I'm sure many of you have gassers and was wondering if any of you have run into this:

Propane tank is full, but when I open the valve, no propane comes out.   
Tried tapping on it gently to see if that might loosen it, but no go.

Anybody run into this ?

I'm guessing most places have the tank exchange as we do here.
Take in you empty, and take home a full one (paying for it of course).
So I was going to do that, but though I'd ask here first to see if anyone has any ideas.

I think that happened to me once but I don't recall what I did.  If I recall, I thought it was because the tank was filled up too much.  I don't know if there is another way to release some of the pressure.

Light bulb just went on!

Maybe it was filled too much as you said.
Was purchased and filled at an Ace Hardware store.

The Exchange places only fills to 80%.

There is a little set screw on the side of the valve that can release some.
I will give that a try.

Thanks Lew

 There is a safety device in the tank that shuts off the propane if the valve gets knocked off. If the tank is opened too quickly, the valve can be activated. To rectify the problem, turn the tank off and open any

 valve that the tank is connected to . This depressures the system. Next, SLOWLY (the key is slowly) open the tank valve and proceed to use the device.

 

Well, seemed like a good idea reducing the pressure.
Got frost on bottom half of tank, so assume I emptied half of it.
Still no-go...

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 There is a safety device in the tank that shuts off the propane if the valve gets knocked off. If the tank is opened too quickly, the valve can be activated. To rectify the problem, turn the tank off and open any

 valve that the tank is connected to . This depressures the system. Next, SLOWLY (the key is slowly) open the tank valve and proceed to use the device.

Pretty much done that.
Tank has been disconnected since it was hooked up and didn't work.
Let out about half of the propane.
Not sure if something needs to be connected to the tank before propane will come out, so hooked it back up to grill to try.
Nada...

In my experience, opening the tank valve just a crack, lighting the device, then open the valve all the way has worked 99% of the time. However, I do have a small tank (2 gallon I think) that this did not work on. It's full but unusable.

Unfortunately, no mater how little or how much, nothing comes out.

The Exchange seems the easiest option at this point.
Just out $$$ for what I spent to fill this tank, and I've already expelled half of it, so...

Unfortunately, no mater how little or how much, nothing comes out.

The Exchange seems the easiest option at this point.
Just out $$$ for what I spent to fill this tank, and I've already expelled half of it, so...

Try hooking it to another appliance. i have a tank that I had filled, it would not work on my blackstone, I tried another and the griddle worked. When my grill ran dry I hooked the tank that didn't work to it and it works fine.

Are we sure the handle is not stripped?  Are we sure it is opening the valve?

 There is a safety device in the tank that shuts off the propane if the valve gets knocked off. If the tank is opened too quickly, the valve can be activated. To rectify the problem, turn the tank off and open any

 valve that the tank is connected to . This depressures the system. Next, SLOWLY (the key is slowly) open the tank valve and proceed to use the device.

My experience is is somewhat the opposite.

Shut off the appliance followed by the propane tank.

Then knock/bang the tank down on something solid a few times to reset the safety valve.

Then SLOWLY open the tank valve, then open the appliance valve and start as usual.

OP, try both and let us know.

My understanding is the safety is in the regulator, if there is to large of a flow of gas it trips and restricts it. That is why you need to turn the tank on with the burners off. If you can't get the appliance to work shut the tank off while the burners are on then turn them off and the regulator should reset.

But knowing how the people have dumbed down these days it would not surprise me if there was a safety in the tank also.

I thought that is why they went to the outside threads, because the old tanks with the internal threads you could turn on and gas would flow. I was always taught to open it and close it fast to make sure any dirt got blown out. when they went to the external thread the tank won't flow unless it is hooked up. I never investigated what is in there that the new hook up triggers to allow the gas to flow.

 Thanks Dave! I stand corrected. It's the regulator I was thinking about. That narrows the problem to the device. Still the same procedure. Depressurise, then slowly open the tank so as not to shock the
 
 regulator.

Unfortunately, no mater how little or how much, nothing comes out.

The Exchange seems the easiest option at this point.
Just out $$$ for what I spent to fill this tank, and I've already expelled half of it, so...

Try hooking it to another appliance. i have a tank that I had filled, it would not work on my blackstone, I tried another and the griddle worked. When my grill ran dry I hooked the tank that didn't work to it and it works fine.

Been there, done that.
Tried on CampChef griddle first, then the brand new unused Weber grill.

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Are we sure the handle is not stripped?  Are we sure it is opening the valve?

That was first thing I checked, made sure screw holding handle on wasn't loose and that it was turning.

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 There is a safety device in the tank that shuts off the propane if the valve gets knocked off. If the tank is opened too quickly, the valve can be activated. To rectify the problem, turn the tank off and open any

 valve that the tank is connected to . This depressures the system. Next, SLOWLY (the key is slowly) open the tank valve and proceed to use the device.

My experience is is somewhat the opposite.

Shut off the appliance followed by the propane tank.

Then knock/bang the tank down on something solid a few times to reset the safety valve.

Then SLOWLY open the tank valve, then open the appliance valve and start as usual.

OP, try both and let us know.

I'll give another shot...

I believe that newer tanks have an internal excess flow valve whose purpose is to cut off flow in the event that the supply line between the tank and the regulator ruptures. Opening the tank valve to an empty line simulates this condition momentarily and may trigger the excess flow valve if opened too quickly.

Let us know if banging it on the ground works, I'll try in on my stuck tank.

Here are some troubleshooting tips from Blue Rhino. https://bluerhino.com/propane-info/faqs/tank-troubleshooting-faqs