Good video... I work for blue rhino and yes, we want the old tanks out of circulation and have newer ones enter. So yes, we want you to exchange an older tank for a newer one. Once the tank is picked up it goues through a wash, recertification, paint if needed and refilled. It receives a new lable and then gets put back on the truck for delivery. If the valve is bad, it does get replaced and tested for any leaks. If leaks are present it will be rejected. Thank you for your video.
We take all 20lbs tanks that are refurbishable. Meaning, they can't be so rusted and pitted that they can't be recertified and put on a shelf. The safety collar and bottom rings must still be intact. If the valve is bad, we would more than likely replace it. So yes, we take any tanks whether it's blue rhino or not.
I was an assistant scoutmaster for a Boy Scout troop- I went to the dump- and there was six to seven out of date propane tanks- I asked the guy if I can have them- he said take them! So I did- and did exactly what you did- great tip/ the lady who took the tanks even said these were out of date but don’t worry I will give you new full takes for the price of the propane only. The troop got six full tanks for all their camping!
ya most have to make sure the valves are opd and than its no problem had tht happen once but than i went to a homedepot tht did exchange thru robot system. tell the system its an exchange a door opens up place on rack and scale if it thinks its a tank the door closes and another opens up with the full tank for you to take
From my personal experience the amount of fuel that gets placed in a refilled tank varies upon where you choose to have it filled. In my town there are a couple of places that offer such services. One of the locations, Thatherton Fuels will only fill a 20lb cylinder to "around" 15 pounds but will tell you that it is fully filled. Across the street though at Strickland Propane I can take a cylinder in and get it filled to the full 20lbs and be charged only pennies more. I, like yourself absolutely love firing up my Vogner Char-King Imperiale as much as possible and have found that by shopping around you can really find great deals. Thanks for the videa.
i work for a company that refurbish these tank and yeah its vary to place to place but we are legally obligated to fill them for a total weight of about 35.5LB to 36Lbbut this law doesn't touch store only industry its to stop them being overfill and having them be more dangerous while moving them around in high quantity but yeah store usually fill them entirely and if the pression of the pump is lesser than the amount they fill it they stop filling
The Home Depot near me in NH has an automated cylinder exchange. Put your card into the machine and tell it if you are exchanging an empty or just getting a full tank with no exchange. If you are exchanging a locker type door pops open and you put in your empty tank and close the door. Then another door pops open and you take the full one. Nobody there to check how old your tank is, just a sensor on the machine that can tell if you actually put an empty in the locker or not. The store doesn't even need to be open. It's available 24X7. The cheapest place to get a tank filled around here is U-Haul unless you heat your house with propane then your propane company may fill 20 lb cylinders for free if you are a regular customer on automatic delivery.
My Experiences: Don't get your Blue Rhino tanks from a big box store like Walmart or Lowes. They won't let you pick your tank. They get it for you and that is that. Best to get them from a place like a gas station or a hardware store where the people are more cooperative. Tractor supply not only fills the tank fully, but they also give you credit for fuel left in the than. Around me, only Tractor Supply and the welding gas companies do this. Most places that fill tanks charge a flat fee even if there is fuel left in the tank. If you ever see unsafe behavior filling propane tanks, call them out loudly to a manager! a decade ago, I watched an Ace Hardware employee smoke a cigarette while filling a propane cylinder. I took a picture on my cell phone and took it in to the manager. He was thankful and gave me a full loyalty card to get my next tank for free. Remember, its your tax money that is going to fund the fire department that has clean up the mess if the back lot explodes!
Good comment and I think in general your right. But at my Walmart I'm always nice to the cashier ladies and they always just open the cage and let me take the one I want.It's always one of them that gets sent out and I think they just want to get back inside on a busy day . Also I've swapped a few tanks that looked like they were use as boat anchors for a few years and never have any of them squawked about them.I asked them about what they'd take back one time and she said we really don't care.
My challenge is that I used to have nice propane tanks. My now ex-wife swapped them out for very poor condition Blue Rhino tanks. I have four tanks, two of which have been purchased again, and two that are currently Blue Rhino, but better condition ones. I usually go to the welding supply store to get my tanks filled. $12.50 for a fill, and you get the full 20 lbs, plus credit for any fuel left in the tank. Tractor supply is my backup because they are a bit more expensive at $16.00, but they are open nights and weekends and have the same policies. Blue Rhino in this area runs between $18 and $25 depending on the location, but you only get 15 lbs of propane.
This might clear up some confusion in regards to the man being called a thief and dishonest. Once you have a Blue Rhino tank it is your property. If you don’t exchange one tank for another it is considerably more money. Per Blue Rhino “ Blue Rhino is not a deposit program. Retailers do not provide cash for the return of empty tanks. When you exchange a tank with Blue Rhino, you walk away with a tank you own and that you can use however you wish. “ They also state they will accept any tank as long it is in acceptable condition. So absolutely no dishonesty is going on here.
Absolutely. And unlike what some have found years ago, Blue Rhino no longer puts restrictors in the tanks that stop them from being refilled at other places. They know once a tank reaches 12 years past date of manufacture or 5 years past its recert they're getting it back anyway and most of these are good for quite a few years past that. BR and Amerigas have licensed recert techs on their staff. And as the guy said, they have so many of those, they're tripping over the damned things.
I have mine filled at a local co-op. He charged me 34 dollars and change to fill 3 15!pound cylinders and 74 dollars to fill a hundred pound tank. I like to keep these around to use with my 15,000 BTU ventless heaters in case of a power outage. The trick is to buy your LP in the middle of summer when no one is thinking of heating anything. I have noticed that LP goes up dramatically about the middle of November. My 15000 btu heater will last about 24 to 30 hours on a standard 15 pound cylinder. I really depends on how cold it is outside. Last year we lost power for roughly 3 days as a result of a big ice storm. I have a 4000 watt generator. Which I have a safety plug installed into my meter base. It does not require you to shut of your main breaker but I do anyway. It will power everything in our house except my 240 volt baseboard heaters and our water heater. So I turn the breakers off to the heaters and the water heater oh and it will power 1 burner on my electric stove. I always just make a big pot of chili or ham and beans useing the smallest burner on my stove. Recently I upgraded my generator to a 6500 starting watt 5300 running watts LP fired generator. I am in the process of trying to find another 100 gallon bottle to run it on. It will drain a 15 pound cylinder in about 16-20 hours on 3/4 load. I guess I’m going to have to break down and just buy two new ones from harbor freight. I think the sell 100 pound LP tanks. I’ve looked into leasing 2 tanks but they want 26 dollars a month to lease me two 100 pound tanks. Also I can only have them filled at that same co-op. The only advantage I can see is that if I do the lease they will deliver or send out a pump truck to my home and refill my bottles for the summer prices. I’m still trying to decide which is the better value. Leasing or buying. Leasing the tanks does have the guaranteed price lock and free at home refills. No more lugging those heavy tanks into my truck after a ice storm. However if I own my own tanks I can take them with me if and when we get our house sold. Part of my lease agreement states that the bottles have to stay in my premises at all times. That’s why they come to me to fill them. I’ve got a truck bed winch system built to life lawn mower engines onto the bed of my truck. That’s what I do for a living. I’m the crazy guy with 14 broke down riding lawn mowers in his back yard. I buy them cheap fix them up and sell them at a reasonable cost. It’s a pretty good living. I fix everything from snow blowers to leaf blowers. I also have a small mowing operation going on. So everyone help me decide. Lease or buy. My wife and I are currently trying to sell our home as we have found one with a little bit smaller house on it. Probably 950 sq foot. It’s just the two of us we don’t need the 1320 sq foot monster we are living in now. I do however need a bigger shop. This one has a big shop building on it. Plus it sets on 4 acres of land and is out of city limits. Do I lease and run the risk of having to pay lease fee breakup charges. We literally would be living on the line of the coverage area that the co-op delivers too. It’s within like 200 feet. Or do I buy my own bottles and use my engine hoist to go there and have them filled. The guy at the Co-Op said he would have to see where my place was located at to see if they would service me. That was 3 weeks ago. I’ve texted him and called him several times. He still hasn’t called me back.
Considering your powering a generator I'd buy not lease a 250 or preferably a 500 gallon fixed position tank. Mount it on a concrete pad to prevent rust and make recertification easy then you don't have any restriction on how long your generator will run. You will enjoy the bigger tank, make sure the date on the new tank is no more than 6 months old before they take it off the truck.
James Shanks yes we are leaning towards leading a 300 gallon ball Tank. I went ahead and bought my 2 100 gallon tanks from them. They were made in 2004 and last certified in 18. He told me that if we end up buying this other house he would service me even though it’s 200 yards out of their service range. He also said he’d fill up My 100 gallon tanks for me since I bought them off of him. That’s roughly 500 gallons of LP. That’s about a 12 day run at 3/4 load. That’s acceptable for my needs.
The Blue Rhino site explicitly states that the will take any tank as long as no dents, foot ring is present, no major rust etc. They say nothing about the date so they expect people to bring out of date tanks for exchange. They recertify tanks as a part of their business model. They hope that you continue using their service based on having a good, convenient service. They price their product accordingly. So I see nothing wrong with taking and old tank and exchanging it for a new one.
