Tips On Tailgating with Propane

Summer’s over, so you know what that means…football season has begun! While some might think the grilling season has peaked, true football fans know that that is definitely not the case. Tailgating for your team is half the fun and everyone can agree that nothing is better than the smell of BBQ lingering around your tailgate spot. So, don’t pack up your grill just yet! See how easy it is to root for your team and grill with propane on a portable grill, at your next game. Here’s how:

1. Check your tank

Nothing is worse than running out of propane in the middle of any BBQ. Don’t be that guy by planning ahead and checking your tank to make sure that you have enough fuel to last you the entire tailgate (or however long you plan to be grilling). Fill up your tank a few days before the game, so you won’t be driving around and looking for a fill station on the morning of.

Check out our propane tank refill guide.

And if you can, securely bring a second tank if you think that you will need it. (We said securely, because safety is always a priority with propane. Make sure your propane tanks aren’t rolling around in your car when you are driving, by putting it in a box or plastic crate. Also, note the weather and don’t leave a propane tank in the car for a long period of time).

Watch this video on how to transport your propane tank:

2. Gather Supplies the Day Before

The propane for a propane grill is obviously important, but let’s be honest, the food is key. Get the food, marinades and cooking supplies like tongs, etc. the day before your tailgate. Marinade the meat the night before and set everything up, so it will be ready to go the day of. Pull the cooler out of the garage and grab ice, so you are all set. Once you set up shop in the parking lot for the tailgate, it is almost impossible to drive out to go get anything that you might have forgotten at the store. And let’s be honest, no one would want to anyway… so it’s better to prep ahead of time.

3. Know the Rules

Every parking lot and stadium is different, but most have a defined set of rules when it comes to tailgating. To save yourself any potential trouble, be aware of these rules before you go. Nothing kills a party like having to pack up and move spots (or worse shut down) during the middle of the day. Most places have their rules and guidelines up on their website, so check there first and if you don’t seem them, consider calling and asking. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

4. Get there early

The early bird gets the worm and that is true when it comes to tailgating! Pick the best spot next to the grass, water, stadium, bathroom…whatever you prefer. The bottom line is that when you get there early enough, you can choose your spot and won’t have to worry about fitting your car into one of the last parking spots.

5. Space it out

Not only will getting there early help you find the perfect location, but you will also be able to put out all of your stuff (including your valuable propane portable grill) and find the best place. If it’s a hot day, put the grill away from your sitting area, so you aren’t making your friends sweat more than they already are. If it’s a cold day, maybe everyone won’t mind sitting down wind of the BBQ’s heat. And as always, be safe. Don’t put your grill under a tent or too close to any chairs or tables.

6. Time Accordingly

Think about what time you will want to eat and what time you will want to enter the stadium. Want to make sure you see the teams run onto the field? Then, start grilling early enough to fill up your friends’ stomachs before this. Also, make sure that you have enough time to shut everything down and pack up what you can.

7. Securely shut off

Once you are ready to go into the game, double-check that you have securely shut off your propane grill and closed the valve on the BBQ propane tank. Do NOT put your tank in your car. Leave it outside until after the game and then, make sure that it is fastened properly before you go to transport it, so it will not roll around the car or back of your truck.

We hope these tips help you have a great time at your next tailgate! If you have any propane grilling questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Info@ComparePropane.com.

The article Tips On Tailgating with Propane was syndicated from Compare Propane

Summer is Thunderstorm Season aka Generator Season

Summer brings all kinds of fun things. BBQ’s, hanging by the pool, vacations and the heat. But with all that fun we also get thunderstorms. And once we get through all the storms of summer we have hurricane season though the end of November. The last 5 years has shown us that extreme weather is becoming more and more common place. Therefore, home generator sales are growing each year.

Generators for your home come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can have portable generators that can be used to service standalone appliances during a power outage. Becoming more popular now more than ever are whole house (also known as Standby generator). Standby generators basically keeps your home powered as if it never went out.

If you have a whole house generator it can be fueled by propane, natural gas or even diesel fuel. The vast majority are powered by natural gas or propane. For the purposes of this article we are going to focus on whole house generators with propane fuel.
The same generator can use Natural gas or propane. There is a very simple switch inside the generator itself that allows the same generator to use either source.

Whoever is doing the installation will be able to very easily set up depending on what fuel source is available at the residence. If you have Natural gas lines already run to the house chances are you will use that to power your generator. If natural gas is not available at then a propane tank or tanks will need to be set up.

What size generator?

There are various tools to determine what size generator is needed. I would recommend going on the leading standby generator sites to determine which is right for you. But for the purposes of this article I will use ball park generalities. A home that is approx. 2000-3000 sq ft with one air conditioner and primary heat source is a fossil fuel (natural gas, propane, heating oil) a 16 kw could possibly suffice. Larger homes with multiple ac units or homes that use electric heat pump as primary heating source might need to go with a 22kw generator or larger.

How much Propane will I Burn?

