My propane tank gauge lied to me at the worst cook

Last Saturday I was 6 hours into a 14 hour brisket cook for my nephew's graduation party. The needle on my tank gauge was still in the green, so I figured I had plenty. Then I went to check the temp and the flame was out. Tank was bone dry. I had to run to the gas station at 11pm with a spare tank, but the brisket sat at 145 degrees for almost an hour. Have any of you switched to a digital scale or weight method to avoid this? I'm thinking about buying a used one off Craigslist.

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parker_bell15d ago

Three winters back I had the same thing happen on a pork butt for my dad's birthday. The gauge said half full but the flame sputtered out right at the stall. I switched to weighing the tank on a bathroom scale and just jotting the number on the side with a sharpie. When the weight gets to about 18 pounds for a full 20 pound tank I know I'm done. It's cheap and I already had the scale in the closet, plus it never lies like those float gauges do.