CONTACT · DISPATCH
Boucher & Jones Fuels and Davis & McCauley Fuels — Petro-Canada distributor

Call dispatch during the workday, the after-hours line when it’s late, or send us a note and we’ll get back to you.

Dispatch
519 743 3669
After-hours
AFTER_HOURS_TBD
Hours
Monday – Friday · 7:00 – 17:30
After-hours line answers nights and weekends

Or send a note:

PROPANE ·  HD-5 · BULK · CYLINDER

Propane for southwestern Ontario, from cylinder to bulk tank.

Bulk propane on a standing route across nine counties — for grain dryers, livestock barns, rural homes, concrete cures, greenhouses, forklifts, and back-up generators. HD-5 spec, Petro-Canada wholesale-marketer chain, named rep on the account year-round.

01 / WHAT IT IS

HD-5 propane, drawn from Sarnia, on the same supply chain every working day.

Propane is the same product wherever you burn it — what changes is the size of the tank and the cadence of the delivery. The spec is CAN/CGSB-3.14, the supply is the Plains Midstream Sarnia NGL fractionator, and the chain into southwestern Ontario is the Petro-Canada wholesale-marketer network.

  • HD-5 is the spec

    CAN/CGSB-3.14 — at least 90% propane by volume, capped propylene and butane content, sulphur and moisture limits set so the fuel burns cleanly through residential, agricultural, and construction equipment. Every litre B&J supplies is HD-5; the spec is the same one your furnace, your dryer, and your salamander were certified against.
  • Sarnia is the supply origin

    Almost all Eastern Canadian propane comes off the Plains Midstream Sarnia NGL fractionator. Southwestern Ontario sits inside truck-deliverable range of the terminal — that geography is what lets a local distributor with tanker pickup at Sarnia keep moving volume through events that disrupt rail. The 2019 CN strike was the empirical reference; the supply-continuity discipline that came out of it is named on the agriculture page.

SPEC · HD-5 PROPANE · CAN/CGSB-3.14
SUPPLY · PLAINS MIDSTREAM SARNIA NGL FRACTIONATOR · PETRO-CANADA WHOLESALE-MARKETER CHAIN

02 / FORMATS

Five tank sizes cover almost every account in the footprint.

The right size follows the draw, the storage rules on the lot, and how much slack the operation wants between fills. Sizing is the conversation that happens at new service — the rep walks the property, reads the consumption math, and recommends the size the operation will live with for five-plus years.

  • 100 lb cylinder

    The portable end of the ladder. Salamander heaters, torch work, small finishing-trade setups, supplementary appliance feeds. Cylinders come full on the standing route, swap for empties, the cabinet stays on site. Vapour-draw only.
  • 420 lb · 100 USWG

    The Canadian standard cylinder for a moderate residential or small commercial load — typically a propane water heater, range, and dryer in a home heated some other way. Manifolded pairs are common on cottages, supplementary setups, and cure-tent applications. Refills two or three times a year on a typical account.
  • 500 USWG horizontal

    The standard primary-heat tank — rural homes of 1,500–3,000 sq ft, mid-size grain dryers paired with a second, the big construction site running a vapourizer through the cure season. Two to four fills a year on auto-fill. The size most accounts land on.
  • 1,000 USWG and larger

    For larger homes (3,500+ sq ft), heavy ag operations with paired tanks for redundancy, multi-machine construction envelopes, and any site whose peak-week burn exceeds what a 500 USWG can carry. Setbacks step up at this size — 25 ft to buildings, property lines, ignition sources, and air intakes — so the lot has to support it.

SOURCE · CSA B149.2 · O. REG. 211/01

03 / TANK PLACEMENT

Where the tank actually sits, and the setbacks that govern it.

