Are propane Tank Heaters / Blankets worth it?

My friend who has an ice shack said when it got really cold on Mille Lacs last year that his propane would stop at about 50% of the tank and wasn’t nearly as efficient.

He bought 2 electric tank blankets this year to combat that problem. He said it would hopefully make his propane be used more efficiently also. Electric heaters/blankets are expensive but so is a ruined trip and the cost of propane is continually rising so being more efficient and using your propane more efficiently will save you a lot of money in the long run.

With the cost of propane being so expensive now, the savings in efficiency could cover the cost of the fairly expensive blankets fairly quickly.

Is he correct and are electric tank heaters / blankets worth it?

I ran into this issue only one time last winter and it was around -35 outside. Since then I bought a magnetic tank heater but have not needed to use it. I’ve heard people say that wrapping some hand warmers around the regulator is enough to keep the propane flowing so I make sure I have some of them in the shack

I’ve used nothing but an incandescent trouble light between the tanks and a moving blanket over the top with the cover back on it. Never had an issue with tanks freezing.

404 ERROR wrote:

I’ve used nothing but an incandescent trouble light between the tanks and a moving blanket over the top with the cover back on it. Never had an issue with tanks freezing.

That’s how that guy blew his ice castle up last year. I think it got too hot and melted one of the lines.

Definitely worth it as a way to prevent propane problems at extreme cold temperatures. I too had my propane stop flowing on ML last year. I did the trouble light thing like stated above. But you better know what you are doing because you could be creating a fire hazard, or melt rubber propane lines. Also you need to be absolutely sure you have no leaks. Those tank blankets are a pretty safe way of warming the tanks. Propane stops boiling at around -40. When you start getting around that -30 temp it definitely slows the flow. You also get more BTU’s out of the gas the warmer the gas is. So yeah you will get more out of your tanks by warming them, and also more efficient because of the increased BTU’s.

Our crews run them and the thing I was impressed with is you get every last drop of propane out of the tanks.
They are kinda spendy, but worth it. I think I picked mine up at Northern.

Great discussion. I remember in the 80’s talking to some sourdoughs near Fairbanks AK about ice fishing. One guy said when it -30 or colder he would chop a hole big enough in the ice to sink his propane tank in. He said the water kept the propane around 32 degrees. Never tried it, but always remember the conversation. I also remember him telling me he took the oil out of his plane when it was really cold. He’d keep it warm in the cabin, and would pour it back in the engine when it was time to fly.

We had the same heat issues and what I found is yes they work great, my buddy has two of them and it was toasty in there. What I also found is if you go up with full tanks and open both valves the tank will switch over when it gets low and flow stops, so no heat issues even down to -30. Only issue is you have to half full tanks when your done with a trip. We only did long weekends so not sure how long you can go on two when you only use half of the tanks. I think I am going to invest in one this year, I really don’t see the need for two, you can always switch to the tank when needed, or it will probably heat enough just being next to it under the cover.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Our crews run them and the thing I was impressed with is you get every last drop of propane out of the tanks.
They are kinda spendy, but worth it. I think I picked mine up at Northern.

Do you run 30lb tanks? I see northern Has 20lb heater blankets, didn’t see one specifically for a 30lb.

One time on Red a couple of years ago the sky cleared over night and it got about 20 degrees colder than forecasted due to it clearing off sooner than expected. The actual temp at at about 4:30am was -29 according to my pickup (forecasted low was only -9 or -10) and it was getting pretty cold in my shack so I went out and switched to the full propane tank. That lasted long enough to warm the house back up but then froze up too. My only heat was to drive my pickup back to shore and then drive about 10 miles on the highway for it to finally warm up and blow heat. So in that scenario at least having something to keep the tanks a little warmer would have been worth it regardless of (a reasonable) cost for sure.

Hookset wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Eelpoutguy wrote:</div>
Our crews run them and the thing I was impressed with is you get every last drop of propane out of the tanks.
They are kinda spendy, but worth it. I think I picked mine up at Northern.

Do you run 30lb tanks? I see northern Has 20lb heater blankets, didn’t see one specifically for a 30lb.

20’s

Coletrain27 wrote:

That’s how that guy blew his ice castle up last year. I think it got too hot and melted one of the lines.

I have a cage around my light, but maybe I should look into investing in another option! Thanks for letting me know.

Hookset wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Eelpoutguy wrote:</div>
Our crews run them and the thing I was impressed with is you get every last drop of propane out of the tanks.
They are kinda spendy, but worth it. I think I picked mine up at Northern.

Do you run 30lb tanks? I see northern Has 20lb heater blankets, didn’t see one specifically for a 30lb.

20’s and 30’s are the same diameter but the 30 is just a little taller. The 20lb heater should work fine for a 30

Do the tank wraps draw a lot of wattage when in use? I generally only run a Honda EU2000i.

gonehunting wrote:

Do the tank wraps draw a lot of wattage when in use? I generally only run a Honda EU2000i.

