Propane

[mdotis]

Ok this is a little off topic but most of the wood burners are doing so to avoid burning propane. So here is my complaint. I moved into my house in 1991. I got setup with Tru-gas at that time to supply my propane furnace (life time tank lease for 1.00). For the first 9 years or so the price of gas was very cheap so I heated my hole house with propane. In 2001 I got a corn stove so my propane use dropped down to a few hundred gallons a year. Now I still have the corn stove as well as burning wood. So in the last 18 months I have only used 100 gallons of propane for cooking and some heating. This is very good in my opinion. Tru-Gas has a rule that you have to buy some gas form them every 18 months or you have to pay 60.00 as a tank surcharge that is on top of a 15.00 administration fee per year. So on Monday I called and ordered 100 gallons. That really filled up the tank. No other supplier will fill their tank. The surprise was that my price for propane is 2.949. Because I have their tank. If I had my own tank I could get it filled for 1.909 a gallon from any of the other companies in the area. So the questions is am I out of line thinking I should buy a tank and get out from in under these crooks? What are the Propane companies doing in your area when you cut back on your usage?

Thanks for you input.
Korey

 

[CrappieKeith]

Whenever your in a position of being held over the barrel you'll find it ain't no fun.
Do what you have too to get out get out from underneath their thumb.
They live off of those that are clueless as to the options or from those that have no ability to get away from their pricing tactics.

It'll take some doing ,but do it.....you've got many years ahead of you to heat.

 

[gwiley]

This is really just a simple numbers game. Run two sets of numbers:

First set, assume you keep the tank, figure your current rate of gas use at that cost, use a fixed time period, say 10 years to get a total.

Second set, price a new tank, include installation costs and connection fees, then figure gas costs using the same burn rate but lower $/gal.

I have a similar problem - since getting the OWB I use about 100gal/year, the gas company charges me $12/month rental fee since I am not buying enough gas. The price of swapping tanks would take me too long to recover my costs so I am just eating the rental fee right now.

When we replace our LP furnace in 3-5 years I will have the tank removed, loose the gas cooktop and gas HW tank and rely on electric for backup heat and stovetop cooking.

 

[Geez]

"I got setup with Tru-gas "
Well, old Jim Senty at TruGas didn't get as rich as he did by being a nice guy.
Many years ago I worked for him doing insulation work. Sometimes when work was slow, I'd run bulk truck for them. One time I had to make an emergency run (-15 and the customer was out of gas) but was told not to pump unless I had a check in my hand. One of the hardest things I ever had to do was when I left that poor old lady standing in her driveway with no fuel. I never drove for them again after that. :censored:

 

[anthony.d]

I'm in the same boat.

I won't even use 50 gal of propane in a year, because all I have is the propane furnace which never kicks on and an on demand water heater which I only use in the summer.

I'm sure I'll be seeing some sort of love letter from my propane supplier.

I guess I'll just have to look at the numbers.

:monkey:

 

[laynes69]

We have a 500 gallon tank, which we are buying from our company here soon. It will run us 850.00 I paid 1.89 this summer for LP and could have had it for 1.29 if we owned our tank. With the fees around here, in a few years ours will be paid for. We used around 25 gallons of propane since winter which includes our dryer, stove and LP furnace. Normally we would see about 400 gallons every other month. Not too shabby.

 

[sbhooper]

I have a great propane company. I had a 1000 gal tank and it was nearly full. I only used 90 gallons last year due to the wood furnace. My tank had shifted and I asked them if they would fix it (it is their tank). They came out and looked at it and said that they could not lift it without pumping out the propane.

I asked if this would be a good time to get a smaller tank and they whole-heartedly agreed. They pumped out the propane and took the old tank out. They replaced it with a freshly painted 500 gallon tank and refilled it. The left-over propane was put on store credit for future fill-ups. It never cost me a dime.

They do not question my usage or charge me tank rent. They know that I will buy whatever propane that I need from them-good home-town folks.

 

[Taxmantoo]

I was asking my local propane supplier about tanks last month. The driver told me that a 500 gallon tank costs them close to $2000 new. He also told me that the propane would have been 20 cents cheaper ($1.899 instead of $2.099) if it went into a customer owned tank.

 

[mschoff]

My propane company wanted to charge me 194.63 a year rent for there tank and there minimum deliver is 200 gall so I need to have some for back up. it cost me 363.00 so what do a person do I guess it better then 1800.00 a year

 

[Geez]

I was asking my local propane supplier about tanks last month. The driver told me that a 500 gallon tank costs them close to $2000 new. He also told me that the propane would have been 20 cents cheaper ($1.899 instead of $2.099) if it went into a customer owned tank.