SOURCECSA B149.2 · Propane Storage and Handling
Ontario O. Reg. 211/01 · Propane Storage and Handling
TSSA · administering authority
Ontario One Call · 1-800-400-2255

Aboveground · 125 to 500 USWG

Minimum 10 ft (3 m) from the nearest building, from the property line, from any ignition source, and from a mechanical air intake — including heat-pump and air-conditioner condensers. Most residential 500 USWG placements settle into a corner of the lot a reasonable walk from truck access; on a farm or a site, the equivalent walk is from the tanker’s spot to the tank.

Aboveground · 1,000 USWG and larger

Minimum 25 ft (7.5 m) from the same list. The larger setback is the structural reason most residential accounts run a 500 USWG tank rather than a 1,000 — the lot has to give 25 ft of breathing room. On a rural farm or an industrial site this is rarely a constraint; on a tight urban infill, it can rule out the larger size and push the conversation toward two paired 500s.

Underground tanks

Underground tanks from 250 to 1,000 USWG are a real option where the property prefers the look, wants the tank out of the snow, or has setback geometry that aboveground placement can’t solve. Setback to the building drops to 10 ft on tanks up to 2,000 USWG; setbacks to private wells stay stricter (25 ft for tanks under 2,000, 50 ft for larger). Underground tanks cost more up front and carry a periodic anode-bag check, but they handle Ontario winters without the homeowner watching the cylinder beside the house.

The site assessment

New propane service starts with a site walk — the installer and the rep confirm where the tank can sit, how the line will run to the appliances, how the tanker will reach the fill point on a deep-snow morning, and whether the lot supports the size the consumption math points at. The setback table doesn’t have to be read by the customer; the assessment is what translates the rules onto the property.

Underground line and Ontario One Call

Any underground propane line is buried at 18 inches minimum (24 inches under a driveway), routed without right angles, and kept clear of other utilities. Ontario One Call is the no-cost locate service that flags existing buried utilities before any digging — the call goes in three working days before line work starts. The contractor handles the locate; the customer sees the paint marks on the lawn the morning before the trench opens.

04 / HOW WE HANDLE IT

Standing route, named rep, keep-full on the accounts that want it.

One rep on the account year-round. Coloured diesel, clear diesel, DEF, and lubricants on the same conversation if the operation runs them too. After-hours dispatch through the same number that answers during the day.

  • Keep-full delivery

    Most ag and residential accounts run on keep-full / auto-fill. Dispatch holds a K-factor for the property — litres consumed per heating degree-day — and schedules the tanker before the tank drops past about 20–25%. The customer doesn’t watch the gauge; the truck arrives a few days before the question would have crossed anyone’s mind.
  • Pre-positioning where it matters

    For grain drying, big-site construction cures, and any operation whose peak week exceeds the standing cadence, the standard is pre-positioning — top off bulk before harvest, before first hard frost, before a pour goes down. The empirical reference is the 2019 CN Rail strike; the discipline that came out of it shapes how the route runs through November and February.
  • Cylinder exchange for portable

    Sites and trades on cylinders run on swap — cylinders come full, empties go back. The cabinet stays. The standard scale is up to four cabinets, none above 500 lb; above that, the conversation moves toward manifolded cylinders or a small bulk tank with a vapourizer.
  • One supplier, every fuel

    Propane on standing route, coloured diesel for off-road equipment, clear diesel off the cardlock network for plated trucks, DEF for Tier 4 engines, lubricants in the truck on delivery day. One rep on the account, one invoice if you want it.

DELIVERY · KEEP-FULL · K-FACTOR
DISPATCH · 519 743 3669 · AFTER-HOURS · AFTER_HOURS_TBD

05 / BY INDUSTRY

Same product, different cadence.

HD-5 is HD-5 — but the size of the tank, the rhythm of the deliveries, and the regulatory shape around the install change between a farm, a home, and a construction site. The three vertical pages carry the application-specific detail.

  • AGRICULTURE

    On the farm

    Grain dryers through the September–December peak, livestock barn heat year-round, greenhouse heat plus CO₂ enrichment in Norfolk and Brant. Paired 1,000 USWG tanks are the common dryer setup; bigger operations add a third for redundancy. Pre-position discipline starts in August.

