Method 1: weigh it (the most reliable)
- Turn off the cylinder valve and disconnect the regulator.
- Find the tare weight stamped near the top of the cylinder. It may be marked “TARE” or “T.C.”. That is the weight of the cylinder when empty.
- Stand the cylinder on a bathroom or kitchen floor scale and note the weight.
- Take away the tare. What is left is the gas.
Say a 12.5kg cylinder has a stamped tare of 15kg and weighs 19kg. It has about 4kg of gas left, which is roughly a third. Those weights are only an example. Use the number stamped on your own cylinder, because tare varies from one to another.
Method 2: the warm water test (quick, less exact)
- Pour warm water down the side of the cylinder. Don’t use boiling water.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Run your hand down the side. The point where the metal starts to feel cool shows roughly where the liquid gas level is.
It works because the liquid gas inside draws heat from the cylinder wall. Dry the cylinder afterwards, and use this as a rough check rather than an exact reading.
Signs that it’s nearly finished
A flame that gets weak or dies down while the valve is fully open can mean the cylinder is close to empty. It can also point to a regulator or burner problem, so if the flame is still weak on a freshly filled cylinder, have the set-up checked. A yellow flame or a smell of gas is different: stop and read what to do if you smell cooking gas.
How to stop being caught out
- Write the refill date on a piece of tape on the cylinder. After two or three refills you will know your household’s usual gap.
- Weigh it once a week for a month. You’ll see roughly how many kilograms you use each week.
- Order when you have a few days’ gas left, not when the flame dies.
- Top up instead of filling completely when money is tight. In the DelivGas app you can enter the naira amount you want to spend.
