Hey Fellas, I have decided to go with propane forced air unit in my garage. Wanted to know whats involved in obtaining a tank,how large?, not in ground,heating a 1,500 sq ft area. I am in southern NJ.
Thanks LMC
p.s I think my oil company also supplies propane
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Replies
Call your suppier, they size the tank to the equipment you are using, lease you the tank and tell you where it can be set.
Don't know how ya'll do it in Yankee-land, but down here you can get a 100-250-500 gallon above-ground tank. You'll need to bury a 1/2-3/4" copper line from the tank to your inlet in the garage. The tank usually comes in on a sling-trailer. I'd clear a place and put some concrete blocks down to set the tank on. Might want to put some weed-block fabric down and cover it with gravel to keep the weeds down too. A propane truck usually has a 100' hose to fill the tank. To hide the tank, I put a 4-1/2' cedar fence around the tank with a cut-out for filling. The fence is removeable in case the tank goes bad, as it was manufactured in 1953.
Across the river in DE - this is how it works.
Call gas supplier and tell them what you have in mind. They will come and look at general area for tank, ask a few questions about useage - heater?, hot water?, etc. They will size the tank based on what you tell them unless you want something different.
Once the heater is installed and the piping brought outside to the agreed location and pressure tested, they will bring out the tank and connect their feed piping to your piping. They fill tank and start up the heater.
Propane companies here will refuse to fill the tank without one connected appliance in the house - they want to see one device work before they leave - it tells them all of their stuff is working right.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Lou, I'm in favor of owning. Around here, if you own, you can have either company fill it, whereas with a rented tank only the place that rented it will fill it. Also, a larger tank will cost less PER GALLON to fill, so check out the sliding price list. And, a larger tank will allow you to get thru winter without filling during the expensive season. Have the supplier do a low pressure test once all of the appliances are connected.
Yeah, call your supplier. They'll handle the whole thing, including burying the line. And you'll have better confidence that it's installed per local codes and conditions, vs advice you get here.
(And most suppliers will sell you the tank, if you want to go that way. But often the "rental" is quite reasonable, so buying the tank makes no sense.)
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Around here it seems like the suppliers waive the lease/rental fee if you buy enough. I guess most things are negotiable. It does keep you from working the "spot market" though.
If you were going to use a lot of propane then it would be worth it to "optimize" the process. But in this case the amount used isn't likely to be too much, so the main thing is to just not sign any long-term contracts, and talk to 2-3 suppliers (if indeed there are that many in the area) to be sure that the proposed deal isn't a real bad one.Of course, practices vary considerably by region, so at least roughly price the rent/buy decision, and free vs paid installation, if the contract language seems too tight.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Something to ask about when deciding which supplier you will be leasing the tank. Some suppliers have a minimum volume of propane per yearly contract that you have to buy. For instance a minimum of 60 gallons. If you just use 40 gallons then you pay for the whole 60.
Some will charge an extra fee to use their tank unless you consume "XX" number of gallons besides that minimum usage.
We use propane for cooking and for clothes drying. In my situation I wasn't using enough gallons and had a tank lease fee $70 plus tax yearly. And, based on volume amount I was paying like $7.00 a gallon for delivery with taxes.
So I figured it out that I save money if I bought my own tanks (60 pounders, two of them) and a switchover regulator. When one tank runs out, it switches over to the other. Then I legally transport my empty tank (60 pound is max transportable around here without special permits, I was told). I pay $45 total (about $3.18/gallon, to fill the 60 pound tank. I also get my BBQ tanks refilled at that time for $15 each.
It takes me less than 10 minutes to hitch my trailer, disconnect the 60lb tank, strap it on the trailer. I'm going to the propane place anyway to refill the BBQ tanks so not really an extra trip.
With a 2 1/2 year old, we dry plenty of clothes. Maybe when we have a 2nd child we'll use enough LPG to warrant delivery w/o paying so much.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
I'm on Long Island. I use propane for everything except drying clothes. I had a 500 gallon tank (underground) installed for about $1500. I pay $2.15 a gallon because I use a lot and because I'm free to shop around, although I don't. I've been with the same company that installed the tank 5 years ago.
Jerry
Hey Jerry
You drying clothes with the sun and wind? Or electric dryer?
Back in '94 when I moved in here, there was an eletric dryer. Manual had hand written "Installed 1976" on the cover. I figured it would die soon and then I'd get a gas dryer. Skip forward 11 years it was still working! Then the drum belt broke. Decided it was time for a gas (propane converted) dryer.
Our eletric usage dropped a ton. Clothes dry so much faster too.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Hey Phil,The sun and wind still works pretty well, but most of the time we use our electric dryer, although; you could say we use the sun. A few years ago I installed a 10KV PV solar system that's helped reduce our electric bill quite a bit.Maybe when it's time to replace this one I'll figure out how to get a gas line to the laundry room and switch.Jerry
Hey Lou - just be aware that burning propane can produce lots of interior moisture.
Best -
Jeff
If it's a forced air unit I'm guessing it's vented. In which case there's no added interior moisture.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
upstate ny .....tank renrtal is free w/ 1000 gal ... 1.72$/ gal all winter this year
man, that is the best pricing I've ever seen.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
all three suppliers here are about that figger .. Suburban, Burnwell, Amerigas ... $1.72
"all three suppliers here are about that figger .. Suburban, Burnwell, Amerigas ... $1.72"
Suburban Propane charges me $3.83 a gallon here in the western part of the state. Maybe there's a surcharge for small usage (cookstove only) ... typically 7 gallons per fill. And tank rental?
Allen
It is normal to pay a much higher rate for small deliveries.
Edited 9/25/2007 5:37 pm ET by Jerry18