Propane Bottle

[pcdreams]

one of our friends neighbors is moving and for "lack of room" they're leaving their new gas grill behind. Of course I snagged it

where can I find a propane bottle?

Don't really want to do the exchange thing, I hear its about 2x as much as refills.

[cc-rider]

Originally Posted by pcdreams

one of our friends neighbors is moving and for "lack of room" they're leaving their new gas grill behind. Of course I snagged it

where can I find a propane bottle?

Don't really want to do the exchange thing, I hear its about 2x as much as refills.

Home Depots, Lowes, WalMart...they all carry them. Anyplace that carries the grills will normally carry spare tanks.

We don't do the exchange either... I like knowing that I take care of MINE and that I'm not getting someone else's who may not be as particular as I am. I can get it filled at the local propane co-op. Or at the local nursery-type place.

[RenieB]

I get mine at Walmart but the are available at a lot of places.

RenieB[COLOR=Black]

[OD]

If you buy a used one, be sure that it has the new kind of valve. If it has the old kind, you can't get it refilled until it is changed. I think a new valve for one costs around $15.

[JWH123]

When you say exchange, are you talking about the cage in front of some convenience stores, where you drop off an empty and take a full? Blue Rhino and PPX are the names of two places around here.

You're not locked in to that, as far as I have experienced. You could get one from there to start (I think it's either $40 or $50 for a full tank if you don't bring an empty in), and once you have it, you can have it filled wherever you want. You may want to tear off the plastic wrapper sleeve around the bottle with their name on it.

I picked up a tank someone had put on the curb on trash day (I doubt the trash man would have taken it anyhow), of course it was empty and it was the old style of bottle/valve (maybe the reason the person threw it out). I just brought it to my Lowes and exchanged it for a new, full one with the right type of valve and OPD (triangle valve wheel). Cost me $16 for the exchange. Now I have it refilled at the local hardware store for $10. The guy at the hardware store really shouldn't care who owns the tank, he is getting paid for five gallons or so of liquid propane.

Propane tanks are supposed to be cleaned and pressure tested every so often, I think it might be five years. There should be a date stamped into the top collar/handle of the tank, and whoever fills it is supposed to check the date. I figure whenever that happens I'll go right back to Lowes and exchange for a new one for another $16 (or whatever the price is four years down the line )

If I ever see another tank lying around discarded, you can bet I'll be picking it up, no matter what its age/condition. A trp to the exchange place and I'll have a new tank.

I know the exchange place doesn't have 'new' tanks, but at least they're the style that is able to be refilled. Maybe if I get a real helpful person to come to the exchange cage, I could sort through looking for one with the most recent inspection date stamp.

Good luck. Don't be afraid of the propane tank exchange system. Remember it's only a plastic sleeve on the tank with their name on it, a razor blade will take care of it.

Check the prices for a new tank without exchange at the exchange place, and compare it to the price of buying an empty tank and then having it filled somewhere.
John

I just bought one at the local Kmart, walked past the outside exchange deal where a full one is $49.95, went back to the grill section, & bought a new empty one for $27.95. The checkout lady said she didn't know they sold those, someone had called the day before & they said no, as they didn't know....

I looked on the shelf, had 5 there, 2 of them were stamped with an '04 date, the other 3 were stamped with an '03 date on the top collar. Naturally I got one of the '04 ones. These tanks are good for 12 years, then they must be reinspected & restamped, then good for is it 8 more years, and that's it? You _may_ find someone to fill an outdated one, but it's not legal.....

Used ones, check that date, & make sure it has the new style knob on it.

I filled it for $10. I saw tank exchanges at Kmart were $19.95.

So, I saved $12 this first time, and will save $9.95 every time I refill.... I should be able to go the exchange route with it when it becomes outdated, or us it for an air tank with a little conversion & care on draining it....

--->Paul

[Landlocked Lill]

My ex-husband and I did a lot of outdoor cooking, as it was just terrible to overheat our home in already hot weather! We had about five tanks that we would have filled all at once down at our local propane company, I'm sure he retrofitted them all with the new kind of gagues. When we divorced he took two of the tanks and left me three, but when he runs out of propane, he still stops by and grabs my empties and has them refilled. I think he went to HS with the gentleman that owns the propane company (allstarr gas and propane) so he gets a good deal, and gets to BS with an old buddy.

At any rate, I think I pay him back about $12 a bottle for the refill. The thought just occured to me that he is paying full price and just telling me it's only $12, so like him, but I don't think that is the case. Maybe next time I'll swing by his place and have his refilled so I can see what the cost is!

[Hears The Water]

We use our propane tanks for cooking and for heating in the winter. We have one of those little ceramic tile heater thingies that sits on top of the propane tank. Around here we can get them filled at our local U-haul too. But a couple of months ago we noticed that a local truck stop had refill stations too!! This one is just about a mile from our house so we don't have to go very far at all!! The odd thing is that they have to write down our licence tag number. I asked the man why and he said that it was partly because of drive offs, but also because of the local meth labs and mobile meth labs in our area. I guess that they will not sell propane if you have been getting too much in a short time. Gotta love living in the "drug corridor"!!
God bless you and yours
Debbie

[agmantoo]

Get a propane bottle from an old gas forklift and have a dual function capability. It will hold more gas and it can dispense liquid gas as well as vapor. Then you can buy an attachment to affix to the tank that will let you refill the small "throwaway" propane tanks. I find that refilling these small bottles is a tremendous convenience as well as a good cost savings.

[Lt. Wombat]

We just tapped the grill into the house main line. No more bottles to mess with here.

[Cyngbaeld]

I usually get the propane delivery man to refill all the bottles when he comes out. That way you get the bulk price. My landlord also had a tank on the house that had a hose that he could connect to the bottles and refill himself.