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20 lb devops engineer pega senior lsa utrecht software developments are more commonly known as BBQ size tanks. These cylinders are meant to hold 20 lbs of propane @ 80% of the tanks capacity. Blue Rhino is most certainly ‘short-filling’ their tanks to line their already bulging pockets. Also, Blue Rhino puts a plastic ‘sleeve’ around its tanks which advocates rapid rusting resulting in an ugly and sometimes unsafe cylinder. I was in a hurry and did a tank swap at Walmart recently, which is supplied Blue Rhino in the DFW area. The stated tare weight was 18, so I actually received 16.4 pounds of propane in a 20# tank.
The retail store will allow you to pick the Blue Rhino tank you want. So there is a chance that you can find a tank from Blue Rhino that is OPD and is refillable at your local propane dealer. But you need to look for the telltale TS2 indention to be sure.
In November 2020, Defendant AmeriGas agreed to settle the class-action claims. The Court gave its initial approval to the settlement, and the Claims Period opened on January 6, 2021. Se unlawful depends on an unfounded assertion that the parties agreed to keep their prices fixed. There was no allegation in the complaint that the parties agreed in any way on the pricing of the lesser-filled propane tanks. Walmart was free to negotiate prices or any other price element with the parties. Yet, there is no allegation that Walmart tried but was unable to re-negotiate the price of the tanks with each of the parties.
I noticed this because I was in the process of exchanging a non-OPD tank for an OPD tank through Blue Rhino at my local Sears Hardware. I also needed a different connection; mine was the sliding sleeve quick connect connection that Weber was selling. I had bought a new regulator from Weber with a twist-quick connect, and needed a tank with that valve. If you have purchased at least AmeriGas or Blue Rhino Propane Tank between December 1, 2009 and November 30, 2020!
The tank initially contains air, which will not compress to a liquid at anywhere near the pressure that propane will. If the air is left in you will not be able to get very much propane in the cylinder. The process takes several minutes, and wastes a little propane, but it is necessary. What they do is add some liquid propane, then open the bleeder valve to let out the air. Some propane vapor will also escape at that time.
There are several methods of recertification and it is too lengthy a subject to get into regarding the different methods of recertification and timelines for each type . Try and find someone locally who is licensed to rectify tanks — it usually isn’t easy — and there is a cost of course. It requires you to invert the 20lb cylinder to have liquid propane flow to the 1 lb cylinder. In any case, weighing will probably give you a better indication than your average car’s gas gauge will. I have one vehicle which sticks on Full for a long time then quickly drops. My new car has an 18.5 gallon tank, but the gas gauge and the electronic “range left” indicator thinks it will run out after using only 13 or 14 gallons.
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Only reason I got an exchange in the first place is my valve was not woking very well. In the Matter of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., et al., FTC Docket No. 9360, Complaint (Mar. 27, 2014), available at /system/files/documents/cases/140401amerigascomplaint.pdf. That settlement, one of the parties, Blue Rhino, also agreed to provide additional antitrust compliance training to relevant company personnel. One can only assume that AmeriGas took comparable steps following the settlement. In light of these considerations and others, scarce Commission resources would have been better spent pursuing other, more worthwhile matters.
For all of these https://coinbreakingnews.info/s, I voted in favor of issuing the Complaint and accepting the proposed Consent Agreements in this matter. The investigation revealed ample evidence to provide us with a reason to believe that AmeriGas and Blue Rhino entered into an unlawful agreement. The Consent Agreements are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by either Respondent that it has violated the law, or that the facts alleged in the complaint, other than the jurisdictional facts, are true. The Commission believes that the terms of the proposed orders contained in the Consent Agreements will resolve the competitive issues described in the complaint. The Consent Agreements have been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of comments from interested members of the public. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record.
- It requires you to invert the 20lb cylinder to have liquid propane flow to the 1 lb cylinder.
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- In the Matter of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., et al., FTC Docket No. 9360, Complaint (Mar. 27, 2014), available at /system/files/documents/cases/140401amerigascomplaint.pdf.
- If you plan to reuse your tank for an extended period of time, you’ll want to find the tank’s expiration date, generally stamped on the top handle area.
- The bleeder valve is opened when filling allowing some gas to escape, and a bit of liquid when full.
It’s usually cheaper to just get them refilled if you have that available as an option nearby. Locally, I can get mine refilled at B.J.’s for either $9.99 or $10.99 (I can’t remember which it is), and I can get it refilled at a hardware store for about $14. I have 3 or 4 tanks laying around – if some idiot puts a grill out at the curb with a “free” sign on it and includes the tank, then I get that tank. If the tank looks rusty, but still has the proper valve on it, then I exchange the tank for a nicer one.
