Propane Changes

Since the day I moved into this house I have hated my propane tank placement and propane provider. The 500 gallon tank was placed in pretty much the only place it could go - smack dab in the middle of my yard. The worst part was that I can see it from anywhere on my property except the opposite side of the house. It is old and rusty and has peeling paint. And on top of that, I could smell propane almost everytime I got near it. And I'm sure that is one of the reasons my vegetable beds don't do very well and the plants always had stunted growth.

On top of that, the propane provider (which owns the tank so no one else can fill it) charges about $1 more per gallon than anyone else. The first winter here I was paying over $1,000 a month to heat this place to 64*! Okay, that was a brutal winter with extremely high propane prices anyway, but it was still $200-$300 more than I would have paid other providers.

The high prices of propane were the impetus for me to get the pellet stoves, but I still need propane for DHW, the cook stove and to use the boiler for back-up heat. I have been using 100-150 gallons per year since then, taking a delivery in the fall. This year I found that my provider was still at $3370/gallon. I figured I would look around for a new supplier (I talked some about that in this post).

Wednesday was the day! Irving brought in two 125 gallon bottles. The tank guys got here first and upon seeing the 500 gallon beheamoth, thought they had brought the wrong tanks. I assured them that they had the correct goods and showed them where I hoped they could place them, beside the garage and under the drip line of the roof (I have a 3' overhang). They were unsure if that was legal since they would be beside a garage window. Perhaps if the window was boarded up they could do so, but they would need to wait for the tech.

The tech arrived and agreed that if I boarded up the window it would be good. They were busy making plans on how the tank guys would place the bottles and lock them out. And the tech would run the line around the corner of the house, but not hook up. And one of the tank guys finally turned to me and told me that if I called when I had the window boarded up, they and the tech would come back out and do the final hookup. How long did I think it would take me to get someone to close up the window?

Then I threw them what was apparently a bombshell - "I can get it done in 10 minutes - I have plywood and a saw, and I'm not afraid to use them."

So I took measurements and went to work cutting the plywood and had it screwed in before they had completed the paperwork (bottles were in place). The tank guys were appreciative that they didn't have to come back out just to unlock the tanks and congratulated me on my handiness. Yeah, I know, cutting a rectangular piece of plywood isn't that tough, nor is screwing it into place, but apparently they weren't used to a woman doing that.

The only hiccup was that I didn't have caulk that would set up in the 30* temps. I assured the tech that I could get some at the local hardware store so he set up the line - which gave him fits since he had to thread it between the siding and the fence post in 30* and very windy weather. He then leak checked it (had to replace a fitting on one of the bottles that had cracked and finished up the paperwork. Since they could only transport the bottles 20% filled, the company will make a fuel delivery next week. The tech cautioned me that they wouldn't fill it if they saw the plywood wasn't caulked up.

No worries - as soon as he left I went into town and got some RTV (high temp caulk that also has a set up temp down to single digit temps) and I caulked it up. I am extremely happy with the guys, the bottles and the placement.

Yeah, and I called my previous propane provider and told them to come pick up their tank. I can't wait to drive up my driveway, or look out from my back door a NOT see the ugly beheamoth in my yard!

Comments

[Cop Car]

Thanks for the photos, Bogie. Your new installation looks spiffy! Isn't it nice when a plan comes together?

[Ruth]

nice!