They recertify the tanks but NEVER update the date code on the collar just so it will have to be exchanged, not refilled, in the future. Should be illegal as hell. You can't refill a tank with an expired date code but they do it all day every day.
New 20 lb propane tank $30 Home Depot Weight the rhino tanks after you get them. I'll bet there is about a gallon less propane than you assume. The empty tank weight is on the handle near the date of manufacture.
I work for a propane company and we tell people all the time it's cheaper to exchange the tank than to have us recertify it. And it's not stealing people you bought the tank it is yours regardless of the sticker on it the only way you would steal from us is by taking the propane or tanks straight from the plant.
Back in the 60s I did something similar with soft drink bottles. Took the empty bottle back, got a penny for it, then bought a full, ice cold Coca Cola for a dime. Net cost nine cents. On a good day I could find enough empties in the ditches to drink for free.Ah, the good old days.
Good info. My back patio has a natural gas line/hook-up. Never used it. But, having propane and a tank available when they shut off the gas (or a tornado) would be more useful.
Your natural gas is t you home at a pressure of about 6 psi. The pressure is your 25 lb propane tank is much, much higher. That is why there is a pressure reducing grey flat round device on your BBQ. I don’t think your theory will work. JoeB
Always check the oring in the blue rhino tanks. I got one last year that was dry and cracked and lost all the propane the first night. I should have checked for leaks when I hooked it up but it was very cold out so I was more worried about getting the furnace in my camper going.
Some people exchange a tank before it is empty because they do not want to run out of gas with their steaks half cooked. I have seen tanks turned in that still have about five pounds in them, and they exchange them for a tank holding only fifteen pounds, but they are paying for a full tank of propane. It would be smarter to refill such a tank if they could, or run them empty before exchanging. Another reason to have full spare tanks on standby.
EVEN BETTER TIP: Scrap yards take in BBQs all the time, but they don't process the propane tanks, because, if they grab one with one of those giant lifter machines, it can puncture and explode. My local scrap yard sells tanks empty or full for five bucks. I just take a handful of $5 bills to the scrap yard and take all the fullest ones and if I want, I can trade them in like has been suggested here in the video, but I save them for projects and just go get more at the scrap yard for five bucks each. I currently have 7, but my goal is to have 40 20-lb propane tanks full.
To those calling him a thief. What about the class action lawsuit against Blue Rhino. They stole from customers for years and lied about the amount of propane they gave you.
That's a good tip. I had to get two tanks refilled and they were almost new. I got back some old nasty looking tanks. But they work. Like you, I love having lots of propane on hand.
When I worked for a propane company, I would take the tare weight of the tank and fill it to the 20lb additional weight. Never filled by gallons because there might be some still in the tank. Tare(empty weight) is supposed to be stamped on tank along with inspection date and if you weigh the full tank you will know how much you got. Remember though that you are paying for the convenience of not having to go to some place that pumps propane but can do a quick drop off and exchange. People don't want to pay more than $20 so the fill level goes down. Sucks but that's capitalism
My city runs a huge recycling center where they take pretty much anything that can be recycled. They have a drop-off cage for propane tanks. When I have an old empty tank, I take it there. Then while I'm at the cage, I grab onto all the others and give them a tilt to find the ones that aren't empty. If I find one that's got propane in it, I zoom it out to my car then leave. Free propane! I also keep my eyes open for discarded bottles. It is common to find them with propane still in them. I haven't paid for propane for at least 3 years.
Yeah, this was news to me. Thanks! I think I paid $70 for my first and only new propane tank here in Los Angeles. Guess I need to shop around a little. lol.
I had an old tank but kept on getting cold feet to exchange it. But you are right, the kid at the gas station didn’t give a hoot. Thanks for the kick in the pants to get me going
I used to refill for the local convenience store as I was certified from driving a propane delivery truck refilling everything from 20 pounders to 5,000 gallon tanks. You used a scale before they came out with the new valves on 20/30 pounders on a 20 pounder with the nozzle attached it was full when it weighed 42 pounds but I would only put up to 40 pounds in the summer when they put them in the trunk of their car to allow for expansion. I've found new 20 pounders that weighed over 45 pounds which is badly overfilled. To this day since they still have the scale I weigh them when I fill them and have found all over the map weights from 32 pounds to the highest I ever found was 39 pounds. Cheers!
@James Shanks You look like the right guy to ask this question... I never used a propane tank, a heater I want to buy requires a 20 lbs propane tank, all the tanks sold near my location are 15 Lbs, is a 15Lbs=20Lbs? do they have like a different pressure valve or something? I read that if I use a 15 Lbs tank it could freeze... your help would be appreciate it.
Last I knew there is no such tank as a 15 pounder, it's simply a 20 pounder refilled to the 15 pound usually company imposed 15 pound limit. They do that do prevent overfilled tanks. Hope this helps answer your question.
The “new” valves don’t replace the need of a scale during refilling, scales are still required per NFPA guidelines, the only cyls that are legal to fill without the use of a scale are cylinders with independent outage gauge and sight gauge this is typically used only on industrial cylinders such as 33# and 43# cyls.....also the new valves are not new by any stretch of the imagination
@@aron6998 it depend the OPD valve can be filled whitout a scale if its done be convenient store or for a customer directly since the valve will stop itself once its full but ifs its done for commercial use they need to be scaled
@@aoki6332 incorrect, all dot cylinders must be filled on scales….the only time that they aren’t filled by weight is if someone is filling a cylinder for self use or it’s a forklift cylinder thats equipped with a independent fixed maximum liquid level valve and float gauge, an OPD is not to used as primary method it’s only to be used secondary of a scale….OPD valves can be defeated so you should never trust them to stop the cylinder from over filling
Another thing to note is be careful where you fill these up, if they charge you per pound, do not do business with them, but many places will do as they will have a set price to refill a 20 pound cylinder, the problem is not only do you risk them, not filling it up all the way, but you’re paying for propane that is already in the tank because even when the tank is “empty” there is still actually propane in it. There’s just not enough to give you pressure to use it. Instead of use a place that charge by the gallon
I worked for Ceres Solutions ( COOP) back in the day in the tire shop. I was also certified to inspect tanks and update them. I also filled them. We never charged to certify them. All it is to inspect the tank for damage, correct valve and it works correctly. Tanks are usually cheaper to fill at the propane gas companies. Gas stations and places like Walmart get a fee for exchanging them.
Ok I know this is old. But your not getting a new tank or free. Your getting a re-certified clean sleeved tested used propane cylinder. The reason why they don’t care if it’s out of date as long as it’s not damaged it’s because if you ever seen a simile line that they go down they’ll take old rusted tanks and make them look just like the one you have in about 30 minutes. That tank you’re looking at right now is probably been in circulation for quite a long time. All propane tanks are certified for five years only. And yes getting about 15 pounds of propane because along time ago blue rhino had a problem with putting 19 pounds of propane in it puts the bottle at a higher risk of releasing propane gas out of the pressure release valve. When you got thousands of bottles sometimes that sits in direct sunlight for numbers of hours and days in the metal box. As a driver I had to go get one of them bottles because it just kept spraying out of the pressure release valve. Not good. So you’re not getting ripped off it’s for safety purposes. I’ll let you know blue rhino was in a court battle for quite a long time because customers like you take their tanks to places like you talk about to get them Improperly filled and as these people were driving home the husband was smoking a cigarette and a pressure release valve popped inside their minivan. By time the fire department got the van out and pulled the people out of it. It look like somebody sealed it blow it up like a balloon and then barbecued it. So as an old blue rhino driver if you’re going to those places to get them filled up please remove the blue rhino sleeve off of it and ask that fill station do they have good insurance. Blue Rhino carry’s a $1 million dollar policy that’s for people that got injured or property damage by their tanks because of their fault not because of a stupid customer and somebody else’s improperly filling them. I’ve done it all with Propane from taking it from the refinery to the plants from the plant to the bottles , to the bobtail‘s that bring it to the homes and I have a few drivers that are no longer with us because of just dumb mistakes. One driver dumb mistake people say cell phones well not this one driver opened his back door he found himself 150 feet away from that truck waking up in the ER. Just because he forgot his cell phone in his pocket. Another driver not wearing the proper clothes static electricity burn his ass 55% of his body. The worst barbecue grill you can get are the ones you put the bottle underneath and then close the door then pressure release valve pop’s before he knew it just the front of his body from the waist up burned his family got him away from the grill which was on the porch when the propane tank blew up it took half of the house out. I can keep going on so if you want to keep having people that don’t really know what they’re doing at the fill stations keep filling your tanks up. WOW YOUR LIFE FAMILY LIFES ARE ONLY Worth the few bucks that you are saving because your too cheap to pay for a blue rhino tank it’s only a matter of time and it only takes that one time.
I know this is redundant, but I was just about to say something along the same line as your above statement [all 100% fact] Listening to this guy's strategy in the video, I started to remember some classes [I've a MS in Astrophysics] from college where we discussed and learned about different gases, their interactions, displacement, pressures etc and I immediately had some red flags regarding some of his suggestions and advice. You explained it perfectly! Important thing to know is not all business rules and regs a re designed to get one over on the customer. There's a limit and reasons for that limit as to how much they can fill a specific size tank for. Those are there for safety concerns and not to gouge the customer! In some ways I want to say this guy acted irresponsibly by explaining his methodology. Fortunately, what is common sense or readily available information to you and I is, unfortunately, not the same for the general public. It could be an accident waiting to happen!
