KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Firing up the grill is a summertime ritual for Charles Bauer. "It's the flavor you get out of the food," Bauer said.
From burgers to dogs, Bauer smokes them to perfection. That good eating is not lasting as long. Flames across the United States are fizzling out faster.
"I think they are ripping us off," Bauer said.
When Bauer exchanged his propane tank, he thought he was getting a full one. Bauer is concerned because he says he saw a 20 pound propane exchange on many of the cylinder exchange signs in Kansas and he didn't realize you don't even get a full 20 pound tank until Call For Action alerted him.
There are safety devices on tanks so you can't overfill them and cause an explosion. The State of Missouri says consumers should expect most full tanks to be around 18 or 18.5 pounds. However, most stores with propane exchange programs only sell a maximum of 17 pounds. These days, though, 17 pound tanks are hard to find. Bauer got less than that, and that's why he filed a complaint with the State of Kansas.
"The price remains the same, but the volume changes," Bauer said.
Inspectors with the Missouri Department of Agriculture Weights & Measures Division say they saw propane volume drop when gas prices spiked last summer.
"We noticed that some of the tanks were being changed from 17 pound to 15 pound as we saw the higher prices," Weights & Measures Division Director Ron Hayes said.