    • Typical use
      Grain drying · barn heat · greenhouse · CO₂
    • Peak windows
      Sept–Dec drying · winter livestock heat
    • Tank pattern
      Paired 1,000 USWG bulk, often with third
    Propane for the dryer, the barn, and the greenhouse
  • RESIDENTIAL · HOME HEATING

    At the house

    Primary-heat furnaces and boilers on rural properties off the gas grid. Standard sizing for a 1,500–3,000 sq ft home is a 500 USWG horizontal tank with two to four fills a year on auto-fill. Larger homes step up to 1,000 USWG. The 10-year inspection rule applies across every supplier.

    • Typical use
      Primary heat · water heater · range · fireplace
    • Peak windows
      Nov–March winter heat draw
    • Tank pattern
      500 USWG standard, 1,000 USWG larger homes
    Residential propane in southwestern Ontario
  • CONSTRUCTION

    On the site

    Salamanders on finishing trades, manifolded cylinders for cure-tent hoarding, 500 USWG with a vapourizer for the big site running radiant across the envelope. The CH-02 ROT operator-licensing question is the unique construction shape — the trained operator on the site is the GC’s responsibility, not the supplier’s.

    • Typical use
      Salamander · cure heat · hoarding · radiant
    • Peak windows
      Nov–April cure season
    • Tank pattern
      Cylinder swap → manifolded → 500 USWG bulk
    Propane for temporary heat on construction sites
06 / REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

Four pieces of paperwork worth knowing.

Most accounts have these handled at install. The page names them so they don’t turn into surprises later — and so the questions you ask the next time a tank goes in, you ask early.

  • The 10-year inspection rule

    Ontario Regulation 211/01 prohibits a distributor from supplying propane to equipment that has not been inspected within the previous ten years — furnace, water heater, fireplace, the works. A TSSA-certified gas technician runs the inspection. The supplier flags the upcoming requirement on the account. The rule is non-negotiable across every supplier in the province.
  • TSSA FS-271-24 · 200 psig tanks

    Director’s Order FS-271-24 took 200 psig tanks (MAWP below 250) out of service on October 1, 2025. Tanks installed before roughly 2010 may need replacement; the MAWP is on the nameplate. Distributors can’t fill non-compliant equipment — if your tank is on the wrong side of the order, the replacement conversation happens before the next delivery.
  • ECCC E2 Plan threshold

    On-site propane storage at or above 4.5 tonnes (~9,300 L liquid) triggers a federal Environmental Emergency plan. A single 4,000 USWG tank crosses it. Most multi-tank ag installations are over the threshold, and most don’t know — the plan is a real document with real obligations. We flag it on accounts that cross the line.
  • The 2025 tax landscape

    Two changes: the federal carbon fuel charge on propane was set to zero on April 1, 2025 (SOR/2025-107) — a real number on every invoice since. The Ontario Gasoline Tax Act propane levy was removed July 1, 2025, but that one applied to road-vehicle propane, not stationary propane — residential, ag, and commercial propane was already non-taxable under it. Federal change yes, Ontario change administrative for most customers.

O. REG. 211/01 · TSSA FS-271-24 · ECCC E2 PLAN · SOR/2025-107
CSA B149.1 · CSA B149.2 · CAN/CGSB-3.14

07 / FAQ

Practical questions.

