>     Hi,   I just had my propane tank out to repaint and to  re-valve
>it. I warned the shop that the new regulator had to be the same  size as
>the old one to fit into the little plastic cover, but as dreaded, the
>replacement they came up with is about two inches longer or so.

I found some galvanized tin left over from a new furnace installation and
made a new cover.  I contacted the manufacturer of the original regulator
and they do not make it any more.  Also, the original is a two stage
regulator.  I replaced mine with a single stage regulator from a hardware
store for $10.  It is single stage and may not meet some gov. reg
somewhere, but it works fine, and the gas guy said it gave the same
pressures.