Underground Propane Tank

[blake5676]

So....the Mrs. and I are getting ready to build a house. It's on an estate lot kind of off the beaten path and has no natural gas to tap into. Looking into the cost of propane tanks and pros/cons.

I can't see myself going all electric. Don't think I'd mind when it comes to HVAC stuff but I can't go back to a non-gas range and the fireplaces I've seen that are electric look terribly fake.

Anybody on here buried a propane tank before when building? Trying to get some feedback on what to look for, best size, costs, etc. From my little research, it appears filling the thing in the offseason is the way to go as propane is much cheaper in the spring/summer. I'm thinking I'll get a 500G tank and would like to run a line for an outdoor gas grill as well. Someone school me on whether I'll notice much of a difference between having natural gas or propane running to the house.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Common sense tells me if you do bury the tank all the valves and piping and anything that could deteriorate would have to be above the ground and accesible for the propane company. I've never seen one buried but I don't see an issue with it . Those things have thick ass walls and if primered and painted really good should last forever.

If you don't want the valves that are exposed as an Isor just put a landscape boulder or something similar to block the view. You could build one of those little cedar well houses around it. That would look good.

[SAUTO]

https://www.propane101.com/undergroundpropanetanks.htm


Some interesting points.

[rockymtnchief]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

If you bury the propane tank, what will the kids play on?

And what would BAWAN use for target practice???

[IUsedToBeATightEnd]

I have one of those 300 gallons buried propane tanks.
All valves and pipings and gauges etc are under the lid, in the upper part which is not buried.
The thing is safe and if you ever need to replace something no need to dig it out.
It's galvanized and coated so it will probably last more than the house.
Must be grounded for some reason.

I never filled it up though, because I have no use for such quantity as I only use propane for cooking and hot water.
Last winter I couldn't plow open the road to my house when the truck of the company was in the area so I ended up for 10 days or so without warm water and no cooking in January...
Although the wife was happy about the non-cooking part of the matter, she was quite pissed about the freezing cold water, so I called on the plumber and had him install a bypass so I can use a 90lbs external tank "just in case".
Since I realized the portable tank lasts me 3-4 months, costs about half as much per gallon (no delivery charges), and I can replace it at my wish, I am no longer using the buried tank.
Wife is happy and so is my wallet.

Moral of the story, put in writing all the terms regarding the time and conditions regarding refills etc, and make sure your consumptions are worthy of installing a buried tank, before you make same mistake.

[RedRaider56]

Originally Posted by blake5676

The neighbor who has propane had a little cap in the ground that pulled off and you could access the valve as well as the meter to read capacity level. I'm definitely not going to lease a tank. I'd be buying it and filling it myself with whoever is cheapest.

As far as capacity goes, I really have no idea how big to get but again the neighbor has 500 and it's been perfect for them so far. The house we're building is about 3,500 sqft which is close to the same size as his as well.

From what I can tell, the cost of the tank is around $2,000 and probably another $1500 to install or so. Well worth it in my opinion to have gas and not all electric.

Here’s what the access to our propane tank looks like. Of course the line to the house is buried right up until it goes to the house. There is an additional regulator there


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[64 Chief]

I lease my buried propane tank. Over 30 years It went bad twice and all the propane leaked out. However because it was leased the propane supplier both repaired it and the second time replaced it for no charge and replaced the lost propane also at no charge. Leasing from an established provider has worked for me however every year or two I have to complain about rate increases and they usually will reduce the price. If natural gas is available always go that cheaper route.

[blake5676]

Natural gas not available. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. But from what I've read, shouldn't be too big of a deal to still have gas in the house by burying propane. I guess outside of cost and people's opinion of whether a buried tank is smart (seems like a common solution although apparently most here haven't seen them) I was wondering if there was a downside to propane vs natural gas. Efficiency, heating capability, etc.

I appreciate the feedback thus far!

[RedRaider56]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Natural gas not available. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. But from what I've read, shouldn't be too big of a deal to still have gas in the house by burying propane. I guess outside of cost and people's opinion of whether a buried tank is smart (seems like a common solution although apparently most here haven't seen them) I was wondering if there was a downside to propane vs natural gas. Efficiency, heating capability, etc.

