On 1/25/2011 2:14 PM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
While waiting for my wife outside a store yesterday, I passed the time
by reading the information on the "Blue Rhino" propane tank exchange
setup. No surprises until I got to the bottom and discovered that the
"Full" tanks contain only 15lb of propane. I thought that the
"regular" small propane tanks held 20lb.

How many people are thinking that they are getting 20lb (as they would
if they took their own tanks to a refilling station) for a good price
but getting only 15lb?

There's a class-action lawsuit against them over this issue. AmeriGas
recently settled a class-action lawsuit over a similar claim:


A federal judge approved a $10 million settlement against a company
accused of putting too little propane in its containers.

The settlement in the multidistrict litigation ended multiple cases
filed against AmeriGas Propane Inc., AmeriGas Propane LP and AmeriGas
Partners LP.

The plaintiffs alleged that the cylinders -- the type used for grills
-- contained 15 pounds instead of the 17 pounds of the gas AmeriGas
previously provided. The settlement covers consumers who bought or
exchanged the cylinders between June 15, 2005, and Nov. 30, 2009.

Those with proofs of purchase can recover $5 for each propane tank
they purchased or exchanged during the class period, up to $75. Those
without proofs of purchase can recover $5.

The settlement also subjects AmeriGas to a three-year injunction,
during which the company must take measures to prominently inform
consumers of the actual net weight of propane in its tanks and to
refrain from marketing those tanks as "full."

.... The objectors had urged the judge to consider that, under federal
and state laws and regulations, the cylinders should hold 20 pounds of
propane, not the 17 pounds agreed to in the settlement. The objectors'
argument would have vastly expanded the amount owed by AmeriGas.

Both AmeriGas and the other plaintiffs disputed the argument, saying
the objectors had conflated the maximum amount a cylinder could hold
with the amount with which it should safely be filled. Both parties
also said no law requires cylinders to be filled with 20 pounds of
propane.

Fenner overruled the objectors' arguments in his Oct. 4 order.

....The settlement did not affect a related series of lawsuit against
Ferrellgas, the supplier of Blue Rhino propane. Bryan Cave is
defending Ferrellgas.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n56275767/