Buying a Used 500+ Gallon Propane Tank

rjcruiser

Senior Member
Building a house. Going to have propane for fireplace, stove and possibly dryer. Everything else is going to be electric. Going to bury the tank...so, I don't really care what it looks like...but want to make sure it is a good tank. What do I look for...anything to do to make sure it's a good tank before buying? Or do I just go to a LP company and buy new from them?
 

T-N-T

Senior Member
Rust inside?

I would think you should paint it good before sticking in dirt as well
 

Jim Baker

Moderator
Staff member
You might want to speak to your LP supplier before you buy a used tank. I don't know but I suspect they have some standards as to what they will pump propane into.
 

transfixer

Senior Member
If its like the smaller tanks they have to be inspected every 10 or 12 yrs or so ? I'd ask a local LP dealer, I'm not sure you can get away with burying them ?
 

transfixer

Senior Member
Google the difference between underground tanks and above ground tanks, a good bit of info out there on it .

you can bury a tank underground, but it has to be an underground tank, and has to have special protection from corrosion , etc, I'd check with a LP supplier , they'll know..
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
You will be better off to call around to the different propane companies and price them. I just put a 500 in 2 years ago. It was ~1400. with them installing it. I had to dig the hole. Make sure you put in a sacrificial anode. They don't call it an anode, but it is made to corrode and dissolve before the tank, thus protecting the tank.

You can save a lot on propane later, by shopping around the different suppliers. There was a company trying to break into the business around here this summer, charging .89 a gallon. Now it is 2.19.

I always try to do a summer fill in August of September. They will sell it cheaper then, and you don't have to worry about beating the rush to get fuel when we get weather like now.
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
oh,...and you will really miss the boat if you don't go gas on the water heater. Big user of electricity . The propane will produce hot water twice as quickly, and cost less doing it. I would consider a tankless unit while I was at it
 

rjcruiser

Senior Member
thanks for the input!
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
We used to paint the tank with blackjack roofing tar before we buried it. That was in the 70`s so you`ll need to check with the LP providers on their codes and regulations.
 

3ringer

Senior Member
We have an underground propane tank. The gas company took care of everything when the house was built. Looks so much better than above ground. We also have a propane generator for power outages.
 

rjcruiser

Senior Member
We have an underground propane tank. The gas company took care of everything when the house was built. Looks so much better than above ground. We also have a propane generator for power outages.

I've never lived out in the country...so, this will be a first for me. Always had city water/sewer and natural gas.:D But one thing I've never understood...living out in the country on a big lot and having a silver propane tank above ground sticking out like a sore thumb imo.
 

SGADawg

Senior Member
I've never lived out in the country...so, this will be a first for me. Always had city water/sewer and natural gas.:D But one thing I've never understood...living out in the country on a big lot and having a silver propane tank above ground sticking out like a sore thumb imo.

Shrubbery and/or fence panels can be your friend. Lots cheaper too.
 

Jeff C.

Chief Grass Master
Shrubbery and/or fence panels can be your friend. Lots cheaper too.

Yep, tore an old front porch off and expanded it, re-purposed the wooden floor older than me(61), built a picket fence around 3 sides of propane tank next to old smokehouse....looks fine and enhanced that "country look".

Pawpaw, spit a lot of baccer off that ol porch.
 

chase870

Possum Sox
Have the LP company do it if its a underground tank. Unless you have a bunch of rentals or some other thing that uses a lot of LP you are better off just using the LP company from start to finish.
 

Lukikus2

Senior Member
Natural gas is the most less expensive way to heat water. Electric is second. It propane will cost you the most. Call the propane suppliers in your area to get a quote on a install. The price might surprise you and you will get a warranty. If I bought a used tank it would have to be certified.
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
Natural gas is the most less expensive way to heat water. Electric is second. It propane will cost you the most. Call the propane suppliers in your area to get a quote on a install. The price might surprise you and you will get a warranty. If I bought a used tank it would have to be certified.

propane doesn't cost me more than electricity.

buy in the summer when it is cheap. In August it was 89 a gallon. Now it is 2.19 a gallon
 

Jeff C.

Chief Grass Master
propane doesn't cost me more than electricity.

buy in the summer when it is cheap. In August it was 89 a gallon. Now it is 2.19 a gallon

Good granny's Pappy, just bought some last Wednesday $2.7990.

This Monday a neighbor bought from same gas co. for $2.4990, but hey rationed him to 100 gals. :huh:
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
We have several LPG companies here. I can shop the price at 5 or 6 places in a matter of minutes. I tell them top the tank off @ whatever price we agree. I just set a 1000 gallon tank for heating the store 3 weeks ago, and filled it at 2.19. It may be more now that the weather has turned so cold. The gooberment declared a national emergency and the LPG trucks are running 24/7 until the 28th, according to my friend who hauls LPG. He drove 101 hours last week.

they have curtailed LPG at the pipeline and pushing it to the northeast because of the frigid weather there. He says sometimes he is sitting for 4 or 5 hours waiting to get into the pump station, where they fill 4 trucks at a time. They fill 4 trucks at once, @ 625 gallons per minutes/per truck. Now that is some pumping.
 

joepuppy

Senior Member
I've just got mine sitting out there beside the house. Never paid it much mind, I guess.
 
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