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Propane rip-off , Walmart Amerigas


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Last year while in Michigan I went to exchange a 20 lb. propane tank at Walmart. They were selling Blue Rhino brand. I got into an argument with the people there since the 20 lb. tanks were sold as having 18 lbs. net weight of propane which was a rip-off.

Now - this year? I saw that the local Walmart (60 miles from me) now has Amerigas instead of Blue Rhino. I'm working on an RV -so went over there with a pair of 20 lb. tanks. NOW?? They are selling with a 15 lb. net weight. Seems businesses are relying more and more on consumer ignorance? I put it in the same category as the so-called "sythetic oil" being the rage even though if often has NO synthetic content and sometimes has less heat durability then some conventional oils

Last I checked, propane tanks are to be filled at 80% actual capacity. A typical 20 lb. tank is designed to be filled with exactly 20 lbs. of propane to be at 80% "safe fill" and not 15 lbs. The Walmart people tried to tell me that the tanks at 80% are properly filled at 15 lbs. which I maintain is total. nonsense.

So - I pulled out a tape-measure and measured the tank. Also later rechecked via water-displacement. The 20 lb. tank has an interior volume of 5.8 gallons. 80% of that 5.8 gallons is 4.6 gallons which comes to 19.3 lbs. of propane. I also checked the numbers on the Amerigas tanks. TW (tare weight) is 18 lbs. and WC (water capacity not including the 20% safety margin) is 4.76 gallons. 4.76 gallons equals 19.99 lbs. of propane. Selling with 15 lbs. is selling those tanks only 3/4 safely filled.

Am I missing something here? Note I called Worthingtgon gas cylinder company and they told me that a 20 lb. tank is safely filled when it has 20 lbs. of propane. Not 80% of 20 lbs.

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Yep the exchange tanks every where are all the same way guess they took lesions from the coffee co's. The plus side to Walmart they have no clue about the tanks so if you have an old one just take it to Walmart and trade it then get it filled next time at a local camp ground. We charge $18 to fill a 20# tank and we wait till the float stops the propane with the bleader open.

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You're not missing anything here and i believe your right in that some businesses prey on consumer ignorance.

One similar thought ran across my mind when i was at autozone to get windshield wiper fluid. One was $1.29 no namer blue water with no special labling and another blue water for $2.49 that had a large sticker that read "good down to +33F". Last i remember, freezing point of facet water is 32F it was so funny, i had to tell my wife about it.

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Here in the Midwest, we have Kwik-Trip and Kwik-Star gas stations. They tell you right up front that the tanks have 17 pounds of LP in them. They are charging you for 17 pounds of LP, not 20 pounds. If you don't like it, go get YOUR tank REFILLED and pay by the gallon. I take my tanks to the company that refills my home tank and they charge me by the actual gallons that they put in the tank. You are paying a lot for the convenience of tank exchange.

My wife is at WalMart right now and I called her to check the lp exchange display. It says that the tanks contain 18 pound of lp right on the price card. Since they tell you up front what is in the tank, you can complain that they are charging too much but not about how much is in the tank.

It is inflation through decreased weight or volume. A bucket of ice cream (locally anyway) was 5 quarts, now it is 4 qt and 1 pint. Did you know that toilet paper rolls are now 1/4" narrower than 1 year ago? My brother works for Kimberly Clark and informed me of this, he also told me that next year they will be another 1/4" smaller yet. Last year the rolls were 4 1/2" and next year 4". That is a 12.5% increase in price. Coca Cola is also selling 20 packs of soda for the same price that a 24 pack was a year ago.

I am not trying to start any arguments, just saying that all companies are cutting our throats and most people don't know it.

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Containers of products don't typically get filled to the full capacity of the size of the container. That would make for a very messy factory floor!

20lb propane tanks typically have 17lbs in them.

20 lb. propane tanks hold 20 lbs. when 80% full. They are NOT 100% full at 20 lbs. They are called "20 lb." tanks because 20 lbs. is the safe fill lever for them.

What you are stating is the same thing a guy at Walmart was claiming - and that claim is erroneous. A standard 20 lb. tank is 5.7-5.8 gallons when empty and a proper fill is with 4.8 gallons of propane which weighs 20 lbs. This partial fill nonsense started back when LP prices spiked years ago. Putting less LP in the tanks was a way to hide price hikes.

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I agree with karincorbin. They tell you up front how much lp is in the tank. They do not tell you that you are getting 20 lbs of lp. They state that it is 17 lbs.

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I agree with karincorbin. They tell you up front how much lp is in the tank. They do not tell you that you are getting 20 lbs of lp. They state that it is 17 lbs.

OK. You agree that is OK to present the illusion of selling refilled tanks when they are not filled. I don't see it that way. I suspect the vast majority of tank-fill buyers are clueless when it comes to what a full tank is supposed to be. Karin Corbin - here on this forum has already proved that point.

When I was at Walmart, there were three customers looking to exchange tanks. I asked - and not one of them had any idea that the tanks being sold as "refilled" were only 3/4 filled. One person did not care. Two others went across the street to Ace hardware and got their tanks properly filled.

