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.

[BlackHelicopters]

Natural gas cheaper.

[Rain Man]

I did a study of utility costs in a rural area several years back, and propane was way more expensive than electric or gas. Not even close. So recognize that you'll be paying a lot of extra money for that gas range.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by 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.

There won’t be a difference.

But don’t bury it. Before you die it will leak. Then you’ll have to dig the ****ing thing up for a goddamned $.50 o-ring. Plus filling the thing will likely be a ****.

If you don’t want it visible, make a concrete box underground with a cover you can put an access door in to fill and maintain.

I’d get bigger than 500G. My sister had one for her trailer house and I’m thinking if it was big enough it wasn’t by much.

When I was in Sidney I had LP. I don’t remember how big the tank was but it was in that range and I had to have it filled at least once a winter.

[tatorhog]

Never personally seen a buried propane tank before. Like Buehler said, too many things to go wrong, plus you need to keep the popoff valve free anyway.

I'm with you though, I'd never go away from gas unless I absolutely had to. I have propane at the house. I contract 600 gallons every year, and that heats the house, and fuels the dryer, hot water heater, and oven/range. At $1.30/gallon, I'm happy with that being my annual cost for that.

The only down side is when you buy appliances, you just need to make sure they send new jets necessary to burn propane instead of natural gas. I just bought a new waster/dryer setup and I'm waiting for the conversion kit in the mail that the dick at NFM said was definitely with it.

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by tatorhog

Never personally seen a buried propane tank before. Like Buehler said, too many things to go wrong, plus you need to keep the popoff valve free anyway.

I'm with you though, I'd never go away from gas unless I absolutely had to. I have propane at the house. I contract 600 gallons every year, and that heats the house, and fuels the dryer, hot water heater, and oven/range. At $1.30/gallon, I'm happy with that being my annual cost for that.

The only down side is when you buy appliances, you just need to make sure they send new jets necessary to burn propane instead of natural gas. I just bought a new waster/dryer setup and I'm waiting for the conversion kit in the mail that the dick at NFM said was definitely with it.

Good to know. I wasn't aware the appliances needed anything different from a normal gas appliance. The next door neighbor has a 500G and said it's been plenty. They moved in and had it filled last Aug. He checked it when I was over there the other day and it was still at 60% capacity and that was after our brutal winter.

As far as not burying it....not a chance in hell my wife would let it stay above ground. And I don't think the neighborhood would allow it either.

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I did a study of utility costs in a rural area several years back, and propane was way more expensive than electric or gas. Not even close. So recognize that you'll be paying a lot of extra money for that gas range.

I was under the impression it was quite a bit more expensive than natural gas, but it looks like if you pick the right time to fill it then it won't be too bad. Crunching the numbers on capacity and current prices for propane look like it won't be much of a difference at all. But that's on paper and might not be in real life.

And honestly, I don't really give a shit. I'm not going back to an electric range and I'm not having some fake flames in the fireplace.

[displacedinMN]

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

[tatorhog]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Good to know. I wasn't aware the appliances needed anything different from a normal gas appliance. The next door neighbor has a 500G and said it's been plenty. They moved in and had it filled last Aug. He checked it when I was over there the other day and it was still at 60% capacity and that was after our brutal winter.

As far as not burying it....not a chance in hell my wife would let it stay above ground. And I don't think the neighborhood would allow it either.

Better see what you can do, as far as getting natural gas brought up to your curb then.

I honestly wouldn't feel safe with a propane tank underground. Granted I'm not a gas expert, but there's enough parts, valves, regulators, etc that can/will fail over time. Maintenance is a must with those things. Maybe they have some designed for burial? I imagine they would be expensive.

the other thing to think about with propane is how/where you get your tank. I have a 500gal one too. When I bought my place, it was part of the sale. So I can buy gas from whoever is the cheapest if I want. If you lease a tank from a vendor, you're locked into that guy for as long as you have the tank. So if the competitor is selling gas 20 cents cheaper, and he fills your tank under the table...the tank owner is gonna be pissed.

[oldman]

I wouldn't bury it just for the reasons others have stated. I can tell you 500 gallons in Kansas over a winter is not enough unless you have another source of heat as your primary. We contract 1400 gallons for our 3200 sq. ft home and we keep the thermostat at 69 during the day, 66 at night. Most companies around here offer a stop and fill option and trust me, you want to take advantage of that. Our price this year was $1.19 per gallon. Summer fill is $.99 a gallon.

[tatorhog]

Originally Posted by oldman

I wouldn't bury it just for the reasons others have stated. I can tell you 500 gallons in Kansas over a winter is not enough unless you have another source of heat as your primary. We contract 1400 gallons for our 3200 sq. ft home and we keep the thermostat at 69 during the day, 66 at night. Most companies around here offer a stop and fill option and trust me, you want to take advantage of that. Our price this year was $1.19 per gallon. Summer fill is $.99 a gallon.

When I first bought this place in around 05, I was up around 1200-1400 gallons, but I've replaced windows and have done a ton of work to seal up air leaks, etc. I'm legit around 600 gallons annually now, in Kansas too. Smaller house, but about 2700sq ft.

[RedRaider56]

We have propane at our house and the tank is buried. We've been in our house for almost 18 years and not one issue with it. The valve for the tank is above ground, so there shouldn't be any maintenance on the tank, unless it rusts through and starts leaking. The only electric appliances we have in the house are the AC units and washer/dryer. Everything else is propane.

The one thing I would suggest is to "buy" the tank vs. lease. If you lease it, you are usually tied into the propane provider that you are leasing the tank from. If you buy the tank you can shop around for the best propane deal.

[tatorhog]

Originally Posted by RedRaider56

We have propane at our house and the tank is buried. We've been in our house for almost 18 years and not one issue with it. The valve for the tank is above ground, so there shouldn't be any maintenance on the tank, unless it rusts through and starts leaking. The only electric appliances we have in the house are the AC units and washer/dryer. Everything else is propane.

The one thing I would suggest is to "buy" the tank vs. lease. If you lease it, you are usually tied into the propane provider that you are leasing the tank from. If you buy the tank you can shop around for the best propane deal.

I'm curious because I've honestly never seen a buried one.

Are you required to have two regulators on your line from your tank? And if so, is the one at the tank accessible with it buried?

And then for the pressure relief, I guess being underground is not going to be as subjected to the same environmental variables that could cause expansion...but do you still have the balloon for the safety indicator?

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by RedRaider56

We have propane at our house and the tank is buried. We've been in our house for almost 18 years and not one issue with it. The valve for the tank is above ground, so there shouldn't be any maintenance on the tank, unless it rusts through and starts leaking. The only electric appliances we have in the house are the AC units and washer/dryer. Everything else is propane.

The one thing I would suggest is to "buy" the tank vs. lease. If you lease it, you are usually tied into the propane provider that you are leasing the tank from. If you buy the tank you can shop around for the best propane deal.

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.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

There won’t be a difference.

But don’t bury it. Before you die it will leak. Then you’ll have to dig the ****ing thing up for a goddamned $.50 o-ring. Plus filling the thing will likely be a ****.

If you don’t want it visible, make a concrete box underground with a cover you can put an access door in to fill and maintain.

I’d get bigger than 500G. My sister had one for her trailer house and I’m thinking if it was big enough it wasn’t by much.

When I was in Sidney I had LP. I don’t remember how big the tank was but it was in that range and I had to have it filled at least once a winter.

This. Don't bury that thing