Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

For years I have been refilling disposable propane bottles with those widely available adapters available here at Amazon and at sporting goods stores. It involved inverting the 20 lb. tank on a table and awkwardly tilting it to open the valve. You also had to freeze the empty cylinders and make sure your main tank was warm to get the best fill. I have not had any problems with leaking doing it that way, but technically it is illegal to transport any refilled disposable cylinder. And the refilled disposables were always shy 2-3 ounces of a full fill, so gas hungry appliances like my Buddy heater, griddle and portable gas grill would need a new cylinder more often. The Flame King cylinders are DOT approved and can be legally transported after refilling. Their construction is a lot heavier than the disposables and they can be re-used for 12 years before needing re-certification or replacement. This kit comes with one refillable cylinder, a stand to hold your 20lb tank upside down (to draw liquid propane), and the adapter to connect your 1lb bottle. The adapter is well constructed, made of aluminum and brass - with a lever operated valve to control filling. Filling a bottle is easy. Just invert the tank on the stand, connect the adapter, attach the empty bottle, open the valve on the 20lb tank, open the bleeder screw on the 1lb tank and press the dispensing lever until liquid propane starts spitting out of the bleed hole. Then close the bleeder and stop dispensing. That's it! No freezing propane bottles, no heating 20 lb. propane tanks. The magic is in the bleeder system, which vents the propane gas and allows the liquid propane to flow into the bottle. I weighed the empty bottle and weighed a filled bottle. It was 16.2 oz, EXACTLY what the label on the bottle says it should be! You cannot fill disposable cylinders with this kit. If you look at my picture, you'll see that there is a white plastic tab protruding from the fitting preventing you from attaching a disposable. If you look at the neck of the Flame King bottle, you'll see that it accommodates that tab without interference. You can modify the adapter by removing the tab so you can refill disposables, but that would void all warranties and could be a homeowners insurance liability, so I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. Refillable cylinders are about $14 (Prime eligible) at the time of this writing, so it won't take long for you start saving money. I plan on buying a cylinder every month or so until I have a nice stash to rotate as I use them. At the time of this review, I believe the Flame King 1lb. cylinder is the only DOT approved refillable cylinder that will fit portable gas appliances that use disposable cylinders. Highly recommended!