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. 20 lb tanks 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 have worked at a refill station for 10 years now and I can't tell you how many complaints we get about Blue Rhino tanks. It is not unsafe to put 20lbs of propane in a tank, UNLESS that tank is exposed to 120 degrees F or above, at which point, the pressure relief valve with discharge to reduce pressure inside the tank. You only want 80% of your cylinder filled because propane expands and increases in pressure when exposed to temperatures between 66-119 degrees F. This is why you never want to store a full tank inside. If in the case the pressure relief valve does blow off, and the tank is outside in a highly ventilated area, the propane will dissipate. Also, propane is heavier than air, so if you do have a leak, the propane will settle in low laying areas. Shut all electricity off and call your fire department if you suspect a leak. As for this new 'magnetic valve', I have only seen a few up in MA over the past 10 years. I empty the cylinder, and replace it with a fully functional OPD valve (DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU ARE NOT CERTIFIED), this way it can be refilled wherever the rightful owner of the tank wants it to be refilled. I can't knock Blue Rhino for its convenience. It's about the only propane you can get at midnight at a 24 hr Stop & Shop. Try finding a refill station open at midnight (never!) If you think Blue Rhino is ripping customers off only filling to 17 lbs of propane. AmeriGas only puts 15 lbs in their exchange tanks!! With all this said, stay away from Blue Rhino and Amerigas. Blue Rhino is now owned by FerralGas which is the largest propane supplier in America. Support your local mom and pop refill stations. If your using Blue Rhino, your just lining the already rich pockets of corporate America. God Bless the USA! Thanks for reading! -Ben Gaetani Tanks 2 You Propane propanetanks2you.com tanks2youpropane@gmail.com Here is a link that might be useful: Ta nks 2 You Propane

all electric heat is expensive! propane is a little cheaper, but not much. if i had it to do all over again, i would have my heat pump use propane for the backup. i do prefer to cook on gas, though we currently use an electric stove. the nice thing about using a gas stove is that even in the worst case they require a 120v outlet to operate the gas valve and ignitors, so even a small portable generator will run them. if you go all electric, you need a big gen set to run the central HVAC, water heater, and stove/oven. that is IF you desire to be able to use all at one time. my line of thinking is that i would size the generator big enough to handle all at once if you have frequent extended outages. if it is for just a once in a blue moon 2-3 hours outage, then size it to run the single largest load +at least 25% more. say you have 15kw electric strip heat, then you need 15kw genny JUST to run that. so figure on a 20kw to give headroom for the fridge and your lights. now, what we do is is use a 6kw installed genny. small, but it was free! i can run all of the 120v stuff in my house with no issues. during the winter we heat the den with blower insert inthe fireplace. this runs off 120v, so the genny takes care of it. i cannot run either HVAC system off it, but i do get my lights, tv, satellite and internet plus the fridge and deep feeze. so far, i have only needed it one time for about 3 hours. no where near enough time required there to even need the HVAC systems!

Too late- we're committed! Hopefully, the house is sufficiently energy efficient that it won't be a big deal. Third gas company was a no show and the fourth was hilarious. He quoted $4,500 for the tank and when I told him he was at least $1,000 higher than his competitors he suddenly discovered a "typo" on his price list and reduced it to $3,100. I asked what brand of tank it was and I was told that it's "proprietary" to which I responded- Well if we're buying a tank, THEN do we get to find out? He very seriously told me at that point I'd be able to read the manufacturer off the side of the tank. These people crack me up. One more quote on Monday and I am putting this issue to bed. Someone today actually quoted $1.61/ gal which sounds pretty darn good to me! Thanks for all the feedback- keep it coming, please!

Where do you live? What is your current system? What are your electric and propane rates? Are you interest in $$ or environmental impact? My first thought is that there are very few places in the US (if any) where a seer 19 or 20 are worth it. I think most would agree that seer 15 or 16 might pay for it but after that, you are doing your part to minimize impact but you are certainly not saving money. Payback on Geo is all about where you live and what you are likely to pay with the competing options. For instance - for my house the HVAC bill is about $1200 a year. Geo might save 30% (in my climate) - so payback would be about 30 years.