And this was at a major propane supplier..

I'm in Houston...  What a crock!


12.50 to fill the standard 5 gal. tank below..



and when I asked how much to fill my 25 gallon tank it was 55.50  

and delivered with a 100 gal. min.  1.90/gal

Maybe natural Gas isnt so bad after all?

Was this the guy?
[img]http://www.wvah.com/programs/kingofthehill/hankhill.jpg[/img]

We have to buy a new tank with our propane. It comes out to something like 16 bucks with a new tank.

I think that is pretty reasonable. Here in So. Calif., the San Gabriel Valley, 10 miles east of L.A.; the last time I bought propane, I paid something like $19 for a 5 gal tank, and it was one of those newer ones with the anti-overflow device meaning they really can't fill them with a full 5 gals, maybe 4.5gals.

Upon further reflection, around here, propane is sold by weight, not volume. As for the price, last time I had tanks filled, I think it was about $40-45 for 3 tanks. That's a little more than [b]realist[/b] paid, but then again, the stuff's not made [b]right here[/b], like it is in Houston! Heck, I though Texans got petroleum products free!

It's commonly sold by weight only on larger purchases. If you're just filling a 20-pounder, many places charge more per pound, due to the labor being essentially the same regardless of how much you're buying. As usual, the old "cheaper to buy it in volume" adage applies.

You got HOSED ! I deliver propane part-time at a cost from 1.12 to 1.49 per gallon  depending on the customer tankage and usage.Most are charged 1.31 per gallon.You should not have paid more than 7.00 which I feel is a fair price.Hope it does not go any higher.Demand sends it up,luckily the weather here in NJ has been averaging around the freezing mark nites to mid 40's by day.

I just payed $10 for a 20lb fill. However many gallons that is?

About 5 Gallons. Propane weighs a little over 4 lbs. per gallon at 60 degrees F.

Again, blame the scumbag, ambulance-chasing lawyers for the high cost.  Used to be they objected to filling tanks that were transported in closed cars.  Now they fill for anyone since the mandated OPD cylinders are the only tanks filled.  

Propane is also going up due to increase natural gas demands.  Yes, utilities will keep a quantity of propane for emergency use as it is diluted with air to match the Btu/SCF of natural gas.  Yes, air.  Not nitrogen but air.

When NG goes up, propane follows.  

I pay 15 dollars for 30 pounds/7.5 gal. here in New Braunfels, TX. It was 18 bucks awhile back so I don't kick. John

The price of propane is directly geared to the natural gas supply and price.  All the majors (BP, Exxon/Modil, Shell, etc) are gearing up to increase their imports of LNG by ship.  It comes in from overseas to Lake Charles, east and west coast, etc.  

And as you found out, the smaller quantity you buy....the more $$$ it cost per gallon/pound.  Many rural homeowners are now paying $$$ to fill their domestic tanks, etc.

And yep, there is mega supplies stored in and around the Houston area.  BTW...they have recently upgraded their security also.....

BTW...the feds do offset the cost of certain fuels in the Northeast.  Depending on the fuel, etc....we sometimes pay more for it in Texas than they do in Kalifornia or NJ, NY, etc.  Go figure....I just drive a little faster here in Texas (pickup, SUV, and surburban capital of the world)...."Drive faster....Freeze a Yankee."
Ya'll be safe over the holidays.

Dude.. no way..  an empty tank here costs $24.00 at sams wholesale..and then you getta get if filled.. you must be talking about trading in your empty tank for another one filled like at home depot..  their charging costing about 16.00 right now.

Seems like everyone is getting better prices all over the US except for California..  I need to plan on filling my 150 gallon tank in the end of summer next year when prices will br back down hopefully..

This is what I pay.

we charge more for smaller bottles than larger bottles (because wear and tear on the pump is pretty much all the same), our price scale right now is as follows:

20#: $9.50
30#: $13.95
40#: $18.20
60#: $26.40
100#: $41.50

all our house gas, with a minimum delivery of 100 gallons is $1.39 per gallon now

but think of it this way...........gas is a high motherfucker right now, hasn't ever come down from last winter as a matter of fact, but yall buy it anywhere from 5 to probably 200 gallons at a time.................we have to buy it 10,000 gallons at a time.  with a 30 day accounts receivable we've oft times had to take out loans for it!

gas is as high now as it has ever been

propane is sold by weight for portable tanks. house tanks, underground tanks and the like are sold by the gallon

the OPD (overfill protection device) allows the tank (theoretically, if the fuckers work) to fill the tank to 80% which is what we were filling to beforehand anyway.  liquid in a vapor burning system is not a good thing.  we can think morons that cant run a scale or check for liquid for that bullshit law.

the # system for bottles assumes propane weighs 4lbs per gallon (it actually weighs 4.24lbs)  therefore a 20# bottle is 5 gallons, a 30# bottle is 7.5 gallons and so on.............

anything else you ever wanted to know about propane and propane accessories?

