Stopped at a caltex to swap gas. Thought 37.95 an absolute rip off for 9kg of gas so stopped at bunnings where it was 22.98. Their usual price but still a deal compared to everywhere else.
thought this could save some ozbargainers 15 bucks given its the Australia day long weekend and many of us have bbq's.
Much the same.. All the time…
The neg is a little harsh, doesn't hurt to be reminded of how big the difference is.
Everything is a rip at a servo, including the fuel, just the fuel probably has the lowest margin.
Harsh ? For pointing out a regular price ? Ok well let me go submit a deal for Coles & Woolies $1 a litre milk then say its a deal because its $2.10 at the servo. Also if you can get fuel somewhere other than the servo then please share :)
let me go submit a deal
Yep….. go for it…..
Harsh? Yes. This deal is worth noting in case there are people out there who are not aware of the vast price difference between Bunnings and some servos.
Actually milk is $1 a litre at Woolies servo's too :P
OMGWTFBBQ!?! $1 a litre milk from Coles and Woolies?? Why didn't someone tell me about this?!
Common knowledge isn't so common, I didn't even know Bunnings did gas bottle swaps
You could be possibly forgiven for making such a comment if you had bothered to contribute anything of worth since you joined last August, but there has been not one post…
same price at Masters too
Lots of BP's have 2 x 8.5kg swap for $50. $25 bucks seems pretty good for a servo. But I have a Masters and Bunnings within 1km so that is my place of choice.
Once again a standard price but in case it helps someone avoid the servo rip off the local BBQs Galore (Capalaba) offers 9kg refills for $19.99 - pay to check your local
Is that just a refill or is it a swap (bottle and all)
Its still cheaper to get your own filled, plus they are not always properly filled up at swap and go places. Good price for thoses looking though.
And your evidence for this is?
Yeah if you go to a gas place you can get your 9kg (not 8.5kg) refilled for $18. However it is nowhere near as convenient as swap & go since you have to wait. Plus they are not local to everybody. I still use bunnings everytime
I know a place in Bonnyrigg that is $17 a fill for a 9kg.
Yes perhaps maybe more suited to the forum, but definitely good to point out to those that may not know. Servo = emergencies where your bottle runs out in the middle of a BBQ dinner party or something and Bunnings is closed
This. I remember having to drive over to my local petrol station to swap my gas cylinder during the middle of my party at night.
BCF does gas refills for less than $20. The main thing the Bunnings swap ones are good for is swapping out a bottle that is coming up to 10 years old.
9kg is 22.75, where i work, although swap n go is a bit quicker than a refill
Can't believe some people whinge and comparing servo,convenience store to big giant supermarket group,
I run a shop that have 'swap and go', we swap 9kg for $34.5, and I tell you 'swap and go' company charge us $27.6 a bottle, which is higher than bunnings retail price,are we ripping off our customer? No, 20% gross profit is standard and reasonable for grocery retail industry,I believe big boys even make more than 20% from $22.98
FYI: the cost of refill and 'swap and go' is total different
I believe big boys even make more than 20% from $22.98
How much is LPG at the moment? 9kg is about 18 litres….
Correct!
One reference I found mentions the calculation of kilograms of LPG / 0.505 kg/L = liters of LPG (pending the propane/butane ratio which can vary somewhat).
So 9 a litre capacity LPG bottle / 0.505 = 17.8 litres.
And an 8.5 litre capacity LPG bottle / 0.505 = 16.8 litres.
You should buy your bottles from bunnings/masters then!
How does my local milk bar sell swap and go cheaper than you buy it for? Paid $20 a few weeks back.
I think the owners of milkbar may go some places to refill it for a very cheap price and put it out to cage,Bothe sides are happy. Only problem is Gas company get nothing of it though they provide bottle cage and they suppose to get business from it.
Swap N Go 9kg Refill. $22.98
That price is for 8.5kg swap, not 9kg
http://www.bunnings.com.au/kwik-swap-8-5kg-gas-exchange_p318…
By the way, this is Bunnings normal price, it's not a bargain…
Better do some reading old chum. You can't put 9kg of gas in a 9kg cylinder by law.
You can't put 9kg of gas in a 9kg cylinder by law.
Which law ?
