OT - Blue Rhino proprietary valve

Every place I've filled my tanks, at least for the last ten years, has either weighed the tanks while filling, measured the propane by volume (gas meter), or both.

Reply to
krw
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Not necessarily so------ Many containers say "product is filled by weight - some product settling may occur" - and when you open the can it's about 75% full - or 100% if you count the air.

Reply to
clare

You didn't have to pitch your old tanks. All you had to do was buy the new OPD valves and replace them yourself - or take the tanks to a larger propane dealer and have them do it for you. Or traded them in at the dealer for new tanks.

You little corner gas station/hardware store that also fills tanks isn't going to offer those options, but find a larger propane dealer and they'll do it for you. Same goes for getting your tanks recertified every 10-12 years, depending on what your state requires. Don't pitch them. A larger dealer will check them out and recertify them for you.

Reply to
Hell Toupee

just trade them at recertify time or new valve time

Reply to
bob haller

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Seems, the new Blue Rhino valves are designed so other suppliers can't fill

Just got one filled at Exxon, no problem. When Im camping and need propane I will grap one if I cant find a place to get a refill. Sometimes that are actually cheaper than campground refills and sometimes its all you can find.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

In my personal experience BR tanks still come up short on the amount of LPG sold/delivered.

As to no longer using proprietary valves more than a few independent refill stations refuse to deal with BR tanks. In my experience their point is it's not worth the hassle/potential liability problems or the resulting bad feelings with their customers.

Perhaps it's no longer an issue of *can* but an issue of *will*. If you're out in the boonies you still come up empty.

From my view 'screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me.' The reality is BR has a major pr problem that will be hard for BR to address. And not there has been no real attempt at that except to cliam BR will sin no more. In my case it matters not as for me and mine we're not taking a chance on another screw job.

Says he who has received short shift from BR on complaints and no reimbursement for gamed tanks of the past.

Reply to
NotMe

The special ones had a triangle indent, in the side of the valve. Not all Blue Rhinos had this.

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Just got one filled at Exxon, no problem. When Im camping and need propane I will grap one if I cant find a place to get a refill. Sometimes that are actually cheaper than campground refills and sometimes its all you can find.

Jimmie

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

All in all blue rhinos costs to collect tanks, refurbish tanks, pressure test tanks, upgrade tanks valves distrubuite tanks then share the revenue with the local dealer...........

Their costs MUST be a lot higher than the local gas station that fills tanks as a secondary income.....

So underfilling is likely a attempt to compete with the lower costs of the low cost operators.......

Not saying underfilling is right but it might just be the only viable solution:(..

Reply to
bob haller

In the grand scheme of things I doubt the gas is the biggest cost for a BR tank. On the other hand I doubt the people who refill tanks see it as a profit center either. They are usually doing it for the convenience of their customers. I usually see refill places in RV parks and rental outfits that rent RVs.

I am frustrated that I can't legally get the equipment to fill my portable tank from the 150 gallon bulk tank I have. The county won't give me a permit, the gas company will cut off my delivery if they see the equipment and my insurance carrier would cancel me. It is mostly a lawyer problem.

Reply to
gfretwell

If you have to use sleazy tactics to stay in business, you should not be in business. For years, they did charge a higher price, but it was convenient. To suddenly put less gas in the same sized tank to keep the price down is just plain sleazy and wrong.

It also means you have to change tanks for often and spend money to go tot he store to get them more often.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Not necessarily.

The places that fill your tank spend some 5 to 10 minutes of labor starting from the time that the "fill guy" starts to come out to when the sale is complete and the "fill guy" goes back to whatever else he is doing.

The "blue guy" stops by a store and loads 5 or 10 empties and replaces them with a like number of "fills" and goes on his way.

I imagine that at the "factory," the labor cost per container is down in the noise but on the order of one minute.

It's the natural advantage of an assembly line over piecework.

Well, I suspect it's a combination of factors. The "anti-over-fill" valves likely reduced the capacity below 20#. Easier to simply cut the "fill" to 15# than finding a "safe max."

