Running a gas dryer on propane

[Cole]

I know this topic has been covered before, but I was hoping someone could offer some info on the usage so I can know what size propane tank is needed. I'm looking to get a Mini Sprint or something with a 10" chamber. With that in mind, does anyone have a guess on what the usage would be? I only run my current dryer for probably 4 hours a day. The other 6 hours of my work day are spent doing other tasks, so my gas dryer would probably only see around 4 hours of production per day.

Any info is appreciated!

[Squeegie]

I'm looking to get a Mini Sprint or something with a 10" chamber.

Hahaha...that is a very short chamber...DOH!

We are running a Mini Sprint 2000 here, 8' chamber with about 3 1/2' infeed and 3 1/2' out on LP.
We have a 1000 gal LP tank.  I used to know the numbers of our consumption but have really not paid attention lately.

Our building has an LP burner for radiant heat and hot water.  We also have a second building with radiant heat and a 900 sq foot apartment also with its own LP burner for heat and hot water.

Everything is fed LP from the one tank.

[californiadreamin]

You will use 85,000 btu’s per hour plus or minus.
One gallon of propane is 91,500 btu’s
Other factors Winter Or Summer or in between.
Ambient shop temp, as well as ambient garment temp. Did they just
Get off the UPS truck at 40 degrees or 100 degrees.
Are you in the city or in the Stix? Delivery options/ cost to refill
Area available to locate gas cylinder. What are city codes ?
Based on your current need, I would suggest 125 gal with option to daisy chain
Another 125 gal that you manually turn on if needed.
Assuming monthly delivery is available the smaller the better .
Again city or rural. Most cities will not allow oversized tanks for safety/insurance regulation
If you are a prepper, rural, and like sitting on a bomb, the larger the better!
Winston

[Maff]

^^Winston knows his stuff! He moved and installed our dryer and really helped me through some issues with it.

We have an old Precision dryer, 60" belt and 10' chamber running on LP. We run it about 6-8 hours a day on average, but some days way more and some not at all, our production schedule is all over the place.  We have 4 120g tanks daisy chained. I'd have to check our exact usage, but I think we get a delivery every 6-8 weeks. Ideally you're never running the tanks  lower then 20% and they don't fill past 80%, this allows for room to expand and contract since LP is not very stable.  We are on auto fill ups so they come well before they get too low, but it's better peace of mind. I'd rather have more propane on hand just in case we have some crazy weeks of production and go through it fast.

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[Cole]

You will use 85,000 btu’s per hour plus or minus.
One gallon of propane is 91,500 btu’s
Other factors Winter Or Summer or in between.
Ambient shop temp, as well as ambient garment temp. Did they just
Get off the UPS truck at 40 degrees or 100 degrees.
Are you in the city or in the Stix? Delivery options/ cost to refill
Area available to locate gas cylinder. What are city codes ?
Based on your current need, I would suggest 125 gal with option to daisy chain
Another 125 gal that you manually turn on if needed.
Assuming monthly delivery is available the smaller the better .
Again city or rural. Most cities will not allow oversized tanks for safety/insurance regulation
If you are a prepper, rural, and like sitting on a bomb, the larger the better!
Winston

These are all great things to consider. I'll have to talk with the city and see if they'll even allow me to have a tank that large. Also need to get the approval from my landlord. My shop is in California, so luckily, it never gets cold enough to really affect the shirts. Never really have to worry about moisture here either. Thanks for all the info Winston.