I'm not your mother. Look it up for yourself. Or, use your grey matter and think about why that might be the case. There are laws about checks on gas cylinders and lifespans of bottles also, for obvious reasons. Look those up while you're there.
I think jv isn't having a go, he just hates (like a lot of us on OzB) people saying "there's a law" but not backing up their claim with proof. It happens a lot and his response id a fair one, no matter the subject matter
Better do some reading old chum. You can't put 9kg of gas in a 9kg cylinder by law.
what a load of crap. the only "law" stopping them is the law of profit. its mostly to do with the way they bulk refill the swap bottles is at best unreliable. they fill by literage but because the volume of LPG varies with temp they under fill the bottls to keep a greater safety margin to counter there unreliable measurement. you can go ahead and believe what ever spin they try and put on it in there advertising but that is exactly what most advertising is, just crap to make you buy there inferior brand over someone elses.
PS i used to fill not only lpg for a living but also other much higher pressure (there for more dangerous) gasses as well :)
PS I don't care if you're a Nobel prize winning gas specialist you haven't got a clue. Whether retailers underfill for their own benefit as you skeptically suggest without a shred of evidence or not has nothing to do with putting 9kg of gas in a 9kg bottle. Every state has regulations and guidelines with regard to LPG gas bottles which relate to the testing and age of bottles, and filling to safety limits allowing for ullage, which no doubt you've experienced once or twice. Here's a basic explanation of the reasons:
http://www.elgas.com.au/blog/398-are-bbq-gas-bottles-9kg-or-…
Here's a basic sales pitch from the company thats profiting most from doing this:
fixed that right up for you…
if your going to quote something then quote either from the ADR's (in this case as2470-1989) or other government source not from some company sales brochure…
Yeh i see your problem, what would a large gas company know about gas and safety. So according to your expert opinion ullage is not an important safety requirement for consumer gas bottles? Thank heavens you aren't doing it any more. Try AS 2030.1-1999 for starters.
So according to your expert opinion ullage is not an important safety requirement for consumer gas bottles?
where did i say that champ? dont put words in my mouth trying to justify your stupid opinions. as said below, and stamped into the side of each and every gas bottle, theres a capacity both of the whole bottle and its gas carrying capacity.
Try AS 2030.1-1999 for starters
http://www.licence.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/BusinessLicenceFi…
Australian Standard AS 2030.1-1999 : The verification, filling, inspection, testing and maintenance of cylinders for storage and transport of compressed gases - Cylinders for compressed gases other than acetylene
When is this code of practice required?
You may require this code if you intend apply for an RAC industry permit. An RAC industry permit means any of the following:- Refrigerant handling licence;
- Refrigerant trading authorisation;
- RAC equipment manufacturing authorisation;
- Halon special permit; or
- Restricted refrigerant trading authorisation.
ok champ, as soon as i get into the refrigeration trades ill be sure and look them up… not sure how that relates to LPG tho…
And the winner is nosdam!
haha, seriously… quoting a refridgerant standard? Exactly what jv was originally referring to. All these self-proclaimed experts who say "there is a law" but in reality don't know their arse from their elbow
Oh oh, you know things are getting serious and the fight usually starts after someone throws the first champ.
Think you better do some reading. A 9kg bottle is designed to take 9kg of gas.
Its internal volume is greater to allow for thermal expansion of the gas and yes, you could put more than 9kg if you circumvented the internal design that does not allow you to 100% fill the bottle. Same goes for car LPG systems or any other liquified bottled gas.
What do you think, that the onus is left to the consumer or safety features are built into the bottle?
Btw I checked the weight of my last servo refill and it was 9.12kg (by weighing it before and after). I can therefore re-weigh to know when I'm getting really low.
All gas bottles aren't created equal as we know. Mine both weigh almost exactly 16.6 kgs after filling and 8kg empty. It all depends on the WC on your bottle.
