Where to find a used propane tank?

[Pilot]

Our little country church heats with propane and we pay a $60 a year tank rental fee. In addition if we had our own tank we could shop around for the best price when we need a delivery, saving 20-40 cents per gallon. Tanks from propane dealers run about $1,000. Too spendy.

Where should we look to find a used tank? So far, Craigslist hasn't listed any.

Any ideas?

 

[jayhawkerroy]

Call around to your propane dealers. Many of them will sell approved, refurbished tanks, allowing you the flexibility desired in shopping for your propane contracts.

 

[dfkrug]

Our little country church heats with propane and we pay a $60 a year tank rental fee. In addition if we had our own tank we could shop around for the best price when we need a delivery, saving 20-40 cents per gallon. Tanks from propane dealers run about $1,000. Too spendy.

Where should we look to find a used tank? So far, Craigslist hasn't listed any.

Any ideas?

I bought a 125 gal ASME vertical tank from a dealer in WA. The tank was
shipped from OR to CA, and my total cost was something like $600, ten
years ago. Although this tank weighed 500# or so, I could set it with my
tractor. I could not with a cigar-shaped tank. An ASME tank is thicker
than a DOT tank, and I had my favorite gas vendor connect me up with
a pigtail and regulator.

My tank was new and shipped from the manufacturer. A couple of years
after I bought it, a neighbor bought a used one of the same size for just
a couple hundred $.

After you have called your local companies, do a web search.

 

[Okiesprayguy]

Used tanks run about a $1 /gallon around here. I paid $200 or $250 for my 250 gallon tank. I did have my lp provider replace the regulator though. I often see them for sale on craigslist.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Ditto okiesprayguy - $1 per gallon. Tanks require current state registration tag before supplier will fill.

 

[schmism]

I wouldn't recommend purchasing your own tank.

I completely disagree.

Generally a church because of its size will burn multiple 1000s of gallons of propane a season. The amount of money that can be saved by shopping around for a price MORE than covers the install costs, the regulator cost etc for just ONE year. not to mention all the coming years.


used tanks from dealers vary. around these parts all the dealers are VERY stingy with tanks because competition is so high (i have the choice of about 4 different propane suppliers in my area) they all want to lock you into THERE tank... They will sell you new one but they are expensive.

Ive been on the lookout for one myself. they come up on craigslist often enough around here. more so going into the fall as its time to fill them up and people switch to NG or electric instead of filling the LP tank again.

 

[2manyrocks]

Buying a tank means the church is free to shop propane prices instead of being held captive to the supplier that leases the tank to the church. That's probably enough reason to own the tank.

Tanks pop up for sale every so often on CL and other sources like that. You just have to keep watching or you could post a "want ad" and see if you get any response.

Be careful not to buy somebody's leased tank. The seller should have paperwork showing where he bought the tank he's selling. Not always so, but you should ask.

 

[Pilot]

schmism: It's a smaller church than you might presume--60 members, part time pastor, burned 800+ gallons the first year. Built in 1889, burned down in a huge forest fire in 1902, rebuilt 1904 and serves a rural community. Pretty old for a church in Oregon.

Our interest in a used tank arose when we decided to switch suppliers. The guy who arranged for the tank only looked at first year cost, which gave us a discount for year 1 then overcharged for subsequent years and wants a $300 contract cancellation fee. Last quote from them was $3.43 per gallon; a different supplier quoted about $2.60, but $.20 less if we had our own tank. So at 800 gallons per year having our own tank would save about $160 + $60 rental fee, or about $220. We heard about a tank we could have gotten for about $100, which made a lot of sense, but it went fast. And the lower priced dealer would check the tank out, deliver it, pump the propane out of the old tank into the replacement tank and hook us up for $200. This outfit doesn't sell used tanks--I don't know what they do with their used ones.

Anyway, we're still looking and will be watching CL...

 

[CurlyDave]

Pilot:

Where are you in Oregon.

I am in the Grants Pass area and if you are reasonably close, I can hook you up with my propane supplier who does not charge extra for propane delivered to one of his rental tanks. The price I pay for propane is very close to the the price gas stations advertise for filling small bottles. This is much lower than most delivered propane prices, often by $1.00 per gallon or more.

 

[bdeboer]

Around here used 500 gallon tanks are running in 700-900 dollar range. They need to have the tag with the serial number still attached. I purchased one from a local supplier for use at a rental property, to avoid contracts and issues such as credits when a renter moves out.