A 20# tank can only be filled to 80% of its volume, which is 16#. The Blue Rhino label shows 15 LB. Net weight. So Tractor Supply will sell you ~15/ 16 lbs. for 12 dollars. Same goes for ANY size propane bottle. A 325 Gallon yard tank can only be filled to 260 gallons.
I found a really REALLY old one in my woods on my farm. It is full too. There was no overfill protection on this one and it weighs twice as much as my new refills. Going to use for my propane generator in my class a. Cannot get caught with it travelling tbough. A lot of tunnels around where I love and the check. Will use only at home. I want to be around when the gas company gets this one as an exchange! LOL
It does not matter on what is written on the label they look at what is stamp on the tank. If it is out of date you will be ask for the inspection cert. If you do not have one they might refuse to refill it. If I remember right the tank has to be reinspected every 10 years. By exchanging the tank you get a newer one and do not have to pay to have the tank inspected. You are recycling the old tank. PS this only works on the 15 pound tanks as there is no exchange program for the larger tanks.
Exchanging tanks is smart when it's out of date. It's also good for the industry to have safe reliable containers out there so the companies are glad to get those old clunkers out of service. The refill or exchange thereafter is just a matter of if time spent waiting for the refill vs the convenience of getting it swapped out. It's only a couple of bucks more or less but it is very worthwhile taking the old tanks out of service by exchanging them.
it costs the company money to refurbish the old tanks. their resources, labor costs, time, etc. they don't exactly make a killing...and btw, if the tank is 20lb capacity...you get 20lbs, whether exhchange or filled...can't speak for some shyster outfits out there.
Glad to hear that about Blue Rhino, the 15# net weight. I thought they were 20# like everyone else. Also I understand that the cost is for the gas not the tank, lol. I guess some of your readers were expecting the gas for free too. A while back, I called Walmart, because I had heard this and they said they would even take old 30 and 40# tanks back too, but you would only get a new 20# in return, but you were required to pay for the gas naturally, as you stated.
im late on that but yeah propane tank weigh 20 pounds and in total once filled a propane can weigh around 36lb-37lb fully filled so all tank have between 14lb to 17lb of propane in them
Check the date on the "new" exchange tank. I have done this several times and they sometimes give you a tank that is older than 6 years and most places will not do a refill if it is older than 6 years. And "certification" is a sad joke, all they do is a pressure test and re-stamp a date on it as "current" when the tank can actually be 12 years old or more. If you just want a refill on your old tank and don't want the exchange hassle just yet before doing the upgrade just get some Harbor Freight metal number stamps. Put your date on it. Hope they don't mind when I take some "exchange" tanks to the local places, as I have some tanks from 1968 or so.
I had to do this recently! the garden center I've been using for years looked at my crusty rusting tank that they have been filling and refused to fill.
Thanks for the tip. Pretty sure my tank is out of date, but it still had gas in it after a lot of years and looks almost like new. Back in the day I used aluminum Freon tanks and the gas supplier never questioned filling them with propane. I used them on my shrimp boat where the steel tanks just wouldn't last with the salt water.
@@TheKiloG69I did an exchange yesterday at dollar general and realize when I got home tank is over 20 years. I haven’t used it yet and plan to raise hell.
Walmart will exchange them. I found an old style tank, took it in and exchanged it, no problem. The LP company will upgrade them scrap them or, paint them and use them.
what you haven't said and many people dont understand is that you are getting a full bottle of propane in exchange for the empty. However you are not getting 5 gallons of propane from the blue rhino tanks. They as well as Amerigas only fill to 75%. this gives you about 3.75 gallons of propane. At the price of about $15 per bottle you are paying $4.00 per gallon.
JIMMY TATE In the industry they're called 20 lb tanks. They are filled by taking the tare weight (empty container weight) and filling with, 20 lb propane. Volume is not a concern
That is what he said. He points out at 2:10, Rhino doesn't fill their tanks all the way. So if they listened to the video, they should have understood that.
.. the point is that except for shady or incompetent propane filling stations you don't pay $4 per gallon, $3 $2 or anything-- they send you and your old and uncertified tank away empty. And those guys who don't check the dates won't have their jobs one day because sooner or later they get caught, or worse. Filling an unqualified tank opens their employer or their business to a whole shitload of liability if the fucking thing blows up and burns some cheap bastard's house down--- or kills someone. Enough liability to have the employee and dealer broke and in jail a long time... and what's worse it could be a perfectly good tank, and Joe Arsonist just found himself a patsy who will take the fall when he uses that tank to burn down his house and get out of the mortgage.
I work for AmeriGas we actually got one out of a cage that was brought in that had a bullet hole in it and the bullet is still in the tank those tanks go through hell we go through semi truck loads of those tanks in our districts
I used to fill propane tanks at a co-op and as long as the tank had an opd valve on it we could fill it. If it happened to be an old ass tank we would either sell them a new bottle or replace the old valve with an opd valve for 6 bucks, re certify it for free then fill it up. Most places shouldn't charge anything to re certify a tank as long as you get it filled there as well. I would say if a person has an old tank it would probably be cheaper to just take it to a place that can swap out that old valve and fill it. The only bottle that doesn't need the opd valve is the 100lb ones unless it's commercial. Easy way to tell if your tank has an opd valve is if it's shaped like a triangle. If it's just a round valve then it's the old style and can't be filled unless it's replaced. Our shop at home uses propane so I fill my bottles myself off my 500 gal tank.
You can buy new "OPD" valves on Ebay and change the old ones out on a good older thick wall tank . Then do the refill at a welding shop or Propane dealer like we do .
TheKilog69 I've been doing what you do with the propane tanks for years. I've even taken in tanks with old-style valve on them. And exchange them for one with a new style valve. The Filipinos at my Walmart store don't give a shit.
If you have an actual LP company in your area like Ferrellgas or Amerigas they are usually cheaper for recertifications (the one I work for is 5 bucks) and with your new tanks if you store em where it's in the elements please take that plastic wrap off it'll rust under it.
You can also get a brand new mattresses for free. A ton of named/unnamed brands have been letting people test there mattresses at home for up to 125 day trail period. Basically you indefinitely keep testing mattresses & they pick them up mostly for free. It's too easy.
They are too old because Blue Rhino doesn't update the date stamp when they recertify them. Should be against the law. You are the sucker that puts up with these crooks.
I had a neighbor that owned a propane company at his house, he was independently licensed to sell there with him and his son, they had a couple propane delivery trucks. I'd run out of propane in my 20lb bottle and walk next door and ask him to fill it. When done I'd always ask him what do I owe you, and he always said nothing. So I got a better deal then the guy in the video, lol. Back in the late 80"s to early 90"s I worked for Suburban Propane Company and our employee price back then was .48 cents per gallon. Now in my area it's $1.85---$2.10 per gallon.
Where do you take the tank to to get it refilled? What stores do I need to look for in the city of Indianapolis? And is it a self-service thing? Or do they re-fill for you for 15 bucks? And when you re-fill, can you fill it up to full 20 lbs and not 15 lbs?
By law, they're not supposed to refill a 20lb tank to more than 16lb, but what different places actually do, varies. So in this case, the Rhino exchange gave him just 1 pound less than every refill place should/might give. I used to spend time around Indy, but never refilled propane there. Check refill prices at various hardware store chains, maybe True Value, Menards, etc. Check at U-Haul. If you belong to a wholesale club, check there. In New England, about 4 years ago I was getting 20lb tanks refilled for about $9 at an otherwise expensive little True Value and also at BJ's Wholesale Club. At BJ's they charged by the gallon for the exact amount they put in, so you didn't have to wait until it was empty to get the best value.
@@EfficientRVer Thanks for the info. I will check those stores you listed. I will have to get a 20+ lb tank first, with hose/adapter I guess.. I will be moving to a shed off-grid in a few weeks and I currently have 7 propane 16 ounce cylinders for me to use until I get a big one.
@@noobz5056 Good Luck with the off-grid move. And I forgot to mention, propane filling places do the filling for you. They're trained to do it safely (but I'd still stand way back) and don't want customers messing with the filling equipment.
The cheapest way is to have a 500-1000gal. tank and have your gas supplier install a transfer setup into the liquid draw of the tank so you can fill 20lb cylinders that way. :)
However if the supplier is smart they’d charge you for the equipment and if they charged correctly you’d have to use a ton of propane for it to make sense financially for you to go that route
@@aron6998 If I remember correctly it was $250-260 for the liquid withdrawal system. If you figure $20 for a tank exchange vs. $4 to fill your own, $16 savings per tank. Which equates to roughly 16 fills, it'll pay for itself. Maybe that didn't include labor and was just parts, but it wasn't much. Plus, I'm an ag customer, I go through alot of propane and I use other services/products from their company as well, they want to keep me happy. :) I also use grill cylinders to flame weeds, that'll eat a tank of fuel in a hurry.
I honestly just go to wherever I’m getting a refill and take the nicest one, lol the people at Walmart or Walgreens wherever don’t care as long as you bring one to them… I acquired my first for free at my friends apt complex, went and traded it in for a brand new one… I like your hustle though and thanks for enlightening my propane hustle!
