Questions about propane refill at a truck stop

[Mountain high]

In Spring our home's outdoor 500 gallon propane tank gets professionally filled to 75%. In winter it's 80%. We go from below zero Fahrenheit temperatures to up to 100F temperatures. The delivery guy must leave enough room for expansion. Same with our TT's 10 gallon tanks.

 

[SMR]

We take our tanks to Tractor Supply, they only charge for what is put in the tank.

 

[TheBar]

The cheapest places I've found are the companies who deliver propane or if you have a home propane tank the delivery driver is usually glad to fill your tank.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I think you mean they are supposed to check the date on the tanks, I know the propane fill places around here rarely even glance at the date stamp on the tank, so long as they appear in good shape and are of the modern type with OPD safety and triangular handle (required starting in 2002), they tend to just fill it.

Nope, every time I take a tank in to be refilled the first thing the guy does is roll the tank around and look for the date. I've had 3 propane fill-stations refuse me in the past 15 years because my tank was out-of-date. Here, and in California. They're not stupid. If they get caught filling an out-of-date tank, they get fined.

 

[AlongtheRay]

In my case the vast majority of places were able to fill my tank without needing to remove it from the trailer. All would top the tanks off.

BTW, I ended up buying a smaller 5lb propane tank as my backup tank for whenever my regular 20lb one ran out. At 5lbs it's easy to store and hook up in a pinch when needed and lasts long enough to get the other tank topped off.

It's saved my arse a couple times already; once when my regular tank ran out of propane while brewing my morning coffee. Otherwise no coffee would have been a disaster ; )

Enjoy!
Ray

 

[John From Detroit]

"Explode", "burst into flame", pick your verb. The empty one pound bottles don't do either.

Right they did not have enough propane left to "Burst into flame" though given the precise right conditions (not easy to do) they might have gone BOOM.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I recently went to my local Ace Hdw and was shocked that to fill my propane tank, was $20. I know I got a 'fill' fill, and I've heard exchange places only fill 80%, but I was still shocked. Moral of the story, might call a place or two and ask the price.

This is always confusing to those unfamiliar with propane tanks. The gallon capacity of the tank is stated in water capacity (abbreviated WC when stamped on the tank) but the propane capacity is 80% of that to allow space for propane gas and temperature expansion. So "full of propane" is 80% of "full of water".

If your tank has a gauge, it may show two different scales, one for water and one for propane, but more often its calibrated for water and so they propane never gets above the 80% mark unless something goes wrong. Modern tanks automatically limit propane to 80% of the water capacity.

 

[Lou Schneider]

I recently went to my local Ace Hdw and was shocked that to fill my propane tank, was $20. I know I got a 'fill' fill, and I've heard exchange places only fill 80%, but I was still shocked. Moral of the story, might call a place or two and ask the price.

The tank swap companies don't give you a full tank. Amerigas and Blue Rhino put 15 lbs of propane (75% of the normal fill or 3.5 gallons) in their tanks. Normal fill to 80% WC is 20 lbs (4.75 gallons).

How much propane does Blue Rhino put in its tanks

 

[Tulecreeper]

The tank swap companies don't give you a full tank. Amerigas and Blue Rhino put 15 lbs of propane (3.5 gallons or 75% of the normal fill) in their tanks. Normal fill to 80% WC is 20 lbs (4.75 gallons).

How much propane does Blue Rhino put in its tanks

It's because Blue Rhino tanks are smaller and hold less propane. Which is normally not much of a concern for your standard backyard BBQer, but those who rely on their propane for life-giving warmth in their RV want all the volume they can get.

 

[Lou Schneider]

It's because Blue Rhino tanks are smaller and hold less propane. Which is normally not much of a concern for your standard backyard BBQer, but those who rely on their propane for life-giving warmth in their RV want all the volume they can get.

Until propane prices started to rise in 2008 Blue Rhino put 17 lbs of propane in their tanks. I'm sure they're normal 20 lb cylinders, it wouldn't make sense for them to design proprietary tanks that hold less.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Until propane prices started to rise in 2008 Blue Rhino put 17 lbs of propane in their tanks. I'm sure they're normal 20 lb cylinders, it wouldn't make sense for them to design proprietary tanks that hold less.

Well, if they are standard 20# tanks, it doesn't matter that their label says, "To ensure our consumers are properly notified, Blue Rhino clearly marks the amount of propane contained in our tanks, right on the package. Blue Rhino also notes the amount of propane contained in our tanks on our display signs." You can put the normal amount in them as you please.

 

[1stimerver]

We use tractor supply. They charge by the pound.
Best in the area for us....
safe travels and all the best.

 

[Ray-IN]

In Spring our home's outdoor 500 gallon propane tank gets professionally filled to 75%. In winter it's 80%. We go from below zero Fahrenheit temperatures to up to 100F temperatures. The delivery guy must leave enough room for expansion. Same with our TT's 10 gallon tanks.

