• 11 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Propane Tank

A portable propane cylinder from the front with its valve enlarged, then cut through.

Parts of a Propane Tank

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Cylinder
  2. Collar
  3. Foot ring
  4. Stamped markings
  5. Cylinder valve
  6. Handwheel
  7. Valve outlet
  8. Pressure relief valve
  9. Overfill prevention device (OPD)
  10. Vapor space
  11. Liquid propane

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the grill it connects to

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Outside 4

  1. Cylinder The code calls the whole portable container a cylinder. Most people say tank.
  2. Collar It protects the valve from knocks.
  3. Foot ring A permanently attached ring on which the cylinder stands upright.
  4. Stamped markings They identify the cylinder and its specification. The tare weight is among them.

Valve 4

  1. Cylinder valve It opens and shuts the tank. The handwheel, the outlet and the relief valve are all on it.
  2. Handwheel A three-lobed wheel marks a valve with an overfill prevention device.
  3. Valve outlet The appliance's connector screws on here.
  4. Pressure relief valve It connects to the vapor space and vents excess pressure.

Inside 3

  1. Overfill prevention device (OPD) The float is part of the valve assembly. It prevents the tank from being overfilled.
  2. Vapor space Propane vapor collects here, and the grill draws its gas from here.
  3. Liquid propane Propane is stored as a liquid under pressure.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. National Fire Protection Association, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code Handbook (1998) and NFPA 58 (2017), read as passages through archive.org's full-text search and counted as one source (https://archive.org/details/liquefiedpetrole0000unse_s5x7 and https://archive.org/details/nfpa58liquefiedp0000nati). A gas grill maker's owner's manual, read as full text on archive.org (https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-162812). Wikipedia, Gas cylinder, Propane, Liquefied petroleum gas and POL valve. No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; a schematic of no maker's cylinder, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This is the portable propane cylinder used with a gas grill. The first drawing shows it from the front, with the valve enlarged beside it. The second cuts it through to show the liquid, the vapor space and the float.

Read the full guide

Outside, the valve, then inside

Numbers 1 to 4 are on the outside: the cylinder, the collar round the valve, the foot ring underneath and the markings stamped into the collar. Numbers 5 to 8 are on the enlarged valve: the cylinder valve itself, the handwheel on top, the threaded valve outlet on one side and the pressure relief valve on the other. Numbers 9 to 11 are in the cut-away. Liquid propane fills most of the cylinder, with the vapor space above it. The float of the overfill prevention device hangs under the valve.

  • A three-lobed handwheel is how to tell a valve with an overfill prevention device from an older one.
  • The gas code says cylinder for this container. Tank is the everyday word.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a propane tank called?

The cylinder, the collar round the top, the foot ring underneath, and the cylinder valve with its handwheel, valve outlet and pressure relief valve. Inside, a float on the valve is the overfill prevention device.

What is an OPD valve on a propane tank?

A cylinder valve with an overfill prevention device: a float inside the tank that is part of the valve assembly and prevents the tank from being overfilled. A three-lobed handwheel marks it.

What is the ring on top of a propane tank called?

The collar, also called the protective collar or valve guard. It protects the valve from knocks. The ring on the bottom that the tank stands on is the foot ring.

What does the relief valve on a propane tank do?

It is connected to the vapor space at the top of the tank and vents gas if the pressure inside rises too far.

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