I saw a woman the other night at Home Depot


 
S

Scott Smith

TVWBB Pro
I often go to Home Depot after my kids go to bed. It was like 9:15pm on a weeknight, and this woman wanted 5 tanks full of propane. Even the workers are Home Depot were trying to tell her that this wasn't a good idea because they would have to charge for the tanks and the tank exchange. She didn't seem to get it or care, as long as she got her propane. She happily paid about $255 for five brand new tanks and walked out the door with five crusty old tank exchange tanks.

She was a very satisfied customer too. Nobody asked her what she was planning to do with all that propane. Anybody have a guess?
 
Maybe some kind of outdoor event where she wanted to run 5 propane heaters, which she may have also bought recently. Whatever it was she was doing, I bet she was doing it two to five times, meaning I don't think she planned to run five tanks one after the other on something, more like she wanted to run five of something (outdoor heaters?) at the same time.
 
THyde said:
Maybe some kind of outdoor event where she wanted to run 5 propane heaters, which she may have also bought recently. Whatever it was she was doing, I bet she was doing it two to five times, meaning I don't think she planned to run five tanks one after the other on something, more like she wanted to run five of something (outdoor heaters?) at the same time.
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Ah, maybe 5 outdoor patio heaters….
 
Jason Godard said:
She bought 5 new empty tanks, then paid to exchange them for full older tanks?
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IIRC, you cannot buy full tanks off the shelf anywhere in this country. If you want a full new tank, you buy a new tank, take it to a refill station where they'll purge it and fill it. Home Depot doesn't have a fill station, just a tank exchange.

I'm with the other observers. She must have a dire need for 5 tanks, immediately. I'm lucky, I have 3 good tanks and a local refill station.
 
JKalchik said:
IIRC, you cannot buy full tanks off the shelf anywhere in this country. If you want a full new tank, you buy a new tank, take it to a refill station where they'll purge it and fill it. Home Depot doesn't have a fill station, just a tank exchange.

I'm with the other observers. She must have a dire need for 5 tanks, immediately. I'm lucky, I have 3 good tanks and a local refill station.
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I understand that new tanks are only sold empty, I just want to understand what Scott was saying. I refill my tanks as well, even the one pounders.:cool:
 
She could have take the 5 tanks to any tank exchange and paid about $100 to get full ones in exchange. And most exchange places clean the tanks up if they are too nasty.
 
It was 9:15 at night she most likely could not have gotten them filled that night so what were they being used for that night that could not wait till the morning?
 
I have six, two in use, two ready for refilling, two ”on call”.
Always one in the grill, one in the heater.
I just don’t want to run out in the middle of a cook or cool evening when I need it! Paranoid? Cold wife doesn't ever want to be without warmth!
 
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Could of saved herself a step. Most if not all exchange places around here have the option to buy a new tank filled or exchange your old tank.
 
Oh. OK. I get that. And Timothy is right about being able to buy them without exchange.
 
Here in kalifornia, tank exchange is about $50 a bottle, granted you can get a tank filled for about $40 a bottle, but if the bottle is 10 years or older, they won't refill it. Her price of $255 for five bottles isn't too far off (imho)

I know a few people who live in their trailer and they go through a bottle a week and that's in sunny kalifornia. I would imagine on the right coast where it's considerable colder, a bottle probably won't last a week. Sounds like to me, she needed heating, and wanted to get approx a month's worth of it
 
ChuckO said:
Here in kalifornia, tank exchange is about $50 a bottle, granted you can get a tank filled for about $40 a bottle, but if the bottle is 10 years or older, they won't refill it. Her price of $255 for five bottles isn't too far off (imho)

I know a few people who live in their trailer and they go through a bottle a week and that's in sunny kalifornia. I would imagine on the right coast where it's considerable colder, a bottle probably won't last a week. Sounds like to me, she needed heating, and wanted to get approx a month's worth of it
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Here in Missouri, it’s about a dollar a pound to refill my tanks. A tank exchange from Walmart can run $15-20 but the tanks are only about 70% full. Every few years I do an exchange and pick out one that looks nice and new, just because I’ve never had brand new tanks anyways.
 
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