U-Haul Propane

I took my propane tanks in for refills at the local u-haul instead of exchanging them for new Blue Rhino tanks. Best part was actually being there when they refilled them so you can see they were not ripping you off. The machine automatically stops.

I paid $2.95 a gallon but I noticed that if you do a search for propane stations on u-haul's site the price difference between locations was substantial. While most were only charging a slight premium, one u-haul was charging 4.55 a gallon.

Propane weighs 4.2 pounds per gallon, so a 20 pound rhino tank should hold about 4.74 gallons of propane. At $2.95 a gallon that is $13.98 - which is at least $5 less than exchanging a tank. PLUS - it turns out there was a little bit of propane left in the tank, so I paid even less overall.

Sometimes I'll go to the U-haul to have mine filled. Especially if I have multiple to fill. I am kinda terrified that the moron there is going to blow the whole place up. I am fully terrified of his plumber's ass. Sometimes it's just easier to get bent over by the exchange, rather than watch him bend over.

I'd much rather pay a gas station, farm supply store, or U Haul to fill my propane at a reasonable cost than get ripped off at a tank exchange. Although I wish I would have came up with the concept of the tank exchange so I could rip people off

You can also get a Bigger tank. i have a tank from a fork lift (dual taps) that holds 40lbs. That way you only have to refill 1/2 as much.

A quick search to find some, shows they start around $128.

I also use U-haul. you only pay for the gas they put in the tank. if you do a tank exchange, you loose any left in the tank. You also get a full fill this way (your tank will have 20# in it when you leave, and it is a far better price. If one of my tanks is empty, I will get both topped off.

lazybean said:

You can also get a Bigger tank. i have a tank from a fork lift (dual taps) that holds 40lbs. That way you only have to refill 1/2 as much.

A quick search to find some, shows they start around $128.

Click to expand...

I am also looking into just getting a huge ass tank and use our local propane company to come by. I brew out in my detached garage that I have no ability to get natural gas or additional electric run into without some serious coinage. I would like to be able to heat it to a reasonable temp during the winter - like maybe 55F... which is still cold but at least not freezing. I will be warm enough to store my banana trees as well.

lazybean said:

You can also get a Bigger tank. i have a tank from a fork lift (dual taps) that holds 40lbs. That way you only have to refill 1/2 as much.

A quick search to find some, shows they start around $128.

Click to expand...

I paid $80 for a 30lb tank at TechAir 26 $ to fill up . The 100lb was $189 I just didnt think it would be a good idea transporting the tank around.

And a 20lb wont take 20lbs anymore I think it will stop between 18-18.5 lbs anyway as the opd kicks in place I go sells by the gallon so I just pay for what goes in .

Hrm....

I pay 17 to exchange a 17 lb tank at Menards.

When I had them filled, I'd have to drive all over hells half acre, (half the places won't fill in winter, jerks), and it would cost me around 20 bucks for 19 lbs.

I really don't see how exchanges are a rip off....just get them from a big hardware store like Menards, not from your local Holiday, (they'll rip you off).

Plus I have a tank for my burner and one for my grill, so if one ever runs out, I have a second...

shortyjacobs said:

Hrm....

I pay 17 to exchange a 17 lb tank at Menards.

When I had them filled, I'd have to drive all over hells half acre, (half the places won't fill in winter, jerks), and it would cost me around 20 bucks for 19 lbs.

I really don't see how exchanges are a rip off....just get them from a big hardware store like Menards, not from your local Holiday, (they'll rip you off).

Plus I have a tank for my burner and one for my grill, so if one ever runs out, I have a second...

Click to expand...

Blue rhino and Amerigas say right on them filled with 15 lbs and they charge 19$ shorting you by 3 lbs .

I all likelihood prices for propane depend on your location, just like gas. Here in NOVA, $17.95 is the absolutely minimum I have seen for exchanges and they are often out. Plus, you only get 15 pounds in a 20 pound tank. Even if you only go up to 18.5 pound max as a previous poster pointed out, that is enough difference in two tanks for an additional brew!

I travel a lot for work and have noticed how incredibly cheap everything is between ohio and denver... forget about MN... I was up there for work last winter and could still get a mcdonalds lunch for less than $6... here it is close to $9.

springer said:

And a 20lb wont take 20lbs anymore I think it will stop between 18-18.5 lbs anyway as the opd kicks in place I go sells by the gallon so I just pay for what goes in .

Click to expand...

All of mine will take a full 20 lbs. I wonder why yours would be different.

Catt22 said:

All of mine will take a full 20 lbs. I wonder why yours would be different.

Click to expand...

I think what he was saying is that they don't give you the full measure of 20 pounds in an exchange, not a fill. This is probably dependent on the company... do you use Blue Rhino fuels?

in a fill not exchange. I buy by the pound anyways so I not getting ripped .The OPD shuts the tank off the guy does nothing it just wont take anymore. They do it on tanks so there is room for expansion. Someone sells propane and welding gas on here . he may know why some take more than others.

my 30lb tank the same just under 29lbs every time . Now the 60 thats one the motor home will take 60 lbs since it has no OPD on it. Anything over 40lbs does not have the OPD valve on it

Never do the blue Rhino thing unless the tank needs recertification. Then its worth it specially if you get one that was just about brand new. Last one was about 3 months old

JVD_X said:

I think what he was saying is that they don't give you the full measure of 20 pounds in an exchange, not a fill. This is probably dependent on the company... do you use Blue Rhino fuels?

Click to expand...