Pot luck. I got an older one when I swapped mine out. My original was a thicker heavier gauge steel with two holes for carrying. The plug also was attached via a loop so you wouldn't lose it.
Yup good tip I do the same, I find old rusted tanks and bring them to Home Depot and swap them for newer tanks, the last one I brought down there was so rusted it would not even stand up any more lol, the guy that opened the cage for me said ''wow that's a duzzie'' lol
@@TheKiloG69 this is incorrect, if you get a cyl filled the correct way... the most gas you will get into a 20lb cyl is 16 lbs which is 80% of the total volume in a 20lb cyl
I learn this when trying to refill at a Uhaul and they wouldn't refill my out of date tank. I took the tank to gas station that does exchange, found a much newer tank and was back in business.
Folks, listen carefully, his free tank is one found on side of road. He then goes on to say that Tractor Supply gave the best deal because they give you 20lbs, not 15lbs like other places! His other FREE tank comes when he SWAPS AN OLDER ONE for a new one. The $14 is for the fuel in the new tank!
I did this and the blue rhino only lasted 16 days. oh well I got a newer tank as the valve on my old tank couldn't close. paid $22.99 no tax for the exchange in MA. I guess tax was included in the price. just filled the tank up for $23 at my usual spot, price went up from $21.
I am shopping for new propane tanks. I'm finding exchangable tanks for $27 and regular tanks for $55 at the same store. What's the difference? I'm not doing the exchange thing. I know how to fill the tanks. But why are exchangable tanks so much cheaper?
Am I understanding this correctly, take my old empty tanks and exchange for new tanks and when new tanks become empty have them refilled instead of exchanging
If you tank is out of date, then yes. Exchange it for an in-date tank. You won't get a full fill, but the cost is still less than buying a tank and having it filled. After (or any time before) you run out, you can take your tank to someplace that does refilling on site and they will fill it for you. Generally, they charge per gallon, so you you only pay for what you take.
I like to go camping on occasion and I feel that the one gallon tank is ideal for me. So for now on what I'm going to do is take my $25 one lb tank to Tractor Supply. What a good idea.
I'm lucky, I guess. I fill 20 lb tanks for $9 at my local facility, and they will re-certify tanks for $5. And the Blue Rhino exchange here is $16 (about, depending on the store), So I never do tank exchanges. The difference being that a few years ago, Blue Rhino in this area started giving tanks that had a gauge on them. I exchanged all my tanks then, b/c it was more reliable than feeling the side of the tank for temperature to figure out it's propane level.
Sit up straight and pay attention. Take your new tank to a fill station and pay for the propane. Take your old out of date tank to the exchange station and pick out a tank in good condition.
Okay so all I need to do is find a tank on the side of the road then pay for a exchange and boom! free tank. No but really, I did learn something. I didnt think people refilled those type tanks, I thought everyone just got the exchange
What is the cheapest route, if you have no propane tank at all? I just got a free gas grill in working condition, but no tank. Do I have to bite the bullet and pay the $50.00 Home Depot or other places want, for a tank that's 75% full? I see that it's $20.00 if you're exchanging, presumably for filled tank. Any help is much appreciated, as don't know much about these. Thank you!
@@TheKiloG69 Thank you. I have a tank that expired so I can throw it out, re-certify it or exchange for a Blue Rhino. I think I should exchange it so I can get a tank without paying for re-certifying it.
Yes they do. In the United States, a bottle is qualified for 12 years from the date of manufacture, while in Canada it's good for 10 years. A recertified tank is good for 5, 7, or 12 years, depending on the method and type of recertification.
Just learn to read the date stamps on the collar. Grab the newest one you can find that isn't a recertified tank. That's old news. Recertified tanks will have multiple two digit month and two digit year stamps. If you see the letter "E" after the two digit year that means the tank is good for 5 years from that date. Newer tanks will not have the letter "E" and are good for 10 years from the date stamped. Regulations were updated. Even if the tank is stamped saying it's good for 12 years from date stamped its only good for 10. Going to a fill station and avoiding the exchange in general is always going to give you more gas for less money.
The 15 Lb tanks (at least where I live) are actually smaller and you will never get 20Lbs again. I sent my son to REFILL my good 20Lb tanks and he exchanged them instead. I was pissed. Now I have 3 smaller 15 Lb tanks. Even the spring scale on my grill is now incorrect.
Do you get a good full doing that? I recently bought a 250 gallon gallon tank to run my 8500 watt generator on. I seen the fitting in Lowe’s where you could fill bbq tanks. I’m seriously thinking about putting one on my tank. I was just wondering how well they work. Do you actually get fuel or is it mostly vapor? Not that it would make that big of a deal. If I ran out during a bbq. My tank is 60 feet from my bbq grill.
Actually that’s not why we “love” it, the industry likes cyl swaps bc it’s a continuous circulation of cyls that we don’t have to buy to keep selling convenience gas
Easy to tell the difference. The newer tanks with opd valve. Always has a triangular valve handle. I exchange my older style at dollar general. They do not know the difference.
Dealers don’t care about the valve they only care about the condition of the cyl itself and if you have cyls still without an opd valve those ran out of date 10 yrs ago
@@Jagg61 law is 12 year and I was talking about exchange dealers don’t care about the valve bc they will change those valves anyways the money lost for ACE and Blue Rhino is the cyl not the valve
Good video... I work for blue rhino and yes, we want the old tanks out of circulation and have newer ones enter. So yes, we want you to exchange an older tank for a newer one.
Once the tank is picked up it goues through a wash, recertification, paint if needed and refilled. It receives a new lable and then gets put back on the truck for delivery.
If the valve is bad, it does get replaced and tested for any leaks. If leaks are present it will be rejected.
Thank you for your video.
Are you guys take any tank or just the blue rhino ones?
We take all 20lbs tanks that are refurbishable. Meaning, they can't be so rusted and pitted that they can't be recertified and put on a shelf. The safety collar and bottom rings must still be intact. If the valve is bad, we would more than likely replace it. So yes, we take any tanks whether it's blue rhino or not.
Good to know! Thanks! I do that whenever I need a new tank.
BTW, why do they only put 15 lbs in them?
Feel ripped off.
@@markchidester6239 safer for shipping and to different elevations / temperatures. prob saves them a ton on insurance encase of accidents.
Mark Chidester like a big sized propane tank. They only fill it 80%. Leaves a nice cushion.
I was an assistant scoutmaster for a Boy Scout troop- I went to the dump- and there was six to seven out of date propane tanks- I asked the guy if I can have them- he said take them! So I did- and did exactly what you did- great tip/ the lady who took the tanks even said these were out of date but don’t worry I will give you new full takes for the price of the propane only. The troop got six full tanks for all their camping!
ya most have to make sure the valves are opd and than its no problem had tht happen once but than i went to a homedepot tht did exchange thru robot system. tell the system its an exchange a door opens up place on rack and scale if it thinks its a tank the door closes and another opens up with the full tank for you to take
Still some solid information in 2024. My husband passed away, he used to take care of this. This was good information. Thx👍
I was thinking why not just get yours recertified, but you're basically getting a new valve and some free gas! Thanks for sharing 🤠
Another way to tell if it has the new valve is to look at the handle. The old ones have 6 little nubs on the handle, the new ones only have three.
From my personal experience the amount of fuel that gets placed in a refilled tank varies upon where you choose to have it filled. In my town there are a couple of places that offer such services. One of the locations, Thatherton Fuels will only fill a 20lb cylinder to "around" 15 pounds but will tell you that it is fully filled. Across the street though at Strickland Propane I can take a cylinder in and get it filled to the full 20lbs and be charged only pennies more. I, like yourself absolutely love firing up my Vogner Char-King Imperiale as much as possible and have found that by shopping around you can really find great deals. Thanks for the videa.
I don't think anyone caught on to this. Superb.😂
I prefer the taste of bast...er I mean butane gas and so does my wife's healer.
@@JohnClark-tt2bl Took me a second to remember where I heard those business names previously! 😆
i work for a company that refurbish these tank and yeah its vary to place to place but we are legally obligated to fill them for a total weight of about 35.5LB to 36Lbbut this law doesn't touch store only industry its to stop them being overfill and having them be more dangerous while moving them around in high quantity but yeah store usually fill them entirely and if the pression of the pump is lesser than the amount they fill it they stop filling
@@brianellison8744 Strickland Propane is a real company btw
The Home Depot near me in NH has an automated cylinder exchange. Put your card into the machine and tell it if you are exchanging an empty or just getting a full tank with no exchange. If you are exchanging a locker type door pops open and you put in your empty tank and close the door. Then another door pops open and you take the full one. Nobody there to check how old your tank is, just a sensor on the machine that can tell if you actually put an empty in the locker or not. The store doesn't even need to be open. It's available 24X7. The cheapest place to get a tank filled around here is U-Haul unless you heat your house with propane then your propane company may fill 20 lb cylinders for free if you are a regular customer on automatic delivery.
My Experiences: Don't get your Blue Rhino tanks from a big box store like Walmart or Lowes. They won't let you pick your tank. They get it for you and that is that. Best to get them from a place like a gas station or a hardware store where the people are more cooperative.
Tractor supply not only fills the tank fully, but they also give you credit for fuel left in the than. Around me, only Tractor Supply and the welding gas companies do this. Most places that fill tanks charge a flat fee even if there is fuel left in the tank.
