If your stove runs on a propane tank, the cylinder you swap at the corner store can be pulled from sale if inspectors find it unsafe, and thousands were this year. Costa Rica’s Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) destroyed 13,415 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders between January and September 2026.
That is 302 more than the 13,113 it destroyed in the same months of 2025, an increase of 2.3%, according to ARESEP. About 37% of this year’s total, or 4,926 cylinders, were made of aluminum. Aluminum tanks get the closest look for a simple reason. Years of refills, transport and rough handling wear the metal down. Once the wall gets thinner than the safe minimum, the tank can no longer reliably hold the pressure inside it, and the risk of a leak or a rupture goes up.
ARESEP says worn aluminum cylinders are its first priority for removal. The numbers matter because so many homes depend on these tanks. About half of Costa Rican households use LPG, mostly for cooking, according to the regulator. The country used 481.4 million net liters (about 127.2 million US gallons) of LPG in 2025, 4.7% more than in 2024.
Here is how the checks work. ARESEP inspectors visit bottling plants and the shops that sell cylinders. They look at the tank and its valve, test for leaks and confirm that you get the amount of gas you pay for. When something is wrong, the regulator can block the sale and send the cylinder back to the bottler, which must either repair it or destroy it.
Every major brand had cylinders pulled. Data from ARESEP’s energy division show Supergas with 4,275 destroyed cylinders (32% of the total), Tomza with 3,853 (29%), Zeta with 2,780 (21%), Petrogas with 1,672 (12%) and Nanogas with 835 (6%). The regulator published raw counts, not rates, so the figures do not show how each company’s share compares with the number of cylinders it has in circulation.
You can do your own quick check when a delivery arrives or before you carry a tank out of the store. ARESEP recommends three things. First, make sure the cylinder has no dents, corrosion or signs of a leak. Second, check that the valve carries the bottler’s seal, which shows the tank was filled and closed at the plant. Third, look for a serial number and manufacture date you can read clearly, because those markings are how a cylinder’s age and history are tracked.
If a tank fails any of those checks, ask for a different one. You can also contact ARESEP on its toll-free line, 8000-273737, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you ever smell gas at home, close the cylinder valve, open doors and windows, avoid switching lights or appliances on or off, and call 911 from outside.
Cooking gas is one more line in a household energy bill that has been under pressure this year. Fuel prices jumped in October, consumer prices rose for a second straight month, and the country paid $701 million more for imported fuel as diesel climbed. Electricity customers also face El Niño-related power costs spread across future bills.
For anyone who cooks with gas in Costa Rica, inspectors catch thousands of worn tanks a year, but a 30-second look at the tank, the seal and the markings is the easiest way to keep a worn one out of your kitchen.
