Propane questions

Last fall, we installed a gas pack. Prior to that we just had a gas stove. In shopping around, we found out that our prior supplier was gorging us big time. The new company set the tank for free. The only thing we had to buy was the new copper line and fittings. (Different location for the larger tank.)

Signed a contract with the new supplier to furnish propane for $1.79/gal through March 31, of this year. Even with paying the $.50/gal to empty the old tank, we saved money because the old company was charging over $3.00 per gal for the smaller tank.

I have no problem with using a leased tank. (No lease fees if x amount is used during a given period.) Around here, changing suppliers, simply means swapping tanks. The most competitive companies will keep their prices low enough to keep their customers.

Based on our experience, it's the greedy ones with long term customers, who rely on customer loyality, that can get by with gouging their customers. In the future I'll be watching much more closely than I did in the past. If the company we're with now starts getting greedy, they'll get the call to pickup the tank because we'll be doing business with abc company in the future.

Just my 2-cents.
Lee

Your pulling vapor of the top of the tank for household use whats on the bottom of the tank won't matter. You will probably reach a point where you cant stand the smell when your down to vapor and no liquid left in the tank.

I have been told by different people that propane suppliers can gouge you by setting the regulator pressure higher than necessary . This causes you to use more gas than necessary thereby they sell you more . A friend of mine switched companies & tanks & the company that installed the second tank told him the first company was doing this to him . My brother-in-law has worked for a natural gas company for years & he repairs & calibrates meters . He also told me if the regulator is set higher than necessary that you will use more gas than necessary . If I was one of you people buying propane or natural gas I would have the pressure checked by an independent person .

I worked in a propane office for years. We gave customer the option to either have us pump the tank for a fee anything over 15% or anything under that we could move and would credit them back the money they paid for the amount in the tank. What a lot of customers did was run it out . It does smell bad near the bottom of the tank. Most gas companies will go ahead and set their tank beside the one you are waiting to get rid of, so it's already in place just waiting til you are done using your gas. We did not charge to come and get our tanks. We refunded the gas at the price you paid for it.

That what I did. I bought two 100# tanks (about 23 gallons each), then switch them using an RV regulator to keep the pilots lit. My little cabin got about 3 weeks out of a tank, even in the coldest time of year. Of course one tank will last all summer just for cooking and hot water.

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With 100 gallon tanks, you are dealing with small amounts; driving their truck to your place costs more than the small amount of fuel you get. Your per gallon charge doesn't sound bad for such small amounts; the $90 a year fee for a 100lb tank is foolish; that is about what a new tank of that size costs, and should last you decades.

Here in MN the only debate is to put in a 500 or 1000 gal tank. Don't think anyone delivers to a small tank like yours - you manhandle them yourself around here.

Owning your own tank of 500 gallons or more is the way to go for getting the better prices on lp.

Some issues:

If the tank goes empty, they will charge an inspection fee & you need to be there to fill the tank - safety issue if it goes empty.

There are some few companies that won't deliver to a private tank, but is rare if you can't find a good low-priced company.

If you price shop and change companies regularly, they might want to charge an inspection fee on their first delivery - kinda gets into that safety/ liability issue.