No, I don't use the Blue Rhino tanks, but I do have a couple of the Amerigas ones (similar exhange rip off thing) IIRC, the tanks are designed to hold a full 20 lbs with additional head space to allow for expansion. The fill station I use weighs the cylinder while filling and charges me by the pound. The attendant gives me a receipt which states the poundage and I take that in to the office to pay the cashier. When they are completely empty, it's 20 lbs. Less than that, of course, for partial fills. Next fill I will weigh before and after at home to verify all of this. I certainly could be mistaken. I have been before on more than one occasion.

The reason I think the exchange deal is a rip off is because they were doing the short fills for a long time before someone filed a complaint here with the bureau of weights and measures. That's when they were forced to post the net weight signs and then they went into damage control mode when it became public explaining that the reason was to keep the price the same. They also had used the previous OPD and expansion arguments when they only filled to 17 lbs. They started all this with the short 17 lb fills and then decreased them to 15 lbs. Soon, I expect it will be reduced to 12 lbs. Most people are too lazy or too dumb to go elsewhere, especially the housewives who only exchange the BBQ tank about once a year. Most people don't use anywhere near as much propane as us home brewers.

I've got a good deal. I have a large propane tank for the house and I just leave the portables next to the big one. When I had an RV, he even topped that off.

I could just tap the big tank, but sometimes I brew inside and sometimes outside, so #20ers work well.

I searched high and low looking for a cheap place to refill my tanks, and I finally found one. Its a place that refills the larger house tanks, and they will refill my tank, all the way full, for 15.25. Which is cheap considering that all the exchanges around my house are around 22 dollars, and you know that stuff isnt full.

I've gotta say that I like the u-haul as well, I got out for around $13 for a refill and I got more LP than an exchange. That and I was in and out within 5 min, no long lines and the lady actually talked to me and told me how glad she was that I was shopping there. Good bye orange mega store!

I've gotta say that I like the u-haul as well, I got out for around $13 for a refill and I got more LP than an exchange. That and I was in and out within 5 min, no long lines and the lady actually talked to me and told me how glad she was that I was shopping there. Good bye orange mega store!

Will uhaul fill a blue rhino or amerigas tank? Do they care?

They don't care, and if I'm not mistaken you own the tank. They just exchange for a different one. Also, most exchange tanks I see are just plastic sleeves with the logo on them.

jpc said:

Will uhaul fill a blue rhino or amerigas tank? Do they care?

Click to expand...

Nope... I took my Blue Rhino tanks and she filled them right then and there... they even had a remote card system so I didn't even have to go into the store.

I got to see the thing filling... just like filling your gas tank for your car.

I bought a Blue Rhino tank and have been refilling it at U-Haul with no problems. I'll trade it for another Blue Rhino tank when the certification runs out, but U-Haul has my business otherwise.

You own the tank, if you exchange you just swap ownership to a new tank. Thats why the charge an extra $30 if you dont have a empty to swap.

I have a welding supply company just down the street from my work so its super easy to get mine refilled, every so often ill do the exchange thing at the Home Despot just to get a new shinny tank.

Between campers, cookers and being a pack rat, I had 5 or 6 propane tanks on hand when the swithch to OPD started. It was a huge savings for me to exchange each tank once to get a new, full OPD tank rather than buying a new one and having it filled.

Now I go to my friendly Ace Hardware folks. About $17 for a fill and I get every fourth fill free.

Don't assume refill is cheaper without running the numbers. Around here I can swap cheaper. The feed store that does refills charges about $1.50/lb for propane. The swap is 15lbs for $18 at the Walgreens in town. Even the $22 15lb swap at Sears (which is closer to my house) is a slightly better deal as refill assuming you completely empty the bottle.

EDIT: Oh, and I did used to use U-Haul all the time when I lived near one. It was a college town though so during August and May I had to find other places. When they're dead, it's only five minutes but two customers ahead of you will jump that time to half an hour many times.

hal2814 said:

Don't assume refill is cheaper without running the numbers. Around here I can swap cheaper. The feed store that does refills charges about $1.50/lb for propane. The swap is 15lbs for $18 at the Walgreens in town. Even the $22 15lb swap at Sears (which is closer to my house) is a slightly better deal as refill assuming you completely empty the bottle.

EDIT: Oh, and I did used to use U-Haul all the time when I lived near one. It was a college town though so during August and May I had to find other places. When they're dead, it's only five minutes but two customers ahead of you will jump that time to half an hour many times.

Click to expand...

This place in Commerce says they will fill your 20 lb tank for $15. Might pay to shop around some:

http://www.abettergasco.com/

Catt22 said:

This place in Commerce says they will fill your 20 lb tank for $15. Might pay to shop around some:

http://www.abettergasco.com/

Click to expand...

Actually, that place is a mile away from my house. I've called them before and they told me they don't fill 20lb tanks. That was a few years ago though. Maybe they do now. I guess it's worth calling again.

hal2814 said:

Actually, that place is a mile away from my house. I've called them before and they told me they don't fill 20lb tanks. That was a few years ago though. Maybe they do now. I guess it's worth calling again.

Click to expand...

I called them a few minutes ago. They said they will will the 20 lb tanks "if" they have someone available to do it, which is not always the case. So, my next question to them was when would be a good time to drop by. They said first thing in the morning would be the best time. Makes it a little more of a hassle, but if you call ahead and make sure they have an someone there to fill your tank it might be worth it. I'd guess the end of the day when they all return to the barn migh also be a good time. There are some other places in Commerce that sell propane, but that is the only one I called.

You might also be able to drop the tank off and pick it up later. That way they could fill it whenever they had a chance. I like that idea best. Schmooze them a little. It usually helps in most cases. A box of donuts or something will sometimes work magic and you would only need to do that now and then. Eat a few yourself! lol