Propane bottle exchange, a target for thieves?

CavemanCharlie wrote:


There is only one place within 40 miles of me that fills tanks and they only do it on certain days and times.

Or " sorry, the person who does propane is off today."

The fill station in Searchlight NV won't fill at dusk.

rhagfo wrote:

MitchF150 wrote:
I only do the exchange when the tank I'm exchanging is expired (close to or over 12 years old)..

I exchange the expired one, get a new one with some propane in it for $20.. If you go into a store and buy an EMPTY tank, it'll cost you over $40..

No brainer for me...

After I get the new tank, I just get it refilled. Tons of places around me, so not big deal. I burn mine up mostly on my Mr Heater for the garage and the gas grill on the back porch.. Yes, I use gas to grill on... Add some wood chips and it does fine.. So you charcoal folks can just keep your comments to yourself.. ha, ha :)

Good luck!

Mitch

Well are you sure it is "New" do you check the date stamp?
I use 30# tanks, so no exchange tanks, that and local propane shop will re-certify the tanks for $15 and I still MY tanks that have been well treated. Not a tank that may have been beat to death then repainted to look "NEW".

Currently propane is about $2.30 a gal. here, $2.30 X 5 = $11.50, the exchange tanks are down a a bit to $19 for about 4 gal.

Yes, I check the codes before I even go into the store. I only get them if they are no more than a year old. Then I refill on my own from then on.

Mitch

I don't get
IF your worried
just leave the 'tank'/bottle in your car, until you;ve paid
then take it out for the exchange
you carried the empty there in the vehicle
and your going to carry the full home in the same vehicle

i have never heard of anyone stealing an empty LP tank

is this for your barbecue grill ?

I only use an exchange when my tank is expired and needs recert. So I exchange it for a current one. I asked the store manager about the ethics of it and he said go ahead. It is common and he has no problem with the practice.

If you really want to exchange a cylinder, Sam's Club has been placing exchange tank vending machines in front of their stores. Of course available 24/7.

We have very little crime around here. I've never heard of a propane tank being stolen.

Where I live it it hard to find a place to get them filled. Almost every gas station and hardware store has exchange tanks though.

There is only one place within 40 miles of me that fills tanks and they only do it on certain days and times.

ctilsie242 wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Scrap metal dealers don't particularly like propane cylinders due to the special handling required and often won't take them. I suspect that those stolen by someone other than an LP user or for resale might be taken by meth cookers. They like empty LP cylinders and use them to transport the anhydrous ammonia used in making their product.

That makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if the "borrowed" container is holding an ingredient in fertilizer right now.

I can understand why scrap metal dealers don't like propane cylinders. Empty, they are explosive. Full, they can be very explosive on the BLEVE level.

I know of one scrap dealer in upstate NY that takes them, but the valve must be removed and the tank flushed so there's no residual smell. And they do check...

I never exchange tanks and have never had the slightest problem finding somewhere close to get them filled. Even Costco is getting into the act. Call your local hardware store (Ace ?) and ask if they do refills if you're having trouble finding a place.

I still remember standing in a long line at the propane refill station at an Ace near Orlando prior to a hurricane alert (Charlie I think). Everyone refills their propane grill tanks just in case the grill becomes the post-hurricane go-to household stove for a while. Which it did !

Just watch out for inexperienced fillers. I had one stop at just over 5 gallons because "they shouldn't hold that much", He thought they were 20#.

I also had one PFJ where the kid said he could legally only fill two cylinders, not all three I had. He said his manager told him that was the law. I got his managers name, and then I called PFJ corporate. Turned out that wasn't his managers name, and, of course, they corrected the store (while I was on the phone, no less). Never saw that kid there again.

I had similar, filled 6 20 lb cylinders for deer hunting trip. I was transporting them in the back of a half-ton van. When the pressure relief valve popped on the first cylinder, I couldn't see my hands on the wheel. I took a half breath, leaned my head to the open driver's window, and slowed to a stop on the shoulder, turning the key off when slowed. Turning that key was a long moment. One spark and there would have been no van and no me.
Later, two other cylinders released. The cause was certainly over filling.

Unfortunately, this fill station had a tragic accident when a kid filled a cylinder that a previous user had filled with acetylene. That should never have been possible but the user may have done that himself. The fill station exploded, killing the kid filling and damaged the nearby building so that it was closed for repairs for months. Be careful out there, propane has a lot of energy.

DutchmenSport wrote:
Never heard of it happening before until now. Not sure why anyone would take an empty tank.

Just curious, why do you do an "exchange"? If you have an RV dealer anywhere near you, almost all dealers fill propane tanks. No threat of theft this way. Or ACE Hardware, or another local Hardware store? It's much cheaper to do refills, and you have the assurance of keeping a propane tank you have confidence in?

I don't know about the O.P., but I like to keep my own tanks as well, but it is not always convenient to find a propane refill station. To make a tank exchange is preferable to going without propane in mid late November in SD. ;)