Maingas "insufficient propane use" fee

[songkrai]

Originally Posted by RLW

Now I stopped all that crap and I bought my tanks and I can use any supplier without saying a word. No fees and it is a will call business. Right now gas is being delivered by Eastern, but a phone call can change that if necessary. Ya, the 2 tanks cost me 1K, but I do not have to worry about tanks being replaced if I want to change my dealer.

Have you tried to purchase propane from another company after you purchased your tanks? And if so, what was the procedure?

It is my understanding that each company must come inside and record every gas/propane appliance serial numbers and such and check that all is up to date fittings. For each provider of propane.

Owning your own tanks does provide cheaper price for propane. But I don't think you can just call up any propane company and ask for a delivery as is with oil. But if your experience is different please advise.

[TomC]

here's a question: is it possible, legal, etc, to just use a 20 lb BBQ tank to run the stove? I am toying with the idea of removing the fireplace insert anyway. Since that leaves just the range, i wonder if i'd be OK since its a 3 season property and not much baking is done there.

[lawn psycho]

The reason they need the minimum is they have upfront costs with the tank. They are not cheap so if you don't buy a minimum amount of fuel they have huge carrying costs and it would take them many, many years to recoup the cost. The tanks aren't free.

My builder got me my tank for my gas F/P at cost (120 gallon) and it was around $400 bucks for the tank and regulator (somewhere close to that number I don't recall exact price).

In order to be able to shop for gas prices your only option is to buy your own tank and cough up the money upfront as was mentioned above.

[tis]

You would need to check for sure but I think it is now illegal for the gas companies to sell the tanks. We have three and the last one they were not allowed to sell us.

[martran]

I would suggest that you talk with Rymes oil and propane in ossipee. We had problems with Amerigas with hidden fees so we asked them to come get their tanks. We have been using Rymes this season and are very happy with the service we are getting!

[fatlazyless]

Lowe's Gilford has the 25-gal, 200-lb tanks(when full) and appropriate regulators, compression flare fittings, and 3/8" soft copper tubing for do-it-yourselfers who want to rig up a propane system that puts out enough pressure to run a kitchen stove and maybe a small propane heater; something like a 15k btu heater. These are the tanks that see a lot of use out on the islands, and can occaisionally be seen being towed behind a boat, floating in the water while loaded full of propane, for a return trip back to someone's island home.

The car repair business which used to be an Irving Gasoline, across from the Meredith Ford, has a big propane tank outside, and it will fill up a 25-gal tank, that's in the back of a pickup truck.

If you look closely at the collar on a 100 gallon-400-lb propane tank, it has the date of manufactor stamped into it, plus any re-pressure test, re-certification stamps. Every ten years, the steel tanks are supposed to get retested by undergoing a pressure test to make sure it has no new pin hole leaks or cracks in the steel or the welds. Chances are pretty good that your 100 gal, Q tank was originally fabricated in the 1970's and just gets a retest every ten years. The stamped dates on the upper collar, underneath a coat or two of paint will display that info.

In some U.S. states, the delivered propane gas business is a regulated utility, much like the electric utility or the natural gas utility, and has to apply to the local state public utility board for any price increases and surcharge increases etc, but here in New Hampshire it is pretty much considered a private business as opposed to a public utility.

Amerigas, based in Pennsylvania, is the largest truck delivered or bottled propane company in the country, and it pays a lot of attention to any state that may want to start regulating its' business like it was a public utility.

I heard that Amerigas-Laconia no longer has a service dept and no longer does any propane service like installs or 'heat off' calls and now just does propane delivery. Is that correct? They used to have a pretty busy service dept. Wonder what happened?

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Lowe's Gilford has the 25-gal, 200-lb tanks(when full) and appropriate regulators, compression flare fittings, and 3/8" soft copper tubing for do-it-yourselfers who want to rig up a propane system that puts out enough pressure to run a kitchen stove and maybe a small propane heater; something like a 15k btu heater. These are the tanks that see a lot of use out on the islands, and can occaisionally be seen being towed behind a boat, floating in the water while loaded full of propane, for a return trip back to someone's island home.

The car repair business which used to be an Irving Gasoline, across from the Meredith Ford, has a big propane tank outside, and it will fill up a 25-gal tank, that's in the back of a pickup truck.

