Best place to buy propane these days

[devilsbox]

When we first left NH last January we were using a 30 lb tank every 2 days to stay warm. We quickly found out that Tractor Supply seemed to be the best place to buy Propane.

On our trip the range to fill up a 30 lb tank went between $14.50 to $30.00.

That's a big difference.

I'd be interested so hear what others do for propane fill up spots while on the road.

Larry

[SeaLevel]

2 days - wow! So far we've only had to fill one about every 6 months, so I just fill them at the cheapest local place before heading out again. Actually, I did fill one once while traveling, and that was while we were visiting the Virginia Highlands Haven Airstream park.

[Lily&Me]

I have just a small tank, but my preference is to pull in some place like AmeriGas or HicksGas....prices are best there, in my experience.

UHaul is the most expensive, and I once paid $20 for about 3 gallons because that was their minimum charge....something they didn’t tell me til after they had filled my tank.

Maggie

[Foiled Again]

Tractor supply is good, and new ones are springing up everywhere. If you have 20 lb. Steel tanks, many tank exchange places are quite reasonable, especially BJ's, Sam's Club, and big gas stations or hardware stores.

Paula

[r carl]

If you are exchanging 20# tanks be aware lots of places only put in 15 or 17lbs, check the label, that's why they are cheaper.

[moparjohn]

14.50 is REALLY cheap for a 30lb tank. I sell it at my work, and an empty 20 lb tank would cost $22..00 or so to fill.

[polarlyse]

I agree with Tractor Supply. That's my go to place when I'm looking for propane but I've also had good prices & service at ACE hardware's in places where they sell propane. I've been gouged at big propane distributers where they do it by weight. Stay away from those type. We have seveal TS's here in NJ but none that sell propane so I look for them when on the road.

[eubank]

Propane prices are all over the map. When we had our RV park and sold propane, we also paid a lot of attention to prices asked by others. The cheapest, by far, was the local energy and tele co-op, which filled DOT cylinders as well as huge home tanks at a price that was right at the bulk rate that we paid for it. Once converted to a per-gallon price, the highest were the trade-in places like Walmart and grocery stores, also selling only in 20-lb cylinders. But various prices across different fillers in the region weren't disturbed in a bell curve; they seemed just wildly distributed, low and high, all over the range.

Lynn

[crispyboy]

I have three options locally. A local propane distributor (highest), Tractor Supply (2.39 gallon) and Southern States Cooperative (2.13 gallon). Southern States Cooperative is located in the south-east part of the US.

[AirMiles]

Is there a rule-of-thumb method to compare the price per gallon of propane to the price per gallon of gasoline?

I typically consider the price for one gallon of gasoline to be a gauge for what to pay for a gallon of propane. Possibly a dollar a gallon more for propane similar to the variation of diesel to gasoline. I once pulled up to my local hardware store to fill my tanks and asked their price per gallon. "$5.00" said the attendant, "no thank you" said I, as gasoline was selling for low $2s per gallon! Now I usually go to Camping World to fill and feel good paying up to $1 per gallon more than gasoline. Camping World used to give a big discount (like 25% off) on Tuesdays, but they now say its discounted every day and no longer give the Tuesday discount.

[Bill M.]

I often just get refills at the campground I am in at the time when the first bottle runs out.

[charlesk]

Tractor Supply is always a time the top of our list while traveling.

If you are an Escapee member, their parks generally have very low cost propane.

[synapticon]

Yes, one of the many benefits of Escapees (their Coop parks) is that they sell propane at cost.

[WhereStream]

Originally Posted by crispyboy

Southern States Cooperative is located in the south-east part of the US.

Wow, I haven’t seen a Southern States co-op in many years.

I thought Southern States had gone out of business.

I get my tanks refilled at the Ace Hardware down the street.

Probably on the expensive side (it charges a minimum fee of $17), but convenient, and we don’t use a lot of propane.

[jrporter7702]

I’ve been using the same 30 lb tank for a year and a half. Granted, I live in Texas and have rarely used the furnace.

A question for clarification, is propane sold in gallons? I thought it was by the pound. The reason I ask is it makes it more difficult to compare to gasoline prices.

[rucos]

If you come to the west coast of Canada you'll find gasoline expensive and Propane cheap

best price is Costco ..... about $8US for 20lb and $12US for 30lb (depending on the dollar exchange rate)....double that anywhere else 1 .... cheapest gas too.

[eubank]

It was hard to match propane prices to gas prices.

For our propane prices, we used to base it on the price we paid at the time that we filled our 1000 gallon tank. Sometimes that helped to keep the price in check, but other times it shafted us (i.e., when the bulk rate was high, and we were stuck with expensive propane for the nine months or so that it took for us to sell that much of the stuff).

Gasoline, by contrast, seems to fluctuate almost daily, depending on the many factors that are involved in the prices of that product.

Lynn

Originally Posted by AirMiles

Is there a rule-of-thumb method to compare the price per gallon of propane to the price per gallon of gasoline?

I typically consider the price for one gallon of gasoline to be a gauge for what to pay for a gallon of propane. Possibly a dollar a gallon more for propane similar to the variation of diesel to gasoline. I once pulled up to my local hardware store to fill my tanks and asked their price per gallon. "$5.00" said the attendant, "no thank you" said I, as gasoline was selling for low $2s per gallon! Now I usually go to Camping World to fill and feel good paying up to $1 per gallon more than gasoline. Camping World used to give a big discount (like 25% off) on Tuesdays, but they now say its discounted every day and no longer give the Tuesday discount.

[jcanavera]

I'm not on the road enough to comment upon prices when I am out of town. In most cases I fill locally close to my house. Typically I only fill when i finish a tank and have to move to the other. In the case of cold weather though I look for a company that will charge you for the amount of the fill. Most of the places in my neck of the woods charge a flat charge based on the size of your tank. So if you come in and your tank is half full, the seller will charge you the same as if your tank is empty. So in a situation where I need to "top off" a tank, I go to a dealer about 10 miles from my home who will only charge by the gallon needed for a fill up.

Jack

[turk123]

I was pleasantly surprised that when I filled up at Tractor supply, they charged me for what the tank took, not a flat charge for a full tank. That means you can take both tanks to fill up at the same time and only pay for what you get.

[Airhead59]

I've had my Safari 25 for over a year and eight 4-5 day trips. Had both my 30 lb tanks filled last April at Camping World on a Tuesday to take advantage of the discount. I'm disappointed to hear that that discount has been discontinued. I still haven't gone through one tank in spite of several spring and fall camping trips below freezing, but it warms up nicely during the day here in NM and southern CO.