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Lwiddis
Southern California :(
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Joined: 08/12/2016
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Excellent points, ski and 2oldman.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
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BarabooBob
Baraboo, WI
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I go to the local U-Haul rental shop to get my tanks filled. Last time they charged me $18 to FILL my empty tank. They set their scale according to the empty weight of the tank and fill it to 20 pounds. The exchange places are charging $20 too $25 for 15 pounds of gas.
My tanks are also like new and I know that they work. I will top off my tanks when I find a place that fill them, I don't wait until I am empty.
Bob & Dawn Married 34 years
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afidel
Cleveland
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I use exchanges when my backup (former grill) tanks expire as it's cheaper than recertifying a tank. I also had to do a swap when all the retail refill places near me were out of propane a few years ago, it was cheaper to do a swap than drive 20+ miles to get a refill.
2019 Dutchman Kodiak 293RLSL
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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Only issues are
Re doing the hold downs (should not be an issue at all)
More frequent refilling of the tank.
Advantage.. Half the weight to lift and carry and pull.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
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Samsonsworld
West Texas
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Joined: 06/18/2015
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Gdetrailer wrote:
20 lb propane cylinder holds about 4.7 gallons of propane.
Propane weighs about 4.2 lbs per gallon
pretty much all cylinder exchanges (you bring empty and exchange it for a loaded cylinder) short load the cylinders with about 15 lbs of propane or about 3.5 gallons of propane.
In the case of the price of $19.99 that is $5.71 per gallon you are paying for the convenience of grab and go..
If you went to a propane dealer that fills your cylinder while you wait and you were to pay $19.99 you would get 4.7 gallons of propane at $4.25 per gallon!
But I think $19.99 for exchange is a bit low, current price locally for Blue Rhino cylinders near me is $21 for 15 lbs..
Been quite a few yrs ago when I needed to refill my 30 lbs cylinders, cost me less than $19 for full 30 lbs (about 7 gallons) although I am sure it is a bit more now days.
If you are OK paying more for convenience and don't mind only getting 15 lbs then use the cylinder exchanges.
I found your post pretty insightful and appreciate the information.
Guys, I don't look to spend more money than I have to but I also don't look to spend more of my time. There is a trade off. By my calculations, its roughly $7 more per tank to exchange when you correct the volume. I'll use 3 tanks per year, tops. That's not much money and saves me a LOT of time considering I'm at the grocery store every week anyway.
Sheesh! I didn't know I was starting a controversial topic!
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Gdetrailer
PA
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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Samsonsworld wrote:Gdetrailer wrote:
20 lb propane cylinder holds about 4.7 gallons of propane.
Propane weighs about 4.2 lbs per gallon
pretty much all cylinder exchanges (you bring empty and exchange it for a loaded cylinder) short load the cylinders with about 15 lbs of propane or about 3.5 gallons of propane.
In the case of the price of $19.99 that is $5.71 per gallon you are paying for the convenience of grab and go..
If you went to a propane dealer that fills your cylinder while you wait and you were to pay $19.99 you would get 4.7 gallons of propane at $4.25 per gallon!
But I think $19.99 for exchange is a bit low, current price locally for Blue Rhino cylinders near me is $21 for 15 lbs..
Been quite a few yrs ago when I needed to refill my 30 lbs cylinders, cost me less than $19 for full 30 lbs (about 7 gallons) although I am sure it is a bit more now days.
If you are OK paying more for convenience and don't mind only getting 15 lbs then use the cylinder exchanges.
I found your post pretty insightful and appreciate the information.
Guys, I don't look to spend more money than I have to but I also don't look to spend more of my time. There is a trade off. By my calculations, its roughly $7 more per tank to exchange when you correct the volume. I'll use 3 tanks per year, tops. That's not much money and saves me a LOT of time considering I'm at the grocery store every week anyway.
Sheesh! I didn't know I was starting a controversial topic!
As you said, there is some "trade offs".
Nothing wrong with using a cylinder exchange as long as you are aware of the trade offs.
I have done both ways, my RV cylinders are 30 lb and my gas grill has 20 lb cylinders. Exchanges don't deal with 30 lb or higher cylinders so I get those filled at a hardware store that sells bulk propane.
Gas grill, I have two 20 lb cylinders and when the OPD valve requirement went into effect yrs ago it was much lower cost to pay the cost at an exchange place for cylinders with OPD than it was to have new valves put in and recertified or buy new ones with OPD valves.
The exchanges take care of the recertifications and most will slap a fresh coat of paint on them when needed.
Most exchanges are at retailers like gas stations, grocery stores which have hrs after 4 PM and open on weekends. Most bulk propane dealers do not have hrs after 4-5PM and no weekend hrs..
Just note, as some others have mentioned sometimes exchange cylinders have valve issues.. I keep a spare one for the gas grill in a shed away from the house, I had one that must have had a slow leak I didn't notice and went to use it and it was 100% empty! It had the exchange seal intact but the cylinder felt light and no gas to the grill.
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Samsonsworld
West Texas
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Gdetrailer wrote:
Just note, as some others have mentioned sometimes exchange cylinders have valve issues.. I keep a spare one for the gas grill in a shed away from the house, I had one that must have had a slow leak I didn't notice and went to use it and it was 100% empty! It had the exchange seal intact but the cylinder felt light and no gas to the grill.
Yes, sir! I was a little scared to mention it but I do have three exchange tanks at home for the grills, griddle and disc burner. I'm a little too familiar with valve issues. The good news is I always carry one with me when I go camping, so I should have a spare.
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joebedford
Home for the summer.
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Joined: 09/03/2003
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I have propane at the stick house so my grill is plumbed into that. No cylinders to refill (well, there are two 400L cylinders but the truck comes to fill them).
For my 5er, I have two 30lb tanks. Both have "aged out" (RV is 11 years old) so I have the extra expense of new tanks. That's one thing you don't have to worry about when you go on an exchange program. We RV in the winter and for the few weeks it's cool in the south, we use about one tank a week.
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Skibane
San Antonio, TX
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Samsonsworld wrote:Guys, I don't look to spend more money than I have to but I also don't look to spend more of my time. There is a trade off. By my calculations, its roughly $7 more per tank to exchange when you correct the volume. I'll use 3 tanks per year, tops. That's not much money and saves me a LOT of time considering I'm at the grocery store every week anyway.
The folks at my grocery store have a hard time keeping the full and empty tanks separate.
Typically, they'll just pick one up, and then say "Yep! That feels full!", and put it in my shopping cart.
I have gotten tanks that way which weren't anywhere near full, even after taking into account that fact that exchange tanks are never more than 75% full to begin with.
I like supporting my local propane guy, rather than some large corporation like AmeriGas or Blue Rhino.
He puts the tank on a scale while refilling it, right there where we can both see it - No concerns about underfilling.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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This thread reads like a Progressive Insurance TV commercial about becoming like your parents....
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
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