Propane for Brewing

[JeffD69]

I am starting to brew almost every weekend and using a lot of gas. Does anyone know of an inexpensive place to refill propane tanks in the Tampa Bay area of Florida?

 

[Patro]

Not in Florida, but I use a uhaul facility (cheapest place I've found). Check for local ones online, you should be able to see if they do propane refills on the website. Other than that camping or RV places sometimes have propane.

 

[jetboiler]

How much you paying for a standard size grill tank?

I paid $18 for a refill at a hardware store in Indianapolis.

 

[conneryis007]

I would check out any welding supply shops in your area. I have one near me that sells at a market adjusted price, last time it was almost 13 for the fill!

 

[frailn]

U-Haul is my go-to for propane in KC, seems to be the best deal I can find.

Also, check the date on your tank. During my last fill up, the guy pointed out that I have until December to use my tank, because they won't fill up tanks past the expired date. I will have to buy a new one. Apparently they are only good for ten years?

 

[GrogNerd]

U-Haul is my go-to for propane in KC, seems to be the best deal I can find.

Also, check the date on your tank. During my last fill up, the guy pointed out that I have until December to use my tank, because they won't fill up tanks past the expired date. I will have to buy a new one. Apparently they are only good for ten years?

uhaul here too

originally got a Blue Rhino at Wal-Mart, get it re-filled at U-Haul and when at expiration date will exchange at Wal-Mart.

repeat as necessary

 

[ArtimusBeerimus]

Ditto that. But make sure that when you exchange your tank you get one that you'll be able to refill... I took in an expired tank to exchange (a Blue Rhino at a Walgreens exchange center) and came out with a tank that was older than the expired tank I took in to exchange in the first place! The uHaul wouldn't refill it. Next exchange I double checked the date before taking the new tank.

Not a huge deal but the exchange is more expensive so it cost me some extra bucks.

 

[Grannyknot]

Amerigas usually has pretty good pricing.
Uhaul stores & Tractor supply are good options as well.

 

[JeffD69]

Thank you all very much. i pay $20 bucks at a local convenience store. I'll check out U Haul

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Tractor Supply.

MC

 

[sloose]

I am starting to brew almost every weekend and using a lot of gas. Does anyone know of an inexpensive place to refill propane tanks in the Tampa Bay area of Florida?

I'm getting about 4 brews from a tank or so (all grain)... I'm motivated to run a natural gas line disconnect somewhere where I can brew with it. Then I need new blichmann burners. That will make SWMBO *really* pissed lol

 

[Bamsdealer]

I'm getting about 4 brews from a tank or so (all grain).

Thats about what I experience as well. That heats an average of 4 gallons mash and 6 gallons sparge water from the tap and boils about 7 gallons of wort for 75 minutes using my bayou classic burner. I figure thats about $4 per batch.

Is this what others are experiencing as well?

 

[jrstacey]

Not too sure about Tampa Bay but up here Costco is by far the cheapest at $8.49 for a 20# tank.

 

[Trey57]

Sorry not from Tampa but make sure you check the pounds of propane you are buying. Some places sell 16 lbs and others sell 20 lbs - not a nice trick on the 16 lb people. Suburban Cylinder exchange delivers to your door in the Atlanta area. For natural gas I highly recommend the G4 burner (g4burner.com) I bought it from bbq guys online. I'm sure the blichmann's are nice but after comparing the btu's 180k vs 72k it was no comparison really.

 

[TopherM]

Jeff, where in Tampa Bay are you?

I live near downtown St. Pete, and there's a plant nursery up the street from me that does 20# propane refills for $14 and change, as opposed to $18-19 at WalMart/Home Depot. If you happen to be in my area, it's on the corner of 16th St N and Haines Road.

Most nurseries do some hydroponic growing, which involves converting propane to CO2 for the plant soil. If there's a nursery of any size near you, chances are they sell propane, so visit a few.

 

[TopherM]

For natural gas I highly recommend the G4 burner (g4burner.com) I bought it from bbq guys online. I'm sure the blichmann's are nice but after comparing the btu's 180k vs 72k it was no comparison really.

FYI, BTUs is not always a good indication of a good burner. I have a Blichmann and a Bayou Classic SP10. The Blichmann rates at 72K BTUs, and the SP10 at 185K BTUs. Design/Engineering wise, though, the Blichmann focuses much more of it's heat to the kettle, whereas the SQ10 wastes a ton of propane heating the air. The Blichmann is WAYYYYYY more efficient than the SP10. It gets to stike temp and boil temp faster, and uses about 1/2 the propane doing it.

