Propane exchanges are for newbs.

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Blackgaurd_Brewing

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So it just occurred to me this morning that some people are probably doing propane exchanges so I figured I would post up a comparison.

I have 2 nice shiny propane tanks, with refill gauges on them. I noticed it costs $22 in my area to exchange a single propane tank, and get who knows what back in return.
It costs me about $7.50 to get them refilled at the local U-haul, which is about a half mile further than the closest exchange place.
So I can refill both my tanks for $15, and it’s usually faster to have them refilled than to wait around for employees to find keys and hope that the exchange service has some full tanks available. Then I have 2 full propane tanks and pocket money for lunch.
 
Sometimes living in Ca.. we pay $32 for a tank exchange. I can get mine filled for around $16, and it's available at lots of gas stations. Same point though, like half priced for refills vs exchanged here.

God I love it since I built the Brutus and ran natural gas to it. No more tank anything... woohooo!!
 
In Oregon filling at a gas station is about half the cost of an exchange. At first I was a little intimidated, since I had never had one filled before, but the last 20 or so have been fills and not exchanges.
 
wow only 7.50 for a fill. Its closer to $16 to fill at mu U-haul. Still cheaper than exchange, plus you get a full tank instead of being shorted a bit at a typical exchange spot.
 
Ok, help a propane-impaired brother out - i've only done exchanges and have never even seen a propane fill possibility at a local gas station. What do I need and how do I do it?
 
Yea its 12$ here, but its a lot nicer and the people know what they are doing AND its quick. Its nice to bring in both of my tanks and be out the door for 24 bucks.
 
Ok, help a propane-impaired brother out - i've only done exchanges and have never even seen a propane fill possibility at a local gas station. What do I need and how do I do it?

You need to buy a propane tank - hardware store, HD, Lowes, etc and go to a gas station or UHaul and say fill er up. Pretty simple. Some places go by weight and others have a meter just like a normal gas pump.
 
It is actually cheaper for me to do an exchange than to get a refill. (at least to refill at the one place i've been to) It only costs me $14 to do an exchange, and its only a quarter mile from my house. If i had nice tanks I would probably just refill them anyway, but the convenience, cost, and time savings of exchanging makes it the easy choice.
 
I was on Blue Rhino's website a few months ago and it states in plain english that you only get 15lbs of gas with an exchange. Look up LP gas in your phone book and find out who fills tanks. There is also an equipment/tool rental place where I get mine filled.
 
Smart ass :mug:

Do you need something like a gauge to tell you when it full, or anything else other than just the plain old tank?

I don't think he was trying to be a smartass. He was trying to tell you that you just have to take the tank and give it to them. They take the tank and fill it. They have everything you need. You don't actually fill it yourself, they do the work.
 
Smart ass :mug:

Do you need something like a gauge to tell you when it full, or anything else other than just the plain old tank?

Most places put your tank on a scale or determine how much gas is leaving the pump. Your tank should hold 20 lbs. And the new tanks have an overfill protection valve.
 
Smart ass :mug:

Do you need something like a gauge to tell you when it full, or anything else other than just the plain old tank?

Just take the tank in. They have all they need to fill it. it's filled by weight. But call the place first to ask if they fill. One place I go charge a flat rate no matter what they put in it, another charges by the pound.

and :p :mug:
 
I did NOT know about this! (I'm old too. :()

I have four tanks. this will be handy! I never even bought the tanks. I got them at walmart. They don't have an option on their computers for the full tank, so if you ask for a new tank, they can only charge you for a refill, yet still give you the tank. At least that's what happened in my locale. After I got 4 of them I got refills at my local gas station. :)
 
It costs the same here to exchange or fill (at the one place in town that fills).

BUT

You get a full tank when you fill. 20lb vs 15lb for the same $20 price.
 
I see online (by using this new-fangled googley-thingy that Irregular showed me) that the local Uhaul offers propane refills at $4.11 a gallon. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.
 
Yep, I always get mine refilled at the local propane shop that's conveniently located next to a trailer park.

Also, I'm not saying I do this, but every couple of years one could take their beat up tanks to the blue rhino exchange for shiny new ones.
 
I see online (by using this new-fangled googley-thingy that Irregular showed me) that the local Uhaul offers propane refills at $4.11 a gallon. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

OK, Now you are old AND stupid! ;)

Edit: I have no clue either 'cos I didn't use the Googler. I'm older and stupider. :)
 
Sunbelt Rentals around here does the refill for $12, and they give you a punch card and every 5th fill is free. I'm thinking about trumping the whole 20 lb. tank thing and having line run to the garage (where I brew) from our 1,000 gallon bulk tank that serves the house. That will drop the cost to about $1.75 / gal., which works out to $8.30 for a 20 lb. tank. Where's your noob now?
I think I can get our propane supplier to run the gas line for nothin'.....
 
Sunbelt Rentals around here does the refill for $12, and they give you a punch card and every 5th fill is free. I'm thinking about trumping the whole 20 lb. tank thing and having line run to the garage (where I brew) from our 1,000 gallon bulk tank that serves the house. That will drop the cost to about $1.75 / gal., which works out to $8.30 for a 20 lb. tank. Where's your noob now?
I think I can get our propane supplier to run the gas line for nothin'.....

