Where do I get a propane tank?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ChrisS

I like cold beverages
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
227
Reaction score
1
Location
Harrisburg, PA
LEt me say that I have never had a gas grill so I don't know where to get a propane tank for the burner I am going to need to do outside AG brewing. Do you need to buy one or can you rent one from a gas station or how does that work?

thanks in advance.
 
Go to just about any gas station or home improvement store and you'll be able to pick one up. It will run you about $35 to get one, then about $15-$20 for exchanges after that.
 
Sheesh. Around here (Misssouri) you can hardly walk into a QT without seeing a propane exchange station. $35 to (initially) rent one and then like $15 to exchange for a full tank.

Find yourself any hardware store. Walmart even has them.
 
Just make sure you get one you can exchange. Most of the ones they sell nowadays are, but I had one I couldn't and it's a pain to find a place to fill one that can't.
 
if you are in an area where you can get refills instead of exchanging and you have a Costco, i have seen some good prices there.
 
jbraas said:
if you are in an area where you can get refills instead of exchanging and you have a Costco, i have seen some good prices there.

That's where I bought my two 20#'s, $24 a piece, everywhere else in town was $30-35. They were also pre-purged... Tanks have to be purged of air before they're filled for the first time or they won't work and usually don't come already purged. The propane guy was surprised at that and said they usually charge around $5-8 just to purge new tanks and wanted to know how much and where I bought my tank.

Costs me under $14 to fill my tanks each.
 
No offense to those who do it, but in my opinion the propane exchange system is bad deal money-wise. It is conveinant as hell, especially if you can't find someone to refill a tank on a Sunday, but it costs more for the initial tank and more for the exchange.

You can pick up a new five gallon tank at Costco or Home depot for under $25 bucks. Propane prices depend on the location, but should be no more than 2-3 bucks a gallon. Home Depot usually carries larger sizes as well, if you want a slightly larger tank.
 
SPLASTiK said:
That's where I bought my two 20#'s, $24 a piece, everywhere else in town was $30-35. They were also pre-purged... Tanks have to be purged of air before they're filled for the first time or they won't work and usually don't come already purged. The propane guy was surprised at that and said they usually charge around $5-8 just to purge new tanks and wanted to know how much and where I bought my tank.

Costs me under $14 to fill my tanks.


Yeah, purging is the biggest hassle when getting a new tank. Most places charge for it, and most don't know how to do it. Especially difficult on a Sunday afternoon trying to find a place that purges and fills.
 
Ace Hardware in my neighborhood has the best price on refills.
 
We have a local full-service gas station that fills for about $12 and purges and pressure tests for free. They sell labels adapters and caps very cheaply too.

If money is important, look for local propane dealers or gas stations that are set up with a bulk tank. It will usually save a few bucks.

If getting a full tank on Sunday morning is important then the Blue Rhino at the 7--11 is the way to go.
 
RV/Camper stores usually do refills as well

I don't know if they have them everywhere yet but the Home Depot near me installed a system for 24x7 unattended exchanges. Each tank is locked in it's own computer controlled cell and after you swipe your CC at the kiosk you can get a tank. Presumably if you don't leave an exchange they charge you more.

If you have an old tank that does not have a overfill prevention device (OPD) you may not be able to get it filled or exchanged. When the OPD first became a requirement Blue Rhino would still take the older tanks for exchange, which I think they just retrofitted and resold. Not sure if they still do.
 
Here are some money saving alternatives:

Check out your local dump or land fill people often throw these things away when their grill goes bad. And you can pick them up often for free. The land fill near me usually has at least 4 or 5 sitting around.

Even if they are out of date (usually 10 years) or don't have the newer fittings many places will still exchange them. And although like others have mentioned the exchange is more expensive, if you can exchange an out of date or obsolete tank a couple of extra $ is worth it.

Like others have stated a propane dealers is you best option for a cheaper refill sometimes you can get a discount for multiple tanks. Which in my experience it is good to have a spare tank on hand as if you have a single tank it seems to run out half way thur a boil.
 
If you have a Sams club I they sell empty tanks for $18-$19. This is the cheapest that I have found brand new ones.
 
A couple of things I have noticed. While tank exchange is nice, there are some real POS tanks out there to be exchanged with. Nothing like brewing/grilling with a bad tank that hums loud enough to hear next door. Buy your own, refill it, take care of it. Refills are a little harder to come by, but once you start looking you will be surprised how many places actually refill. Once you find a good place, you're golden. Also, if you own and refill, rather than exchange, you can fill it up anytime you want; and only pay for what you take. You don't have to worry if you only used half the tank. If you exchange it is a flat rate weather totally empty or not. That's just a losing deal.
 
Don't know where you are, but only buy a new tank if refills are conveniently available. In the 5 boros of NYC for example, they are not, you can only do exchanges. So I bought a new tank and ended up giving it in to the exchange place the next day, total waste of $. If you do the exchange, most of them will charge you like an extra $20 for buying the full tank the 1st time, and everytime after that you just pay for the exchange. Since you are going to end up with a used tank anyhow, this is the way to go to save $. Straight refills are usually way cheaper though, but not everywhere has them.
 
I get mine filled at a local tire shop that has a small refill station at about half the cost of an exchange.
 
They lived in a area where they still use coal for heating in the winter and had 2 huge tanks about 4' tall for their stove (I guess there was no underground service for their stove). wife said that that it was filled once a year. I'm sure it was for NG, but it was a big tank that would give a fair share of sessions.

Thanks for the help on the tank question. I am not sure what my refill options are here Harrisburg PA, but I would think that they are better than most. There are plenty of home depots and Sams and ect around.
 
This may be a really dumb question, but it's not like I've never asked one of those before...

I have a 17 pound propane tank for my grill. I just got a Bayou Classic burner and I noticed in the manual it says 'for use with 20 pound propane tanks'. I hooked everything up and it seems to work fine.

Is there a difference in the valves or anything on the 17 and 20 pound tanks? Should I be ok with this one?
 
damn....it's $50 for an initial tank with propane from BLue Rhino.....looks like I need to shop around
 
McKBrew said:
No offense to those who do it, but in my opinion the propane exchange system is bad deal money-wise. It is conveinant as hell, especially if you can't find someone to refill a tank on a Sunday, but it costs more for the initial tank and more for the exchange.

You can pick up a new five gallon tank at Costco or Home depot for under $25 bucks. Propane prices depend on the location, but should be no more than 2-3 bucks a gallon. Home Depot usually carries larger sizes as well, if you want a slightly larger tank.

I don't have a CostCo around me, and at Depot, the price of a new, empty tank is exactly the same as the implied cost of a full, rented tank (initial cost of the tank minus the cost of a refill, i.e. the cost of the gas). So, no savings.

Plus, since I'm at Depot two or three times every weekend, the convenience can't be beat. Even if I could find a place to fill it for a couple bucks cheaper, my time's pretty valuable.
 
I got a free one from Depot. They must have just refilled the automatic cages and forgot to leave a few open slots. So it opened for me to put my empty, and there was a full one in there. Took it, then it opened another cage for me to take another one. OK.
 
One other small thing. Many propane tanks have a plastic wrapper around them.
Rip it off. All it does is collect condensation and rain water, holding it agains the side of the tank causing rust.

-a,
 
Back
Top