Yup, my LP supplier does that too, I have a 1,000 tank. He fills it once a year so must account for temperature changes. After he fills my home tank he grabs his adapter and fills my MH LP tank too.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Blue Rhino uses delivery trucks that are designed like the older soft drink trucks with the slightly sloped sides with the roll up slatted doors with shelves inside that hold the cylinders (they are not tanks). The story goes that to limit the weight of the truck, they started filling the tanks to 15 lbs each. In any case, you are not getting a full tank from them. I have 30 lb tanks so I have to refill. If I had 20 lb tanks I'd buy the Flame King YSN230b 20 Pound Steel Propane Tank Cylinder with OPD Valve and Built-in Gauge, 20 lb Vertical. Costco usually has stacks of them even cheaper than Amazon. The gauge is magnetic, operated by the OPD float and while not perfect, its pretty darn good. As it is, with the 30 lb cylinders and the difficulty in removing them, I use the Mopeka Tank Check system to track the level.

I have been using Tractor Supply as they have a good price and usually will come right out and fill my cylinders. When cylinders are refilled they are supposed to be placed on a scale to verify the amount but most people do not pay attention to the scale, they fill until liquid comes out the vent screw, which is about the time the OPD shuts it off anyhow.

The time interval for DOT cylinder inspection is now 10 years. Its a somewhat convoluted story. DOT took it upon itself to issue a rule change, known as a NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) to move the time interval for inspections from 12 years to 10. There were few comments and the NPRM was approved as written and became Federal Code. Apparently the watchdog organizations that should have caught this did not and the industry cried foul and so the DOT issued "do not enforce" letters to their field inspectors and filed a new NPRM to move the time interval back to 12 years. Again, few comments were received, mostly advocating the 10 year interval, so the NPRM failed and the 10 year interval stayed in place. The "do not enforce" letter became void after this. This was about 2017 or 2018. There is a lot of stuff on the internet that still says 12 years but it is incorrect.

Charles

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I have four grill tanks and get them filled at Costco. It's almost half as expensive there than the local oil change place that offers propane. They can do RV's at Costco but the one here doesn't have a place to park while you fill, so you're blocking an aisle of the parking lot for ~15 minutes which makes it a bit stressful to get my class A filled there. But it's only once a year so I can pick a less busy day to check that box.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It's because Blue Rhino tanks are smaller and hold less propane.

The tank is the same as any standard 20# LP bottle. They simply reduce the amount of propane they put in to meet their predetermined target selling price. Tank swapping is convenient for both the buyer and the seller, but it comes at a hefty price premium.

 

[Kirk]

The tank is the same as any standard 20# LP bottle.

That can be confirmed very easily by simply looking at the marking on the tank by the manufacturer.

 

[Trivet]

The cheapest place I've ever found for refills is any Bretz RV and marine.
Since 2019 when we started, it's always been 99cents a gallon.
Absolute bargain

The 99 cents is a seasonal price, available through the end of September. Tragically, we missed it by five days once, and needed 28 gallons. Booooo.

Another time we needed only 10 gallons but got it filled anyway because it was during the 99 cents promotion and it was walking distance to Popeye's. Priorities.

I price shop propane (which isn't easy when you're a traveling fulltimer), and generally start with Tractor Supply, even though I almost always have to unhook the toad to maneuver into the propane fill station. But the price is usually worth it.

However, I'm going through Maryland on I-68 shortly, and need to fill with propane, and found that the Love's in Cumberland is $3.49 while Tractor Supply in Hagerstown is $3.29. That's a much smaller price difference than I usually see, so I'm going to opt for the much easier access at Love's.

 

[TonyL]

Our limited experience has shown uhaul always seem to be the most expensive compared to other vendors in the area.

 

[jymbee]

I price shop propane (which isn't easy when you're a traveling fulltimer), and generally start with Tractor Supply, even though I almost always have to unhook the toad to maneuver into the propane fill station. But the price is usually worth it.

"worth it" being a subjective matter of course. I'm more than willing to pay a premium to avoid having to go through the dis/re connect process to top off propane.

They built a new TS across the road from the old one near our home. This new TS is about the only one we've found that has a convenient propane tank that you can pull right up to-- without having to disconnect. Most all of the TS sites we encounter when traveling aren't nearly as convenient.

Worst TS (can't remember exactly where) was built on a steep hillside with a narrow, winding lane to get back to the propane. Sat there pondering just how to go about it and decided to do a quick Google search for propane. Found a Love's just 5 minutes away that had a separate, dedicated propane tank. Whew...

My impression is that new truck stops such as Loves & FJ are more apt to be RV friendly while older ones, not so much.