Don’t Buy A New Propane Tank, Buy Used
Grilled on May 7th, 2006 in GeneralLike a car, you should always go used when it comes to buying a propane tank. (technically, you never buy a “new” tank, you just get a “used” one just like everyone else except it’s from the store)
You usually don’t get your own propane tank refilled (due to safety regulations put into place in 2002), you simply go to a place like Home Depot and swap your empty propane tank with a full one from their racks. At Home Depot, this runs about $17 for the standard propane tank size. If you don’t have an old tank to trade in, then the price will run you about $60… the tank itself is worth about forty bucks (after taxes). The benefit of this trade-in policy is that you don’t ever need to re-rate/re-qualify your tank (all pressurized tanks must be re-rated every so often), a huge plus. You’re also ensured that a majority of the tanks you do receive will be in good condition since they are likely to have been inspected prior to being refilled.
When I bought my grill, I had to spend some money buying a new propane tank because I didn’t own one. I foolishly shelled out the money for a tank, not knowing any better, when I should have researched buying a used tank on my own just to trade in. If you look on your local Craigslist or in the classified section of your local newspaper, you might see someone selling an old grill complete with old tank. I saw a grill and propane tank on sale for $40 on Craigslist.
Use the money you saved on the tank to buy yourself some fine steaks to grill on tonight!
5 Responses to “Don’t Buy A New Propane Tank, Buy Used”
- 1 Pingback on Jun 6th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
- 2 Pingback on Jul 3rd, 2007 at 11:49 am
Well, ok. Buy ONE tank and have it filled at an RV dealer or other propane supplier, in addition to the tank supplied with your grill. The idea is to always have TWO tanks on hand. If one goes low while cooking, swap out with the full tank you have in reserve.
This becomes especially important as you graduate to higher levels of outdoor cooking and add an outdoor deep-fryer, etc. You DID know that the absolutely BEST way to cook a turkey is to deep-fry the bird, didn’t you?
Deep frying a turkey is also a good way to burn down your house. Around here, there is ALWAYS at least one house that gets burned down by some fool deep frying his bird carelessly. Tip #1: Don’t drop a frozen bird into a vat of boiling oil. Your fryer will boil over, the oil will catch fire, and you’ll end up with a giant oil-powered torch. Combine this with working under you second floor deck (perhaps for shelter on a rainy day). and you’re guaranteed to make the evening news.
I am looking for a 1000 gal used propane tank for drying grain in central alberta. Please contact me if you have anything like this.