I rebuilt my tank last Fall while the tranny was out.
New regulator, new valve, and a nice white paint job.

A friend in Nova Scotia, Canada who tows an airsteam around behind his land
rover told me it was a good idea to *new up* the tank. Some propane
suppliers in Canada ask to see a tag certifying the tank has been updated.
That seems to be a carry-over from regs pertaining to disposable propane
cylinders such as those strapped to trailer tongues. Those have a fixed
life-span - before they're left in the desert at shooting ranges.

Our Westfalia propane tanks are much heavier and stronger than those.

(a crazy thing is emptying the propane tank for rebuild - I did it out in
an industrial wasteland and it discharged for a surprisingly long time -
very spooky looking low gas cloud through the weeds - like WW1)

On Wed, Oct 7, 2015 at 9:36 AM, vw_van_fan_Mark <madvws@cox.net> wrote:

> I have refurbed some tanks and replaced some very rusty tanks with new
> ones. What is the big deal with getting them filled? I drive the van to
> a place that sells propane and they fill it. Maybe it depends on where
> you are but around me they don't look at the tanks at all other than to
> hook up the hose and open the bleeder.
>
> I often take a bbq tank along to get filled or topped off after they
> fill the Westy tank. The place closest to me charges for a minimum 5
> gals so I save money by filling a bbq tank at the same time. At my usual
> place the Westy tanks only take 2.4 gals or a little more.
>
> Mark
>
>
> Nick Feickert wrote:
>
>> Good comments but.... I still hope to hear from anyone that has purchased
>> a new tank and someone who has refurbished an old one. My tank looks in
>> good shape. I had already sanded and repainted it 10 years ago, but I
>> didn't have POR-15 at my disposal then. So the real question here is has
>> anyone have a refurbished LP tank success story and has anyone had trouble
>> with getting a new tank filled?
>>
>>