Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Propane availibilty

I have had the same auto fill contract for close to 30 years. Last year I called about getting a second 500 gallon tank installed as back up.

They checked my usage and told me that their cost of tanks had more than doubled so they could not just provide a second tank. They could sell me one but it would cost 4200.00 . We have a wood stove so I'll chance running out at some point.

Interesting times we live in.

No.

Not me.

Not sure how it’s set up in TX, the local LP company has bulk tanks scattered all over.

Maybe 5 or 6 locations in the county.
They don’t have to return to office to refill the truck.

Same. I got to 30% of our 1000 gallon tank Tuesday and called them and they said "oh we're at your house as we speak" - $2.921 a gallon less 10% for paying in < 10 days.

Or bottled water at convenience stores (or elsewhere0 in advance of weather while the taps are still running treated city/normal water


Tried that for emergency backup to my NG feed (earthquakes/broken lines). NG outfit quashed that idear..

So, deliverability, not availability?

We can cook on the woodstove and I've got plenty of camping equipment. We always keep the old Diezt lanterns handy for when the power goes out too. I hate the idea of being helpless.

Sounds like they have the fuel but not enough drivers. One quit about a month ago and they don't have too many wanting the job. Seems pretty common nowadays.

Our distributor ran out three or four winters ago.

Back during the Y2K scare, a wealthy and very eccentric friend of my father’s bought and installed a propane powered generator and tank. Seems like I remember him running into a limit of how big a residential tank he would be allowed to buy. Have no idea if this was imposed by state, feds, or the gas company? Anyone ever heard of this? We heat w propane and only have a 250 gallon rented tank, but end up using 500-600 gallons a year.
Usually pre-buy during early fall and have it delivered as needed. Makes me a little nervous sometimes, afraid I’ll forget and get caught without.

Have a 500 gal tank. Two ~400 gal fills per year most years. Our guy comes within 2-3 days of when I email him. However, will not come until we are down to or under 20% (400 gal). Refilled all of my 20# tanks for the gas grill as well. Purchased some cast iron cookware for the grill. Good to cook if the power goes out as it does every 2-3 years....

I tell ya what.... ain't nothin like cookin with a clean fuel like sweet lady propane..... taste the meat, not the heat.

Seriously though, I think it's drivers and busy times not supply. I was at a buddies house and the propane guy showed up on a Sunday around 2 pm lol. Says he could work 24 hours a day if he wants in the winter time..... they have a hard time finding drivers..... they need 10 drivers in the winter and 2 in the summer, makes it hard to keep good drivers.

I have a 1000 gal tank.... one time I let it get too low and had to wait a couple weeks. I went to tractor supply and bought a 100 gal vertical tank and had it filled at the qwik-e mart and hooked it up.... I always keep that one for back up now....can go fill it at the gas station anytime and it will get us by a couple weeks if needed.

We are lucky up here, tied onto the natural gas pipelines.

So unless government shuts it down we are good to go.

Might be a good time to look for another propane place the first one we had gave us a bullschit hassle

You could install an “excess flow valve” which will close on a high flow…..such as a line break! memtb

Yep. The company that I use has the same set up.

It has become a problem here for residential customers. We have several hundred new chicken houses here and they are the priority customer for the propane company.

Jeff, I never heard tell of someone being restricted to a certain size of tank they can purchase by any local or federal codes, laws...etc ...but you are darn sure restricted to what size tank you can install through distance requirements at time of installation.

When I was working, they typically preferred a customer use two times the capacity of the tank per year to justify the installation of a given size. That is capacity at 80% full, not 100%

Propane driver made it here this evening. Nice young fellow, hunter and aiming to vote for Trump! He said they are running 7 days a week to keep up. I'm sure glad to have heat back in my shop. We have enough now for the rest of the winter.