@bigticket your mostly correct except for
you could put more than 9kg if you circumvented the internal design that does not allow you to 100% fill the bottle. Same goes for car LPG systems or any other liquified bottled gas.
there is no internal design on "BBQ" bottles only on cars because (luckily going by this thread) most people have no clue what they are doing with "BBQ" bottles and will never refill them themselves. with cars any moron can go to a servo and fill one up so they need to be moron-proof
the "proper" way to refill a BBQ bottle is by opening the screw bleeder and filling with gas till you see liquid come out of the bleeder, once you see liquid you shut off the refilling hose and wait till you see only gas come out of the bleeder again before closing it off (tho most dont wait and close it immediately because its still within the bottles designed capacity)
the reason the swap people only fill it to 8.5kg is so they dont have to use the proper bleeder method (which wastes gas and there for profits) and just "guess" the bottles real capacity and hope that at 8.5kg has enough headspace to not overfill the bottles. if they are overfilled and get to hot they simply blow the burst disks and let all the gas out anyway, which happens a bit.. but hey keep telling yourself thats the safer method people…
…actually the "proper bleeder" method isn't really the best or proper filling method, it relies on the dip tube being fitted to the valve and being the correct length for the cylinder. Often it is not. It also vents large amounts of LPG which is bad for safety and profit.
The best and safest way to fill is by weight. The tare weight is stamped on the cylinder (normally on the valve guard) and this along with a set of scales is used to calculate target fill weight. The cylinder is then filled to this weight. This is how Kleenheat, Elgas etc fill LPG cylindes.
The reason most places use the "proper bleeder" method is because it doesn't require a pump as it just works on pressure equalisation.
this is Bunnings normal price for long time
It's not their normal price, they've just increased it by a $1
All last year (& did my last swap mid Dec) it was $21.85.
Cheeky buggers.
Hmm this is interesting. I get mine refilled at my local independent servo for $13 any day of the week.
4kg or 8.5kg?
Don't know why I was negged for asking a valid question. If its $13 for an 8.5kg refill then THAT should be posted as a bargain
Definitely 9kg. Haven't filled it for a few months I'll check back soon what the current price is.
I doubt that is for 9kg. They'd be losing money…
Yeah its 9kg price. But they put in 8.5kg as previous post per law.
Quit acting like…. errr, yourself.
Do you really need a link to a specific law that says your can't fill a tank to a dangerous level? The industry decided 8.5 was a safe fill level, filling past that to a known dangerous level would leave you liable for the damages. Do you think endangering people's lives is not against the law?
Quit acting like…. errr, yourself.
yea jv, stop being correct and giving people valid info will ya. it gets very annoying to the ones trying to continue to live within there delusions…
Duff read my other comment above. its absolutely zero to do with legalities or safety, you have just been suckered into there sales pitch.
How is it getting suckered into a sales pitch? Sign says 8.5kg and you get 8.5kg. You get exactly what you pay for. It is like complaining about 1.25l bottles of soft drink because they could hold 1.26l.
The industry decided 8.5 was a safe fill level, filling past that to a known dangerous level would leave you liable for the damages.
that is exactly the sales pitch to push dumb people into purchasing an inferior product while thinking its somehow superior….. (not specifically talking about you, just stating that is what pitches are for) the "industry" decided on no such "safe fill level", this is what the suatralian standards/certification board are for. go have a look at all those pretty stamps on your LPG bottle then read up on as2470-1989 if you think i dont know what im talking about :)
There isn't any reference to a law that says how much to fill them.
Yay JV, you are correct!
The law focuses on safety instead.
If you go to your State's equivalent of Workcover (mine is NSW) and you will find something like this referencing AS2030:
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Docu…
The law cascades down. This means "Legislation" enacts "Regulations" which in turn incorporate "Codes of Practice" and "Australian Standards". In this way some Australian Standards effectively become law. So Nosdan above definitely gets an indirect yet effective legal nod for his AS2030 reference. It is in effect the law in NSW.
You won't find anything specifically in the law, regulations or standards saying "thou shalt not fill your 9kg BBQ bottle over 8.5kg". But the law will say the process needs to be safe, comply with regulations, codes of practice, licensing of premises and training of operators, meet Australian Standards, etc, etc.
The 8.5kg rule appears to be the LPG Exchange bottle industry's response to the lack of cylinder size standardisation in Oz which unfortunately can mean cylinders as small as 8.5kg. They just want a safe, simple and repeatable way to sell a standard fixed amount of LPG per cylinder regardless of actual capacity as a basis for fair and equal charging.
PS: I am an Engineer who works on all sorts of technical stuff including Dangerous Goods compliance.
