Sign up for
news & specials:
FYI

Commercial Landscaping Company Saves 30-35% Annual Maintenance Costs with Propane

EarthWorks Inc., a commercial landscaping company based in Dallas, converted its lawn equipment fleet to propane autogas and expects to save between 30-35% on annual maintenance costs and $41,600 in annual fuel cost savings running on the alternative fuel.

“We have been thrilled with converting our lawn equipment fleet to propane autogas,” said Chris Lee, president of EarthWorks. “The biggest benefit isn’t even the more affordable fuel; it’s that our maintenance and repair costs have decreased dramatically. Propane is so much cleaner and so much easier on our machines that I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

EarthWorks’ fleet includes 20 36-inch mowers from Toro and Scag, and 24 52-inch mowers from Toro , Scag and Exmark. The company uses an estimated 40,000 gallons of propane per year and mows 31.5 million square feet of turf during the growing season.

Incentives & Rebates

“In some cases initially the rebates offset the full cost of conversion so we were able to try propane on several of our units with very minimal investment on our part,” Lee explains.

EarthWorks saved $15,000 in incentives through a state and national program administered by the Propane Council of Texas that’s available to landscapers switching to autogas. Lee says that “working with Metro Lawn helped us with the entire process, including the rebates.”

Read More

Posted in Autogas and Clean Fuels, Commercial Propane, Metro Lawn | Tagged , , , , , , , , |
Posted on May 16, 2013 by Heidi Seelal
Leave a comment

Ensure that your guests ‘Sleep Tight, and Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!’

(Photo courtesy of www.buildwithpropane.com)

The Cicadas are coming this Spring and there is nothing we can do about it. But bedbugs, that’s a different story. Unlike Cicadas that only surface once every seventeen years,  bedbugs are a constant threat, infesting homes and businesses by hiding and reproducing in small crevices, such as mattress seams and the spaces around baseboards. Such situations concern owners and operators of hotels, apartment buildings, college dormitories/residential halls, and hospitals. We have a propane solution! PERC (Propane Education and Research Council) is offering a propane heat and power incentive to assist you in the bedbugs fight.  Referred to as the Bedbug Heat Treatment System, it is unlike other bedbug control methods that use pesticides or steam, heat-based solutions seek to treat the entire space or building, not just sleeping areas.

Here are some fast facts about propane-powered bedbug control: Thermal remediation uses heat instead of chemicals to control bedbug infestations. Chemical treatments can be harmful to human health, among other things, whereas thermal remediation provides safe, environmentally friendly way to control the infestation.

Read More

Posted in Commercial Propane, Hospitality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |
Posted on May 14, 2013 by Marykate Herr
Leave a comment

AmeriGas Ultimate Warriors Raise Funds for St. Jude

When they’re not behind the wheel of a truck or serving customers in our offices, our employees love to be a part of supporting events in their local communities.

On Saturday, April 13, Area Director Mike Sonntag and Account Manager Zach Crawford, along with four of their friends, took to the mud in a Warrior Dash held in Fairburn, GA, to raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

AmeriGas employees Mike Sonntag and Zach Crawford

The AmeriGas and Friends “Ultimate Warriors” team ran through mud pits, leapt over fire and scaled walls in the event, with the team raising more than $1,800 for St. Jude.

Read More

Posted in Events | Tagged , , |
Posted on May 6, 2013 by Kathie Hahn
Leave a comment

Agricultural Applications of Propane: Grain Drying

The agricultural applications of propane are numerous. The Propane Education & Research Council points out that propane is used on 865,000 U.S. farms for irrigation pumps, grain dryers, standby generators, and other farm equipment.  In our Agricultural Applications of Propane series, we will take a look at the role of propane in the following: tobacco curing, grain drying, fruit drying and crop drying. Today, let’s look into how propane factors into grain drying.

Grain drying is now an integral part of the farming operation, and propane is most often used to fuel heated-air drying systems because it is portable, can be easily stored, and is readily accessible in rural areas where natural gas is unavailable. And unlike fuel oil or kerosene, propane will not leak and contaminate the grain.

Propane-fueled grain dryers are capable of drying virtually any type of grain. They are available as either batch dryers (where grain is dried in batches ranging from 80 to 1,000 bushel) or continuous flow dryers (wet grain is fed into the dryer in a steady stream). The average fuel consumption of heated-air corn dryers is about 0.02 gallons of propane per bushel per percentage point of moisture removed.

Read More

Posted in Agriculture | Tagged , , , , , |
Posted on May 1, 2013 by Heidi Seelal
2 Comments

Update on the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit

At the beginning of April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) clarified and extended the deadline for the alternative fuel tax credit to July 1.  At issue was that the due date for filing claims for payments related to alternative fuel (which includes propane) had already passed by the date that tax credits were extended by Congress.  The tax credits were retroactively extended from December 31, 2011 with the American Taxpayer Relief Act (also known as the “fiscal cliff” legislation) on January 2, 2013.

