20 LB Propane Tank Exchange Rip Off

[realdocBBQ]

They tell me at my local TSC when I go that they will only fill to 80%, that that is the law. I don't know, I haven't looked it up.

But yes, even at that, 15lbs in a 20lb tank isn't 80%, it's 75% and they're shorting you 1lb. Saves them a considerable amt of money over the years, and they know 99.97% of people aren't going to check it - and the rest of you can go get stuffed. No one cares.

No one in any regulatory capacity cares or is going to do anything about it. No one at the company is going to do anything about it. No one in this country is going to do anything about it. Fraud, false advertising and outright theft is essentially the way of the world today and no one is ever going to do anything about any of it. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Sorry. Now I go to TSC and get my tanks filled and I only pay for what I get, so whether it's half full, 3/4 full or all the way, I'm paying for what they dispense, not what it's 'supposed' to be.

[Uncle Bob]

you're partially correct, but none of the exchange programs promise a full tank or 20# or any other form of quantity. Poorly informed consumers make assumptions and act accordingly. We live in what's sometimes called the information age, but people still have to make the effort to acquire the information. Many simply don't expend the effort, it's human nature, has been for a long time, probably will remain so...

[cruiseplanner1]

Self Serve Lumber's here in Michigan also charge you only for what they put in. I have to check what my Ace does. I go there the most as it is closer.

[troymeister]

I found a place a few miles away that refills. That will be my go to from now on.

[Alan Brice]

TSC & Ace will refill. You only get charged for what they put in. Nobody fills past 80%. CYA! Kroger exchanges but again you only get 15lbs.

[cruiseplanner1]

Ace here by my house has a flat fill fee. Not sure how much goes in. Very reasonable compared to some of the prices I have seen on here so I will not complain

[jfmorris]

Tank exchanges have been short at 15 pounds instead of the full 20 for as long as I can remember. That is why I get my tanks refilled to a full 20 pounds, for less than the exchange price. Around here most exchange places are $22-23 to swap the tank, and a full 20 pound fill at Ace costs me $14.99, give or take. They sell the propane by the gallon there, and you have your choice of the gallon rate of the $14.99 flat fill rate on the tank. Usually I am filling several at varying stages of empty, and the gallon rate works out to my advantage.

I used to go to Costco to refill my tanks (I bought all the tanks empty at Costco), but the one in Huntsville shutdown its propane filling operation. I let my Costco card lapse after that.