Propane Tank Only Works When It's Cold - Why?

I heat with a wood stove but sometimes use a propane "sunflower" style heater for auxiliary heating.

The heater is a Mr Heater, fairly new, 1 year old.

I have a small tank, I think its a 20lb tank, bigger than the typical BBQ grill tanks. The tank is old.

The problem is that the propane won't leave the bottle and go through the heater and out of the heating element unless I leave the whole thing outside for awhile (in single digit temperatures) and let it get really cold. I found this out because I took it outside to vent the air out of the tank for few minutes, and then let it sit there for awhile while I did other stuff, then brought it in. When I do that it lights fine. So I thought bleeding the tank fixed it. But f I shut it off for awhile inside, it won't light anymore - no gas.

I've bled the tank twice now, each time after I bring it inside it works great - until I shut it off and let it sit. Then it won't light any more. But if I don't shut it off it will run for hours.

Any ideas?

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Propane Tank Only Works When It's Cold - Why?