Acquisitions - Allocation of Purchase Price (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Assets acquired:
Goodwill	$ 1,945,748	$ 1,936,608	$ 1,914,808
Heritage Propane
Assets acquired:
Current assets			301,372
Property, plant & equipment			890,215
Goodwill			1,217,717	[1],[2]
Other assets			9,947
Total assets acquired			2,929,251
Liabilities assumed:
Current liabilities			(238,016)
Long-term debt			(62,927)
Other noncurrent liabilities			(23,481)
Total liabilities assumed			(324,424)
Total			2,604,827
Heritage Propane | Customer Relationships
Assets acquired:
Finite-lived intangible assets			418,900
Liabilities assumed:
Estimated useful life of intangible assets	15 years
Heritage Propane | Trademarks and Trade Names
Assets acquired:
Indefinite-lived intangible assets			91,100	[1]
Other Acquisitions
Assets acquired:
Net current assets	136	691	1,590
Property, plant & equipment	6,916	5,167	6,175
Goodwill	6,751	12,481	5,363
Total assets acquired	20,237	23,915	18,362
Other Acquisitions | Customer Relationships
Liabilities assumed:
Estimated useful life of intangible assets	10 years	10 years	10 years
Other Acquisitions | Noncompete Agreements
Liabilities assumed:
Estimated useful life of intangible assets	5 years	5 years	5 years
Other Acquisitions | Customer Relationships and Noncompete Agreements
Assets acquired:
Finite-lived intangible assets	$ 6,434	$ 5,576	$ 5,234

[1] During Fiscal 2013, the Partnership made correcting adjustments to trademarks and tradenames and goodwill which are not reflected in the table above (see Note 10).

[2] Goodwill associated with the Heritage Acquisition principally results from synergies expected from combining the operations and from assembled workforce.