If you look closely at the collar on a 100 gallon-400-lb propane tank, it has the date of manufactor stamped into it, plus any re-pressure test, re-certification stamps. Every ten years, the steel tanks are supposed to get retested by undergoing a pressure test to make sure it has no new pin hole leaks or cracks in the steel or the welds. Chances are pretty good that your 100 gal, Q tank was originally fabricated in the 1970's and just gets a retest every ten years. The stamped dates on the upper collar, underneath a coat or two of paint will display that info.

In some U.S. states, the delivered propane gas business is a regulated utility, much like the electric utility or the natural gas utility, and has to apply to the local state public utility board for any price increases and surcharge increases etc, but here in New Hampshire it is pretty much considered a private business as opposed to a public utility.

Amerigas, based in Pennsylvania, is the largest truck delivered or bottled propane company in the country, and it pays a lot of attention to any state that may want to start regulating its' business like it was a public utility.

I heard that Amerigas-Laconia no longer has a service dept and no longer does any propane service like installs or 'heat off' calls and now just does propane delivery. Is that correct? They used to have a pretty busy service dept. Wonder what happened?

fatlazyless I am impressed !
That was the most normal sounding and informational post of you re's that I have read. I enjoyed reading it and even learned a few things.
Thank you and Happy Easter.

PS. As I recall, I also heard something similar about Amerigas.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Lowe's Gilford has the 25-gal, 200-lb tanks(when full) and appropriate regulators, compression flare fittings, and 3/8" soft copper tubing for do-it-yourselfers who want to rig up a propane system that puts out enough pressure to run a kitchen stove and maybe a small propane heater; something like a 15k btu heater. These are the tanks that see a lot of use out on the islands, and can occaisionally be seen being towed behind a boat, floating in the water while loaded full of propane, for a return trip back to someone's island home.

The car repair business which used to be an Irving Gasoline, across from the Meredith Ford, has a big propane tank outside, and it will fill up a 25-gal tank, that's in the back of a pickup truck.

If you look closely at the collar on a 100 gallon-400-lb propane tank, it has the date of manufactor stamped into it, plus any re-pressure test, re-certification stamps. Every ten years, the steel tanks are supposed to get retested by undergoing a pressure test to make sure it has no new pin hole leaks or cracks in the steel or the welds. Chances are pretty good that your 100 gal, Q tank was originally fabricated in the 1970's and just gets a retest every ten years. The stamped dates on the upper collar, underneath a coat or two of paint will display that info.

In some U.S. states, the delivered propane gas business is a regulated utility, much like the electric utility or the natural gas utility, and has to apply to the local state public utility board for any price increases and surcharge increases etc, but here in New Hampshire it is pretty much considered a private business as opposed to a public utility.

Amerigas, based in Pennsylvania, is the largest truck delivered or bottled propane company in the country, and it pays a lot of attention to any state that may want to start regulating its' business like it was a public utility.

I heard that Amerigas-Laconia no longer has a service dept and no longer does any propane service like installs or 'heat off' calls and now just does propane delivery. Is that correct? They used to have a pretty busy service dept. Wonder what happened?

Propane is one of those installs that the do it yourselfer shouldn't do. I'm pretty sure only licensed installers are allowed to install propane systems now. One mistake and kaboom. In fact, I thought places like Lowe's stopped selling the gas pipe and fittings to the public. (Connecting and disconnecting a tank is much different from running propane lines through your house.)

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by tis

You would need to check for sure but I think it is now illegal for the gas companies to sell the tanks. We have three and the last one they were not allowed to sell us.

Buy it from a Maine plumbing supply and then call a gas installer to hook it up for you and leak check it.

With prices high the pay-back is pretty quick especially when you start getting hit with the rental fees when you don't use much gas.

[songkrai]

Originally Posted by tis

You would need to check for sure but I think it is now illegal for the gas companies to sell the tanks. We have three and the last one they were not allowed to sell us.

Yes, you can purchase your own propane tanks. Only a few propane providers are willing to sell you tanks though. Some will sell you new tanks and reconditioned tanks. The reconditioned tanks have all new fittings and freshly painted. Tanks are not cheap.

Another note:

Few of the propane delivery companies actually own the tanks they place on your property/home. Most of the propane tanks that the propane companies place on your property are leased tanks from another company. The propane delivery company has to pay this lease fee and they are just passing this fee onto you the customer. If you use a lot of propane most propane delivery companies waive that fee.

There is no easy answer when dealing with propane. And if I had it to do all over again it would be oil.

I am happy for you folks who have pellets, geo-thermal, solar, etc. But oil is just so much simpler.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by songkrai

Have you tried to purchase propane from another company after you purchased your tanks? And if so, what was the procedure?