If you ever see unsafe behavior filling propane tanks, call them out loudly to a manager! a decade ago, I watched an Ace Hardware employee smoke a cigarette while filling a propane cylinder. I took a picture on my cell phone and took it in to the manager. He was thankful and gave me a full loyalty card to get my next tank for free. Remember, its your tax money that is going to fund the fire department that has clean up the mess if the back lot explodes!
Good comment and I think in general your right. But at my Walmart I'm always nice to the cashier ladies and they always just open the cage and let me take the one I want.It's always one of them that gets sent out and I think they just want to get back inside on a busy day . Also I've swapped a few tanks that looked like they were use as boat anchors for a few years and never have any of them squawked about them.I asked them about what they'd take back one time and she said we really don't care.
My challenge is that I used to have nice propane tanks. My now ex-wife swapped them out for very poor condition Blue Rhino tanks. I have four tanks, two of which have been purchased again, and two that are currently Blue Rhino, but better condition ones. I usually go to the welding supply store to get my tanks filled. $12.50 for a fill, and you get the full 20 lbs, plus credit for any fuel left in the tank. Tractor supply is my backup because they are a bit more expensive at $16.00, but they are open nights and weekends and have the same policies. Blue Rhino in this area runs between $18 and $25 depending on the location, but you only get 15 lbs of propane.
UHauls also sell by the gallon if they have a dispenser but Tractor Supply is always cheaper per gallon than they are
Let me guess, karens husband kevin📃🤣📃👊🏼
You couldn't have just said something to him yourself like a man?
This might clear up some confusion in regards to the man being called a thief and dishonest.
Once you have a Blue Rhino tank it is your property. If you don’t exchange one tank for another it is considerably more money.
Per Blue Rhino “ Blue Rhino is not a deposit program. Retailers do not provide cash for the return of empty tanks. When you exchange a tank with Blue Rhino, you walk away with a tank you own and that you can use however you wish. “
They also state they will accept any tank as long it is in acceptable condition. So absolutely no dishonesty is going on here.
Absolutely. And unlike what some have found years ago, Blue Rhino no longer puts restrictors in the tanks that stop them from being refilled at other places. They know once a tank reaches 12 years past date of manufacture or 5 years past its recert they're getting it back anyway and most of these are good for quite a few years past that. BR and Amerigas have licensed recert techs on their staff.
And as the guy said, they have so many of those, they're tripping over the damned things.
I have mine filled at a local co-op. He charged me 34 dollars and change to fill 3 15!pound cylinders and 74 dollars to fill a hundred pound tank. I like to keep these around to use with my 15,000 BTU ventless heaters in case of a power outage. The trick is to buy your LP in the middle of summer when no one is thinking of heating anything. I have noticed that LP goes up dramatically about the middle of November. My 15000 btu heater will last about 24 to 30 hours on a standard 15 pound cylinder. I really depends on how cold it is outside. Last year we lost power for roughly 3 days as a result of a big ice storm. I have a 4000 watt generator. Which I have a safety plug installed into my meter base. It does not require you to shut of your main breaker but I do anyway. It will power everything in our house except my 240 volt baseboard heaters and our water heater. So I turn the breakers off to the heaters and the water heater oh and it will power 1 burner on my electric stove. I always just make a big pot of chili or ham and beans useing the smallest burner on my stove. Recently I upgraded my generator to a 6500 starting watt 5300 running watts LP fired generator. I am in the process of trying to find another 100 gallon bottle to run it on. It will drain a 15 pound cylinder in about 16-20 hours on 3/4 load. I guess I’m going to have to break down and just buy two new ones from harbor freight. I think the sell 100 pound LP tanks. I’ve looked into leasing 2 tanks but they want 26 dollars a month to lease me two 100 pound tanks. Also I can only have them filled at that same co-op. The only advantage I can see is that if I do the lease they will deliver or send out a pump truck to my home and refill my bottles for the summer prices. I’m still trying to decide which is the better value. Leasing or buying. Leasing the tanks does have the guaranteed price lock and free at home refills. No more lugging those heavy tanks into my truck after a ice storm. However if I own my own tanks I can take them with me if and when we get our house sold. Part of my lease agreement states that the bottles have to stay in my premises at all times. That’s why they come to me to fill them. I’ve got a truck bed winch system built to life lawn mower engines onto the bed of my truck. That’s what I do for a living. I’m the crazy guy with 14 broke down riding lawn mowers in his back yard. I buy them cheap fix them up and sell them at a reasonable cost. It’s a pretty good living. I fix everything from snow blowers to leaf blowers. I also have a small mowing operation going on. So everyone help me decide. Lease or buy. My wife and I are currently trying to sell our home as we have found one with a little bit smaller house on it. Probably 950 sq foot. It’s just the two of us we don’t need the 1320 sq foot monster we are living in now. I do however need a bigger shop. This one has a big shop building on it. Plus it sets on 4 acres of land and is out of city limits. Do I lease and run the risk of having to pay lease fee breakup charges. We literally would be living on the line of the coverage area that the co-op delivers too. It’s within like 200 feet. Or do I buy my own bottles and use my engine hoist to go there and have them filled. The guy at the Co-Op said he would have to see where my place was located at to see if they would service me. That was 3 weeks ago. I’ve texted him and called him several times. He still hasn’t called me back.
Considering your powering a generator I'd buy not lease a 250 or preferably a 500 gallon fixed position tank. Mount it on a concrete pad to prevent rust and make recertification easy then you don't have any restriction on how long your generator will run. You will enjoy the bigger tank, make sure the date on the new tank is no more than 6 months old before they take it off the truck.
James Shanks yes we are leaning towards leading a 300 gallon ball Tank. I went ahead and bought my 2 100 gallon tanks from them. They were made in 2004 and last certified in 18. He told me that if we end up buying this other house he would service me even though it’s 200 yards out of their service range. He also said he’d fill up
My 100 gallon tanks for me since I bought them off of him. That’s roughly 500 gallons of LP. That’s about a 12 day run at 3/4 load. That’s acceptable for my needs.
@@sniperdoug1969
You can buy a 100lb tank at Menards for $115.
Local gas company near me, 15 to recert, new tank 30 bucks filled, and refill is 10. Can't beat that
The Blue Rhino site explicitly states that the will take any tank as long as no dents, foot ring is present, no major rust etc. They say nothing about the date so they expect people to bring out of date tanks for exchange. They recertify tanks as a part of their business model. They hope that you continue using their service based on having a good, convenient service. They price their product accordingly. So I see nothing wrong with taking and old tank and exchanging it for a new one.
They recertify the tanks but NEVER update the date code on the collar just so it will have to be exchanged, not refilled, in the future. Should be illegal as hell. You can't refill a tank with an expired date code but they do it all day every day.
New 20 lb propane tank $30 Home Depot
Weight the rhino tanks after you get them. I'll bet there is about a gallon less propane than you assume. The empty tank weight is on the handle near the date of manufacture.
2:20 He says as much...
I work for a propane company and we tell people all the time it's cheaper to exchange the tank than to have us recertify it. And it's not stealing people you bought the tank it is yours regardless of the sticker on it the only way you would steal from us is by taking the propane or tanks straight from the plant.
I'll now be looking for tanks along the side of the road, that alone was worth the watch
Back in the 60s I did something similar with soft drink bottles. Took the empty bottle back, got a penny for it, then bought a full, ice cold Coca Cola for a dime. Net cost nine cents. On a good day I could find enough empties in the ditches to drink for free.Ah, the good old days.
I did that too, but when I was doing it the full bottle was 18¢ and the deposit was 2¢.
don't know if it's national, but in my state (FL) they wont fill tanks that are over 5 y.o. trading out-of-date tanks at BR makes good sense
Good info. My back patio has a natural gas line/hook-up. Never used it. But, having propane and a tank available when they shut off the gas (or a tornado) would be more useful.
Yup! Propane can be used for cooking, heating, running my 2 RV refrigerators, a generator, does not go bad like gas. Always good to have back up fuel.
Your natural gas is t you home at a pressure of about 6 psi. The pressure is your 25 lb propane tank is much, much higher. That is why there is a pressure reducing grey flat round device on your BBQ. I don’t think your theory will work.
JoeB
Always check the oring in the blue rhino tanks. I got one last year that was dry and cracked and lost all the propane the first night. I should have checked for leaks when I hooked it up but it was very cold out so I was more worried about getting the furnace in my camper going.
Some people exchange a tank before it is empty because they do not want to run out of gas with their steaks half cooked. I have seen tanks turned in that still have about five pounds in them, and they exchange them for a tank holding only fifteen pounds, but they are paying for a full tank of propane. It would be smarter to refill such a tank if they could, or run them empty before exchanging. Another reason to have full spare tanks on standby.
“i just ask them to open the little prison cell these guys are in” 😂😂😂
EVEN BETTER TIP:
Scrap yards take in BBQs all the time, but they don't process the propane tanks, because, if they grab one with one of those giant lifter machines, it can puncture and explode. My local scrap yard sells tanks empty or full for five bucks. I just take a handful of $5 bills to the scrap yard and take all the fullest ones and if I want, I can trade them in like has been suggested here in the video, but I save them for projects and just go get more at the scrap yard for five bucks each. I currently have 7, but my goal is to have 40 20-lb propane tanks full.
