New technology shows how much propane you have left

How do you know how much propane is left in your cylinder? Pick it up, give it a shake, guess a bit? Maybe you have one of those interesting "tapes" that falls off about the time you're ready to pour hot water on it? Or are you one of the "scientific" sort who disconnect the cylinder, weight it, subtract the weight of the cylinder and calculate the amount of propane by the remainder?

Here's a sure way to know how much LP you have left. Truma Corporation, a German "gee-whiz" group is now marketing their Truma Level Check here in the U.S. Level check is a clever little electronic gadget, about the size of a hot dog bun. Simply push the tip of the Level Check against the side of your LP cylinder. Within a couple of seconds you'll here a beep, and an indicator LED will light up. If the color is red, there's no propane at the level of your cylinder. Release, move Level Check down a little farther on the cylinder and repeat. When the light flashes green, you've found the exact level of propane in the cylinder.

Level Check uses sonic technology to bounce sound waves around in your cylinder. It can be used on any metal LP cylinder with a diameter of 7.9 to 13.8 inches. For RVers, that puts you right in line to check your 5, 7, or 25 gallon containers.

Truma provided us with a test unit and we've put it through several weeks of testing. Unlike the "guess" method, we know in an instant how close we are to disaster – after all, why refill a cylinder before you have to, right? No more unhappy wife, tapping her foot, while hubby makes a run to whatever LP station is open with two bottles in the back of the truck. We used to use a scale to weigh a bottle, and while it worked, it was a hassle and took several minutes to disconnect the cylinder, weight it, calculate the remaining gas, and hook up the bottle again.

With the Level Check, testing the level in a cylinder takes less than a half minute. Caring for the device is simple: Wipe the tip of the tester with a damp, soft cloth.

Several RV retailers are now carrying Truma Level Check; one Seattle retailer asks $78.99. Check out the retailer list here. As of early February, amazon.com does NOT carry this great device.