Propane Cost

We are on a break in an RV park and decided to top off our propane tanks in the park. I was floored by the estimate (versus the actual amount paid) and asked if the charge was based on weight or tank size. The attendant seemed surprised that I would ask that; but allowed that they had a fixed price based on tank size. I have heard all the excuses and understand they have overhead and that I am paying for the convenience. Still, I saved over ten dollars by having the local propane dealer top the tank off and charge by weight. It would behoove everyone to find a dealer that charges by weight; the amount you're actually buying.

I refuse to buy anywhere that does not charge by what I actually get.

Just filled the RV and the house....195.9 gals @ 3.49/gal...683.69 plus tax and hazmat.  Not too bad really, the RV was only 1/2 empty.

Another thing to watch for is if you use an exchange for your 20 lb tanks, see how much is in the new tanks before deciding if you want to purchase, some exchange systems only have 15 lbs in the 20 lb tanks.

Paul

A lot of RVers carry electric space heaters and only use the propane when they don't have hook-ups.

I just paid $2.75 per gallon in the park here, which is the lowest I have encountered since I was here last year. I purposely try to fill here because of that.

Knowing I am going into colder weather, propane price in the park I am headed to is always something I check. Otherwise, I can stop on the way. That keeps me from being at the mercy of an opportunistic park owner.

We don't have to use the same amount of propane as some because of the electric fireplace, but then get whammied when we are in a park that has metered electricity which happens often in a monthly rate.

It's always something... 8)

I filled up our house tank and RV Sept 10th for $1.99/G (212 gallons). Sept is always the best month to fill up.

Paul & Ann said:

Another thing to watch for is if you use an exchange for your 20 lb tanks, see how much is in the new tanks before deciding if you want to purchase, some exchange systems only have 15 lbs in the 20 lb tanks.

Paul

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There is only suppose to be 15 pounds put into a 20 pound tank for safety reasons.

The LP gas discount at Camping World is for all Good Sam Club members. Every Tuesday & Wednesday Good Sam Club members get LP gas for only $1.99 a gallon at select Camping World SuperCenters that sell LP gas. You can find a list of SuperCenters here at http://www.campingworld.com/stores/ to check if the location sells LP gas. 

They sell by the gallon and will fill your inboard tank or portable tanks that you bring in.  An empty 20# tank would cost about $8.00 to fill.  I saved about 1/2 of the normal price to fill the RV.

So there is a reason to belong to Good Sam Club.

The park where I'm currently parked is an exception but many parks seem to feel they have a more or less "Captive" audience.. So like the 2.50 glass of soda (50 cents elsewhere) at a Movie theater they charge a very high price.

Generally (Again where I'm parked is an exception) the local Propane WHOLESALE place, You know, the place with the really really really BIG tank farm,, That's the place to go.. Here (Oconee County, SC) they are the most expensive.  ACE hardware is where I gas up

Roughly 3.00/gallon last fill tax included (just over 60 bucks, 19 gallons on the dot).

True story...Returning to Michigan in 2012 wife had jury duty so we came up I-69 instead of I-75, then hung a left and off to Berrien County (West side of state).. Well arriving in MI I need propane, so Sat AM I called ahead to a propane dealer I'd never done business with but I knew about.. Found out their price (2.69/gal then I think) so, since they were going to be open long enough for me to get there... We went.. The lady wanted to give me directions since the tank farm can be hard to find (3635 14 mile road, Tekonsha, MI 49092)... I finally told her who I was and she figured I could find it.

When I lived there it was a Dairy Farm.  (The one I grew up on).

I think my next to the last tank of Propane was around 2.25/gallon in Flint MI back around 11/1.. Alas, I burned an extra bunch of propane this year due to not being able to get out of Mich when I wished.  That too was a Wholesaler.

I always recommend wholesalers as the first place to price check.

But the best advice was put into a song back in, as I recall, the 50's.

The Title (And advice): Shop around  (My Mamma Told Me, To do the shop around).

As the current ice storm was approaching, I went looking for LP for my MH as the generator uses LP.  I was surprised to find (or NOT find) much available.  I'm new here and not that familiar with the area, but did stumble upon a nice RV supply/repair store.  I asked them where to get propane and they did not know of any in town.  They pointed me to another town about 10 miles away.  Sure enough, I found LP in that town.  Of course, it was at a convenience store and the price certainly reflected the scarcity of retailers in the area.  It was $3.99/gal.  Natural gas is king here.

