maglott wrote:

> The pressure in the tank is very high, um, 200+ psi comes to mind.  The
> appliances need 11" water column to operate.  That's about 1psi.
>
> A pressure gauge on the tank will not show how much propane is left
> because
> the pressure doesn't drop until all the liquid has turned into gas.  Then
> it's too late...
>
> Edward
>
>
> At 08:23 PM 2/17/2006, you wrote:
>
>> Why would it have to go before the regulator?
>>
>> I was imagining a shutoff valve at the disposable bottle's
>> connection, and
>> if the main tank it empty, just close that valve and open the valve for
>> the little propane botttle.  You don't need a regulator for the little
>> bottle right?
>
>
>