Sorry. I couldn't find my original post, so here is the link: Link It is of interest to some and enjoyable.
Thanks @Don Alaska and they’re for everyday use? Never heard of that before because we’re almost all electric here. Of the almost five million households in Sweden only about thirtyfive thousand use natural gas and then it’s piped direct from the gas company’s depot. You live and learn.
WE had all-electric here for a long time, but switched to propane as a more efficient way to heat our home as wood was our primary when electricity was a heat source. We switched to natural gas when a line came through the area to a nearby school.
@John Brunner I seem to recall that the refillable tanks must be destroyed after a certain expiration date stamped on them. This experience happened once when I returned an empty tank, probably oxygen, to be exchanged for a full one. Don't recall who "ate" the cost of the replacement tank, probably me. I exchange my welding tanks when empty, as I own them, not rentals.\ Frank
@Bibbi Wright Large propane tanks (say, 100 gallons and up) are seen on residential (homes) properties here quite often. We had one out back when we bought our house in 2012. I installed circuitry allowing use of electric kitchen stove, water heater, and home-heating furnace, allowing discontinuance of propane use. The company which serviced and owned the big tank came and took it away free of charge (it belonged to them), I was not being charged rental for it. The gas still contained in the removed tank was valued as a credit applied to my purchase account, but no reimbursement was made for it. We now are "all-electric". Frank
Natural gas is usually piped in here, too, @Bibbi Wright . It is the propane that comes in containers and can be portable in smaller containers. People who live out in the country where there is no option for natural gas can still have a propane tank installed and use that for heat and cooking. Even people who live without electricity often use propane. If they have the large tanks, then the propane company comes by in the fall and makes sure that all of the tanks are full before winter comes, at least in places where there is a lot of snow in the winter, like in north Idaho, where I grew up. Here is a picture of a large propane tank, so you can get a better idea of what they look like.
That tank would probably be several hundred gallons ,ours last a couple years and its only about 60 gal. but we only cook with it.But it cost about $300.00 to fill now hat propane has went up so. So now the propane company is asking for $250.00 a year for tank rental, it use to be $25.00 for rental.. We haven't paid it and won't unless they come for the tank.
Interesting. During my purchasing career, I paid my fair share of demurrage (oxygen, helium, argon, liquid nitrogen), so never messed with the details of ownership of commercial tanks. Regarding the refillable consumer propane tanks: -They must be inspected every 5 or 10 years, depending on the size -If they pass, the new Expiry Date is stamped on them -At the end of each Expiry Date, they must be inspected again -As long as they keep passing inspection, they remain in use --They are never taken out of use if they continue to pass inspection I just got this information from my propane company.
I have had my fees go up on refilling my 75 gallon tank because I only use it for cooking and it's hardly worth their effort to service my account for the small amount that I use. They gotta make their money somehow. But my rental ain't that much. I believe the purchase price for mine is around $600, but that's from memory. So to sorta guide us back to the center lane on this thread...even if power goes out for an extended period of time I can still use my gas stovetop. I'm kinda out of luck regarding the oven because my modern stove is driven by electronics. If I lose power, neither the oven's burners nor the thermostat even work...I have no way to manually turn on the gas and to regulate the temp. I have thought of getting one of those battery backups that you can get for desktop computers (since the stove electronics shouldn't draw that much power), but I'd still need some type of solar panel array to keep the battery backup charged. And solar panels/batteries have a finite life. And THAT takes me back to my "stuck place" on all of this. If I were in survival crisis mode right now, I could adapt my daily ways around it and incorporate all of the tools & equipment required to live another day...the stuff would be maintained merely from regular use. But until SHTF happens, I buy the equipment, the stuff sits, and then when I need it, I gotta hope that it works (generators and storage/freshness of gas are the most extreme example.) Sure you can take your stuff out every once in a while and do what you gotta do to maintain it, but that's a burden brought into your life that may or may not ever yield a benefit. And there's always gonna be gaps.
Guess we should check our dates.We have not used the 5 20 gal ones but once for canning some beans and carrots Jan 2021.
I understand and we're all for the small business man but the propane companys has never closed like other business has. People actually may use more propane since many are stuck at home now. Last year it was $125 rental,sio its a ripoff taking advantage of us who have enough to deal with. Plus propane went up like everything else. We will pay more to help our small business out but no sense in being taken advantage of.