SeilerBird said:

There is only suppose to be 15 pounds put into a 20 pound tank for safety reasons.

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Tom. 

20 lb tanks are called that, as that is how much they are made to hold which is the 80% fill level by actual volume of the tank.

A 500 gallon tank can safely hold 400 gallons which is the 80% fill level on the gauge,  I worked as a Propane Bobtail truck driver and tank filler in my younger days (a life time ago).  You can over fill the tanks (old ones to completely full) which leaves virtually no room for the liquid to vaporize except in the line between the regulators.  You can get by with it if (Big IF) the outside weather does not turn warm for a day or two after the fill.  It it gets to warm, the pop off valve will open and dump gas into the air through the pressure relief valve.

I think the new fill valves now prohibit over filling of small tanks,  they have several safety features built in now that were not present back when I worked in the business.  some places use a scale to fill and some just use the liquid vent screw.  If they just use the liquid vent screw,  they have no idea how much they actually put in the tank, when the liquid vents out as a white puff of gas escaping, it is at the 80% (20 lb fill line) and they just charge you for a fill no matter how much was in the tank when you brought it in.

When I use to fill tanks,  the tanks weighed 18 lbs and we filled to 38 lbs by scale.  We just charged by the lb.

Have a good day...

Tom....

If they just use the liquid vent screw,  they have no idea how much they actually put in the tank, when the liquid vents out as a white puff of gas escaping, it is at the 80% (20 lb fill line) and they just charge you for a fill no matter how much was in the tank when you brought it in.

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In my motorhome (and the previous one) they dispense the LP from a hose that counts the gallons (just like a gasoline tank), so that's how I pay where I go locally. They used weight in the 20 lb. bottle on the trailer I used to have.

Years ago (I'm talking about 50 years ago) I had a part time job filling LP bottles at the trailer park where we lived.  The only option for filling was by weight.  LP bottles had not yet been fitted with an overflow valve, at least not in Tennessee.  And, the pump system we had did not meter the volume of LP.  Consequently, we charged for 20 lbs if filling a 20 lb bottle and 100 lbs if filling a 100 lb bottle.  Most bottles had the empty weight etched on them, but not all.  My instructions were (and I informed the customers such) to empty the bottle first (turn it upside down and open the valve) if not empty and no empty weight legible so we could tell how much LP we pumped into the tank.  It was either that or send them home to use the bottle up completely before filling.  I know, not exactly the safest way to deal with LP, but those were my instructions at the time.  I don't recall what we charged, but IIRC LP sold for roughly $0.25/gal then.

geodrake said:

A lot of RVers carry electric space heaters and only use the propane when they don't have hook-ups.

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Sage advice-and that is what we do; especially since we are not responsible for our electric cost. I feel for anyone using propane for heat, especially in a RV. Someone responding to this thread said they have a propane generator; had one once-never again! I can't imagine the consumption of a generator and furnace together. BTW-if your going to boondock, good batteries are essential for the furnace to operate.

Just to expand on the "use electric heat", I filled up on propane when we bought the MH just over a year ago. Last week I filled it again. I used 8.6 gallons during the year! I do run the generator when on the road (results in electric for the refrigerator and water heater most of the time) , but we lived in the rig full time! YMMV.

Ernie

Go on line to coupon.com and you can print out a $5.00 coupon for Amerigas good where ever they sale there gas. You can print and use one for each tank you have. This is only good till 24 Dec 2013... Search Amerigas web site for an exchange location near you. I just saved $25.00 and got mine cheaper then MFA in our area of Missouri, Wal-Mart here carries there gas.

A few years ago we were camped north of Dallas and had to take the truck into the city, since we were going anyway I took both 30 pound bottles out of the rig to get the empty one filled and the other topped off.  I soon learned that there are places that charge by the bottle not the quantity actually dispensed when I got nailed about $20 for a gallon of propane.  The lady at the counter had no sense of humor and suggested that I might want to ask how they charge before getting propane again.

For the last few years we've been carrying three 30 pounders so I never fill until two are empty.  It seems that in the west you usually get charged by the gallon, California excepted of course.  And in the south like TX and LA you occasionally find places that charge by the bottle.  The place that we stayed the last two years in Texas charged by the bottle but they'd always fill my little 4 lb BBQ bottle for free when I got my 30's filled.  It was apparently too much trouble to figure out what a gallon cost.