National Propane Shortage Leads to Drastic Price Increase

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by stg58, Jan 20, 2014.


  1. stg58

    stg58 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Da Tech Guy On DaRadio Blog » Blog Archive » The unreported propane shortage
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    Have you heard about the propane shortage? Probably not. Although, despite my headline, it has been reported, albeit by local flyover country media.

    Stories such as this one offers more evidence on why we need new media.

    Liquid propane (LP) is a commonly used fuel for home heating in rural areas, where natural gas lines don’t often reach. And a colder-than-usual winter has of course increased demand for propane.

    “There’s 22 states right now that are having LP problems,” a propane dealer told Minnesota’s KAAL-TV. “That’s just about half the country having problems getting LP.” That dealer told the TV station that two weeks ago his customers could fill up a propane tank for $644, but now it costs $976.
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Yep, heard of it. I use it, so I'm potentially concerned. If the supply contract isn't breached, I'll be OK. If the contract is defaulted, well, I'll fire up the wood stove.
     
  3. stg58

    stg58 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    The price increase has not hit in my area yet I filled up a backup 30# tank and it was the same price as in the fall.
     
  4. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Dunno. They are pumping the stuff out of the ground in West Texas as fast as they can pump CO2 down.
     
  5. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    Been heating the house with wood since 1997. I feel for my neighbor, he filled up in summer, usually refills following summer. They just came and filled his nearly empty pig this weekend.
     
    Falcon15 likes this.
  6. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Global warming. Yeah.
     
    KAS likes this.
  7. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    Im paying 96.00 dollars for a 100 # bottle , I take them to my fill station , Largest I can handle with a hand truck & trailer.
    I have a small pig that had a leak in a valve , I drained it & cleaned the port treads , resealed the joints & installed a new Valve .
    This tank Is going to be one of my main holding tanks. Im in the process of building a liquid propane transfer pump system .. Largest tank i can handle now is 100# , as I get wiser ;) I know it will be less. We have around 500# plus at the lowest so far. Only used to cook & a few APU's .

    Sloth
     
  8. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    Our town has its own gas wells so we get natural gas from the city, however I picked up a bunch of propane tanks and was planning to get them all filled in a few weeks. Interested to see what it costs to fill them now. Know the 20# tanks you exchange at Home Depot and Squallmart are $20 but not sure what it'll run me going straight to the propane house. I keep 'em on hand to run the canning and still burners mainly but can also hook onto an LP heater in the house should the gas fail for some reason.
     
  9. jab73180

    jab73180 Monkey

    Supposedly here in Maine that train accident in Canada upset our propane delivery. I didn't know there was a national shortage. We had some coming in on a boat to address the shortage. I just filled a 100# tank and it was $75.

    -Jason
     
  10. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    You are aware that your only getting 15# of propane in this 'new' tank ?
     
  11. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    7 gallons per tank, or thereabouts, yes.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  12. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Somehow, I don't think that's right. 7 gallons would weigh more like 40+ lbs. Not gonna happen in a 20lb tank (grill sized.)
     
  13. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I just filled a 12lb tank with 3 gallons. Sounds about right to.me.
     
  14. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    Ok I went in the garage and looked. Blue Rhino exchange tank, says 17.5 pounds propane. Googled around, it's 4.5 gallons. So to exchange it I'm paying $20 for 4.5 gallons or $4.44 a gallon.

    My other tanks aren't exchange ones so I'm taking them to the propane shop in a few weeks to get them filled. I have no idea what propane goes for when you buy it straight now. I used to have a 500 gallon tank on my old house as a backup, plus an old John Deer that ran on propane, but I don't remember what it cost me back then either.

    Edit: Just called the propane dealer, they don't price it by the gallon but it's $17 to fill the 20# tank so that's $3.77 a gallon.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2014
  15. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Current price at a local U-haul is $3.99 a gallon on refills.
     
  16. jab73180

    jab73180 Monkey

    About $3.36 here in Maine.

    -Jason
     
  17. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Has been $12 for small and $24 for larger. Has been--bet I get sticker shock tomorrow. Have a few to refill and a 100#er.
     
  18. BobRenken

    BobRenken Monkey

    There is so much natural gas that the gas companies are buying new trucks to run off of the stuff. Owe hussain's EPA has blocked new CNG compression facilities to liquify the stuff for tank transport.
    We have all this energy and our leaders want us dependent on foreign oil/propane.
    Also the EPA banned firewood burning devices in new homes.
    Crazy stuff with the goal of bankrupting our nation.
     
  19. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    There are two problems presented here, differing greatly, tho' related peripherally.

    The problem with natural gas as a fill in for propane is infrastructure. I'm sitting on top of the Marcellus shale play, and no possible way to heat the house with ng. No processing nearby, and no pipes to distribute it. (Transport pipe for untreated gas is going in, but not for distribution of commercial grade gas.) As to propane, once again, we've fallen victim to the JIT thinking, there's little storage for propane in the supply side, there is plenty of it domestically (oil, too) just choking in the path from producers to consumers. (Or so I'm told.)

    The EPA is an entirely different ball of worms. I do not think the EPA or any other alphabet agency is deliberately out to bankrupt us, but it sure looks like it. We suffer from an excess of zealous, high handed and politically motivated administrators that exceed their charters with regulations never contemplated in the original intent. And that is followed by rigorous enforcement that has the effect of stifling growth and innovation and driving cost thru the roof. BTW, the EPA has far less effect (essentially none) than local zoning on compressor station siting. ("All politics is local." Nimbys are wide spread and vocal.)

    In truth, the impetus for ng fueled vehicles is economic, the obstacle is distribution. It isn't only the o&g companies that are buying ng trucks (and cars) but bus lines and some city services (think garbage trucks) as well. There would be far more of them if there were a way to move the stuff around more readily, it is cheaper than gasoline or diesel these days, and will remain so until the powers that be see the loss in tax revenue when the distribution system is in place for wide spread use.

    It strikes me silly that the fuss over compression stations is so all consuming on one hand, when the other hand wants filling stations for the compressed motor fuel. Another left hand, right hand thing, I guess --
     
  20. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Asked the dealer today (price up .63 in last 10 days) and he said a new company had bought a pipeline and diverted supply to jack up prices. Said it would go back down in a couple weeks--doubt it but we will see how long they will be gouging us. It is a manufactured shortage. Supposedly Maine/Vermont is running on truck deliveries instead of the pipelines.
     
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