If U-Haul is charging you a flat fee then I think they are ripping you off.
I haven't gone to a U-Haul yet that didn't have a metered tank. Also,
metered is better because you are paying for exactly what you are getting. A
home grill tank is basically 5 gallons but because of the OPD (Overflow
Protection Device) the tank can only be filled to 80% or approx 4.6 to 4.8
gallons. The OPD prevents overfilling and allows for the gas to expand in
hot temperatures. The scale is the old way of doing it. It uses weight of
the bottle rather than gallons. Both are accurate. As for expense to the
seller to have a meter installed; I think most propane companies will do it
without extra cost. Then too it is dependant upon your state's laws
governing sell of propane.

Just my nickels worth.

Paul

"Rick Brandt" > wrote in message
. net...
> Harry Demidavicius wrote:
>> On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:00:42 GMT, "Rick Brandt"
>> > wrote:
>> > Most places it is a fixed fee to bring the tank up to full. At my
>> > local HandyMan Hardware you pay before you even go out to the fill
>> > tank so there's no way they are only charging for what they put in.
>> >
>> You live in a strange Country.
>
> Honestly, you have places with a "meter" like buying gasoline? I can see
> that for a guy that delivers propane to fixed location tanks, but I have
> never seen any place that refills carry-ins that doesn't just have a scale
> to measure when the tank is full.
>
> I agree that it is a more logical way to sell the gas, but the average
> barbecue tank is empty or pretty darn close to it when it's refilled and
> having a metered fill-up system would seem a lot more expensive for the
> seller.
>
> I have also used our local U-Haul place and they do the same thing. Just
> charge 10 bucks flat-fee to top off a tank.
>
>