Fun with propane

 I'm not bored, but I suppose it's time to get the details of our propane experience down in writing.  But first, Mike learned yesterday that our dear friend and neighbor, Vern Lankenau (he owns acreage to the east of our little subdivision) was in a car wreck sometime in the last 10 days.  He is recovering in Texas with son Steve.

We had a skiff of snow on Tuesday, which was a surprise when we got up that morning.  Mike said he heard it raining during the night, so at some point, it turned to snow, but it was so slippery, an ice underlay to just a bit of snow.

Most of you know that we blame our missteps in the mountains on always living in cities with city utilities and amenities.  This holds for the most part with this propane episode.  When we moved in December 1st last year, there was about six inches of snow on the ground and an odd smell in the house.  We chalked it up to the house not being lived in very much and went about the huge chore of unpacking.  Over the course of the next week or so, we got an additional 20 inches of snow, and the smell went away.  Problem fixed!

Fast forward to March, time to top off the tank, so we put in a call to Amerigas, and they came out to fill up the tank.  The tank is on a lease from them and "came" with the house.  Also in March, snowmelt started, and the smell started coming back. Mike has had several propane cases in his lawyerly career and knew that the ethyl mercaptan they put in propane tanks (propane is odorless) supposedly smells like rotten eggs, sulphur smell, and starts becoming apparent as the tank gets very empty.  Since that wasn't the smell, we immediately thought septic.  Again, city utilities, no experience with septic systems either.

We got a hold of a septic company.  No, we weren't having any backups.  No, we weren't experiencing any problems, except one.  We didn't know where the septic outlet(s) were.  The Williamsons had no idea where they were but sent me the permit pulled by Scott Purdy and others.  Scott Purdy answered my email and told us it was 20 feet behind the garage.  Mike had to start digging.

About a month later, as we were minding our own business one night, the propane radiators in our house stopped.  No warning.  Just shut off.  Of course, that meant that the gas stove was inoperable.  Mike went out the next morning and discovered our tank was empty.  We had a leak.  After trying about six plumbing companies, all who said it would be weeks, we finally found a company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing out of Montrose - highly recommend - and they came out to find the leak, and they did.  It was on an outside wall, so when the snow in December piled up, it sealed off the leak.  When the snow started to melt, the leak was exposed.  Smell gone in December, back in March.

The great plumber from Ben Franklin fixed our leak, and we called Amerigas to have them come out to do a pressure check to turn on the gas.  I know I just assumed leak fixed, turn it on, but  no.  I made the first of many calls to Amerigas to set up a time for them to come out and was given a time in just a few days.  We're relying on space heaters and the microwave so what's a few more days?  The assigned day/time comes and goes, no Amerigas.  I call again, and I'm given another date, a week out.  Oh, and did you know my call was very important to them?  Apparently, as I was told over and over and over while I was on hold.  As one can imagine, we're starting to get pretty agitated.

And you guessed it, that day/time comes and goes with no Amerigas.  I called Amerigas, and did you know my call was still very important to them?  Yes, sirree.   This time, I went up the ladder immediately and got to a supervisor, Amahi, and I'm proud to say I didn't drop one F-bomb during the entire conversation.  When she scheduled us two weeks out for the pressure check and didn't respond to my pleas of it's cold, we're at 8600 feet, it's winter, I knew all was lost.  But then - yes, there's a "then" - she lied to me about something she had said in the same conversation, and that was it for me.

Fast forward a few days, Mike saw an Amerigas tanker up the road filling the Walls' tank.  I walked up very quickly and asked the driver very politely if he could do a pressure check.  I had no expectation that he could do it but he could...and he did.  After the pressure check, he came in the house and made sure all the radiators and the stove came on.  He was just the nicest guy from Delta, worried about finding a new rental when there were, and continue to be, so few available.   I got a bill from Amerigas a few weeks later for the pressure check, but no one ever called me.

Back to the plumber, he gave us information about a local propane company, JC Propane.  I'm a Google review person, and their reviews were fantastic.  Long story short, we switched our tank earlier this month from Amerigas to JC Propane, truly efficient and nice guys who did the change.  It was a very happy day when I got to call Amerigas and cancel our account.  When the customer service (hahahaha) rep asked me why we were cancelling, I told her, "You don't make enough money to have to listen to this," and she just said, "Okay," and left it at that.  

We are now two weeks post-call, and you will not be surprised when I tell you that Amerigas has not come to pick up their tank.  It sits in our driveway.  I called again last Friday and asked them to come get it  - my call is still very important to them - and she said it sometimes takes a few weeks. 

So lessons learned:  ethyl mercaptan can smell like septic,  and one should check the tank frequently.  Also, Amerigas is trash, and JC Propane and Benjamin Franklin Plumbing are the best.  We're just glad we didn't blow up the whole neighborhood in the process.

Old nasty tank

Bright shiny new tank