To those calling him a thief. What about the class action lawsuit against Blue Rhino. They stole from customers for years and lied about the amount of propane they gave you.
@John Patriot eagle freedom boner NO, because he's not doing anything wrong.
@John Patriot eagle freedom boner You sound like a ''' merchant '''
@John Patriot eagle freedom boner WTF are you talking about with Robin Hood?
"Freedom Boner", dumbass.
That's a good tip. I had to get two tanks refilled and they were almost new. I got back some old nasty looking tanks. But they work. Like you, I love having lots of propane on hand.
wyattoneable That must be the prepper is us Lol.
TheKilog69 No doubt!
I get them refilled at 64 hwy
When I worked for a propane company, I would take the tare weight of the tank and fill it to the 20lb additional weight. Never filled by gallons because there might be some still in the tank. Tare(empty weight) is supposed to be stamped on tank along with inspection date and if you weigh the full tank you will know how much you got. Remember though that you are paying for the convenience of not having to go to some place that pumps propane but can do a quick drop off and exchange. People don't want to pay more than $20 so the fill level goes down. Sucks but that's capitalism
My city runs a huge recycling center where they take pretty much anything that can be recycled. They have a drop-off cage for propane tanks. When I have an old empty tank, I take it there. Then while I'm at the cage, I grab onto all the others and give them a tilt to find the ones that aren't empty. If I find one that's got propane in it, I zoom it out to my car then leave. Free propane!
I also keep my eyes open for discarded bottles. It is common to find them with propane still in them. I haven't paid for propane for at least 3 years.
Yeah, this was news to me. Thanks! I think I paid $70 for my first and only new propane tank here in Los Angeles. Guess I need to shop around a little. lol.
I had an old tank but kept on getting cold feet to exchange it. But you are right, the kid at the gas station didn’t give a hoot. Thanks for the kick in the pants to get me going
His boss doesn't care either, because it is part of the service.
I used to refill for the local convenience store as I was certified from driving a propane delivery truck refilling everything from 20 pounders to 5,000 gallon tanks. You used a scale before they came out with the new valves on 20/30 pounders on a 20 pounder with the nozzle attached it was full when it weighed 42 pounds but I would only put up to 40 pounds in the summer when they put them in the trunk of their car to allow for expansion. I've found new 20 pounders that weighed over 45 pounds which is badly overfilled. To this day since they still have the scale I weigh them when I fill them and have found all over the map weights from 32 pounds to the highest I ever found was 39 pounds.
Cheers!
@James Shanks You look like the right guy to ask this question... I never used a propane tank, a heater I want to buy requires a 20 lbs propane tank, all the tanks sold near my location are 15 Lbs, is a 15Lbs=20Lbs? do they have like a different pressure valve or something? I read that if I use a 15 Lbs tank it could freeze... your help would be appreciate it.
Last I knew there is no such tank as a 15 pounder, it's simply a 20 pounder refilled to the 15 pound usually company imposed 15 pound limit. They do that do prevent overfilled tanks. Hope this helps answer your question.
The “new” valves don’t replace the need of a scale during refilling, scales are still required per NFPA guidelines, the only cyls that are legal to fill without the use of a scale are cylinders with independent outage gauge and sight gauge this is typically used only on industrial cylinders such as 33# and 43# cyls.....also the new valves are not new by any stretch of the imagination
@@aron6998 it depend the OPD valve can be filled whitout a scale if its done be convenient store or for a customer directly since the valve will stop itself once its full but ifs its done for commercial use they need to be scaled
@@aoki6332 incorrect, all dot cylinders must be filled on scales….the only time that they aren’t filled by weight is if someone is filling a cylinder for self use or it’s a forklift cylinder thats equipped with a independent fixed maximum liquid level valve and float gauge, an OPD is not to used as primary method it’s only to be used secondary of a scale….OPD valves can be defeated so you should never trust them to stop the cylinder from over filling
Another thing to note is be careful where you fill these up, if they charge you per pound, do not do business with them, but many places will do as they will have a set price to refill a 20 pound cylinder, the problem is not only do you risk them, not filling it up all the way, but you’re paying for propane that is already in the tank because even when the tank is “empty” there is still actually propane in it. There’s just not enough to give you pressure to use it.
Instead of use a place that charge by the gallon
Thanks for the tip, I was going to bu a new tank but now an exchange makes more sense.
I worked for Ceres Solutions ( COOP) back in the day in the tire shop. I was also certified to inspect tanks and update them. I also filled them. We never charged to certify them. All it is to inspect the tank for damage, correct valve and it works correctly. Tanks are usually cheaper to fill at the propane gas companies. Gas stations and places like Walmart get a fee for exchanging them.
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos
Ok I know this is old. But your not getting a new tank or free. Your getting a re-certified clean sleeved tested used propane cylinder. The reason why they don’t care if it’s out of date as long as it’s not damaged it’s because if you ever seen a simile line that they go down they’ll take old rusted tanks and make them look just like the one you have in about 30 minutes. That tank you’re looking at right now is probably been in circulation for quite a long time. All propane tanks are certified for five years only. And yes getting about 15 pounds of propane because along time ago blue rhino had a problem with putting 19 pounds of propane in it puts the bottle at a higher risk of releasing propane gas out of the pressure release valve. When you got thousands of bottles sometimes that sits in direct sunlight for numbers of hours and days in the metal box. As a driver I had to go get one of them bottles because it just kept spraying out of the pressure release valve. Not good. So you’re not getting ripped off it’s for safety purposes. I’ll let you know blue rhino was in a court battle for quite a long time because customers like you take their tanks to places like you talk about to get them Improperly filled and as these people were driving home the husband was smoking a cigarette and a pressure release valve popped inside their minivan. By time the fire department got the van out and pulled the people out of it. It look like somebody sealed it blow it up like a balloon and then barbecued it. So as an old blue rhino driver if you’re going to those places to get them filled up please remove the blue rhino sleeve off of it and ask that fill station do they have good insurance. Blue Rhino carry’s a $1 million dollar policy that’s for people that got injured or property damage by their tanks because of their fault not because of a stupid customer and somebody else’s improperly filling them. I’ve done it all with Propane from taking it from the refinery to the plants from the plant to the bottles , to the bobtail‘s that bring it to the homes and I have a few drivers that are no longer with us because of just dumb mistakes. One driver dumb mistake people say cell phones well not this one driver opened his back door he found himself 150 feet away from that truck waking up in the ER. Just because he forgot his cell phone in his pocket. Another driver not wearing the proper clothes static electricity burn his ass 55% of his body. The worst barbecue grill you can get are the ones you put the bottle underneath and then close the door then pressure release valve pop’s before he knew it just the front of his body from the waist up burned his family got him away from the grill which was on the porch when the propane tank blew up it took half of the house out. I can keep going on so if you want to keep having people that don’t really know what they’re doing at the fill stations keep filling your tanks up. WOW YOUR LIFE FAMILY LIFES ARE ONLY Worth the few bucks that you are saving because your too cheap to pay for a blue rhino tank it’s only a matter of time and it only takes that one time.
I know this is redundant, but I was just about to say something along the same line as your above statement [all 100% fact]
Listening to this guy's strategy in the video, I started to remember some classes [I've a MS in Astrophysics] from college where we discussed and learned about different gases, their interactions, displacement, pressures etc and I immediately had some red flags regarding some of his suggestions and advice.
You explained it perfectly! Important thing to know is not all business rules and regs a re designed to get one over on the customer. There's a limit and reasons for that limit as to how much they can fill a specific size tank for. Those are there for safety concerns and not to gouge the customer!
In some ways I want to say this guy acted irresponsibly by explaining his methodology. Fortunately, what is common sense or readily available information to you and I is, unfortunately, not the same for the general public. It could be an accident waiting to happen!
Not only this, but, at my local Hardware Store, I can buy the full Jug as a new purchase, for less than I can buy an EMPTY can inside.
Awesome tip. I didn't know this trick to renew my tanks
This is an old video, here in san jose, Kommiefornia (2022)it's $25 for exchange tank @ local grocery store
A 20# tank can only be filled to 80% of its volume, which is 16#. The Blue Rhino label shows 15 LB. Net weight. So Tractor Supply will sell you ~15/ 16 lbs. for 12 dollars. Same goes for ANY size propane bottle. A 325 Gallon yard tank can only be filled to 260 gallons.
great video- how do i get new or used tank to beging with? i never see them on craigs list, thanks, grea tjob
I found a really REALLY old one in my woods on my farm. It is full too. There was no overfill protection on this one and it weighs twice as much as my new refills. Going to use for my propane generator in my class a. Cannot get caught with it travelling tbough. A lot of tunnels around where I love and the check. Will use only at home. I want to be around when the gas company gets this one as an exchange! LOL
It does not matter on what is written on the label they look at what is stamp on the tank. If it is out of date you will be ask for the inspection cert. If you do not have one they might refuse to refill it. If I remember right the tank has to be reinspected every 10 years. By exchanging the tank you get a newer one and do not have to pay to have the tank inspected. You are recycling the old tank. PS this only works on the 15 pound tanks as there is no exchange program for the larger tanks.