I appreciate the feedback thus far!

natural gas is typically cheaper than propane and doesn't fluctuate in price/gallon as much as propane does.

[Bob Dole]

I've got a 100 pound tank on a concrete pad, strapped to the side of the house. But my range is the only thing gas in the house.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Natural gas not available. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. But from what I've read, shouldn't be too big of a deal to still have gas in the house by burying propane. I guess outside of cost and people's opinion of whether a buried tank is smart (seems like a common solution although apparently most here haven't seen them) I was wondering if there was a downside to propane vs natural gas. Efficiency, heating capability, etc.

I appreciate the feedback thus far!

You do realize you can produce your own natural gas and it's relatively easy. right

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

You do realize you can produce your own natural gas and it's relatively easy. right

With a personal landfill?

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

You do realize you can produce your own natural gas and it's relatively easy. right

I'd buy a bunch of cows, but I'm too afraid the Green New Deal would force me to slaughter them all and then I'd be back at square one.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Natural gas not available. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. But from what I've read, shouldn't be too big of a deal to still have gas in the house by burying propane. I guess outside of cost and people's opinion of whether a buried tank is smart (seems like a common solution although apparently most here haven't seen them) I was wondering if there was a downside to propane vs natural gas. Efficiency, heating capability, etc.

I appreciate the feedback thus far!

I have a 500 gallon above ground. I've had one issue in 23 years where the valve started leaking. But it sounds like my issue is something that would be the same with an underground tank. Maybe I'm just old school and like the idea of being able to watch it better than burying a bomb. But if its a common thing go for it if you don't want to look at a tank although I'd check into life expectancy before doing it. We have a buried septic tank that settled and caused a backup issue so I'm probably biased about burying things.

As far as running propane goes...I put in an air-air heat pump with backup propane furnace. We live in South Dakota so there are a few months we burn straight propane. I burn 500 gallons a year or less in warmer winters. Our stove runs on propane which is something I would never give up.

The price of propane is based off the price of oil. Some years it costs more than others. The best I have had is .71 per gallon, the worst $1.41.

Good luck.

[IUsedToBeATightEnd]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Natural gas not available. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. But from what I've read, shouldn't be too big of a deal to still have gas in the house by burying propane. I guess outside of cost and people's opinion of whether a buried tank is smart (seems like a common solution although apparently most here haven't seen them) I was wondering if there was a downside to propane vs natural gas. Efficiency, heating capability, etc.

I appreciate the feedback thus far!

As far as efficiency and heating capacity, "propane" is often used as a general term.
LPG is usually a mix of different types of LP Gases including (but not limited to) Butane and Propane.
Mixes (should be referred to as "LPG mix") is less efficient than pure propane and it is what they generally use to fill underground tanks, especially the leased ones, because you can't buy from any other supplier. It's less expensive than pure propane but if the tank is rented you will probably pay LPG as much or more than pure propane.

Small tanks usually contain pure propane, so they have much better heating capacity.
The time required to boil some water when using pure propane is signifcantly less than LPG. This is even more evident if you use propane or LPG for silver soldering or brazing. LPG takes forever.
This is something to consider when evaluating the price of the gas you buy, although its hard to know if the gas company can be trusted about what they claim to deliver - let alone if the guy who delivers it even knows the difference.
If you have neighbors who have been using LPG's for a while you may want to ask them if they noticed any difference, if they ever bought from different suppliers, because the difference is evident.

Any LPG, even mix, has much better heating capacity than natural gas but it is more expensive and LPG's (especially mixes) tend to blacken your pans after a few months, while natural gas burns cleaner.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

[threebag]

I had a step daughter that would leave the ****ing fireplace on all day while I was at work. She would fire that bitch up in the morning and leave to catch the bus without shutting it off. There were times the house was so hot I thought it was going to explode with the rush of fresh air when I opened the door. Needless to say I was filling that bitch up about every 5-6 weeks. Propane is a nice back up and I agree that electric cookware sucks ass unless it’s a crockpot