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If you refill, you then simply add 15 pounds or so to the tank and pay for what you added. If you exchange, you are giving the propane company 5 pounds of propane and paying for the complete exchange. Today I took multiple 20 Lb tanks in to be refilled. I weighed one of mine and it had 18.8 pounds of propane once filled. Cylinders are labeled by how much propane they hold. 10lb tank holds 10 lbs of propane, 20 lb tank holds 20 lbs of propane, 30 lb tank holds 30 lbs of propane.
There are several reports on the net that the tanks filled by Blue Rhino only have 17.5 lbs of propane, not 20. Or whether this is an OPD phenomenon due to possible void space left in the tank by the float interlock. The Federal Trade Commisstion issued a complaint against Blue Rhino and AmeriGas in March over the agreement by the two companies to reduce the amount of propane in the tanks.
Our Consumer Protection lawyers believe in holding companies accountable for harm. If you’re injured by a lithium-ion battery explosion or fire, rely on a law firm with specialized experience for help. Our legal team is experienced, professional, and ready to help. Use our visualizations to explore scam and fraud trends in your state based on reports from consumers like you. While overblown and unlikely, I would just refill my tank. The mere existence of numerous phone calls between competitors in the midst of contractual negotiations with a major common customer may create an inference that the competitors are acting in coordination.
You could buy a new tank, but you can just exchange the existing one. Check that you are getting a tank that is not close to its recertification date . The propane exchange company will simply recertify your old tank and reuse it. They have people that can do that and it is very cheap for them due to their volume. Refilling is generally the way to go, but always compare prices.
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You’ll only pay for the propane you use if you own your own propane tank. Any propane left in your tank isn’t lost as it is during an exchange –and even if it’s a small amount, it’ll return home with you. If you plan to reuse your tank for an extended period of time, you’ll want to find the tank’s expiration date, generally stamped on the top handle area. We enforce federal competition and consumer protection laws that prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices. Meth labs are using propane tanks and if you get one that was used in that scenario, watch out. I googled and found that Amerigas and Blue Rhino both offer propane cylinder exchange programs at approximately the same price locally.
Most retail locations have grill tanks available for both sale and exchange, so you can return your old grill tank and get a refilled one in one simple step! Some retailers can refill your old grill tank instead. The location finder lets you know what services you will find at your local retailer.
Virtually all of the tank exchange companies now only fill your tank to 15 lbs. They apparently started doing this when the price of propane went up with gas prices several years ago. They claimed that they were doing an incredible service to customers by not having to raise the price. After complaints, they do now list that the tanks are filled to 15 lbs, but very few people are going to realize this. ” Ask 20 people who exchange a tank, and I’ll bet 18 of them don’t realize that the tank is under filled, even if they do read the “notice”.
Some places charge by the tank, not by the gallon. There is a disadvantage here if you are refilling a tank that is not empty. You should also make sure that they will be filling the tank to the full capacity.
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen
The parties had contracted to fill each other’s propane tanks in certain areas of the country where one of the firms did not have refilling and refurbishing facilities. I take no position here on the legality of that hypothetical agreement. Again, there was no allegation in the complaint that the parties agreed on the fill levels in their tanks. The Federal Trade Commission (“Commission” or “FTC”) has accepted, subject to final approval, agreements containing proposed consent orders (“Consent Agreements”) resolving an administrative complaint issued by the Commission on March 27, 2014. And Ferrellgas, L.P., also doing business as Blue Rhino (collectively “Blue Rhino”).
There is a company that makes refillable 1 lb cylinders. They are refilled from a fork lift propane tank, which is designed to deliver liquid propane. Purchasing a fork lift tank (if you are like me you probably don’t have one) makes it expensive, however. It would require a lot of refills to break even. Blue Rhino apparently has their own proprietary “TS2” valve.
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Fortunately, antitrust law requires a different and more economically sensible result. One of my several concerns at the time the complaint issued was that the Walmart-as-lynchpin theory would effectively collapse into one in which the Commission was challenging the independently decided fill reduction. The Commission, however, obviously did not have sufficient evidence to pursue that more direct case. Blue Rhino’s Vice President of Sales responded by urging AmeriGas to “hang in there” as Blue Rhino continued to negotiate with Walmart. This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links has no substantive legal effect.