Has anyone had problems with Propane Deliveries?

Has anyone at Lakeside had problems with Propane deliveries?

We called Gas Licuado on Wednesday three times, called again on Thursday three times, called again on Friday AM and they showed up about 12:00. We have been doing business with them for 9 years and NEVER had a problem before. They ALWAYS came within 2 hours.

My friends in our Community waited 1 /12 days for Propane. Another friend in a different part of town waited 2 days. I don't know who their propane suppliers are.

Does anyone have a clue what's going on?

On TOB somebody was saying they had the same problem with Zeta. Maybe there's some hitch in the place where these delivery men get the propane but that's just a guess on my part.

I can't help with the problem you're experiencing, but allow me to share my experience:

The only problem I ever had was getting swindled. The smooth-talking (English-speaking) Oscar, who delivered for Vela, somehow managed to manipulate the meter and overcharge me for approximately a year! My wife & I teamed up, with her at the truck to watch that the meter was zeroed out before delivery and to confirm that the liters billed coincided with what was on the ticket. I went to the storage tank on the roof with Oscar and wrote down the beginning percentage and the ending percentage registered on the gauge.

The last time I allowed him to deliver propane was in September of 2009. My tank's gauge showed 33% before and 85% after. It is a 300-liter tank. 52% of 300 is 156 liters. The ticket showed 250 liters, and my wife confirmed that this is what registered on the meter. NO WAY POSSIBLE!!!

I called him to return to my house because of this discrepancy and he claimed that the meter needed calibration; he returned
$450.00 MXN of the $1,200.00 MXN that I had paid him, but a year's worth of swindling convinced me never to buy from him again.

[I checked my figures going back for the previous several months and discovered that he started small (apparently to see if I was smart enough to figure out what was happening). After doing the math, I saw that it got progressively worse until this last time.]

He showed up one day to report that he had been fired; but I've seen him since, riding as a third man on a Vela truck, continuing his shady dealings with the gringo population.

Word to the wise: BEWARE!

A friend of mine ran out of gas Thursday night and got a delivery on Friday morning. He lives in San Antonio Tlayacapan.

We have used Z gas for 3-1/2 years.

Last week, we had to call 3 different times to get a delivery.

I think the problem is that the girl who answers the phone, insisted on speaking English...and her English ain't that great. We had to repeat things several time, and weren't sure she got it right.

The 3rd time, we asked for her supervisor, but she still insisted on taking the order in English. I think the fact that we asked for a supervisor got her attention, as our delivery came, a little later than requested, but it came.

Last time I had Propane Delivered the guy charged me 1800 pesos...

I think I mighta got screwed ....

I will be Lakeside January and I need to outfit the house with a Bar B Que...

Any suggestions what might be a decent unit, and who sells them?

hockables wrote:Last time I had Propane Delivered the guy charged me 1800 pesos...

I think I mighta got screwed ....

In my example above, propane was selling for $4.80 MXN per liter. I've no idea when this happened to you, but $1,800 MXN even for filling a completely empty 300-liter tank would put the price at $6.00 MXN.

I've never had a completely-filled tank; as I understand it, there's a danger of explosion if they fill it beyond a certain percentage. And I don't think propane has yet reached $6.00 MXN per liter.

So, I concur that you were probably screwed.

(Gotta watch those guys!)

[quote="Lehrer"]

hockables wrote:Last time I had Propane Delivered the guy charged me 1800 pesos...

I think I mighta got screwed ....

In my example above, propane was selling for $4.80 MXN per liter. I've no idea when this happened to you, but $1,800 MXN even for filling a completely empty 300-liter tank would put the price at $6.00 MXN.

I've never had a completely-filled tank; as I understand it, there's a danger of explosion if they fill it beyond a certain percentage. And I don't think propane has yet reached $6.00 MXN per liter.

So, I concur that you were probably screwed.

(Gotta watch those guys)

He may have had the larger, 600 liter or larger tank in which case $ 1,800 would have been OK.

hockables wrote:Last time I had Propane Delivered the guy charged me 1800 pesos...

I think I mighta got screwed ....

I will be Lakeside January and I need to outfit the house with a Bar B Que...

Any suggestions what might be a decent unit, and who sells them?

Gas grills are very expensive here because most of them or their parts are made in China and the duty is high on them. In Ajijic there is a Napoleon store that sells a full line of grills. I think Muebles del Lago in Chapala sells Weber. You can also find grills at Costco. Your plumber can run a dedicated gas line to your grill. If you can haul one down here by all means do so. Otherwise prepare for sticker shock!

that should save me some leg work... thanks David

Check out the grills at Strom White also. I don't know how the prices compare but they used to have a good selection.

Just before we left for NOB last April, I seem to remember seeing Mexican-made grills at Walmart. They were less expensive than the chinese units. Did not get a good look as they were all in boxes.

Anybody check them out?

Pete

sorry , but the irony is funny... I always thought Walmart to be the " king of made in China"

Quite true, but a surprising number of products in Mexico Wal-Marts are actually from Mexico. I know our LCD TV was made in Mexico.

Pete

peteben wrote:Quite true, but a surprising number of products in Mexico Wal-Marts are actually from Mexico. I know our LCD TV was made in Mexico.

Pete

peteben - Not to get off track, but "most" flat screen TV'S are made in Mexico, as well as some computer Manufacturers.