The smaller end of whole house is a 16kw generator. This will burn approx. 2.4 gallon per hour while running at full capacity. The larger 22kw generator will burn roughly 3.4 gallons per hour. These numbers are based on the generator running at full capacity. While your generator will be running the entire time you are without power it might not necessarily running at full capacity. I have found that if you take these numbers and halve them it’s what you will roughly be burning per hour.

Generators will exercise (run) every week or every 2 weeks depending upon set up. This keeps everything running smoothly. Expect to burn approx. 10-20 gallons a year.

Propane Tank Size

Now that we know what gallons per hour your generator will be running lets figure out your propane tank size. Its generally recommended to have at least 250 gallons of propane capacity for generators. Its always better to be safe than sorry when determining what tank application is best for you. If you don’t have power there is a possibility of wide spread outages. Think Hurricane Sandy. Parts of the east coast were without power of weeks at time. While this is at the extreme end the spectrum its entirely possible to happen again

In addition, a ice storm in winter could lead to prolonged outages as well. So lets decide what tank we need to have 4 days of power outages. Generally, your propane company should be able to deliver within 4 days. If you are burning 1.5 gallons per hour and you have you will burn though about 144 gallons in 4 days.

Above Ground/Underground Tank

There are a few different options in how to set up propane tanks for your generator. One way is to set 2-120 gallon above ground propane tanks. They will need to be set 10 ft away from the generator and any other electrical source of ignition. Your local propane dealer will either be able to lease the tanks or sell the tanks outright. For leased tanks you can expect to pay a rental fee of $125-$250 per year. The price per gallon with vary. Because generator usage isn’t very consistent and there is a good chance you might only get a delivery every few years its hard to ball park price per gallon but the range will be $2.799-$3.799 depending on your area and how much propane you use.

Another option would be bury a 500 gallon tank. The cost to bury a tank and run lines to the generator will vary from area to area but rough estimate is $3,500-$5,000 depending on how much work is involved. While the outlay is greater the price per gallon can be expected to less. A rough estimate for a delivery as of 8/8/2016 would be approx. $1.599 -$1.899

The article Summer is Thunderstorm Season aka Generator Season was syndicated from Compare Propane

The Easiest Way To Get Propane Quotes

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Does My L/P Tank Need to Be Re-certified?

If you have a DOT propane tank it will need to be re-qualified after 12 years of manufacture date. Sounds good. How do I know if I have a DOT tank and why is it called DOT?

Smaller portable propane tanks tank size from 5lbs to 420 lbs or 1 gallon to 120 gallon tank can be transported over the highways and roads are therefore are regulated by The Department of Transportation. That’s what they are called DOT tanks.

Most BBQ tanks and smaller 100lbs are DOT tanks. Therefore tanks are called DOT tanks.

If you have a 100 gallon tank at your home it could be a DOT tank or an AMSE Tank (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers). If you have a DOT at you home it will be need to be requalified 12 years after manufactures date. If you have an ASME tank there is no requalification needed.

How do I know if I have a DOT tank?

They make it pretty easy as it will be stamped on the outside collar of the tank. It will say “DOT-”

 

 

Once you establish you have a D.O.T. the next step is to find the manufacture date. Once again its stamped on the tank collar. Per DOT regulations tanks need to be recertified every 12 years from date of manufacture and every 5, 7 or 12 years thereafter depending upon how the last certification was performed.

 

 

This tank would need to be requalified on 4/2020

Types of Re-Certification

A tank can be requalified by visual inspection. Only a qualified technician can perform this test. If you have a bbq tank that needs use to be requalified locally you can take it to where you normally have your tank filled and they should be able to help you. IF you have a DOT at your home, your propane provider should be able to re-certify the tank for you.

Another way to requalify a tank is to do what called “Proof Pressure” where the tank is tested with air at twice the marked service pressure. If this test is completed it will need to be retested 7 years after this date.

The last test is a “Volumetric Expansion” test that is a water jacket hydrostatic test where the tank is tested at twice the marked service pressure. Tanks will need to be re-qualified 12 years after this type of testing. After a certified technician requalifies a tank he/she will mark tank with the date and type of test performed.

Summary

The basic idea to come away with from this is that 99% of BBQ tanks are DOT tanks and they will need to be requalified 12 years after the manufactures date stamped on the collar of the tank. If your tank is approaching recertification date just take it to where you normally have them filled or to your local propane dealer and they will be able to help you out. You will not be able to get your tank filled right away but should be able to exchange it for another. If you have DOT at your home, your propane dealer will be able to requalify the tank using one of the above methods.

 

 

Ever wonder what hazmat codes mean? Check out this video explanation:

The article Does My L/P Tank Need to Be Re-certified? was syndicated from Compare Propane

Propane Budget Plans

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Prepay Propane Prices

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Understanding Your LP Gas Delivery Cost

What Type of Propane Delivery Program is Best for You?

If you have propane at your home or business there are a few different delivery options available to you. Propane can be delivered on an automatic delivery basis, will call basis or calendar basis. Often when I am talking to customers they are not aware of the different delivery options and just like to stick to whatever option they have done in the past.

