JD 4020 Propane refill hose needed?

[Rapidrob]

My propane company will not refill my tractor anymore. We have had bad floods here in NM and I need to fill my JD 4020 tractor.
What type of hose do I need to fill the tractors tank?
Will gravity and temp work?
Do I need a pump of some sort?
Thank you for any helpful info.
Bottom fitting is a larger OCC-1 I think.

Same as top fitting on tractors tank.

 

[Tx Jim]

If you're attempting to fill tank tractor tank from a LPG storage tank I think your storage tank needs a wet line. With a wet line installed one can fill tractor tank without the need of a pump.

 

[matthies]

A 3/4 inch hydraulic hose will work just fine for the fill, I know of several people who use them. Need to go local co op and get the valve/coupling, they may have an old one to get rid of from an anhydrous rig.

 

[Ray,IN]

If you're attempting to fill tank tractor tank from a LPG storage tank I think your storage tank needs a wet line. With a wet line installed one can fill tractor tank without the need of a pump.

Yep, just as long as the tractor tank is lower than the donor tank, however he must stop flow at 80%.

 

[matthies]

Yep, just as long as the tractor tank is lower than the donor tank, however he must stop flow at 80%.

Having the wet line, the height of either tank doesn't matter.

 

[Ray,IN]

Having the wet line, the height of either tank doesn't matter.

Explanation please. Liquid will only flow by gravity if you don't have a pump.

 

[rockcreek4630]

It's pressure differential not gravity .

 

[Ray,IN]

It's pressure differential not gravity .

I suppose that works if you never need an 80% full tractor tank. The pressure differential will soon equalize in the tanks. An 80% full tank and a 5% full tank has the same internal pressure unless the tractor tank has a bleeder valve open to exhaust gas pressure.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I suppose that works if you never need an 80% full tractor tank. The pressure differential will soon equalize in the tanks. An 80% full tank and a 5% full tank has the same internal pressure unless the tractor tank has a bleeder valve open to exhaust gas pressure.

Yes this is how dad fills them there is a bleeder you open and an invisible flammable cloud (on a 4020 check your ops manual for a propane tractor the bleeder might be a vapor line or even an 80 percent tap but you could make it smaller or just run a big hose away from it)

At the very least get some cheap anhydrous flexible line like they have for bleeders on nurse tanks and run that away from you.

But it works it will pump the liquid in without a pump even up a few feet that a row crop tractor tank is mounted until pressure equalizes it will work really good on a summer day and in February it won’t work so good Be slow a pain to deal with and this more than anything was why my grandpa only bought one it really stinks to deal with in the cold feeding cows. Unless you get a pump then it’s fine. Although the tractor will like to start in the warm heated shed.

You will need your storage tank setup and some things for the process that mount on the tractor and your propane company likely won’t be helping you if they can’t fill a tractor. Even though they have the same setup in their little shack (although likely a pump is sitting just outside) that you could go take pictures. Everything inside the shack is what you need hose shutoff valve and the handle with its second shutoff.

 

[Tx Jim]

I agree a LPG storage tank with a wet line will fill a tractor/truck fuel tank while bleeder is opened to certain level but I don't remember to what amount.. When liquid begins to come out of bleeder that is all the fuel that can be put in vehicle tank. Way back when I was employed by a JD dealer I operated a 1 ton Ford truck with a 28 ft GN trailer attached that had a 460 CID engine that operated on LPG & I put LPG in the trucks LPG tan on several occasions.

 

[David from Kansas]

Been filling LP tractors since the 1950's and have owned a JD 730 LP for about 12-14 years and fill the tank from a 125 gallon storage tank purchased at a farm auction. About 2 years ago while filling the 730, which had an empty tank, we discovered it had a LP leak in a hose going from the tractor tank to the regulator. It appeared take some detailed disassembly to get to the hose fastening on the tank. So I took it to an independent shop that I had used several times in the past for JD 2 cyl. tractor repairs and they completed the required LP system repairs which turned out to be quite extensive; replaced all hoses, replaced the filter, replaced both valves on the tank which did not work and rebuilt the water pump which had been seeping for many years. I am quite happy with the outcome of the repair job, even though it was quite expensive. The shop had a really hard time getting the new valve replacements but they did find a kit for one of them and one new valve so everything worked out OK. I have no problem refueling the tractor and frankly doubt that with the new hoses, valves, etc., and very limited use of the tractor that I may never have to refuel it again as age has heavily restricted my physical activities and I don't know how long I can continue using the tractor even for show and tell activities. Pic of the tractor and son and grandson at a local parade a few years ago.

 

[TheBartman47]

Do you have a filler tank? The picture below is what I have. Notice the wet line hose connects to the bottom of the tank so liquid will come out. If you have a tank with only ports on the top, then the wet line output will need a pipe that goes down to the bottom of the tank in order to get liquid. Then as others have said, open the bleeder valve on the tractor when filling. It wastes some propane, but that's the only way to do it without a pump.

