Maintaining vapor pressure in propane and NGL storage tanks through cold weather.
Why It Matters
Propane needs to vaporize to be usable — and vaporization depends on temperature. Cold molecules move slower and collide less often, so fewer of them escape the liquid into vapor. Less vaporization means less pressure in the tank, and less pressure means less flow to whatever the propane is feeding, whether that's a generator, a burner, or a pilot light. Below a certain temperature, a tank simply can't vaporize propane fast enough to keep up with demand, no matter how much liquid is left inside.
Wrapping the tank in heat solves the problem at its source: bring the liquid up to a temperature where vaporization keeps pace with demand, and pressure and flow become something you control instead of something the weather controls.
A Real Installation
Case Study
Union Pacific keeps snow off the tracks using generators powered by 1,000-gallon propane tanks positioned along the railway system. Before adding Powerblanket Gas Cylinder Warmers, cold temperatures reduced how much propane could vaporize — which meant there wasn't enough pressure in the tanks to run the generators when they were needed most. Wrapping the tanks solved the problem, keeping pressure (and the generators) running through the coldest stretches of the season.
A Real Installation
Case Study
McAda runs one of the largest fleets of truck-mounted fluid-heating units in the oil and gas industry, using large propane tanks to fuel the burners that heat fracking fluid on-site. Even with a state-of-the-art fleet, winter weather was a real problem for the propane heating system itself — before Powerblanket, the crew relied on tarps, space heaters, and other makeshift methods just to keep the tank warm enough to maintain pressure.
We were just losing too much tank pressure when the needle dropped below freezing. With the Powerblanket product, we can operate in the cold without any problems. It saves us time and headaches — and saves our clients a great deal of time and money. McAda Fluids Heating Services
Still Have Questions?
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