It is my understanding that each company must come inside and record every gas/propane appliance serial numbers and such and check that all is up to date fittings. For each provider of propane.
Owning your own tanks does provide cheaper price for propane. But I don't think you can just call up any propane company and ask for a delivery as is with oil. But if your experience is different please advise.

My first comment is regarding purchasing my tanks. I went to a plumbing supply house and purchased them without any difficulty. I believe it was a shade over $538 for each 120# tank including delivery cost.

Yes. I just called the gas company and told them that I would like my tanks filled and they just asked if I have used them before (account with them) and I just said no and they are homeowner tanks. They said OK and made arrangements for a service tech come to the house at no cost and check for possible leaks and filled out the appropriate paperwork and gave me a copy and the following day the gas was delivered. Oh, I had to open an account and they asked for a payment for an amount that it would cost to fill them using the % left in the tanks. Anything above or below the payment was either credited or collected at the time of the delivery.

As mentioned above they just checked the system for leaks and that is done in my case at the generator and with just a gage. I can not answer if they would have to check each appliance.

Regarding the cost both companies I used gave me the cost up front even before I told them what it was for. In my case I know the price wasn't higher because all I was using it for was a generator therefore use would be low usage making the price higher than someone doing their whole home.
Hope this helps and answers some of your questions, but each company/service can very, but a phone call will solve that problem.

[songkrai]

Originally Posted by RLW

My first comment is regarding purchasing my tanks. I went to a plumbing supply house and purchased them without any difficulty. I believe it was a shade over $538 for each 120# tank including delivery cost.

Yes. I just called the gas company and told them that I would like my tanks filled and they just asked if I have used them before (account with them) and I just said no and they are homeowner tanks. They said OK and made arrangements for a service tech come to the house at no cost and check for possible leaks and filled out the appropriate paperwork and gave me a copy and the following day the gas was delivered. Oh, I had to open an account and they asked for a payment for an amount that it would cost to fill them using the % left in the tanks. Anything above or below the payment was either credited or collected at the time of the delivery.

As mentioned above they just checked the system for leaks and that is done in my case at the generator and with just a gage. I can not answer if they would have to check each appliance.

Regarding the cost both companies I used gave me the cost up front even before I told them what it was for. In my case I know the price wasn't higher because all I was using it for was a generator therefore use would be low usage making the price higher than someone doing their whole home.
Hope this helps and answers some of your questions, but each company/service can very, but a phone call will solve that problem.

Look. I own my own takes and I am with you on this.

You state that you went out and purchased the tanks. Who hooked them up? Probably a propane company and you had to open an account and they checked all fittings.

So in this scenario, you must call, fill out application, with each and every propane company in order to shop around for all good prices. This may not be a hassle for you. But my guess is that most do not want all these technicians coming into their homes each time you open a new propane account and the required paperwork and credit checks. But once this is done/accomplished - then you can just phone around for the best propane price. It's a trade off I guess. I do get lower propane costs. But factor in the price and installation of an owned propane tank and how much are you relly saving? I guess if you view this in the long term the payoff may be worth it.

I just recommend oil to people. With oil, you can swap around companies without anyone coming insdie your kitchen, basement, etc. and recording all serial numbers of all appliances.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by songkrai

Look. I own my own takes and I am with you on this.

You state that you went out and purchased the tanks. Who hooked them up? Probably a propane company and you had to open an account and they checked all fittings.

I hired an independent gas fitter at a very reasonable price, $139 including parts.

So in this scenario, you must call, fill out application, with each and every propane company in order to shop around for all good prices.

No, only the company that you choice to use.

This may not be a hassle for you. But my guess is that most do not want all these technicians coming into their homes each time you open a new propane account and the required paperwork and credit checks.

Question to you, how many times do you plan on changing companies. Now me I do not plan on changing unless something comes up with a company that upsets me. That doesn't mean every time the prices go up.

But once this is done/accomplished - then you can just phone around for the best propane price. It's a trade off I guess. I do get lower propane costs. But factor in the price and installation of an owned propane tank and how much are you relly saving? I guess if you view this in the long term the payoff may be worth it.

I just recommend oil to people. With oil, you can swap around companies without anyone coming insdie your kitchen, basement, etc. and recording all serial numbers of all appliances.

I agree with the oil as that is what I have,but what if the homestead is all gas appliances, you can't just up and change everything for the sake to change to oil. Now my generator is just natural or propane gas. That's awful hard to change to oil.