I think the proper term for that is "bitchin'"
:mug:
 
Sunbelt Rentals around here does the refill for $12, and they give you a punch card and every 5th fill is free. I'm thinking about trumping the whole 20 lb. tank thing and having line run to the garage (where I brew) from our 1,000 gallon bulk tank that serves the house. That will drop the cost to about $1.75 / gal., which works out to $8.30 for a 20 lb. tank. Where's your noob now?
I think I can get our propane supplier to run the gas line for nothin'.....

I feel smited.

However, not every soul has a "use" for in home propane...

Im not saying, im just sayin.
 
who the hell fills propane by the gallon?
http://tinyurl.com/27xx9tz

4.1 pounds per gallon

Nobody I ever heard of, except for filling bulk tanks. The 1,000 gallon bulk tank that serves our house (furnace, water heater & cooktop) is filled by truck and is metered & sold by the gallon. I just had ours filled for Fall and it ran $1.75 / gal.
The standard grill / all-purpose portable tank is called a "20 lb." tank, but the refill is actually more like 18 pounds, for technical reasons. The cited figure of $4.11 / gal. in the previous post. would produce a price of about $17.50 for the tank. Not a particularly good deal.
 
To Pappers:
What's your normal propane exchange price? Mine is $19.99. The exchanges are filled to only 15 pounds. There are .235 gallons in a pound. You are only getting 3.525 (.235*15) gallons of propane in an exchange. 19.99/3.525 = $5.67 per gallon of propane.

The refill side...a full tank is 4.7 gallons. If your local refill is $4.11/gal, AND you get a full 4.7 gallons of propane, 4.11*4.7 = $19.32.

So, you are paying $0.67 LESS for 25% MORE propane. Good deal? Yes.

I myself get 4 brews from one tank. If I switch to refilling then I essentially get 1 more brew per tank than I currently get.

And to Rico: 4.11 might not be a great deal considering what you get, but compared to the cost of an exchange its a far better deal.
 
To Pappers:
What's your normal propane exchange price? Mine is $19.99. The exchanges are filled to only 15 pounds. There are .235 gallons in a pound. You are only getting 3.525 (.235*15) gallons of propane in an exchange. 19.99/3.525 = $5.67 per gallon of propane.

The refill side...a full tank is 4.7 gallons. If your local refill is $4.11/gal, AND you get a full 4.7 gallons of propane, 4.11*4.7 = $19.32.

So, you are paying $0.67 LESS for 25% MORE propane. Good deal? Yes.

I myself get 4 brews from one tank. If I switch to refilling then I essentially get 1 more brew per tank than I currently get.

Before I found that Sunbelt Rentals was the best deal for me within a reasonable driving radius, I did a little investigating, and refills from the big outfits like Amerigas and Blue Rhino, commonly peddled at grocery, convenience, and other stores tend to be on the low side.....some as low as the 15 pounds mentioned. What Sunbelt here does when they start a fill is check the tare (empty) weight on the tank, and set the scale for double that. If your tank tares at 17.5 lbs., then they set the scale for 35. Do you get 17.5 pounds of gas? Yes, PROVIDED your tank was empty when you brought it in.
 
I see online (by using this new-fangled googley-thingy that Irregular showed me) that the local Uhaul offers propane refills at $4.11 a gallon. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

You will find that different Uhauls charge different rates... so check around.
 
thanks for the thread.

I think next time i'll look into doing a refill. We've only done exchanges and brewing double batches nearly every weekend can get a bit pricey on propane.
 
The local Flying J truck stop is at around $11 for a fill of a 20lb tank the last time I got one.
 
I see online (by using this new-fangled googley-thingy that Irregular showed me) that the local Uhaul offers propane refills at $4.11 a gallon. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

I'd check around. That seems high. I dont the exact cost i pay but its roughly around the same price as gasoline.
 
Or, you could 'T' off of your existing home nat. gas line (likely in your garage) and never fill another propane tank again. Using propane to brew beer is like using a propane tank to heat your bath water - old school :)
 
It can be lower than gasoline, because there's no tax except sales on it. You have to look around. We bought propane for our bulk tank two weeks ago at $1.75 / gallon- and you can be sure the supplier made a profit on it. So this works out to about $8 - 8.50 on a refill for a 20 lb cylinder. This gives you a good idea as to how much money some people are making on the cylinder exchanges at convenience stores, etc. Of course doing exchanges is more expensive for the supplier, because they have to purchase, maintain & replace the tanks. If you get it filled, then that's on you.
 
thanks for the thread.

I think next time i'll look into doing a refill. We've only done exchanges and brewing double batches nearly every weekend can get a bit pricey on propane.

Agreed.

I haven't had any luck finding a place in Parker to do re-fills, though I haven't put too much time into it just yet (I have called every U-Haul location and asked gas stations and hardware stores). If I do I will let you know. If you find any please let me know. My wife said she thought a place in Castle Rock will do them and was checking for a price.
 
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