Offfering "refilled" tanks with a "15 lb. net weight" buried in the advertising certainly fools many people. I wonder . . how would sales be if Walmart had a sign that read "Partially filled tanks at a lower price the those trully filled." I bet many would not buy if presented that way.

In my opinion, you and Karin are the types of consumers that allow companies to carry on this way.

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If you don't like it, go to a refill station and have you tanks refilled. I do and that is my way of telling the exchange places what I think of their policy. At Kwik Trip, the sign clearly states how much is in the tanks.

I have not exchanged a tank in over 10 years because of the amount of gas that they put in the tanks. I take that back, my brother gave me 3 tanks with old style valves and I exchanged them at WalMart to get current, refillable tanks. I now have several full tanks (FULL TANKS) that my family members pick up from me when they need full tanks.

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I tend to go to Walmart when I have an older non-conforming tank. They swap with no charge added. So for that purpose, it's an OK deal. I WAS surprised though to see them still selling partially filled tanks this year. That general policy of partially filling tanks with the ostensive reason of keeping prices down -made the mainstream news last year. Then Walmart apparently changed suppliers and I figured they'd go back to selling full tanks. Seems I was wrong. It's not something I tend to keep track of. I fill my own tanks at home (NY). As long as consumers are apathetic, sellers will carry on with such deceptive practices. And yes - net weight posted or not - they rely on the average consumer not realizing what's going on.

Buying a big box of cereal with lowered content inside is one thing. But with LP tanks - many RVs only have one. Seems kind of silly to go through the effort of getting a "refill" and winding up with a "partial fill."

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have to agree with you on that one i have never used what i refer to as rent a tank rip off lot of them here for people who want to pay for convenince or dont care i looked at the price way cheaper to fill my own tank . best deal i have bought a new empty tank inside walmart and took else ware to get filled payed about 30 dollors for a brand new o p d tank. i camp with one old reuped rv tank and one up to date bbq tank. even if it had a honest full tank there price outhere is redicules

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Yesterday, I traded in my old tank (with a broken OPD valve) for a new one at a Blue Rino dealer. Even better, it was even on sale for only $15.99! I wouldn't have cared one bit if it was light on gas. What I paid for was the convenience, and a "NEW" tank dated 6/13, a "NEW" OPD valve and yes, it even had propane in it. They took my crappy old rusty one with the "BAD" OPD valve and traded me for a "NEW" one for only $15.99. I got the WAY better end of the deal. Now, I'll go re-fill (gas only) this "NEW" tank up a whole bunch of times somewhere down at the local Cheepy-Teepee. And, when it finally wears out or breaks, I'll take a crappy, broken tank to Blue Rino and trade up again. I like this kind of convenience. Absolutely no complaints here!

-Riverman77

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I agree with filling tanks. By posting the level on the tanks you sell and saying that's how we hold the price down is wrong because they are not holding the price down they are stiffing you for a good bit of propane. The camp ground I work for part time fills tanks we charge $18 the WalMart in Conway NH charges $17.99 exchange. The new tanks can only be filled to a certain level because of the float inside, it shuts of the flow when the liquid propane reaches that level how ever it is 20#. So to under fill a tank requires you to stop before it is full. That is where the profit starts. The tanks are posted with a tare weight you subtract the tare weight from your scale and add 20#, simple. Granted most places charge a flat fee and if there is propane in the tank you get what ever it takes for the posted price that's OK because there is labor involved in the process but you will have 20# in the tank when you leave. We usually fill 30# and up by the gallon and charge accordingly it's pretty hard to weight a tank bolted to the side of a MH.

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Yesterday, I traded in my old tank (with a broken OPD valve) for a new one at a Blue Rino dealer. Even better, it was even on sale for only $15.99! I wouldn't have cared one bit if it was light on gas. What I paid for was the convenience, and a "NEW" tank dated 6/13, a "NEW" OPD valve and yes, it even had propane in it. They took my crappy old rusty one with the "BAD" OPD valve and traded me for a "NEW" one for only $15.99. I got the WAY better end of the deal. Now, I'll go re-fill (gas only) this "NEW" tank up a whole bunch of times somewhere down at the local Cheepy-Teepee. And, when it finally wears out or breaks, I'll take a crappy, broken tank to Blue Rino and trade up again. I like this kind of convenience. Absolutely no complaints here!

-Riverman77

Be careful of Blue Rhino tanks if they are TS2 tank they can only be filled by Blue Rhino just another way to sell 3/4 of a full tank of propane. The "convenience" that keeps on giving when you have to return the tank more often.

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Be careful of Blue Rhino tanks if they are TS2 tank they can only be filled by Blue Rhino just another way to sell 3/4 of a full tank of propane. The "convenience" that keeps on giving when you have to return the tank more often.

Now, I do agree, it would be a real let down if what I had gotten was a "TS2" tank that can be refilled ONLY at Blue Rhino. How can I tell if this is so? So far, I am not reading anything on my tank saying "TS2". Where is this marked at?

-Riverman77

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I think the "average" wall mart customer would sure notice if their Budweiser was light by 25%... and if they put a sign out stating 18/24 beers budweiser for $23 a box i doubt they would have the same results as they enjoy with the cylinders.

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