Exchanging tanks is smart when it's out of date. It's also good for the industry to have safe reliable containers out there so the companies are glad to get those old clunkers out of service. The refill or exchange thereafter is just a matter of if time spent waiting for the refill vs the convenience of getting it swapped out. It's only a couple of bucks more or less but it is very worthwhile taking the old tanks out of service by exchanging them.
it costs the company money to refurbish the old tanks. their resources, labor costs, time, etc. they don't exactly make a killing...and btw, if the tank is 20lb capacity...you get 20lbs, whether exhchange or filled...can't speak for some shyster outfits out there.
Exchanged tanks are filled to just 15 pounds and is clearly marked as such on the cage or vending machine.
Glad to hear that about Blue Rhino, the 15# net weight. I thought they were 20# like everyone else. Also I understand that the cost is for the gas not the tank, lol. I guess some of your readers were expecting the gas for free too. A while back, I called Walmart, because I had heard this and they said they would even take old 30 and 40# tanks back too, but you would only get a new 20# in return, but you were required to pay for the gas naturally, as you stated.
im late on that but yeah propane tank weigh 20 pounds and in total once filled a propane can weigh around 36lb-37lb fully filled so all tank have between 14lb to 17lb of propane in them
@@aoki6332when I get my tanks filled I walk away with 20lbs of propane every time.
Check the date on the "new" exchange tank. I have done this several times and they sometimes give you a tank that is older than 6 years and most places will not do a refill if it is older than 6 years. And "certification" is a sad joke, all they do is a pressure test and re-stamp a date on it as "current" when the tank can actually be 12 years old or more. If you just want a refill on your old tank and don't want the exchange hassle just yet before doing the upgrade just get some Harbor Freight metal number stamps. Put your date on it. Hope they don't mind when I take some "exchange" tanks to the local places, as I have some tanks from 1968 or so.
I'm searching for a male pol to male pol hose to consolidate my partial tanks.
Not having luck finding one.
I had to do this recently! the garden center I've been using for years looked at my crusty rusting tank that they have been filling and refused to fill.
Thanks for the tip. Pretty sure my tank is out of date, but it still had gas in it after a lot of years and looks almost like new. Back in the day I used aluminum Freon tanks and the gas supplier never questioned filling them with propane. I used them on my shrimp boat where the steel tanks just wouldn't last with the salt water.
Some places don't care about tank dates some do.
phucck me Running
You can get good aluminum ones intended for forklifts. Seem built as dent resistant as beer kegs.
@@TheKiloG69I did an exchange yesterday at dollar general and realize when I got home tank is over 20 years. I haven’t used it yet and plan to raise hell.
I've exchanged a few sketchy tanks over the years a few with heavy repaints to fill in the pitting
Walmart will exchange them. I found an old style tank, took it in and exchanged it, no problem. The LP company will upgrade them scrap them or, paint them and use them.
what you haven't said and many people dont understand is that you are getting a full bottle of propane in exchange for the empty. However you are not getting 5 gallons of propane from the blue rhino tanks. They as well as Amerigas only fill to 75%. this gives you about 3.75 gallons of propane. At the price of about $15 per bottle you are paying $4.00 per gallon.
JIMMY TATE actually a 20lb tank only holds 4.7 gallons
JIMMY TATE
In the industry they're called 20 lb tanks. They are filled by taking the tare weight (empty container weight) and filling with, 20 lb propane. Volume is not a concern
80% fill is the absolutely normal practice on all size tanks.
That is what he said. He points out at 2:10, Rhino doesn't fill their tanks all the way. So if they listened to the video, they should have understood that.
.. the point is that except for shady or incompetent propane filling stations you don't pay $4 per gallon, $3 $2 or anything-- they send you and your old and uncertified tank away empty.
And those guys who don't check the dates won't have their jobs one day because sooner or later they get caught, or worse.
Filling an unqualified tank opens their employer or their business to a whole shitload of liability if the fucking thing blows up and burns some cheap bastard's house down--- or kills someone. Enough liability to have the employee and dealer broke and in jail a long time... and what's worse it could be a perfectly good tank, and Joe Arsonist just found himself a patsy who will take the fall when he uses that tank to burn down his house and get out of the mortgage.
I work for AmeriGas we actually got one out of a cage that was brought in that had a bullet hole in it and the bullet is still in the tank those tanks go through hell we go through semi truck loads of those tanks in our districts
I used to fill propane tanks at a co-op and as long as the tank had an opd valve on it we could fill it. If it happened to be an old ass tank we would either sell them a new bottle or replace the old valve with an opd valve for 6 bucks, re certify it for free then fill it up. Most places shouldn't charge anything to re certify a tank as long as you get it filled there as well. I would say if a person has an old tank it would probably be cheaper to just take it to a place that can swap out that old valve and fill it. The only bottle that doesn't need the opd valve is the 100lb ones unless it's commercial. Easy way to tell if your tank has an opd valve is if it's shaped like a triangle. If it's just a round valve then it's the old style and can't be filled unless it's replaced. Our shop at home uses propane so I fill my bottles myself off my 500 gal tank.
You can buy new "OPD" valves on Ebay and change the old ones out on a good older thick wall tank . Then do the refill at a welding shop or Propane dealer like we do .
The cyl would still have to be certified by a dealer with a RIN number registered to the good ole government for it to be filled legally
just tried this at Walmart a few days ago. Exchanged a 2003 tank. Got a 2017 tank. WIN!
YUP!
TheKilog69 I've been doing what you do with the propane tanks for years. I've even taken in tanks with old-style valve on them. And exchange them for one with a new style valve. The Filipinos at my Walmart store don't give a shit.
If you have an actual LP company in your area like Ferrellgas or Amerigas they are usually cheaper for recertifications (the one I work for is 5 bucks) and with your new tanks if you store em where it's in the elements please take that plastic wrap off it'll rust under it.
Hahahaha are people just finding out that if u take a tank you get a exchange tank
Right I bought a grill with a Rhino tank with it. It's rusted so bad I don't think it would pass an inspection. Due to the wrapping on it . Good tip
You can also get a brand new mattresses for free. A ton of named/unnamed brands have been letting people test there mattresses at home for up to 125 day trail period. Basically you indefinitely keep testing mattresses & they pick them up mostly for free. It's too easy.
you must be a democrat
Always check your dates when you do exchange they are not always up to date .once you accept the tank it's yours
Would you like to test Propane refill hose with on off valve ?
I do this too, it was a minor investment getting the first 2 tanks but now I can exchange when they get too old!
They are too old because Blue Rhino doesn't update the date stamp when they recertify them. Should be against the law. You are the sucker that puts up with these crooks.
When mine is empty, I take my neighbors
Found my neighbor 😟
I had a neighbor that owned a propane company at his house, he was independently licensed to sell there with him and his son, they had a couple propane delivery trucks. I'd run out of propane in my 20lb bottle and walk next door and ask him to fill it. When done I'd always ask him what do I owe you, and he always said nothing. So I got a better deal then the guy in the video, lol. Back in the late 80"s to early 90"s I worked for Suburban Propane Company and our employee price back then was .48 cents per gallon. Now in my area it's $1.85---$2.10 per gallon.
So That's where my propane is going!
That's what they do to you.
I can't wait until you move away. lol
Where do you take the tank to to get it refilled? What stores do I need to look for in the city of Indianapolis? And is it a self-service thing? Or do they re-fill for you for 15 bucks? And when you re-fill, can you fill it up to full 20 lbs and not 15 lbs?
By law, they're not supposed to refill a 20lb tank to more than 16lb, but what different places actually do, varies. So in this case, the Rhino exchange gave him just 1 pound less than every refill place should/might give. I used to spend time around Indy, but never refilled propane there. Check refill prices at various hardware store chains, maybe True Value, Menards, etc. Check at U-Haul. If you belong to a wholesale club, check there. In New England, about 4 years ago I was getting 20lb tanks refilled for about $9 at an otherwise expensive little True Value and also at BJ's Wholesale Club. At BJ's they charged by the gallon for the exact amount they put in, so you didn't have to wait until it was empty to get the best value.
@@EfficientRVer Thanks for the info. I will check those stores you listed. I will have to get a 20+ lb tank first, with hose/adapter I guess.. I will be moving to a shed off-grid in a few weeks and I currently have 7 propane 16 ounce cylinders for me to use until I get a big one.
@@noobz5056 Good Luck with the off-grid move. And I forgot to mention, propane filling places do the filling for you. They're trained to do it safely (but I'd still stand way back) and don't want customers
messing with the filling equipment.
@@EfficientRVer Thank you!
The cheapest way is to have a 500-1000gal. tank and have your gas supplier install a transfer setup into the liquid draw of the tank so you can fill 20lb cylinders that way. :)
However if the supplier is smart they’d charge you for the equipment and if they charged correctly you’d have to use a ton of propane for it to make sense financially for you to go that route
@@aron6998 If I remember correctly it was $250-260 for the liquid withdrawal system. If you figure $20 for a tank exchange vs. $4 to fill your own, $16 savings per tank. Which equates to roughly 16 fills, it'll pay for itself. Maybe that didn't include labor and was just parts, but it wasn't much. Plus, I'm an ag customer, I go through alot of propane and I use other services/products from their company as well, they want to keep me happy. :) I also use grill cylinders to flame weeds, that'll eat a tank of fuel in a hurry.