Reply to
John Gilmer

That's my biggest gripe. Don't mind paying a little extra for convenience but don't want to feel gypped.

Reply to
Frank

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> Seems, the new Blue Rhino valves are designed so other suppliers can't fill

grap one if I cant find a place to get a refill. Sometimes that are actually cheaper than campground refills and sometimes its all you can find.

I agree there have been times when I'm camping that there just is no place to get a refill, especially on a weekend. Because of this, I have always brought a spare tank. Only once did I run both tanks empty, and was unable to find a place to get a refill. Fortunately that same time I found a business with whom I'm familiar, who sold the prefilled tanks. It's their own brand and I was comfortable with them. The cost was slightly higher than a refill, but in a pinch, it served me well, and I did get a newer tank in the process too.

As far as BR not filling their tanks with as much propane, it's pretty well known that ALL of the companies that sell pre-filled tanks do not fill them to their maximum. A 20lb tank is really only a 16lb tank because ALL propane tanks can only be filled to 80%. This means that the 500 gal. tank in your yard can only get 400 gallons, and a 20lb can only get 16lb. But there have been articles in recent years that state that 20lb pre-filled tanks contain only 13lb or a similar number. I guess that's the cost we pay for convenience. Same as paying $3 for a gallon of milk at a convenience store while a grocery store only charges $2 for the same product. My biggest complaint is that these tanks do not tell the amount of fill. Because of this, if you normally get a specific amount of hours of use from a FULL tank, you are not going to get the same hours of use, and it's not possible to know when the tank will run out, not knowing the content in pounds. They really should be required to state the weight or amount of propane.

Reply to
tangerine3

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>> Seems, the new Blue Rhino valves are designed so other suppliers can't fill

NO. A 20 lb propane tank HOLDS 20 lbs of propane. That is the 80% volume capacity. The NORMAL 20 lb tank weighs 18 lbs emty and 38 lbs full - legal fill of 80% volume.

WRONG. a 500 gallon US tank HOLDS 500 gallons of propane. The actual volume of the tank is 83.56 cubic feet. The only way a 500 gallon propane tank only holds 400 gallons is if those gallons are IMPERIAL gallons, and the tank is rated in US Gallons.

Weigh your refilled tank. Your 20 lb cyl, when full, will ber 37 or 38 lbs, depensing on the tare weight of the cyl. If the TW is 18, full is

  1. If the TW is 17, the full weight will be 37.
Reply to
clare

True for all except BR. They use a short fill

Inflationary pressures, including the volatile costs of steel, diesel fuel, and propane, have had a significant impact on the cylinder exchange industry. In 2008, to help control these rising costs, Blue Rhino followed the example of other consumer products companies with a product content change. We reduced the amount of propane in our tanks from 17 pounds to 15 pounds. To ensure our consumers are properly notified, Blue Rhino clearly marks the amount of propane contained in our tanks, right on the package.

It means BR charges more for less. Two pounds less according to their web page.

There is a sticker on the racks that tells you what they put in the tank.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

They still CAN put 20 lbs into the tank - they choose not to.

Reply to
clare

Not with the new OPD valve. There is a float in there that shuts it off.

Reply to
gfretwell

No, it shuts it off at 20 lbs, not at the reduced fill that Blue Rhino, and some other prefilled tank vendors are apparently supplying.

Reply to
clare

Not in the US. Max allowed is 4.1 gallons of propane that weighs 4.2# per gallon. Max ix 17.22 lbs.

Maybe they CAN fit that much, but the OPD valve will close and make it a real PITA to use that tank. When the new tanks started going into service, many were overfilled and customers complained that the tanks did not work when hooked to the appliance. You had to be very careful to slowly open the valve.

You will also find the tank stamped with WC for water capacity. That translates to how much propane will fit.

I take my tanks to BJ's and they charge by the gallon. If they do come up short, I'm not paying a penalty for it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Mine often "sticks" when they start filling it, particularly in hot weather. They have to monkey around with a screwdriver to get the OPD valve open.

I usually buy from a U-Haul place here. They sell by the gallon, too, though it's also weighed.

Reply to
krw

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