I don't know anything about the jet burner you linked, so not trying to put it down. The fact that it's natural gas makes it about 2.5X more efficient right off the bat, so I'm sure it is a great unit. Just saying that BTU rating doesn't mean all that much when you're shopping for burners.

 

[knightnorth]

+1 on the BTU. I got a small 45k BTU Brinkmann. Heats 7 gallons to boiling in about 10 min from the cold tap. I've been getting 5-6 batches off a 20# tank. Refills are $25 for a blue rhino where I'm at but haven't shopped around much since its been $5 or less per batch.

 

[one-L]

+1 on Uhaul for refills. For folks using Blue Rhino, might be worth picking up a tank scale like this http://store.bakerindustries.org/mm...de=Products&Product_Code=PTS&Category_Code=PR or something similar. Have seen a couple of news articles where they went in and tested a bunch of "full" Blue Rhino tanks, some of which were 3/4 full or less. One thing I like about Uhaul is they fill them in front of you, on a scale, so you know what you're getting.

 

[Brewmech]

Where bouts are ya? I use ACE. Uhaul is a little cheaper.

 

[jmendez29]

I have a couple equipment rental places that I use. They are both $15 for a refill, but the one has what seems like teenagers running the place and I get the distinct impression that they don't like dealing with the propane so I end up waiting for a little while. The other place, I go there, pay for it, walk out to the tank and get it filled right away, and back in my truck within 5 minutes. And they also have a punch card. Get ten refills, next one is free.

 

[neko]

I get mine refilled at a 76 gas station near my house in the $15 range.

 

[VinceF]

Just a suggestion, try heating your mash water on the stovetop. My electric range isn't hot enough for a full boil, but its plenty good to get mash temps. That would at least save you a trip now and then.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

I pay $13 for 20lb fill up. I'd like to get the propane company to run a dedicated line to garage from my pig outside. Just for brewing! It would b nice not to have to worry about refilling small 20lb'ers all the time

 

[sloose]

That g4 burner is $300 holy crap. A blichmann with legs is only $200, and it's propane compatible !

My local Wally World gets 17.86 for a 15lb exchange.

My local gas station which is run by shady characters with little English charge $20 for a refill but I'm rather sure they are ripping me off. I'm going to show up with my own scale next time. One guy gives you 4 gallons one day, the next 3.2

 

[sloose]

Also remember the open market on propane is DROPPING, as it is a byproduct of oil and natural gas drilling and refining . The Marcellus shale fracking alone has been dropping CNG, LNG and propane prices ..blue rhino is making huge profits off low propane prices and steady demand.

 

[aogg]

I have a local welding supply shop that I refill at if I remember to go when they are open. The Uhaul a short distance up the road from them has more flexible hours. They cost a little more too. Last time it was 3.59/gallon. Still cheaper and more gas than an exchange unless you need a new tank.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Good lord you guys are paying a lot for propane.

Tractor Supply is at $1.99/gal here around Columbia SC. $8-9 to refill a 20#.

MC

 

[TopherM]

Considering that propane is currently trading at $0.86 a gallon on the commodities market, your Tractor Supply sure isn't worried about profit.

FYI, the Columbia, SC Tractor Supply store on Killian Road list a propane refill as $13.30 for a 20# tank, so closer to $2.81 a gallon for the 4.72 gallons with 20% vapor space. Maybe it was $8-9 Canadian

$13.30 is still damn good, though. That's $1+ cheaper than the cheapest place I've found in my town.

 

[Ddubduder]

The tractor supply off 54 has been the cheapest I've seen in the north Tampa area.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Considering that propane is currently trading at $0.86 a gallon on the commodities market, your Tractor Supply sure isn't worried about profit.

FYI, the Columbia, SC Tractor Supply store on Killian Road list a propane refill as $13.30 for a 20# tank, so closer to $2.81 a gallon for the 4.72 gallons with 20% vapor space. Maybe it was $8-9 Canadian

$13.30 is still damn good, though. That's $1+ cheaper than the cheapest place I've found in my town.

$1.99/gal was the posted price last week when I bought dog food, and the fills I've had done were around 4.2-4.6 gal. So... you do the math.

MC