Propane Tank, rent or buy 500gal

[Oaktree]

And like the poster above, the yearly rent on that rusty old tank went from $36 a year to $133 a year. I'm now looking to buy a tank of my own.

We have Amerigas here too, and this summer for the first time I got a bill for tank rental. I basically told them (call center employee who had such a thick accent I could barely understand her) I wasn't paying it. They charge a good .15-.20/gal more than anyone else, d@mned if I'm gonna pay tank rental on top of it. So far they seem to have backed down, tank just got filled this week, we'll see if they try to sneak in the tank charge when I get the bill.
Only inertia has kept me from going with another provider.

I just converted to natural gas and sold my above ground 500 gallon propane tank to a propane company for $800.

Nice to have that option, but many don't have city gas available anywhere near us.

New trick around here is that even with my 'owned tank' the propane companies claim I have to have a new regulator every so many years. And that's at $80 a pop. Always looking for a gimmick, right?

Surprised you've gotten away with owning your own tank, period. Most companies around here won't fill one they don't own.

Curiously, I've never heard of a buried propane tank. Why would anyone want to do that?

 

[gasman1075]

over 40 years in the LP business and my .02 is buy local whenever possible.

How are the underground tanks inspected? Are they exempt from the same routine inspection/replacement requirements that above-ground tanks must undergo?

NFPA 58 requires the UG tanks are required to be cathodically protected by anode bags when they are installed underground. The tanks are inspected yearly to make sure the bags are still protecting the buried steel. Different soil conditions can greatly impact the life of the buried tank. That and how it was installed in the first place.

 

[jyoutz]

We have Amerigas here too, and this summer for the first time I got a bill for tank rental. I basically told them (call center employee who had such a thick accent I could barely understand her) I wasn't paying it. They charge a good .15-.20/gal more than anyone else, d@mned if I'm gonna pay tank rental on top of it. So far they seem to have backed down, tank just got filled this week, we'll see if they try to sneak in the tank charge when I get the bill.
Only inertia has kept me from going with another provider.

Nice to have that option, but many don't have city gas available anywhere near us.

Surprised you've gotten away with owning your own tank, period. Most companies around here won't fill one they don't own.

Curiously, I've never heard of a buried propane tank. Why would anyone want to do that?

We have Amerigas here too, and this summer for the first time I got a bill for tank rental. I basically told them (call center employee who had such a thick accent I could barely understand her) I wasn't paying it. They charge a good .15-.20/gal more than anyone else, d@mned if I'm gonna pay tank rental on top of it. So far they seem to have backed down, tank just got filled this week, we'll see if they try to sneak in the tank charge when I get the bill.
Only inertia has kept me from going with another provider.

Nice to have that option, but many don't have city gas available anywhere near us.

Surprised you've gotten away with owning your own tank, period. Most companies around here won't fill one they don't own.

Curiously, I've never heard of a buried propane tank. Why would anyone want to do that?

I actually live far from the city in farm/ranch country. But my state is one of the largest gas producers and gas companies have run NG lines down rural county roads everywhere.

 

[3Ts]

We have 4 propane companies here. Two of them refused to bury a tank. The same two refused to sell me a tank. I found a company a little ways away (that's about 30 miles to us) that would sell me an underground 1000 gal tank. He did not have one and would have to order one, did not have equipment to bury the tank. So, he delivered the tank, I off loaded it, dug the hole, brought in the sand and he helped set it and connected it all up. I wanted a "keep full" service and he wanted my SSN, I said no and checked around for pricing. One of the two who refused to sell me a tank had the lowest price and a discount on top of that for the "keep full" service. They have no problems (now) of filling a customer owned buried tank.

 

[Doughknob]

Our propane company just lets us use a tank if we have service with them; no renting or buying involved.........

 

[Oaktree]

Our propane company just lets us use a tank if we have service with them; no renting or buying involved.........

That's the way it always was here before this year. After I got the tank rental bill, I called around to other suppliers specifically asking about tank rental fee. One did not and had no plans to, the other "maintained the option" of it if you didn't use at least one tank's worth a year (ie-100G tank, use 100G or more to avoid possible fee). One of the two mentioned a senior citizen discount (I'm over 70).
We don't use a lot...150-175 G/yr. Just cooking & hot water. Apparently, the price comes down significantly if you use more, but propane is still the most expensive option around here.

 

[Deere Dude]

That's the way it always was here before this year. After I got the tank rental bill, I called around to other suppliers specifically asking about tank rental fee. One did not and had no plans to, the other "maintained the option" of it if you didn't use at least one tank's worth a year (ie-100G tank, use 100G or more to avoid possible fee). One of the two mentioned a senior citizen discount (I'm over 70).
We don't use a lot...150-175 G/yr. Just cooking & hot water.

WE had a similar situation. Company was bought out so policy changed. We rented our tank at a few cents/gallon but that was changed to unless we used double our 500 gallons tanks capacity a year we would get dinged $1 per gallon for the gas we did not use. In other words if the usable gas per 500 gallon tank is 300 gallons we would need to use 600 gallons. If we used 150 gallons we would get clipped $450 extra.

As soon as we heard that we found a used tank for $300 and pained it JD green with yellow dome. They were decent though and only charged $25 for pump over and pressure and leak test as were going to nail me $100. That is the capitalist system I guess.

 

[3gunr]

My parents house has a buried tank in the yard , it has been there since they bought the house in 1969, My sister lives there now and switched to natural gas, She tried to give the tank away but no one would dig it up. They used to bury tanks here all the time, but i dont think anymore.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Our propane company just lets us use a tank if we have service with them; no renting or buying involved.........

Yep. And each company has thier own colors and cannot fill another company's tank (usually). You want to switch companies, you also switch tanks.

Regulators are also free..

 

[deserteagle71]

Boy, sounds like propane policies vary widely by region.

I moved here in 1994 and ALWAYS had to pay tank rental to Amerigas. There are two other propane companies that service this area and both of them charge tank rental also. And yes, one company won't fill another company's tank. So I really didn't mind paying the $36 a year rental fee...till they upped it to $133 a year recently. At that rate I can buy my own tank and save myself the rental fee - just a few years at $133 a year and I've paid for the tank - plus I can shop around and buy from whoever is selling propane cheapest at the time.