Propane Tank, rent or buy 500gal

[2458n]

How long is the pressure test good for on a 500 gal. tank? Will different suppliers honor one pressure test? Thank you for any help.

 

[reb]

Every response I have seen here says everyone has bought their tanks, but it never says where they are buying the tanks from. We need to move quickly. Our tank is from 1974. The propane company refuses to ever fill it again unless we buy one of theirs and we are almost out. HELP!

Try searching with your favorite search engine for propane dealers within a reasonable distance. I got mine from a company about 150 miles away.

 

[westcliffe01]

My heating bill is $600 for the entire winter... This is in SE Michigan and I buy 4 cord of wood a year from a hardwood mill in the area... If I had a $3000+ heating bill every single year, I would be living in a custom built home with every passive solar trick and several solar collectors....

This solar collector Hurras Solar Water Heater Collector 30 Tube delivers 24-40k BTU per day for a cost of $745. So spending $3000 on solar collectors should get you 96-160k btu/day from the sun, provided you can position the collectors in a spot with proper solar exposure.

Of course that means you need a water based heating system, which unfortunately the majority of homes in the US do not. One would need a suitably sized insulated hot water storage tank which one would draw from all night as well as the circulating pumps, thermostats etc.

Its just that I would never be able to retire when facing these kinds of expenses (only going to rise in the future) in addition to property taxes, income taxes and all the other unavoidable things in our lives...

 

[Tollster]

To own is about 1500 -2000k around here, to rent will cost an additional 1.00 per gallon, the tank should come with an ASME cert, save this. There should be no issues with the tank once the certification has been performed. There should be a serial number or perhaps even a plate on the tank, that correlates with the pressure test on the certification paper work.

 

[PastTense]

I think the big national chains like to rip people off; but there is no problem dealing with a local farm coop. I rent mine for $65/year from one of the local coops.

 

[MotorSeven]

I bought one of CL. turns out it has a leaky valve that I have yet to figure out how to replace since the tank is so old. You know it's not good when your propane delivery guy looks at it, takes his cap off, scratches his head, and say's..."Man, I've been doing this for 15 years and ain't never seen a valve like that"....{sigh}

So, I got a free rental tank from them & no contract. When I get a chance I am going to dig into replacing the offending valve on my pig in a poke.

 

[KennethWR]

We just had a bad expierience with our propane company and we ready to wash our hands of those crooks. I filed a complaint with the BBB and sent a letter to the State Atty General's office.
Now we want to get another supplier and a new tank, or a new supplier and buy our old (inground) tank from the crooks.
We've had the tank for a little over 10yrs in the ground, what does anyone think that would cost us to buy it? Or even Should we?

thanks
gary

Good for you! Definitely you should buy your propane tank, then you can pick the dealer with the lowest prices when you need a delivery no? How large is the propane tank? To get an idea of what propane tanks are worth, here is a page I used when we moved: How to buy a propane tank

 

[SPIKER]

I have had issues the last 5 or 6 years. I have rental tank and was originally part of a COOP propane company. They were bought out about 2006 by some other company also a COOP so was not too bad. About a year later they went private and tried to change everybody's contract, I did not fall for it. They again were bought out by some other company 2010/11 or so. Again they send 6 or 8 page contracts telling me I have to sign and tried to charge me 100.00 fee for yearly tank rental. I assert my rights and tell them my contract is fine by me and they bought it lock stock and contract. So they filled my tank 2 years ago and charged me more than they said. I had called for fill up & gotten a 2.09 cost (it was above other propane suppliers but not by a lot for rental tank cost.) They then added a transport fee, hazmat fee and taxes all in all probably a dozen different charges. They again this spring tried to charge me 125.00 yearly rental tank fee and when I called them to say they were incorrect billing again & got the typical run around (yearly process for me to enforce my original contract of 25.00 max fee.) I called for fill price this year quoted 2.79 + all those FEE'S again. So now over last two months I decided to buy my own tank and shop around. (I dont stay at farm house all time and use wood heat as well, so usage is low.) I priced 500 tank delivered w regulators set up and filled cost was about what my last fill cost was 2 years ago, $1699.00 special from one of the larger players. So I told them I was a go but had some 20 or 30% of my old tank still full so waiting till my tank is about out.

Mark

 

[EMcPhee]

To buy means you can shop the LPG around to all suppliers. You'll need to maintain the tank.

To rent a tank from company X means you can't shop the LPG price, but they must maintain the tank.

I think to own makes the most sense in my area, tank is paid for in a few years and you get to slam the suppliers on price every time.

 

[bumperm]

Okay, there's been a lot of posts but consider this:

Firstly, your current propane company, if they do own the underground tank, has no interest in removing it. It is a net loss as it is not worth anything and will cost them money to excavate and back fill. Tell them you either want them to pull it, or sign it over to you with a bill of sale for $1.00 - - their choice. If they take the dollar, you just got a tank that any company will fill and service. The reason the other companies cannot do than now is they can't fill another companies tank.

If your current company waffles or takes too long and you are in danger of running out, call another company and ask them to deliver a 250 gallon rental tank. . . they'll do that short term and in short order, hooking up the line from the underground tank to the above ground rental.

Disclaimer: not legal advice, but I think they'll walk from that tank if you give them an out. If they are stubborn and decide to remove it, I'd tell them to leave the hole bare, and buy a new tank from another company. They'll put new sacrificial anodes in and you'll have a new tank without the cost of excavation.

bumper

with owned 1000 underground tank, after getting tired of all the rigmarole and price jacking of rental tanks.