Anytime you have people over for a barbecue, the risk of running out of propane is a threat. Most tanks don't offer an indication of just how much is left, and even if they do, it's hard to translate that into an amount of time to cook. The Smart Gaswatch is designed to monitor the amount of propane in the tank, with an estimate of how much time the user can actually keep grilling.
What makes this device interesting is the way in which it reads how much propane is in the tank. Instead of having to stick anything inside of the tank or along the hose, thus risking leaks, it actually uses a weigh scale. Users input the tank's weight, and from there it subtracts that from the weight it detects to find the amount of propane left. It's simple, but it sounds like it should be effective.
The small digital screen displays the percentage of gas available and an estimate of how much cook time is left before the propane is depleted. It also has an alarm that alerts users when the tank is low.
The Smart Gaswatch is available now directly from TVL International, the company behind the device. It's listed for US$29.99. This is not the first propane gauge from TVL, though the previous model connected directly to the tank and used analog dials to inform the user of the tank's status.
Source: TVL International