I hate searching out propane

[tsetsaf]

6:30pm the tanks ran empty... 1.5 hours later I finally found a station to fill them. Such a pain finding propane; or should I say such a pain finding someone to fill the propane bottles.

[rockhillmanor]

tsetsaf wrote:
6:30pm the tanks ran empty... 1.5 hours later I finally found a station to fill them.

Such a pain finding propane

; or should I say such a pain finding someone to fill the propane bottles.

Google CG's near you. Easy peasy.

You don't have to be staying there to buy propane from them.

[Lantley]

edbehnke wrote:
'TANKS'? i have 2 30 pounders but I always try to run just one tank at a time. i simply turn the other tank off. sometimes it is a pain in the middle of a cold night with the furnace running but i'd rather run outside and turn the second tank on than not have any gas.

do one tank at a time.

I used this method as well. It is a foolproof way to avoid being caught with 2 empty tanks.

[luckyscroller78]

just learned today the Menards store by me has a 24 hour tank exchange machine out in front of the store, a pretty handy thing once you know they have it, but if you were looking to exchange a tank after closing hours and werent aware of it, youd just drive by. Exchanges on the 20 pounders were $15 and change there.

[edbehnke]

'TANKS'? i have 2 30 pounders but I always try to run just one tank at a time. i simply turn the other tank off. sometimes it is a pain in the middle of a cold night with the furnace running but i'd rather run outside and turn the second tank on than not have any gas.

do one tank at a time.

[MarkTwain]

rk911 wrote:
was your tank gauge malfunctioning? no advance warning??

When I fill my tanks and reinstall them, I only open the valve on one tank. This prevents me from ever emptying both tanks at the same time. When 1 tank emptys, I opened the valve on the other tank and go fill the empty tanks as soon as possible. I also wrap a paper tag on each tank and write down the date each one is been filled up.

[brirene]

I know it doesn't help when on the road, but I always fill mine at my local propane dealer. They offer a punch card for every fifth fill free. Between the 2 30s on the fifth wheel and the 2 20s I rotate between home and the camper I get a free 20# fill a couple of times per year.

[time2roll]

Never had trouble finding propane. Never ran both tanks empty either.

[monkey44]

U-Haul always has propane ... find a U-Haul. BJ's often has propane too, usually where it sells the tires.

[GordonThree]

Not many refillers around my area, like others have posted, they've largely been regulated out of business.

I just exchange, and yes I know, an exchange bottle is a rip off since they're only half full. It's just another expense to camping - still cheaper than a hotel and the view is a lot nicer.

[westernrvparkow]

Many retailers have moved away from selling Propane. There are new regulations every couple of years that generally involve either new equipment or relocating the tanks and fueling area. It isn't very profitable to begin with if you want to be price competitive and when you add in the labor it just doesn't make financial sense. On top of that, many RV propane fill connections range from either very difficult to access to a location that would challenge a Cirque Du Soleil acrobat. I threw in the towel when I crawled under a VW campervan in a 35 degree rainstorm to put in exactly 3/10s of one gallon of propane all for a whopping 75 cents. I don't envy those retailers at all.

[nineoaks2004]

No problem finding the 20# bottles in this area, Dollar General, the grocery stores, Camping World, Flying J and scads of others all swap them out. I bought a gauge from Camping World that hooks inline off the regulator, and lets me know how much propane is in the bottle. If it starts to get low I take a 2nd tank.
Camping World and Flying J fills the large tanks on Motorhomes too.

[Water-Bug]

bluie5 wrote:
I always fill the empty tank after it switches to the full one. Then I don't have to scramble to get both filled.

Always leave the just filled tank turned off. When the active tank goes dry, shut it off and turn on the full tank. That way you know when a tank is empty. Both tanks don't need to be empty to get a refill.

[bluie5]

I always fill the empty tank after it switches to the full one. Then I don't have to scramble to get both filled.

[2oldman]

Finding propane can be difficult, especially when there's no app for that. There are, however, lots of exchange stations for the smaller tanks, so I got those. Either fill or exchange. But darn hard to find those sometimes too.

The only thing harder (to me) is finding water.

[rk911]

was your tank gauge malfunctioning? no advance warning??