You will be fine with the 2200

The blanket type at northern says 120 watts. The magnetic type like I have is 200 watts

404 ERROR wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Coletrain27 wrote:</div>
That’s how that guy blew his ice castle up last year. I think it got too hot and melted one of the lines.

I have a cage around my light, but maybe I should look into investing in another option! Thanks for letting me know.

Off topic a number of years ago at a local GM dealership the lead mechanic was dropping a fuel tank from a car . Long story short they were using incandescent trouble lights , fell of the rack and burned the whole dealership to the ground . Several employees escaped with minor burns and smoke inhalation.

Yeah we don’t use them anymore at the shop. Actually can’t remember the last time I saw anyone use one.

Coletrain27 wrote:

The blanket type at northern says 120 watts. The magnetic type like I have is 200 watts

Is the magnetic one you have an oil pan heater or is it for a propane tank? I didn’t know if the high temps 300-400 degrees on the oil pan ones would be a bit much?

https://www.menards.com/main/tools/automotive/automotive-accessories/automotive-electronics/kats-200-watt-120-volt-magnetic-engine-block-heater/1155/p-1446137933733-c-1527167451380.htm?tid=-9146460685773744364&ipos=84

thats the one i have. not sure how hot it would get a 30# tank when its -30 or colder outside

Wouldn’t it make sense that if you have your tank or tanks in a cover that stays warm enough with a 60 watt trouble light that the 200-300 watt magnetic car heater would work? I had the -30 night on Red too that spoiled our weekend immediately when the heat went out. I have a small hole drilled in my house wall now to run a gas hose thru from a blanket wrapped 20#er to a big buddy. Since the regulator is in the heater that should work shouldn’t it? Isn’t the regulator the first to freeze, even before the gas gets too cold?

3rdtryguy wrote:

Wouldn’t it make sense that if you have your tank or tanks in a cover that stays warm enough with a 60 watt trouble light that the 200-300 watt magnetic car heater would work? I had the -30 night on Red too that spoiled our weekend immediately when the heat went out. I have a small hole drilled in my house wall now to run a gas hose thru from a blanket wrapped 20#er to a big buddy. Since the regulator is in the heater that should work shouldn’t it? Isn’t the regulator the first to freeze, even before the gas gets too cold?

ive heard people say that hand warmers wrapped around the regulator is enough to keep it flowing. however when i had these issues i did not know that trick to try. i also have the “high flow” regulator and lines that were supposedly to be better in extreme colds is what my dealer told me

Last year I was out both weekends in the -40 and had issues the first weekend so we brought USB heating pads and ran a Milwaukee battery with USB under moving blankets and it worked great. This year I bought the aluminum propane box from Smokey Hills so I am hoping I wont need the blanket with the heating pads.

Riverwader wrote:

Last year I was out both weekends in the -40 and had issues the first weekend so we brought USB heating pads and ran a Milwaukee battery with USB under moving blankets and it worked great. This year I bought the aluminum propane box from Smokey Hills so I am hoping I wont need the blanket with the heating pads.

<div class=”ido-oembed-wrap”><iframe loading=”lazy” title=”USB Electric Cloth Heater, Five Portable Waterproof Foldable Heater Pads Adjustable Temperature Heating Element Warmer Tool” type=”text/html” width=”850″ height=”550″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”” style=”max-width:100%” src=”https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?preview=inline&linkCode=kpd&ref_=k4w_oembed_X6Xiw2OtnXdCaa&asin=B07K23GZB9&tag=kpembed-20″></iframe></div&gt;

It’s just an aluminum box correct?

Why wouldn’t you need heated blankets for it?

I was at Milaca Unclaimed Freight today and they have 30lb tank electric blankets for $79 each

I’m still curious why the magnetic car heater doesn’t work. Anybody use one? That sure seems to be more heat than a 60 W bulb and not nearly hot enough to make anything explode.

3rdtryguy wrote:

I’m still curious why the magnetic car heater doesn’t work. Anybody use one? That sure seems to be more heat than a 60 W bulb and not nearly hot enough to make anything explode.

Last year I would run a 200W magnetic block heater stuck to the tank I was pulling from, as well as the hard cover and a moving blanket over the top of that. Never had any issues with lack of flow, even on the -20 plus windchill weekends.

I was assuming it would work I just wondered if it would be to hot, not sure if it matters.

Like coltrain, I run the kats magnetic heater, it runs on the bottom of the tank carrier, I usually have it under the tank I’m issuing. Just interested in being able to take my tank closer to empty, at -20 or colder I can’t burn but 50% of a tank and the heat is noticeably colder.

Nodakk wrote:

I was at Milaca Unclaimed Freight today and they have 30lb tank electric blankets for $79 each

On sale or is that every day price?