Why you're seeing these London-made propane vending machines outside stores

Andrew Lupton · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

As Canada heads into highest grilling season, a company is utilizing made-in-London technology to connection a antithetic mode for customers bargain and speech the propane tanks that substance barbecues and different equipment. 

In caller months, kiosks branded 'My Propane Buddy' have been popping up extracurricular retailers successful London and surrounding areas, from Chatham to Hamilton. 

Despite the retro consciousness to their graphics, the kiosks are high-tech vending machines that let customers to bargain a afloat propane vessel oregon speech an bare 1 without going wrong a store. 

The My Propane Buddy marque was launched past twelvemonth by Sleegers Engineered Products, a London institution that has been selling the kiosks to U.S. propane vendors since 2009. 

Sleegers has sold much than 4,000 machines to U.S. customers who run the machines nether their ain brand. Last year, they decided to make their ain propane organisation marque utilizing their ain automated vending kiosks. 

"We've been doing this for a agelong time, but the quality present is that present we're doing it ourselves successful Canada," said institution president Dan Granger. 

Sleegers has been operating successful London for much than 60 years. They manufacture workplace equipment, aerial compressors and custom-made propane tanks for vehicles, including tanks utilized successful Blue Bird schoolhouse buses. 

For years, propane tanks had to beryllium refilled manually by a trained worker astatine a state presumption oregon propane dealer. 

In caller years, a important chunk of the propane marketplace has moved toward an speech model, wherever the lawsuit drops off an bare vessel astatine retail store oregon state presumption and leaves with a pre-filled tank. 

Outdoor retention is indispensable due to the fact that information rules don't let propane tanks to travel inside.

Though it typically costs much than refilling, vessel speech has go fashionable due to the fact that it saves time. 

Exchange tanks are stored successful locked cages extracurricular retail locations. Tank Traders, owned by Manitoba-based Vomar Industries, is the ascendant subordinate successful the Canadian propane speech vessel market. They person a agelong database of organisation partners including Petro Canada state stations, 7 Eleven convenience stores and large container store specified as Home Depot and Canadian Tire. 

Granger said Tank Traders is much of a spouse than a competitor. The institution uses Sleegers' machines at some of its Walmart locations, though astir of Tank Traders concern happens done cage exchange.

He sees the automated propane vending kiosks — which Sleegers builds successful London — arsenic offering a antithetic lawsuit experience. The wording on Sleegers' organisation trucks says: "Turn the page, ditch the cage." 

With the vending kiosks, the lawsuit doesn't person to spell wrong a store and hold until an worker is escaped to travel extracurricular to bash the exchange. Instead, the lawsuit tin transact outside, 24 hours a day. 

"There's nary waiting for the attendant and that's key," said Granger. "It's the adjacent iteration of vessel exchange." 

Kiosks are precocious tech

Inside each My Propane Buddy kiosk is 3 carousels that tin rotate to present afloat tanks and judge empties astatine 1 of the machine's 3 doors. The lawsuit pays utilizing their slope oregon recognition card. Each kiosk tin clasp 24 standard-sized, 20-pound propane tanks and other machines tin beryllium added successful high-volume locations. 

The kiosks are besides web-enabled and update their inventory successful existent time. Customers tin spot using the online determination representation the fig of tanks disposable astatine each location.

"Our extremity is to marque definite a lawsuit is not disappointed erstwhile they amusement up astatine a kiosk," said Granger. 

The kiosks besides person sensors capable to show for immoderate state leaks.

Retailers that big a kiosk gain a committee based connected the measurement of tanks sold oregon exchanged. Granger said the entreaty for big locations owners is that the transactions nary longer necessitate unit to permission the store to unlock the cage.

There are inactive critics of the vessel speech model. This station connected U-Haul's website argues customers extremity up paying much for little propane. Many U-Haul locations merchantability propane utilizing the refill model. 

Granger says speech volition stay a large portion of the propane market, whether it's cage speech oregon utilizing his company's kiosks. CBC News checked with a fewer retailers and recovered that pricing for some kiosk and vessel speech is similar. A afloat vessel costs astir $80, and it costs about $30 to speech an bare one.

My Propane Buddy has 60 locations with plans to grow. "We'll adhd much locations arsenic the marketplace dictates," said Granger.