LPG pumps starting to disappear ?

[Dave K]

Brand new purpose built Morrisons Supermarket in Preston has a new forecourt and NO LPG pump. Morrisons had been a forerunner in forecourts with LPG but they have taken the LPG pump away from their Speke branch on Merseyside as well.
Tescos Express has taken over several petrol stations in the North West and removed the LPG pumps as part of their refurb. Are we going to see less and less places selling the stuff ?

[Gilbertd]

Very few, if any, Tesco filling stations now sell LPG but quite a number of Sainsburys and Asda ones do. I know of a couple of Shell stations that have recently had a refurb and they've all kept the LPG pumps. I would think it's down to how much LPG trade they did before the refurb as to whether it's worth retaining the pump.

[Tubbs]

I think the uk is pretty well covered now. I don't think it's too much of a worry. Generally LPG sales are down at one particular site because the area is saturated with LPG anyway. And some stations really take the piss with prices.

[babycaravan]

Tesco will be removing all LPG pumps.
I got told this in a email 2 years ago, the resons they give was the Government did no longer back lpg as a green fuel.
I think it was more down to them not making enough out of LPG.

[Brian_H]

Morrisons have done 2 new stores with lpg - it depends on the area it seems. Both Sittingbourne and Teignmouth are recently opened. Tesco seems to have an anti lpg stratagy for customers the last forecourt that were listed in last years lpg map has now gone as has the reference to the 5p/litre discount coupons so I don't think they have any now. Though they are perfectly happy to advertise their use of biogas for their own vehicles.....


What i have noticed is far less of the stations that are about (even the motorway ones) are being as stupid as they were with prices 2 years ago, so it probably indicates as much as anything else that the ones that have gone are for the most part the ones that had lower usage anyway. And where bp/shell have refurbished sites they have kept the lpg provision for the most part.

[Brian_H]

Tesco will be removing all LPG pumps.
I got told this in a email 2 years ago, the resons they give was the Government did no longer back lpg as a green fuel.
I think it was more down to them not making enough out of LPG.

This came up whilst i was tying the above - the last one was somewhere up near middlesborough. I'm fairly sure they have all gone now. And yes i suspect its the same reason as you suggest, that and the average tesco filling station is the kind of place that you'd struggle to get to the only lpg pump there anyway.

[Morat]

I've only been running LPG for a couple of years but I'm still noticing new ones!

[Active_Lad]

Tesco seems to have an anti lpg stratagy for customers....

I think Tesco have an anti customer strategy, but that's another discussion...

What some LPG retailers seem to forget is that the whole reason to convert is to save money. By definition, that makes us much more price sensitive and we're often prepared to go out of our way to pay a decent price. So the ones that charge ridiculous prices don't get the sales because we either avoid them altogether or only buy a small amount when we're desperate so that we have enough to get to one at a lower price. Or is that just me?

[LPGC]

Tesco seems to have an anti lpg stratagy for customers....

I think Tesco have an anti customer strategy, but that's another discussion...

What some LPG retailers seem to forget is that the whole reason to convert is to save money. By definition, that makes us much more price sensitive and we're often prepared to go out of our way to pay a decent price. So the ones that charge ridiculous prices don't get the sales because we either avoid them altogether or only buy a small amount when we're desperate so that we have enough to get to one at a lower price. Or is that just me?

Not only is there a wider price range for LPG between stations compared to petrol but also since LPG is around half the price of petrol, any price difference between LPG stations is double the percentage difference to an equivalent difference in price for petrol... Stating the obvious, I know but if we applied the same percentage range to petrol prices it would be like one garage selling petrol at 120p per litre and another selling petrol at 160p per litre with the average tending to be towards the cheaper end (around these parts anyway)...

Simon
Lpgc

[Dave K]

Tesco seems to have an anti lpg stratagy for customers....

I think Tesco have an anti customer strategy, but that's another discussion...

What some LPG retailers seem to forget is that the whole reason to convert is to save money. By definition, that makes us much more price sensitive and we're often prepared to go out of our way to pay a decent price. So the ones that charge ridiculous prices don't get the sales because we either avoid them altogether or only buy a small amount when we're desperate so that we have enough to get to one at a lower price. Or is that just me?

No, it's me as well. !

[Brian_H]

Tesco seems to have an anti lpg stratagy for customers....

I think Tesco have an anti customer strategy, but that's another discussion...

What some LPG retailers seem to forget is that the whole reason to convert is to save money. By definition, that makes us much more price sensitive and we're often prepared to go out of our way to pay a decent price. So the ones that charge ridiculous prices don't get the sales because we either avoid them altogether or only buy a small amount when we're desperate so that we have enough to get to one at a lower price. Or is that just me?

No, it's me as well. !

Ditto actually. Though prefer to have lower emissions etc that is a secondary reason for using lpg. That and i hate getting diesel on my hands filling up!

[smokie1010]

I think in the main its only the Stations that try charging stupid prices for LPG that seem to get rid of them as no one will buy it. I get mine mostly from Hartlepool where at the moment Asda is 67.7p and Morrisons 67.9p. Shell had one but charged over the odds and that went a couple of years ago. BP round here also tends to be about 8 - 9p litre dearer all the time.

There is also a big Calor Gas Complex nearby with a pump for Autogas. I stopped using them a few years ago as they were over the top as well, which is odd as I'm sure they refill the Morrisons selling it at 69.9p.

[Active_Lad]

There is also a big Calor Gas Complex nearby with a pump for Autogas. I stopped using them a few years ago as they were over the top as well, which is odd as I'm sure they refill the Morrisons selling it at 69.9p.

Not uncommon I would suspect. My local Jet sells LPG 5p/litre cheaper than the nearby FloGas Depot that supplies them.

[Gilbertd]

It's the other way round in this area. There's a Co-op owned Texaco station that is supplied by the local Flogas depot and they were charging 74.9p a litre a while ago (now 71.9p) when Flogas were only charging 64p. Now I would suspect that Flogas don't charge them the same for a tanker load at a time as they charge the public so the Co-op were making well over 10p a litre on LPG. Far more I suspect than they make on petrol or diesel.

On the other hand, the local Calor depot sells at the upper end of what the filling stations charge. They don't do anything like the trade that Flogas do for some reason.

[Frogwell1]

I notice most of the small, independent LPG stations in Central Scotland and the highlands have disappeared now. A lot of them were just garages that had an LPG tank out back. I assumed cost and/or regulation closed them down.

[Brian_H]

I notice most of the small, independent LPG stations in Central Scotland and the highlands have disappeared now. A lot of them were just garages that had an LPG tank out back. I assumed cost and/or regulation closed them down.

I'd imagine the distribution costs around that area are relatively high, so probabbly couldn't be competitive on price so couldn't sell enough to make it worthwhile..