Starting Propane Service in Boquete

[Uncle Doug]

I am moving into a newly constructed home and need propane for the stove and water heater.  Do I buy the cylinders somewhere?  (where?)  I think I need two 100 lb tanks.

After that, how do I establish service?  And, how is the propane refilled?  Are tanks exchanged, or does Tropigas (or whoever the local service is) refill my tanks?

My Spanish is very limited at the moment.  Do I need translator help to accomplish  this? 

[Bonnie]

Doug, when we built our house we purchased two 100 lb cylinders from Tropigas. When one runs out of gas, we switch to the other and call Tropigas to come replace the empty one with a full one. It has worked well. Call Yesika at 6638-5304 (lovely woman, but only speaks Spanish).

[Bud]

Doug, our story is similar to Bonnie's except that we use Panagas. Those are the two propane gas suppliers in Panama. Efrain Bruña (in Boquete) at 720-1423 is the dealer representative for Panagas.

Please don't ask me for a recommendation as to which to use. I've been with Panagas for a very long time. From what I hear, both Tropigas and Panagas have their proponents and opponents, but my take is that they are essentially equal in service, cost, competence, and friendliness.

We find (for our home of two full time adults and part time workers) that a 100# tank lasts about three months. Refills are just a phone call away, and typically are completed within a couple of days, depending on their schedule and workload. The workers do the swap-out of the tanks. They only accept cash, so have between $60.00 and $80.00, (current pricing range) depending on the cost at the time of delivery. When I first was here, the cost was a bit over $30.00. Oh well.

I can't recall any of the details about setting up our "account". There is no account number, or even an account. They just know who we are and where we live.

You will actually buy the two tanks in the beginning. They are continuously swapped out at each refill. The change over from an empty tank to the full tank -- something you do -- takes only about 15 seconds, and involves changing one "rocker valve" (my terminology) between the two tanks, which will be standing next to each other. The swap-out of the tanks typically takes about 10 minutes.

[Brundageba]

We live in Brisas Boquetenas.  Both Tropi and Panagas service our community.  The trucks loaded with tanks drive through and will actually beep or come to our door to ask if we need a new tank from time to time.  Each company will take the others tank.  They have always brought the tank to our tank area and change it for us.  They also will do occasional repairs if you smell a leak.  We always tip the fellows a couple of bucks.   Our tanks last 3 months and we have gas on demand water heater, dryer, and stove.  We have two tanks and they are secured inside a locked storage area....   Theft of tanks is common...lock them.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Brundageba
typo

[Uncle Doug]

Thanks, everyone for that great information.  I've got an outside gated storage for the tanks, so the padlock and getting the first delivery don't seem all that daunting with your tips.  Good to know about cash payments -- I'll be prepared.