01What size tank do I actually need?
For a 1,500–3,000 sq ft rural home on primary heat, a 500 USWG horizontal — two to four fills a year on auto-fill. For larger homes (3,500+ sq ft) or heavy ancillary loads (pool heater, generator, multiple appliances), a 1,000 USWG. For a mid-size grain drying operation, paired 1,000 USWG tanks (often a third for redundancy). For a finishing-trade construction site, 100 lb cylinders on exchange. For a big-site cure envelope, a 500 USWG with a vapourizer. The rep right-sizes to your specific operation, not a formula.CSA B149.2 · OP-TANK-SIZING-RESIDENTIAL-PROPANE
02How does keep-full / auto-fill actually work?
After the first two or three deliveries, dispatch has a stable K-factor for the property — litres consumed per heating degree-day. From there the system runs daily, accumulating degree-days against the K-factor, and the truck is scheduled when estimated tank level drops into the 20–25% range. The customer doesn’t watch the gauge. New accounts run on a conservative K with extra slack; long-tenured accounts run tighter because the data underneath is better.SERVICE-KEEP-FULL-AUTOMATIC
03Can I bury my propane tank?
Yes. Underground tanks at 250 to 1,000 USWG are a real option, with 10 ft setbacks to buildings on tanks up to 2,000 USWG, stricter distances near private wells, and a periodic anode-bag check that protects the tank from corrosion. Underground costs more up front than aboveground but stays out of the snow, handles Ontario winters better, and removes the question of where the cylinder sits beside the house.CSA B149.2 · O. REG. 211/01
04Do I own the tank, or does the supplier?
Either, depending on what you choose at new service. Supplier-owned is the most common residential model — no up-front cost, the supplier handles tank-side maintenance, switching suppliers later involves a tank swap. Customer-owned means buying outright (typically $2,000–$5,000+ depending on size and placement); no rental fee, no swap, but maintenance and eventual replacement are the customer’s cost. Lease-to-own is a less-common third option. B&J supports each.OPERATIONS · OWNERSHIP MODELS
05What happens if my tank runs dry?
Honest version: every propane supplier in the industry has run a tank dry at some point, and we have too. The leading causes are a sudden consumption shift the K-factor hasn’t caught, a customer on will-call who watched the gauge drift, a deep-snow week that delayed a truck, or a communication breakdown on a new account. When it happens, the after-hours line answers and a truck rolls. A leak test and relight by a gas technician are code-required before appliances come back online — that’s the rule, not a supplier choice.OPERATIONS · CSA B149.1
06How is propane priced — and why does it move?
Propane pricing is a stack: the wholesale commodity at the Sarnia hub (the price-formation point for Ontario), the cost of moving it from Sarnia to the regional bulk plant, the cost of the last-mile bobtail delivery, dealer overhead, and HST. Sarnia is the biggest source of week-to-week movement; it tracks global LPG fundamentals — crude, US export demand, North American winter degree-days. The other layers are stickier and shift on quarterly cycles. The price on each invoice reflects the current state of the stack.OP-SARNIA-PROPANE-FRACTIONATOR-HUB
07Is there a carbon tax on propane?
No federal carbon fuel charge since April 1, 2025 (SOR/2025-107) — that was a real number on residential, ag, and commercial invoices and it’s been off since. The Ontario Gasoline Tax Act propane levy was removed July 1, 2025, but that one applied to road-vehicle propane only — stationary propane (residential, ag, commercial heat) was already non-taxable under it. Federal change real on the invoice, Ontario change administrative for most customers.SOR/2025-107 · ONTARIO GASOLINE TAX ACT
08Can I get propane, diesel, lubricants, and DEF on the same account?
Yes — most operations do. One rep on every line, one invoice if you want it, one after-hours number. The pairing is the default for a mixed-equipment farm, a fleet with a propane forklift, or a construction GC running diesel on the equipment and propane on the cure — not the exception.OPERATIONS
NEXT STEP ·  SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

Talk to dispatch about your propane account.

Tell us where the propane is going — the dryer, the barn, the furnace, the cure tent — and what your draw looks like. We’ll size the program around it and sort diesel, DEF, and lubricants on the same conversation if they run on the same operation.

05 / COVERAGE ·  SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO · 9 REGIONS

Across southwestern Ontario, by named rep.

Standing routes across nine regions. Same rep year-round; off-hours emergency dispatch through the same number.

Check your area · Postal code
CITY PAGES ·  15 ACROSS THE FOOTPRINT
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO · 9-REGION FOOTPRINT

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