On my Freedom 33, which now sails in France, I have kept the two 6lb aluminum gas cylinders. I could have replaced them with two newer laminate cylinders, but I found that the shape of the Worthington cylinders was perfect for easy storage on board.
The rear of my F33 has been significantly modified, and I found a new location for the two cylinders, which I think is perfect.
You can guess where it is just by looking at the photo.
So I decided to dismantle the valve on the bottle in question. My first attempt was a complete failure, as there wasn’t enough room to move the wrench. So I decided to cut off the top of the cylinder.
Then I heated the aluminum near the valve a little with a blowtorch, and the valve began to unscrew.
Beforehand, I had cut off part of the valve to allow better access for the wrench.
The question of replacing the valve now arises, and that’s where the doubts come in. If I understand correctly, cylinders from that era were equipped with POL valves.
However, the valves currently sold for 6lb Worthington cylinders are equipped with OPD valves. I believe these valves can be used with the old fittings, but this needs to be confirmed. Furthermore, my cylinders are marked DOT4E240, but what I find on eBay is the DOT4E260 valve. I can’t figure out what the difference is.
I would have loved to buy two new Worthington cylinders. But with shipping costs to France, the total cost comes to at least $650. For now, I still need to buy some blockers to finalize the reefing system on the Freedom. The new cylinders will have to wait.
I ran into a similar issue when my tank ran out of certification (in the US) and found gas cylindersource.com which (occasionally) sells refurbished cylinders. (At very reasonable prices)
I’m not sure what it would mean to ship it to France, but I would encourage you to consider it, especially given your method of removing that valve.
Looks like none available now, but stock does replenish.
The price of these 6LB bottles seems so low that I wondered if it wasn’t a scam site, as we sometimes come across.
I’m going to send a message to find out when I can expect to receive a bottle and if shipping is possible.
The method I used to dismantle the cylinder may seem a bit risky.. I’m not worried about the final result.
When I tell French people that gas cylinders are refilled in stores in the United States, they are very surprised because it seems inconceivable !
I found an answer on this official website of the State of North Carolina.
“The same piece of equipment that fills tanks with the POL valve will also fill through the Acme valves or OPD valves because of those internal threads.”
This is also confirmed by a picture I found in an old forum archive, taken by “Camillo,” owner of a Freedom 35.
The valve supplier, “Propane kit,” on eBay provided me with the answer to another question.
The old 6LBS cylinders (like mine) of type DT 4E240 are therefore being replaced by those currently available on the market, the 6LBS DOT 4E 260.
The DOT 4E240 is set at 375psi relief.
The DOT4E260 is set at 400psi relief.
I literally had this exact repair done on an old 80s vintage 6lb aluminum Worthington. I took my tank to a propane shop in Concord, California. The guy put a new OPD on and it took him about 30 minutes, I was shocked it went so fast. My old OPD was legal but the non replaceable sealing gasket had failed so valve had to be replaced. History here is the OPD that had to be replaced was one that I had had installed years ago to replace a non legal valve like yours, There is no question it is doable, I just had it done! He charged me a whopping $40.00…best deal ever. I wrote about it on the forum somewhere for the record.
He also had a perfectly serviceable aluminum 6lb tank sitting in his “old tanks” collection. I wanted to get it as a backup but my Wife would have killed me ( I have a lot of Freedom parts in my/her garage). I had thought to buy it and offer it to folks on the forum because there are hard/expensive to come by but red tape prevented shipping so I gave up on that idea. Unfortunately It turns out it is very difficult to ship used tanks in the USA, there are lots of certs and red tape involved.
The only issue with the new OPD is the length of the float. it can be too long to negotiate the body of the narrow tank. But there is a pretty simple fix, cut the float down to size. They are a solid foam material.
If I were you I would measure the thread on the tank, verify an OPD size , buy it and give it a shot. If they won’t ship it to France, ship it to me and I will ship it to you in France, My Wife has relatives in Paris and we ship stuff there from time to time. No big deal. PM me if you need help with this.
The short answer is: No, you should not install a pressure relief valve (PRV) rated for 400 psi on a cylinder that was originally equipped with a 375 psi valve.
To remain safe and compliant, you have two primary options:
Replace the valve with the exact same rating (375 psi). This is the only way to guarantee that the cylinder operates within its designed safety parameters.
Use a different cylinder: If your intended application truly requires a 400 psi setting, you must use a cylinder that is specifically rated and equipped with a 400 psi relief device.
Safety is paramount when dealing with compressed gases. Even a small change in a safety setting can have serious consequences.
If I can’t find a 375 psi valve, I’ll have to buy the 400 model because new cylinders are really too expensive for me. A pressure difference of 6.6% doesn’t seem significant enough to me that the cylinder couldn’t handle this slight increase.
The entire gas system has been completely redone for these two bottles made in the US, which are impossible to find in France. I can’t back out now.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this equipment is manufactured in China, but the whole world buys from China now because they are the only ones who manufacture what we can no longer find on our domestic markets.