 

[J.Wondergem]

Been filling LP tractors since the 1950's and have owned a JD 730 LP for about 12-14 years and fill the tank from a 125 gallon storage tank purchased at a farm auction. About 2 years ago while filling the 730, which had an empty tank, we discovered it had a LP leak in a hose going from the tractor tank to the regulator. It appeared take some detailed disassembly to get to the hose fastening on the tank. So I took it to an independent shop that I had used several times in the past for JD 2 cyl. tractor repairs and they completed the required LP system repairs which turned out to be quite extensive; replaced all hoses, replaced the filter, replaced both valves on the tank which did not work and rebuilt the water pump which had been seeping for many years. I am quite happy with the outcome of the repair job, even though it was quite expensive. The shop had a really hard time getting the new valve replacements but they did find a kit for one of them and one new valve so everything worked out OK. I have no problem refueling the tractor and frankly doubt that with the new hoses, valves, etc., and very limited use of the tractor that I may never have to refuel it again as age has heavily restricted my physical activities and I don't know how long I can continue using the tractor even for show and tell activities. Pic of the tractor and son and grandson at a local parade a few years ago. View attachment 168197

Nice looking tractor.

 

[David from Kansas]

Do you have a filler tank? The picture below is what I have. Notice the wet line hose connects to the bottom of the tank so liquid will come out. If you have a tank with only ports on the top, then the wet line output will need a pipe that goes down to the bottom of the tank in order to get liquid. Then as others have said, open the bleeder valve on the tractor when filling. It wastes some propane, but that's the only way to do it without a pump.
View attachment 168198

Just a comment; all tanks I have ever seen, even the tank on the tractor, have a pop-off valve that will release tank pressure if for some reason the tank is over-filled. Also, about the use of a hydraulic hose; I told my LP gas supplier about the condition of the fill hose on my tank showing some aging like small visual cracks and I pointed out to him that it was a hydraulic hose and he informed me that LP hoses ARE NOT the same as hydraulic hoses and should not be used. He replaced the hose for me, of course for a price. In regards to the loss of LP out of the bleeder valve, it is negligible as it is vapor until the tanks reaches the full level at which time liquid starts coming out. Just a few things I have learned over the past 70+ years.

 

[TheBartman47]

Just a comment; all tanks I have ever seen, even the tank on the tractor, have a pop-off valve that will release tank pressure if for some reason the tank is over-filled. Also, about the use of a hydraulic hose; I told my LP gas supplier about the condition of the fill hose on my tank showing some aging like small visual cracks and I pointed out to him that it was a hydraulic hose and he informed me that LP hoses ARE NOT the same as hydraulic hoses and should not be used. He replaced the hose for me, of course for a price. In regards to the loss of LP out of the bleeder valve, it is negligible as it is vapor until the tanks reaches the full level at which time liquid starts coming out. Just a few things I have learned over the past 70+ years.

I 100% agree to not use hydraulic lines for propane. Get the correct propane wet lines and avoid a costly or even deadly mistake.

To the OP - Get all the correct hardware to setup your own filling station... a filler tank (whether trailer mounted or on the ground), a wet line connection from that tank, wet line hose, proper shutoff valve on the end of that hose. When filling the tractor, the little bleed-off valve will slowly let pressure out so liquid can come in, but takes a long time. Get a vapor releaser that you screw on to that smaller port on the tractor tank while the wet line is connected to the larger filler port and it will fill much faster. As soon as liquid starts coming out of that vapor release, it's 80% full so shut it off then.

 

[m16ty]

I suppose that works if you never need an 80% full tractor tank. The pressure differential will soon equalize in the tanks. An 80% full tank and a 5% full tank has the same internal pressure unless the tractor tank has a bleeder valve open to exhaust gas pressure.

You open the air bleeder on the tractor tank. When liquid comes out of the bleeder the tank is full. The pressure differential will cause the liquid to go from the nurse tank to the tractor to 100%, which is where it starts running out the bleeder.

Admittedly I’ve never been around a JD propane, but that’s the way it works on any other tractor or propane equipment I’ve been around.

 

[Ray,IN]

You open the air bleeder on the tractor tank. When liquid comes out of the bleeder the tank is full. The pressure differential will cause the liquid to go from the nurse tank to the tractor to 100%, which is where it starts running out the bleeder.

Admittedly I’ve never been around a JD propane, but that’s the way it works on any other tractor or propane equipment I’ve been around.

During the time the LP tractors were built, there was no 80% rule thing. The bleeder valve was at the correct height to allow for vapor creation though.
I had forgotten about that; time has a crazy way of affecting memories.

 

[TheBartman47]

During the time the LP tractors were built, there was no 80% rule thing. The bleeder valve was at the correct height to allow for vapor creation though.
I had forgotten about that; time has a crazy way of affecting memories.

On all our John Deere LP tractors, (50, 60, 730, 4020) the little bleeder will start showing liquid before the large vapor port will, but only minimal difference between the two. When liquid starts coming out of the vapor, the gauges on all of them tend to read just below 80%.

 

[504]

The green tow motor tank showing will not work very well. Too small. And that valve will be vapor not liquid. Trans filling from your home tank will work a lot better. Check with a different propane suppler. That are not all the same

 

[m16ty]

The green tow motor tank showing will not work very well. Too small. And that valve will be vapor not liquid. Trans filling from your home tank will work a lot better. Check with a different propane suppler. That are not all the same

I’m pretty sure that’s the factory tank on a 4020. They were mounted vertical like that, in front of the radiator.
Anyway, a forklift tank will work fine. We’ve got a propane forklift that has a Ford 460 in it, it runs off of a standard forklift tank just fine.