When speaking with consumers new to propane they will often ask which delivery option is best. That is not a simple answer, because not everyone has the same set of circumstances as everyone else. Factors for choosing the right delivery program depend on what you use propane for, if you’re planning to move in the future and your overall monthly budget for utility expenses.

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Automatic Delivery

Automatic propane delivery is when your propane provider delivers propane to your home or business automatically throughout the year. Thank you Captain Obvious. You will not need to call or monitor your tank throughout the year. Your local propane dealer will come out periodically and deliver throughout the year depending upon your usage rates. In order to be on this program you will need to use propane on a consistent basis. The usage includes using propane for whole house heating and or using it for hot water.

How does the company know when to come out? This is a great question and often two identical sized houses can have much different usage rates. The propane company does not want you to run of propane and they don’t want to make small partial deliveries either. So, what companies do is monitor your usage using a degree day delivery system.

A degree day is a measurement of weather. To calculate a degree day you simply average the high and low temperature of a day and subtract it from 65. For example, a typical January day in Philadelphia the high is 40° and low is 23°. That gives us an average of 31.5. The total degree days for that day is 33.5. (65-31.5=33.5)

Your home’s usage is assigned a usage rating by taking the total number of degree days between your last delivery and divide that by the number of gallons you are delivered. This is known as a K-factor or usage factor. For example, the month of January would have an average 1000 degree days accumulated. If the company delivered 500 gallons, your home’s usage rating or K-Factor would be a 2.

A K-factor is like the miles per gallon for a car. An old V-8 muscle car that uses a lot of gasoline would be like an old 5,000 square foot farm house with little insulation and would have a low K-factor. Conversely a compact car with a small engine would be similar to a smaller type home that is well insulated. Depending on how cold it is and your historical usage, you will be able to get an idea of how often your company will come out and make deliveries. If you use propane for hot water, industry standards predict that you will use approximately one gallon each day and come out accordingly.

Benefits:

The obvious first benefit of automatic delivery is the convenience factor. You don’t need to dredge out to the tank in a foot of snow and check your tank gauge. Also, you have the peace of mind knowing your propane company is going to keep your family warm. They really don’t want you to run out of propane for multiple reasons. No company wants to pay a driver overtime to make a delivery in the middle of the night. Also, if you run of out propane and there is damage to your home, the propane company may be liable, if it was their fault. So, companies want to keep your tank with product at all times.

Other advantages for automatic delivery customers is they often have budget plans available to spread your payments out over the whole year. Lastly, often times companies offer a prepay option to automatic delivery customers as well. This will help whoever wants to pay for their fuel out front in the beginning of the season and not have to worry about paying the heating bills as they come.

Disadvantage:

The main disadvantage is that the company is coming out without notice and it’s possible you could incur a bill that you might not be expecting. If you are about to move or are renting, the company might make a delivery and you will no longer be living there to use the product. So, you would have to pay for a delivery that you might not even be able to use.

Will Call Delivery

If you have propane at your home or business but don’t use it consistently, being on a will call basis might be best for you. Examples might be using propane for a generator, or fireplace insert, or to heat a swimming pool. It is very difficult for a company to make an accurate assumption about your usage, which could lead to either run outs for small partial deliveries, which could incur fees from the propane supplier.

If you use propane for heating and you own your tank, being on will call is an option as well. Will call customers will want to call to schedule a delivery when the tank is at approximately at 20%. This will give the propane company enough time to schedule a delivery and fill your tank before you completely run out of product.

Benefits:

A major advantage of being on will call is that you know when to expect a bill and can budget for it. In addition, if you’re on will call and you own your tank, you can shop around for prices and get the best deal possible. If you use propane for a generator or fireplace insert, it is very difficult for your company to predict when your propane tank will need a fill up and how much you are using. Often times this leads to either you running out of propane during heavy usage times or getting deliveries of small amounts which could result in an added fee from the company. So, it really is best to keep an eye on your tank and usage and call when you tank is at about 20% full.

Disadvantages

Being on will call for whole house heating, it’s very important that you remember to monitor your tank and call when you are getting low. Sometimes in our busy lives we forget to check the tank. When this occurs often times there is a delivery charge. Another down side of auto delivery for whole house heating is during times of extreme cold weather or snow and ice, when delivery times could be delayed.

Calendar Delivery Basis

The last option for propane delivery is on a calendar basis. What this means is that your propane provider will come every so many days or weeks, etc. This is good for many large commercial accounts like restaurant’s ones for industrial uses. They might be on a program where they get deliveries once every one or two weeks, etc. But it can also be good for homeowners as well who use propane for hot water and/or cooking. Often a company can come out quarterly or even annually. The main advantage is that you don’t always have to be monitoring the tank, but on the flip side, if you’re using more propane than normal you will have to be proactive and contact the company if your tank gets too low.

 

The article Understanding Your LP Gas Delivery Cost was syndicated from Compare Propane