For at least 30 years I bought disposable 1-pound propane bottles to run my portable heaters, which are mandatory to stay warm during a Minnesota ice fishing season. Coleman is the most common brand you see sold at major retailers, mom-and-pop tackle shops, etc. Yes, you can save a little money if you purchase them in a 12-pack, but most often I’d buy one or two at a time; cost is about $6 each.
I also never liked the idea of “disposable.” Sure, I could throw them away, but doing so seemed not environmentally friendly. Think about it — the metal bottles end up in a landfill and then what . . . they sit there for 1,000 years? There had to be a more cost-effective and responsible solution.
A decade ago I was researching an alternative and discovered the proven products from Flame King — namely refillable/reusable 1-pound propane cylinders, as well as the company’s Refill Kit.
The Refill Kit comes with only a single 1-pound propane cylinder, so when I bought the Kit, I also purchased two more cylinders. Because my son is often ice fishing with his buddies, and I’m on the hard water at the same time, it became clear that three 1-pound cylinders wasn’t enough. So I recently bought four more 1-pound cylinders; seven total should keep my son and I ready to roll for any ice fishing trips in our future.
