FORT COLLINS, Colorado (AP) – With coronavirus restrictions forcing bars and restaurants to seat customers outside during the winter, many are struggling to catch erratic propane supplies that feed space heaters more than ever in which they rely comfortably on the cold.
It is one of the many new, but crucial, headaches of installing tables and tents on sidewalks, streets, and patios to meet public health restrictions.
“You’re in the middle of the service and you have the staff ready to tell you,‘ We don’t have propane anymore! Said Melinda Maddox, manager of a whiskey tasting room in Colorado.
Propane has long been a lifeline for people living in places too remote to bring natural gas to their homes for heat, hot water and cooking. This winter, 5-liter (18-liter) propane tanks have also proven to be a new necessity for urban businesses, especially in places like the Rocky Mountains, where the sun often sinks and people still enjoy gathering. se in the courtyards when the heaters roar.
Standard-sized tanks, which contain liquid propane under pressure that turns into gas as it is released, are usually readily available at gas stations, grocery stores, or home improvement stores. But this is not always the case, as high demand leads to sometimes irregular supplies.
“I spent a day driving around the city for an hour. I literally went north, south, east, west, I just made a detour around Fort Collins because all the gas stations I went to were out. It was frustrating, ”said Maddox, who runs the By Old Elk Distillery Reserve tasting room in downtown Fort Collins, about 105 miles north of Denver.
Almost all states allow at least inland food, but nationwide rules are a mix of local regulations. In Fort Collins, covered seats in bars and restaurants are limited to 25% of normal capacity, so there is a strong incentive to insure customers outside, despite the hassle and expense.
The local shortage of propane deposits is not only due to increased demand, but to the hoarding of households in a manner similar to the pandemic of toilet paper and other goods. A national tank supplier reported a 38% increase in sales this winter, said Tom Clark, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Propane Association.
But Clark says the supply is there, it can only mean looking a little more than normal. If there are ten vendors in a neighborhood, “maybe 1 in 10 may be out of inventory. You can certainly find propane exchange tanks if you look around, ”said Clark.
Franklin, Tennessee-based tanker Manchester Tank has been paying workers overtime and increasing production in India to meet demand, company president Nancy Chamblee said in an email.
So far, rising demand for small-tank propane has not affected U.S. propane supply, demand, and overall prices, which are operating similarly to recent winters, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. USA.
But trying to find a steady supply of propane can cost companies already stressed time and money they don’t have in the pandemic.
Gas stations are better than home improvement stores for propane tanks because you can park closer, Maddox said, but stores that refill tanks are best because they are cheaper and not as complicated as trying. run all dry tanks.
“The problem is it takes longer,” Maddox said. “Just incorporate it into your day and say ‘OK,’ it’ll take 40 minutes instead of 25 minutes.”
Across the street, Pour Brothers community tavern owners Kristy and Dave Wygmans have been filling tanks for their 18 or more heaters and fires at a vendor on the outskirts of town after a nearby store stopped offering recharging service.
They found that the propane tanks bore a seal of date of manufacture. Propane stores will not fill tanks over the age of twelve unless they have been certified again in five-year increments.
“We’re learning more and more about propane,” Dave Wygmans said.
They have also obtained information about the market of space heaters, which more than doubled in price last fall due to growing demand, and outdoor furniture for their street parking area, which becomes in an outdoor courtyard, seating 44 people, Kristy Wygmans said.
Its employees also had to quickly learn how to connect propane tanks and light heaters, needed in a place where temperatures can drop well below zero (minus 18 degrees Celsius) in the winter.
Keeping customers comfortable has taken on a whole new dimension outdoors, said Dave Wygmans.
“Before they were just drinks and food, right? And now, we think the priority is drinks and food, but maybe the customer thinks the priority is heat. And so now we have to balance one more priority that some customers may care about, ”he said.
“It’s almost as if another service we’re providing is out of the heat,” Wygmans said.
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