Sweet I'll do that with a tank that was in my yard when I bought the property.
I honestly just go to wherever I’m getting a refill and take the nicest one, lol the people at Walmart or Walgreens wherever don’t care as long as you bring one to them… I acquired my first for free at my friends apt complex, went and traded it in for a brand new one… I like your hustle though and thanks for enlightening my propane hustle!
Pot luck.
I got an older one when I swapped mine out.
My original was a thicker heavier gauge steel with two holes for carrying. The plug also was attached via a loop so you wouldn't lose it.
Yep... The tanks used in these ripoff exchange company's are crap from day 1.
i just found a place that rarely checks the date, if they do, I just come back when another worker is there.
What’s the business name and location
@@aron6998 U-haul rentals.
Hank Hill would say, "Dammit, Bobby."
Isn't it "Dang it" ?
Mr. W He’s only said Damnit Bobby once. It’s usually Dang it Bobby.
Yup good tip I do the same, I find old rusted tanks and bring them to Home Depot and swap them for newer tanks, the last one I brought down there was so rusted it would not even stand up any more lol, the guy that opened the cage for me said ''wow that's a duzzie'' lol
Nice I was going to homeys depot but wally was 3 bucks cheaper!
thanks for that info, I knew about the swap, but now I will look for the new valve
I only do this when I need a new tank U get 1 gallon less propane on exchange .
@@TheKiloG69 this is incorrect, if you get a cyl filled the correct way... the most gas you will get into a 20lb cyl is 16 lbs which is 80% of the total volume in a 20lb cyl
@@aron6998 80% fill max is what is allowed. My 500 gallon tank can only be filled 80% also or 400 gallons.
@@TheKiloG69 yes I know but you don’t get 1 less gallon when exchanging a cyl
I learn this when trying to refill at a Uhaul and they wouldn't refill my out of date tank. I took the tank to gas station that does exchange, found a much newer tank and was back in business.
I knew this but good to let people know. I have 9 tanks and do this when they are out of date.
Folks, listen carefully, his free tank is one found on side of road. He then goes on to say that Tractor Supply gave the best deal because they give you 20lbs, not 15lbs like other places! His other FREE tank comes when he SWAPS AN OLDER ONE for a new one. The $14 is for the fuel in the new tank!
If not rusted or pitted and over the Expiration they will replace the valve and recertification.
I did this and the blue rhino only lasted 16 days. oh well I got a newer tank as the valve on my old tank couldn't close. paid $22.99 no tax for the exchange in MA. I guess tax was included in the price. just filled the tank up for $23 at my usual spot, price went up from $21.
Yes sir that is how I do it. Found 4 free on the road last week. God Bless brother..
yankey4 U see them all the time just pick them up get a exchange tank very smart .
I am shopping for new propane tanks. I'm finding exchangable tanks for $27 and regular tanks for $55 at the same store. What's the difference? I'm not doing the exchange thing. I know how to fill the tanks. But why are exchangable tanks so much cheaper?
Great information. Just was told one of my tanks was out of date and they wanted $62 for a new one.
Bring it in & exchange it for a new 1 I been doing this for years.
TANKS FOR THE GOOD VIDEO AND THE INFORMATION.
Am I understanding this correctly, take my old empty tanks and exchange for new tanks and when new tanks become empty have them refilled instead of exchanging
If you tank is out of date, then yes. Exchange it for an in-date tank. You won't get a full fill, but the cost is still less than buying a tank and having it filled. After (or any time before) you run out, you can take your tank to someplace that does refilling on site and they will fill it for you. Generally, they charge per gallon, so you you only pay for what you take.
I like to go camping on occasion and I feel that the one gallon tank is ideal for me. So for now on what I'm going to do is take my $25 one lb tank to Tractor Supply. What a good idea.
Those little green tanks are not refillable. They are disposable. One and done.
I was just wondering if I could do exactly that
how long does a 20 lb tank last?
We change 20 to 30 valves on (old) tanks every day.
I'm lucky, I guess. I fill 20 lb tanks for $9 at my local facility, and they will re-certify tanks for $5. And the Blue Rhino exchange here is $16 (about, depending on the store), So I never do tank exchanges.
The difference being that a few years ago, Blue Rhino in this area started giving tanks that had a gauge on them. I exchanged all my tanks then, b/c it was more reliable than feeling the side of the tank for temperature to figure out it's propane level.
Exactly what I do, I was the one thousand like.
Sooo. Where's the free part again.
After you pay $20, it's free.
The only problem I have are the blue rhino tank exchanges have tanks older then mine.
Sit up straight and pay attention.
Take your new tank to a fill station and pay for the propane.
Take your old out of date tank to the exchange station and pick out a tank in good condition.
Okay so all I need to do is find a tank on the side of the road then pay for a exchange and boom! free tank. No but really, I did learn something. I didnt think people refilled those type tanks, I thought everyone just got the exchange
Cya a fun so if But .know don't I
What is the cheapest route, if you have no propane tank at all? I just got a free gas grill in working condition, but no tank. Do I have to bite the bullet and pay the $50.00 Home Depot or other places want, for a tank that's 75% full? I see that it's $20.00 if you're exchanging, presumably for filled tank. Any help is much appreciated, as don't know much about these. Thank you!
You're talking about how to get it refilled
The title says how to get a FREE TANK
So how do you get a FREE TANK?
U turn in your out of date tank pick put a new tank. U only pay for the propane. Keep the tank refill it else were. New empty tanks are $45.
Yes the video is useless.
@@TheKiloG69 Are you saying Tractor Supply will refill a tank with the Blue Rhino shrink wrap label on it??
@@bucmeister7713
Most don't care. You can always remove the label.
@@bucmeister7713 Yes, they sell propane: could care less what tank.
Good tip. I’ve done this before…felt guilty, but the kid at the convenience store didn’t care one bit.
Is it me or the video states how to get a 20lb tank and the one in the video is a 15 lb.
It's a 20 lb tank. The name is based on the actual capacity, not how much Blue Rhino actually gives you.
If you have a Blue Rhino tank do you have to exchange for another or can you bring it anywhere that fills tanks and have them fill it?
Fill it anywhere it yours.
@@TheKiloG69 Thank you. I have a tank that expired so I can throw it out, re-certify it or exchange for a Blue Rhino. I think I should exchange it so I can get a tank without paying for re-certifying it.
propane tanks NEVER go out of date "if" they are not dented or rusted. Have a nice day.
Yes they do. In the United States, a bottle is qualified for 12 years from the date of manufacture, while in Canada it's good for 10 years. A recertified tank is good for 5, 7, or 12 years, depending on the method and type of recertification.
I'm going to exchange my tank that I get from the army 😂 it still have a lot of munitions inside and a lot of rifles
Just learn to read the date stamps on the collar. Grab the newest one you can find that isn't a recertified tank. That's old news.
Recertified tanks will have multiple two digit month and two digit year stamps. If you see the letter "E" after the two digit year that means the tank is good for 5 years from that date.
Newer tanks will not have the letter "E" and are good for 10 years from the date stamped.
Regulations were updated. Even if the tank is stamped saying it's good for 12 years from date stamped its only good for 10.
Going to a fill station and avoiding the exchange in general is always going to give you more gas for less money.
The 15 Lb tanks (at least where I live) are actually smaller and you will never get 20Lbs again. I sent my son to REFILL my good 20Lb tanks and he exchanged them instead. I was pissed. Now I have 3 smaller 15 Lb tanks. Even the spring scale on my grill is now incorrect.
Really?
I wasn’t even aware that there are 15# tanks.
@@ShortArmStrongArm Ironically they're supplied by a company called Amerigas, because the "American Way" is to give you less and charge you the same.
that's what I do. except I have a liquid line on my 250 gallon tank I use to refill the smaller ones.
okieRob I hope to get a big tank at the new location.
Do you get a good full doing that? I recently bought a 250 gallon gallon tank to run my 8500 watt generator on. I seen the fitting in Lowe’s where you could fill bbq tanks. I’m seriously thinking about putting one on my tank. I was just wondering how well they work. Do you actually get fuel or is it mostly vapor? Not that it would make that big of a deal. If I ran out during a bbq. My tank is 60 feet from my bbq grill.
These companies _love_ when you do this- because you're getting *ripped* on the gas refill so bad.
He said it was $12 to fill it..or you can buy one for $48
Actually that’s not why we “love” it, the industry likes cyl swaps bc it’s a continuous circulation of cyls that we don’t have to buy to keep selling convenience gas
Easy to tell the difference. The newer tanks with opd valve. Always has a triangular valve handle. I exchange my older style at dollar general. They do not know the difference.
Dealers don’t care about the valve they only care about the condition of the cyl itself and if you have cyls still without an opd valve those ran out of date 10 yrs ago
@@aron6998 actually it is law to not fill a non opd cyl. I have had many cyl with replaced valves. Even though law prescribes 10 yr max age.
@@Jagg61 law is 12 year and I was talking about exchange dealers don’t care about the valve bc they will change those valves anyways the money lost for ACE and Blue Rhino is the cyl not the valve
@@aron6998 i stand corrected. Thanks
... "don't do ya a damn bitta good empty." Okay, you got MY thumbs up on this one.
I should have read the comments first. He found an old one on the side of the road