If you have gas installed at your house already, you can have your gas company run an outlet to your barbecue and be free of the extra cost and many headaches of 20 lb cylinders forever. Lowe’s, Blue Rhino’s largest customer, agreed to the 15-pound tanks but only if all other retailers went along with it, according to the complaint. You can use our Location Finder to find local retailers who sell AmeriGas propane.

If you remember from the “Are we out of propane again” post, a 5 gallon tank (a.k.a. as a 20# cylinder) holds approximately 19.88 pounds of propane, which is about 4.7 gallons. At $3.45 per gallon, it would cost $16.22 to fill an empty tank. However, a lot of places have a 5 gallon minimum, so they will charge $17.25 to fill a partially empty 20# tank. In the first example, bulk is $3.75 cheaper than the Blue Rhino, and if there is a minimum charge it is still $2.72 cheaper to refill your tank.

I want to exchange in the two tanks I have now for some someplace that don’t have proprietary valves. It’s a bit cheaper than going out and buying new tanks and having them filled. Plus it’ll get rid of these two old tanks I don’t want or need. Aha, they used to put in 17 pounds until 10 years ago; and that was almost 3 pounds less than a full cylinder. The sad part is very few people even know they are buying an exchange tank that is only 75% full.

Where to Buy Propane Tanks

My experience is that is no longer the case and these tanks can be filled anywhere. These special TS2 valves are only on a very small portion of Blue Rhino tanks. The majority of Blue Rhino tanks can be refilled by any qualified and trained propane supplier.

I have worked at a refill station for 10 years now and I can’t tell you how many complaints we get about Blue Rhino tanks. It is not unsafe to put 20lbs of propane in a tank, UNLESS that tank is exposed to 120 degrees F or above, at which point, the pressure relief valve with discharge to reduce pressure inside the tank. Cylinders are labeled by how much propane they hold.

If the valve is either circular or flower-shaped, it is an illegal cylinder. Even with Gibson’s cylinders, each right on the money at 20 pounds, a consumer still has to drive to the company’s warehouse to get that accurate fill. We arranged to have nexAir weigh each of the nine cylinders on its industrial scales.

While overblown and unlikely, I would just refill my tank. Many nursey locations have a propane fill station. Content Policy Privacy Policy User Agreement © 2023 Reddit, Inc.

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I sure hope to get it up and running before freezing weather gets here. I’m looking forward to enjoying it again soon since I didn’t get to last winter due to our move. When faced with resistance from Wal-Mart, the two companies secretly agreed to coordinate their negotiations, pressuring the retailer to accept the reduced fill level. AmeriGas is the largest propane supplier in the nation, and we partner with top retailers in your neighborhood to make getting propane easy. Propane bottles should only be filled to about 90% of full.

• I went back about twice a week to check on the greenhouse, water my plants, etc., but the greenhouse was basically on its own all winter.
• You will seldom, if ever, receive 80% (of Water Content-WC) which is what is considered a full tank from any supplier who fills an OPD equipped tank.
• I had a Blue Rhino tank that was faulty, destroyed the grill, and nearly burned my house down.
• I noticed this because I was in the process of exchanging a non-OPD tank for an OPD tank through Blue Rhino at my local Sears Hardware.

I had bought a new regulator from Weber with a twist-quick connect, and needed a tank with that valve. Specifically, the judge determined the indirect purchasers had not shown that all end consumers across the more than a dozen proposed Classes had been overcharged. ALWAYS transport and store a cylinder in a secure and upright position so it will not fall, shift, or roll.

When you exchange, check the valve areas for blue or green residue. Meth cooks are buying propane tanks and emptying, then filling them with anhydrous ammonia and it weakens the tank structure. Just something to look for when you go get a tank. If you have a farmers co-op around there, they will generally have the ability to refill propane tanks.

DH installed two “new” propane heaters in my greenhouse before we moved, and I have to admit they worked great on their own all winter without any help from me. I went back about twice a week to check on the greenhouse, water my plants, etc., but the greenhouse was basically on its own all winter. The plants didn’t really thrive with the propane heat, but at least none of them died. My problems from the previous year had been caused from those piece of shi+ Northern heaters, which were defective from the very first day they arrived. I bought three of them, and it seems strange they were ALL defective.