That's because the 20 cents is a built in lease fee for the tank. They might tell you that it's a dollar or so for a lifetime lease fee, but then they nip you on every gallon.
Then when you quit using so much propane and they aren't getting their hidden lease fees, they send you a bill for using their tank without buying fuel from them.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

When I run the rest of the propane out of my tank I am going to go to two 100lb tanks with a auto switch over valve. I don't burn much and I am tired of having that 500gal tank always in my way.

Billy

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

had amerigas here

used so lil they did the tank rent thing. what made me dump em was one day i called them and their proce was over a dollar a gallon more than the small local guy. i told em to come get their tank. the lady asked why and i told her. she said "you shoulda said something we can do better on price." i told her to take a hike. you screw me and then when i say ouch you say you'll screw me a lil less?

 

[mdotis]

Looks like we are all in the same boat

And they wonder why we are burning wood. Looks like I will have to start looking for a new/used tank. Then I can tell them to come and get their tank. .20 a gallon is not so bad but over a dollar a gallon is just like stealing in my book. I would rather invest my money on something that will be mine then give it to them. I think it would be different if they did not try to hide it and always act like they were doing me such a big favor by selling to me.

Any one know of a cheap tank for sale?

Korey

 

[shotgunner]

Propane Tank

If you are able or willing to have an above ground tank, don't buy it new. I just bought a used 500 gallon tank for $250 from the gas company to replace my inground tank that sprung a leak.

 

[projectsho89]

I bit the bullet last year and told Amogas to come get their 1000 gallon tank. Bought a 500 gallon tank from a mom and pop company for $700. Now, I can buy gas from anyone I want to...

The tank was almost empty in the middle of December, so I ordered 200 gallons (minimum order). The gauge hasn't really budged in almost 7 weeks since I've been on the ball watching the wood in the OWB.

 

[Iska3]

I'll be in the same boat real soon. We have $19.50 credit at our supplier for the better part of 6 months now. The other day I watched the LP Truck drive down our road past our place and turn around. I'm sure they were checking to see if we moved out.

My average Lp bill is around $500.00 per month in the winter time. Now we heat the house and hot waqter with wood. The only LP being use is for cooking and the pilot on the furnace. I used somthing like 12 gal of propane this winter. If need be, I'll buy my own 500 gal tank, Fill it in the summer when the LP Prices are down and sit back and laugh at all of them.

We live in the country and with all the foreclosures around here, I'm sure I can pick up a 500 gal LP tank at a good price. Why would any Propane company want to pick up those tanks and have to store them on their lot. I guess when my time comes I'll call their bluff.

 

[danrclem]

I bought my tank a few years back and have no regrets. I think I gave about $700.00 for a new 500 gal. tank but that was before all of the metal prices got high.

Even if it takes awhile to get your money back out of it you are still more independent than you were before. You can call around and buy from the cheapest gas supplier.

Now if I could just find a cheap way to generate my own electricity.

 

[Outlander]

There are dozens of used LP tanks for sale here in SW Iowa. And they are getting cheap. There used to be 2 LP tanks at every farmstead 20 years ago. One for home heating and one for grain drying. With the decline in the number of farmers, the houses have been destroyed by the new land owners who had no use for an old farmhouse and the grain dryers have become more centralized and much bigger, leaving several tanks to be left sitting empty.
If you want to buy a tank and can make it feasable to haul it home from SW Iowa, send me a PM and I will get some prices for you.

 

[Baldman]

There are dozens of used LP tanks for sale here in SW Iowa. And they are getting cheap. There used to be 2 LP tanks at every farmstead 20 years ago. One for home heating and one for grain drying. With the decline in the number of farmers, the houses have been destroyed by the new land owners who had no use for an old farmhouse and the grain dryers have become more centralized and much bigger, leaving several tanks to be left sitting empty.
If you want to buy a tank and can make it feasable to haul it home from SW Iowa, send me a PM and I will get some prices for you.

Thanks for that... going to subscribe to this thread just for this

 

[davec]

I bit the bullet last year and told Amogas to come get their 1000 gallon tank. Bought a 500 gallon tank from a mom and pop company for $700. Now, I can buy gas from anyone I want to...

The tank was almost empty in the middle of December, so I ordered 200 gallons (minimum order). The gauge hasn't really budged in almost 7 weeks since I've been on the ball watching the wood in the OWB.

Good to see you back here! Since you have a decent tank that is owned you are in a good position, it seems. Why don't more folks that rarely use propane switch to buying a couple 100 lb tanks or a larger used tank and be done with the monopoly?

-Dave