Slightly more on the OzBargaining topic…
West Ryde BP last refilled my two 9kg BBQ Gas Cylinders for about $16 or $17 each (or so) the last time I refilled them some time back. Perhaps someone can update their current price from more recent experience.
This gives canny OzBargainers the ability to do a little arbitrage trading over the Bunnings price (and even more over the servo exchange price).
As the exchange LPG Bottle Industry’s Standard is only a maximum 8.5kg fill this short fill also becomes part of the arbitrage.
In my own case I get my two 9kg bottles filled at the same visit until the bleed valve's do their thing, which gives me approx net 9kg of LPG each per my bathroom scales. So on a two bottle refill basis, I get 1 kg of LPG more - about $2 ish - and pay about $5 to $6 less per bottle than a $22 or $23 Bunnings exchange saving roughly $12 to $14 per double refill. :)
However you need to start with the purchase of your two own empty 9kg bottles to make this work. At a sale discount price of about $30 (e.g. ALDI), after about 4 refills you roughly breakeven.
So I am perfectly OK with waiting for a refill at the servo!
The hard part these days for most will be finding a servo (or elsewhere) that still does refills.
Dead right, and much better put than I did above. Overfilling will rarely cause a problem but in the event it did then you could certainly be charged with negligence in any commercial situation. Gas engineering and compliance is a very serious issue and there have been numerous dangerous and fatal incidents resulting from poorly setup or maintained systems and bottles on vans and campers. Elgas weighs its bottles for obvious reasons (bakers dozen), it doesn't "guess" how much gas it puts into its bottles. I suspect they all do otherwise they're risking prosecution under the LAW. Which law? Take a guess.
You need a cylinder to start with to swap n go anyway so I don't think there is any need to factor this cost in. You can take your swap n go labelled cylinder to get filled.
I wonder if Doritos started under filling their bags for safety reasons?
Do Bunnings check the expiry date on your old bottles? i.e. charge extra if they have passed the expiry date
yep they do check & charge
If they did it's a mistake. Kleenheat (Kwik Gas) and Elgas (Swap n Go) both accept out of date cylinders provided they are in an acceptable condition.
Depends who you get serving you…
Did a swap at my local milk bar the other day for $20.
Might sound like a stupid question but I've never done swap and go before as I've always had my own bottle filled up at mitre 10
How does those swap and go work? Can I just go to say Masters pay the $21.98 which I saw it for then use it and take it back to bunnings for a new one?
Or is there a starting fee etc?
Give them your empty' pay the 20 $ and take the filled one. That is it.
I took a swap n go from the local petrol station and swapped at bunnings today - different gas bottle companies - they dont care as long as the bottle is in date.
Ok so I give then mine own one as I have never done swap and go before
hence the word 'swap' lol.
I enquired at my Bunnings (Coffs Harbour) about the swap and go and was told I had to pay a $50 "join" fee before I could hand over the extra $20 odd for a bottle?!
I'll keep getting mine refilled at BCF. Easier and nicer people :)
You sure that was for normal swap'n'go not the 'green' one? Normal swap and go does not have a join fee at any place i have ever been, bunnings included.
Both Bunnings and Masters are the same at the moment
It's definitely a bargain and wish I knew about it earlier as I just paid $40 for a swap and go at my local petrol station
Wow, hate to see what regular mums pay.
I was desperate - in the middle of a BBQ for a party and Bunnings is 20 minutes. You win some, you lose some.
Standard price: not a bargain.
My local fruit shop (annerley fruit barn) charges 19.80 and they take any old bottles including expired ones.
So there is a joining fee???
No there isn't, as i said above
"Give them your empty' pay the 20 $ and take the filled one. That is it."
thanks, just got a swap done today - extra 5 minute drive to save the money, easy choice.
This is the standard pricing. They used to be < $20, but they've pushed the price up higher these days.
In my area Bunnings actually used to be more than it is now.
I got a few price matches under Masters that way, which I'm guessing is why they've now lowered it to avoid having to match.
This is the regular pricing. Before Masters started they used to be much higher, somewhere similar to the servos. I used to get mine refilled at a local carwash for $22 which was by far cheapest anywhere nearby at that time.
anyone know Masters Price… ?
(price match :)