Commercial Litigation

Query whether certain trade association activities could become susceptible to FTC scrutiny in the future. The problem I found with that is some of the places have filled only fill it half way. There’s no obvious “full” blinking light that goes off and you are paying a flat rate not by the cubic foot or whatever it is. I’ve gotten tanks home before and using the very inexact weight gauge on my Weber it tells me I have a half full tank and it certainly seems to run out faster. I go to Lowes or someplace like that because I have faith that it’s a tank in decent condition and it’s actually full.

If I could afford it, I would use electric heat and only use propane for a backup in case of power outages. But our electric rates have sky rocketed here, so even at $1.90 a gallon, propane is still cheaper to heat with. Hopefully my experience here using propane will be more successful. We finally got the greenhouse moved here to our new home this week.

The judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation ruled the indirect purchasers—who bought the propane tanks for home use, including barbecue grills and outdoor heaters—failed to show predominant, common legal issues. A group of propane tank purchasers who alleged AmeriGas and Blue Rhino amerigas vs blue rhino pressured retailers to sell underfilled tanks for full price failed to get Class certification for claims they overpaid for gas. Also, Blue Rhino fills its propane tanks to 17 lbs. This is because national fire codes prohibit filling tanks to their designed capacity, for safety reasons.

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One other thing you should know about Blue Rino is that they don’t fill the tanks to their designed capacity. They clearly state on the label that the net weight is 17#, however these are 20# tanks and they can be safely filled to this capacity or very close to it. They will tell you that they can only fill to no more than 80% capacity and this is a true statement. There are several reports on the net that the tanks filled by Blue Rhino only have 17.5 lbs of propane, not 20. Or whether this is an OPD phenomenon due to possible void space left in the tank by the float interlock. I recently bought a Weber Q 100 grill and Weber 6501 adapter hose for use with 20 lb.

I just took it to one of those tank exchange places and got a new BR tank already filled for $18. I had that filled a few times and exchanged it https://cryptolisting.org/ out another time with another company because I couldn’t find a place to fill tamks. BR tanks are under the same standards as any other tank.

You will seldom, if ever, receive 80% (of Water Content-WC) which is what is considered a full tank from any supplier who fills an OPD equipped tank. This is simply because the OPD will close and prevent the tank from being further filled. OPD’s are relatively crude mechanical devices and are not calibrated when installed in your tank.

How To Buy, Exchange, Or Dispose Of Your Propane Tank

I had posted this information on the Appliances forum in a thread about gas grills. Thought I would post it here as well for reference. Failed to properly install and inspect customers’ underground propane system lines. A Class of direct purchasers—such as auto repair shops and home improvement stores—had previously reached a $12.6 million settlement agreement with AmeriGas and Blue Rhino in 2019. Copyright © 2023 Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, All Rights Reserved. The contents of this website may contain attorney advertising under the laws of various states.

We accept all brands of propane tanks and cylinders for exchange. I was surprised to learn that those small propane exchange bottles are rarly sold full. The gas company adjusts how much goes in depending on how much the retailer wants to sell the exchange for and the price of propane on the day they are filled. 15 pounds is within the limits of the amount allowed. Both companies, Blue Rino and Amerigas, advertise 15 pounds for the contents.

Get it refilled at about 1/2 the price of the exchanges. So i wouldnt use them…also i don’t use propane for grilling thats just wrong. It being my first LP grill I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are on buying their own tanks and getting them filled vs swapping them at Amerigas/Blue Rhino places. “The results of our exhaustive review were fully consistent with the principle that consumers who purchase an AmeriGas barbecue cylinder receive everything our company promises to deliver,” he said.

I just checked both Blue Rhino and Amerigas tanks. Both clearly state on the front, “Net Weight 15 lbs.”. On the other hand, I have never had a problem with Blue Rhino.