The first cold nights out here always come earlier than people expect. One week you have the windows open in Montezuma Creek, and the next week the furnace is running before sunrise. That first cold snap is also the week our phones start ringing, because a lot of households look at the gauge for the first time since spring and find it lower than they thought.
We would rather fill your tank in September than in January. Not because the fall is more convenient for us — because it is safer for you. Here is why.
What the gauge is actually telling you
The dial on your tank reads out a percentage, not gallons. Most residential tanks in our service area are 250, 500, or 1,000 gallons, and the number on the dial is the share of that tank that has propane in it.
Two things about that number are worth knowing.
First, a tank is only filled to about 80 percent. That is not a shortcut — it is by design. Propane is a liquid in the tank, and liquid expands when it warms up. The empty space at the top is there so the liquid has somewhere to go on a hot afternoon. So a “full” 500-gallon tank holds roughly 400 gallons of propane, not 500. Plan around the smaller number.
Second, do not let the dial drop below 20 percent. Below that you have almost no cushion if the weather turns and a delivery runs behind — and if a tank goes all the way empty, it is not simply a matter of putting more in. An out-of-gas tank has to have a leak check done by a qualified technician before the system can be put back in service. That is a separate visit, and in a storm it is a slow one. Twenty percent is the line we ask every customer to watch.
If you are not sure how to read your gauge, ask your driver next time we are out, or call the office.
Why the fall matters more than it sounds
In October, a delivery is a routine stop on a normal route. In January, the same delivery may be competing with every other household in the same situation, on roads that may or may not be open.
Our routes cover a lot of ground. From the yard at Montezuma Creek we run through Aneth, Red Mesa, Mexican Water, Bluff, Blanding and Mexican Hat, and further out to Monument Valley, Kayenta, Dennehotso, Rock Point, Blue Gap, Whippoorwill, Chinle and Many Farms. Some of those roads are an easy drive in September and genuinely hard after snow. We get to people as fast as it is safe to, but we cannot move the weather.
A tank filled in the fall gives you weeks of room. A tank at 15 percent in January gives you days.
Will-call or keep-full — know which one you are on
There are two ways delivery works, and plenty of people are not sure which one applies to them:
- Will-call means you watch your own gauge and call us when you need propane. You keep the control, and you keep the responsibility. It works fine for someone who checks the tank regularly and calls early.
- Keep-full, or automatic delivery, means we track how your household actually uses propane and schedule you before you get low. You are not the one watching the dial. For anyone looking after an elder’s home, a place they do not stay at every day, or simply too many other things, this takes one worry off the list.
If you do not know which one you are on, call and ask. It takes a minute to look up, and it is worth knowing before the cold sets in.
Have the tank looked at before you need it
Fall is the right time to have your tank, regulator and connections given a look, especially if you have noticed anything different — a hissing sound near the tank, an odor, or frost that was not there before. A small thing found in October is a service call. The same thing in January is an emergency in bad weather.
Carbon monoxide, every year
Your furnace, water heater, and other propane appliances work harder in winter than at any other time, and that is when problems show up. Every level of your home should have a working carbon monoxide alarm, and now is the time to check the ones you have.
If you smell an odor like rotten eggs — that smell is added to propane on purpose so leaks can be detected — or if a CO alarm sounds, get everyone out of the house first. Call 911 from a safe place outside. Then call us. Do not try to find the leak yourself, and do not go back inside until responders tell you it is safe.
Call before you need to
We serve the Nation because it is home. Our drivers are CETP-certified, and our emergency line is answered 24 hours. To get on the schedule, switch to keep-full, or have someone explain your gauge, call the office. We would rather answer a question in October than take an emergency call in a January storm.
Running Horse Services · US Route 162 and Route 262, Montezuma Creek, UT 84534 · 435-255-1020
