Mini Renegade wrote:so do you guys get the same bottle back then? Over here we buy a full bottle then when it`s empty we take to a dealer who exchanges for a full one and charges the refill price.
In my area, it is becoming increasingly common for people to use this type of exchange service, which is offered by mass-market chains (such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot) as well as gasoline stations. It is much more expensive than bulk filling (getting your own tank filled), it is only available for common 20-lb "barbecue" tanks, and currently the tanks in the exchange generally are not equipped with an OPD (overfill prevention device). Some brands are significantly under-filled, promising to put only 17 lbs in a 20 lb tank (although I don't know how much is actually in them).
Many gas stations still offer bulk propane refilling, as a sideline to filling vehicle tanks, but in the last year or two many only offer propane for limited hours each day, since the "trained" staff are not available (there's a labour shortage here).
Specialty propane stores, which do bulk fills among other services, are getting rare. Twenty years ago propane was much cheaper than gasoline, so many vehicles were converted to run on it. Now, propane is about as expensive as gasoline (for the same energy value), so the propane is no longer used as a fuel for road vehicles, and the associated businesses are disappearing.
Mini Renegade wrote:I got an empty one with the valve missing from a scrap yard, and took that for exchange, saved about £35
£35 would buy three new 20-lb propane tanks - with the appropriate valves - at Costco here. The tank exchanges are not supposed to accept incomplete or expired tanks, or at least do not give any credit for them; the price of a used and refilled tank without a trade-in is about double that of a brand new tank with fill from Costco.