That surprises me. Canada has huge gas reserves - I just always assumed they were our biggest supplier.

I had 3 5gal tanks filled the other day. Cost $28.00.

thanks TexRdnec  for your prices..

Mickey mouse..  wow..   great info !!   [:)]

bulk propane is $1.60 gal in the stix backside of Bakersfield.

2 Questions for the Hank Hills out there -

1. Is it legal to move a large home propane tank, while it contains liquid propane? (I personally think it isn't wise or safe to do so, but don't really know)

2. Can local (delivery) suppliers reclaim that gas, re-pay some portion of the value?

Where my dad lives in Montana most pople have adapters to fill thiersmaller propane tanks from thier larger ones that they use for the house, works out alot cheaper.

I'm in a suburb of L.A. and paid almost $12 for about 7 gallons the other day. I think the price was about $1.39 per gallon.

texrdnec -- Is your name really hank?  [;D]

I think I just learned more about propane than I cared to know....

bout 16 to fill one here thar last time...bout 8 mo. ago.

At the shop I work at they charge $3.00/gallon.
Since we are open longer hours than most we sell a  lot.

usually:

$17 to $20 to swap your bottle

$50 to $60 to buy a spare, filled bottle

1.  Yes, but only if it is less than 5% full
2.  No.  However, as mentioned, it is possible to fill bottles off of tanks and as such get most of the liquid out of them.  This is possible only if the tank is equipped with a liquid line though, and very few are.

Sorry folks made a mistake, I came across my receipt for filling the last 5gal tank, and it was 2 years old! I called the same company today, and they charge approximately $12.50+tax with your empty bottle. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for the answers. My ~250gal tank is ~80% full. I'm screwed. was hoping to move / sell it off the property...

if you want my advice i say unscrew the guage so nobody knows how much is in it, put it on a trailer and take it wherever you're going ( i had to look up the law so im sure nobody else knows what the hell it is either)

because the only other way to get rid of that gas legally in order to legally transport it is to flare it off and that is a pain in the ass in more than just the wallet.............

Not true..  I have a friend who has a smelter for aluminum. he sold the smelter and has a 250 gal tank that was full...  (that would be 80%)  ...  his suppliers put the propane back in their truck and credited him for it.

I also Have taken the time to call through the yellow pages for some other suppliers in Houston,  and have found better prices..

5 gal..  9.50  
25 gal.. 42.50  

delivered for 1.40 a gal

Thats more than a 25% difference from my first post. Goes to show you what a little calling around can save you... [rolleyes]

I did call perryman propane and politlely gave them a pirce of my mind and told them I wouldnt be doing any more business with them.  [:)]

you ready for a little rant?

you need to find out EXACTLY what you're getting from what company.  some companies that are cheaper than us dont do a fucking thing.  one guy has 12,000 gallons of storage and two 1960s era dual tank bobtails, he sells gas anywhere from 12 to 5 cents cheaper than we do.  well guess what, we have 62,900 gallons of storage (so we're still delivering when he's ducking phone calls because he's out) we have inventory (he sends his "customers" to us when they actually fucking need something), we work on shit (he doesnt do a fucking thing, he just fills tanks), we move and set tanks, he doesnt, we dig and set line, he doesnt, etc...........

now me, personally, i think its worth 5-12 cents per gallon of gas to have a reliable gas source that does everything else as well

and your friend in the aluminum smeltering business knows jack shit about propane and should stick to smeltering.  on your average tank you have several fixtures........a guage face, a valve tree, and a pop off.  ONLY on specialized or customized tanks do you have a liquid line in which to extract PROPANE.  if you disconnect your regulator on your tank and open the valve all the way up you'll get vapor, ONLY vapor.  that does jack shit worth of good because you cant capture it up, thats just the result of the propane (liquid) boiling in the tank and thus you CANNOT do anything worthwhile with it except burn it.  besides a liquid line in a tank there is NO other way to salvage the gas in it

for what its worth though, yes, you were getting fucked on you piddly ass 20# tank

I just had two 20# filled for $6.50 each and 100# for $23.00 at our local farmers COOP.