A major Manitoba propane retailer, PNE, has recalled its tanks to be refilled after a CBC investigation found them to be underfilled. (CBC)

A propane supply company in Winnipeg has recalled tanks it sells at exchange stations throughout the city after a CBC investigation found people were charged for more than they got.

The company, PNE, provides barbecue-style propane tanks for trade-in at service stations, grocery stores, hardware stores, and other locations. Instead of consumers lining up to fill empty tanks, the exchange stations enable them to trade their depleted tank for a full one at a cost of $20.

To buy into the exchange program, it initially costs $60, which gets you a full tank.

Because the exchange program bypasses the old method of filling up at a gas station, which placed the tank on a weigh scale, there's no way to tell if the exchange tanks are actually full.

CBC News took 14 tanks from the PNE exchange and weighed them to determine whether people who were paying for a full tank, were getting one. Of those 14, eight were underfilled — in some cases by almost a pound and a half.

Being shortchanged by a pound and a half of propane can cost as much as 45 minutes of cooking time.

'We're not just going to run away from it and deflect, and say it's the scale guy's fault and I had some bad employees and I got rid of them. No, I messed up, and we'll fix it. We'll make it right.'—Glen Scrivener, Caledon Propane

After the company was informed, PNE acknowledged it had made a mistake, and blamed the errors on flawed weigh scales. As a result, PNE has decided to recall and refill all of its tanks, which amounts to thousands across Manitoba and in Kenora, Ont.

"We're not just going to run away from it and deflect, and say it's the scale guy's fault and I had some bad employees and I got rid of them. No, I messed up, and we'll fix it. We'll make it right," said Glen Scrivener, spokesman for Caledon Propane in Manitoba, which fills the tanks for PNE.

He said the company switched to new tanks recently, and the scales weren't properly set. Anyone with a PNE tank can take it to Caledon, who will fill it and throw in a free gauge for the tank.

CBC News also tested tanks from the other major player in the business in Manitoba — Tank Traders. Of the 10 tested, just one was underfilled.

The owner of Tank Traders, Marcel Vouriot, said none of his tanks should be underfilled but he said accidents do happen.

Measurement Canada, which administers and enforces the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and the Weights and Measures Act, is supposed to be checking on the proper weights of tanks, but only 12 warning letters have been handed out across Canada since March 2008, and none in Manitoba.