The $0.50 per gallon tax credit for propane and other alternative fuels are still set to expire at the end of this year on December 31, 2013.  This notice from the IRS just extends the time to claim retroactive credits until July 1.

To read more about propane users can claim the $0.50 per gallon tax credit for forklifts, vehicle fleets, and lawnmowers, please check out:

Read More

Posted in Autogas and Clean Fuels, Commercial Propane, Forklift, Metro Lawn | Tagged , , , , |
Posted on April 26, 2013 by Chris DeFilippo
Leave a comment

Man Meets Grill.

“It takes just one summer season to turn a caveman into an outdoor chef in full 1955 regalia. A man takes over with a few more tools than a primitive hunter: a fire, a stick or an old fork, some meat. After one bite of a frankfurter … he is hooked as a cook.””

– Look magazine, July 12, 1955

The first outdoor gas grill. Photo Courtesy of MHP Outdoor Grills

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. has a great exhibit that opened last November called Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000. On the menu of topics are changes in food production and processing, who cooks and why, where and when meals are consumed and what people know (or think they know) about what is good for them. Of course, the most interesting exhibit to an AmeriGas employee would have to be the Backyard Cookout, exploring the origins of grilling with the suburban movement and traveled palates!

After World War II,

Read More

Posted in AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |
Posted on April 23, 2013 by Katie Morton
Leave a comment

Earth Day, Every Day

(Photo courtesy of Google images)

Earth Day is observed on April 22nd every year. It is a day to show support to protect our environment. To date, it is recognized in over 192 countries and the goal is to promote awareness, get involved in community projects, or more personally, do something to help the environment. For example, planting new trees, recycling more materials, or installing solar panels for your home.

Propane was a “green” fuel before going green was a movement. Propane is an approved, clean fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act as well as the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. It contributes  to the idea behind Earth Day, every day.

Propane assists many aspects of residential, commercial, fleets and  agricultural areas:

  • More than 14 million families use propane to fuel their furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners, outdoor grills, fire places, dryers and range tops.
  • Many choose this clean-burning fuel, autogas, for bus, taxi, delivery and other fleets to minimize air pollution in metropolitan areas.
    Read More

Posted in AmeriGas Propane, Events, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |
Posted on April 22, 2013 by Marykate Herr
Leave a comment

CleanFUEL USA Celebrates 20th Anniversary by Announcing New Propane Autogas Products

 

AmeriGas AutoGas Bobtail Truck

See the newest products in the propane industry from CleanFUEL USA’s recent press release:

GEORGETOWN, Texas – CleanFUEL USA commemorated 20 years of company history by featuring three new propane autogas products at the 2013 National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo, held this past weekend in Atlanta.

The company displayed two new autogas dispenser offerings in their booth. Equipped to seamlessly fuel vehicles and cylinders, the redesigned CFT PRO 2200 features an expanded cabinet for easier installation and service. And the cost-effective Gasboy Autogas Dispenser conveniently integrates into existing fleet fueling systems.

“Since 1993, we’ve experienced company expansion driven by the growing need to find sustainable transportation fuel solutions that are both clean and economical,” said Curtis Donaldson, founder and CEO of CleanFUEL USA. “As the nation’s first developer of Liquid Propane Injection (LPI) fuel systems, we will continue to support increasing customer demand by supplying the best technology available in both autogas dispenser and vehicle fuel system development.”

Over the past 20 years, CleanFUEL USA’s milestones include: placing more than 3,000 propane autogas vehicles on the road in North America; shipping almost 3,000 dispensers to 14 countries worldwide; expanding its staff tenfold, adding a manufacturing and production facility in Wixom, Mich., and receiving the 2005 Alternative Fuel Exporter of the Year award by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Read More

Posted in Autogas and Clean Fuels | Tagged , , , , , , |
Posted on April 15, 2013 by Marykate Herr
Leave a comment

Agricultural Applications of Propane: Tobacco Curing

The agricultural applications of propane are numerous. The Propane Education & Research Council points out that propane is used on 865,000 U.S. farms for irrigation pumps, grain dryers, standby generators, and other farm equipment.  In our Agricultural Applications of Propane series, we will take a look at the role of propane in the following: tobacco curing, grain drying, fruit drying and crop drying. Today, let’s look into how propane factors into tobacco curing.

Approximately 50% of tobacco produced in the United States is flue-cured, and propane is the primary fuel used in the process. Almost all bulk-curing barns built since the early 1970s are equipped with propane gas burners.

Combustion gases have been found to produce tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are deemed to be carcinogenic. Producers are now required to retrofit, or change all flue-curing barns to operate only with indirect-fired curing systems. In these systems, direct mixing of flue gases with curing combustion gases is prevented by passing combustion gases through heat exchangers or by allowing combustion to take place outside of the barn with the resulting heat being conducted into the barn via hot water or steam.

Read More

Posted in Agriculture | Tagged , , , , |
Posted on April 9, 2013 by Heidi Seelal
1 Comment