Propane conundrum

Submitted by poopsiepye t3_11vlt4m in Maine

I have three vertical propane tanks— one that feeds a gas fireplace and two that are joined in a series that powers a generator. I just had one delivery to the single tank followed by another delivery of the dual tanks. I was shocked when the cost was near $100 for each. This must have been a mistake, right?

Then I looked at the gauges of the tanks. They’re all three nearly 100% full. I called the propane company, and they gave me some excuse that sometimes the gauges get frozen and the propane delivery guy said they both were full at 80%, but I’m having hard time believing that in one month we used as much fuel as we use in half a year. They also said there’s no safety concern and any excess pressure will blow off with the safety valve.

Anyone else experience this? I’m mostly concerned with the hazard, but also don’t like being screwed by shady business practices. What kind of recourse can I take if they really did overfill my tanks? What’s the probability that all 3 face gauges are stuck at nearly 100%?

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Yourbubblestink t1_jctmbgn wrote

Sounds like they filled your tanks. What’s the issue?

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LuckyDogLD t1_jctnj73 wrote

Volume of propane changes with temperature. 80% is the max safe limit for propane so as not to over pressurize the tank.

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poopsiepye OP t1_jctmee6 wrote

They’re only supposed to be filled to 80%. I suspect they overfilled my tanks

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Yourbubblestink t1_jctnoys wrote

Oh yeah, you’re right. As it warms up, that could be a problem with leakage, pressure relief.

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zachobsonlives t1_jctnfz1 wrote

They would/should have left a receipt showing how much they put in. Or call them and ask. How big are your tanks? Average price for propane in Maine is around $3.25/gallon. So them adding 30-ish gallons to each tank seems normal to me. I have 2ea. 120 gallon tanks which I let run pretty low and just spent $600 filling up last week.

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poopsiepye OP t1_jcty11l wrote

You’re correct that it was about 30 gallons. The one for the fireplace was pretty high, but the one got the generator was absolutely over the top. The only time we got it filled by that much was after that days-long power outage over Christmas, and we didn’t have any outages since then.

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poopsiepye OP t1_jctyb0j wrote

Additionally, they come out once a month to fill, so it’s not like it falls to levels that low

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Mist_deBall t1_jcvqz7r wrote

I just paid $6.20/gallon thru DownEast energy. How is it possible they are charging almost twice the average? What is everyone else paying?

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zachobsonlives t1_jcvvc82 wrote

That does seem high. Here’s the website I used to grab the average: Maine Heating Fuel Prices

I’d check with them, ask them why they are nearly double the average. Was it an emergency delivery? Off hours?

Or may be dependent on how much you use, or don’t use: “Households using propane just for cooking or hot water generally pay a higher per gallon price.”

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chickenispork t1_jctqd7t wrote

Quick question what kind of gauge do you have that shows % and not bar & psi

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BantamBasher135 t1_jcttsi0 wrote

Who is your supplier? We had to change suppliers for our heating oil when we finally confirmed that they had been delivering our oil to the wrong house. I have a strong suspicion that some of these people are too incompetent to be in the business.

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smokinLobstah t1_jcuvhkq wrote

A supplier here in Maine told me that in the winter time they go to 100%. Starting April, 80%.

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InterstellarDeathPur t1_jctwvb9 wrote

WRT price: are these 100lbs “torpedo” tanks? If so the two we had replaced on 11/1 were $125/ea

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