Look at any Blue Rhino storage bins and the cap has been marked out on the display. They all use to be filled to 17 lbs. So now you pay the same price for 15 lbs so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure up how much is being made off 2 lbs per tank less than they use to put in.
It has nothing to do with insurance, cap. of the tank, or expansion. It's the same with a lot of other products for sale to day. Same size container with less product in it at the same price.
The 80% leaves a safety factor for expansion. Leaving one sit in the back of a pickup in the hot sun is quite different than sitting somewhere out of direct sunlight.
The tanks are designed for 80% full. If you think 60 or 70% full is better, why don't we go to 50%, that would be better yet? Or 20%
No, I don't carry one in a closed compartment. I'd be more worried about a leaky valve than it overheating from the hot sun.
The short filling has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with ripping off the consumer.
Ken
wa8yxm wrote: One thing to consider about the lowering of the amount of propane in the tank...
There are several threads in several forums about the safety of hauling a portable tank in your basement storage.. I do it, many of us do it, but there is a safety issue.. Here is the issue.
Should the tank get hot, and it often gets hot in basement compartments, the propane liquid will expand.. One person had a translucent tank (Yes they make such things) and he filled it to 80% like you are supposed to, put it in the bed of his pick up and parked in the sun.. 80 turned into 100 percent
This means the tank was venting.. And in fact a tank so stored in your basement would also vent under those conditions.
Now...... If a tank vents in your basement, enclosed, compatment, it is quite possible that the fuel/air mix in the compartment might hit the magic ratio.. and when that happens. should a spark happen, perhaps two pieces of metal striking one another as you hit a bump in the road.. that bump will suddenly be a hole in the road.. A VERY BIG HOLE,
Short filling the tanks is way safer under these conditions as they are way less likely to vent.
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The short fill has nothing to do with safety. There were several news stories recently that discussed this issue. Blue Rhino and others stated that when the price of propane went up they began short filling so they would not have to raise the price. According to them they were doing us a favor! Of course the price of propane has retreated and I haven't seen the short filling stop. I guess their concern for our well being only went so far. LINK This link will take you to one news story. A quick search will provide you with plenty of stories. It is not limited to Blue Rhino.
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fpresto wrote: The short fill has nothing to do with safety. There were several news stories recently that discussed this issue. Blue Rhino and others stated that when the price of propane went up they began short filling so they would not have to raise the price. According to them they were doing us a favor! Of course the price of propane has retreated and I haven't seen the short filling stop. I guess their concern for our well being only went so far. LINK This link will take you to one news story. A quick search will provide you with plenty of stories. It is not limited to Blue Rhino.
Correct. These short fills were started last year when propane was high, heck they sold, so why not continue these short fillls. The average JOE does not even notice the difference.
Blue Rhino has been short filling since forever. Apparently they are just getting shorter.
Several years ago, I found that that the last two Blue Rhino bottles I received had 18 lbs of propane in them.
The tank is marked 47.6 pts, which is which is 5.95 gallons, which is 25.228 pounds. 80% of that is 20.18 lbs, which is what I expect from a bottle sold as "full", as previously mentioned by JJBIRISH.
Then they went to 17 lbs, and now 15 lbs.
So, expect to get 25% less than a full tank from Blue Rhino.
Also, check the date on the bottles. I have found some as much as 12 years past expiration.
Now that I have exchanged all my old bottles, I avoid Blue Rhino.
What does a Blue Rhino exchange cost now?
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A few yrs ago I refilled both tanks from my 5vr at local propane co. during my lunch hr and placed them under the 5vr bedroom. We I got home 4 hrs later, both were venting (it was 96 degree and they were in the sun).
It was recently reported on this forum that a "class action lawsuit" was filed against Blue Rhino and others that were short filling the tanks. Anyone know what has become of that lawsuit?
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johnrbd wrote: A few yrs ago I refilled both tanks from my 5vr at local propane co. during my lunch hr and placed them under the 5vr bedroom. We I got home 4 hrs later, both were venting (it was 96 degree and they were in the sun).
I have to wonder if they were properly filled, or overfilled? The new valves are supposed to prevent overfilling. Also, were the tanks white, or some other color? A darker color would absorb more heat from the sun.
You see this practice in a lot of products. Ice cream has gone from 2qts to 1.75 to 1.5 qts in the last couple years, while the price is the same, while they redesign the container to fool the eye. Spread is 15oz instead of 16oz, Ricotta cheese, 15 instead of 16, dry cereal has all decreased the volume. What anoyes me the most is items that are ingredients in a recipe that should be a specific amount, like 1lb of ricotta cheese. Well now you either have to buy two containers, or short your recipe a little bit. My DW and I kid that next year Ice cream will be 1.25qts and there will be a "New Family Size!!" of 2qts at a higher price.
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