LP gas???

[All country]

I have a question about propane gas.

A little back ground first. For the past 18 years we have used LP gas for cooking. When we had a large 500 gallon propane tank, we never had any problems with it at all. About 2 years ago the propane company decided we didn't use enough propane to please them. They decided that we had to either switch to smaller tanks or pay them $500.00 a year rent on the large tank Anyway we switched to 4 smaller tanks. We immediately noticed a difference in the way our kitchen stove performed. The flames colors are more orange/yellow than blue and we have started going thru burners. The burners actually corrode apart now.

Now my questions. Is there a difference in quality of propane? Could it maybe be a difference in the pressure in which the propane is distributed?

I have tried asking our propane dealer, but they claim is a faulty stove. This is the same stove we bought 3 years before they switched tanks on us. Never had any problems with it before the switch. We have had to replace burners and oven elements since the change and are lucky if they last 6 months. At $150.00 every time we have to replace things, it's getting frustrating for us.

If anyone else has dealt with this, I would appreciate hearing about it.

[Fischer]

Sounds like there is too much air in the gas. It might be cheapest to just but a large tank. And I would do business with someone else if I were you. Barb

[Qwispea]

Why not just buy the 500 gal tank outright? It might be less expensive than buying expensive stove parts every six months.

Plus..YES..find another propane company. $500 a year rent on a 500 gallon propane tank is as close to robbery as they can get. You should be able to buy a good used tank for that price. Plus..if you own the tank..you might be able to choose which propane company you do business with.

[Southernman]

I'm assuming the four small tanks are manifolded together, which means connected together so your using off all four at the same time. If they used four regulators (one per tank) then tee'd the lines together, your getting inconsistant pressure flow. It is recommended to connect the four tanks via copper line, then run thru a single regulator. You CAN use four regulators, but are more likely to get inconsistant flow. FYI, in case your curious just look at where the line comes from each tank, if there is a sorta round piece of equipment (usually gray or red), connected to each tank (probably under the dome) then you'll know they used four regulators.

[All country]

When we got the letter insisting we either switch to a smaller tank or pay yearly rent on the large one, I asked about buying it then. After all, we still had over 300 gallons in it at that time. They said they no longer sold the tanks, only rented them. We had to sell all of our propane that was in excess of what would go into the smaller tanks, back to them at the price we had paid for it. We lost money on that. The first small tanks they put out here had a leak. We lost a lot of propane. It really made me mad when I had to pay nearly as much for them to fill 4-25 gallon tanks as they had just paid me to buy back over 200 gallons of propane! They even tack on a extra charge to deliver 100 gallons or less.

I will be calling other propane dealers on Monday and checking into buying our own tank. I would much rather have a larger tank and fill it when the price is low and not have to worry about running out.

[oldmanriver]

I run my cook stove on the smal tanks like the ones on the large grills 25 gals i think I can take them and exchange them at the local 7 11 store they last a long time cost me 20 dollars to exchange one, Takes about 2 minutes to change one out,

[randy in central missouri]

we hada choice of a lifetime rental for $200 or $50 a year. we have to buy the gas from them though. but they are good to deal with. we even do budget billing with them. we send 75 bucks a month and its a good deal for us.
randy

[Qwispea]

Originally Posted by All country

When we got the letter insisting we either switch to a smaller tank or pay yearly rent on the large one, I asked about buying it then. After all, we still had over 300 gallons in it at that time. They said they no longer sold the tanks, only rented them. We had to sell all of our propane that was in excess of what would go into the smaller tanks, back to them at the price we had paid for it. We lost money on that. The first small tanks they put out here had a leak. We lost a lot of propane. It really made me mad when I had to pay nearly as much for them to fill 4-25 gallon tanks as they had just paid me to buy back over 200 gallons of propane! They even tack on a extra charge to deliver 100 gallons or less.

I will be calling other propane dealers on Monday and checking into buying our own tank. I would much rather have a larger tank and fill it when the price is low and not have to worry about running out.

The LP companies around here generally buy the gas back at the current rate. If you bought it at $1.69 and then for some reason had to sell it back to them and the current rate was $1.89..you'd get paid the current rate.

If their tanks leaked..they should have been responsible for what was lost.

It sounds like they're robbing you.