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On my former dairy farm I had 2 new propane tanks.
Since the company owned them, there was no rental fee.
However, if they felt you were using an alternate source of heat and rarely purchased propane, a yearly tank rental fee was assessed.
You mention $9 per month............I can see if you are not using a minimum of $108 per year ( $9x12) they can't keep their tank out at your place .
To start service, one-time $75 installation fee (even though tank already in place and in use by former home owner).
One time $10 safety education fee.
Tank rental fee: $65 per year.
$9 charge per month minimum purchase.
If terminating contract within 3 years, $100 charge.
Sounds like crap to me. I pay $45 per year tank rent. I do a pre-pay sometime around this time each year to lock in a low price for the propane for the upcoming year. That is it.
I'd be looking for other suppliers, and once I found one I'd tell them to cut the BS or take their tank and shove it.
On my former dairy farm I had 2 new propane tanks.
I can see if you are not using a minimum of $108 per year ( $9x12) they can't keep their tank out at your place .
Why not? I am already paying them rental for the tank ($65/yr), I would think that is to pay for the tank being out at my place, no?
This is a weekend home for me, and my family may not even be there one weekend a month. Assume one weekend per month, for those 3 days we'll heat the water heater, cook, and heat the 1000 sqft house in Mendocino County CA (mild winter). Will this burn $108 worth of propane for the whole year? (this is my first time dealing with propane consumption)
I rent a 1,000 gallon tank from our local co-op. I paid none of those fees when I moved in, and pay no rental fees. I typically do a summer cash fill around July to August, and then contract the remaining gallons needed for delivery later in the year. I check their prices annually when I do the summer fill, and they are always within a couple cents of other options I have in the area. I've pretty much concluded it doesn't make sense for me to buy a tank.
With the fees they are charging you, it may be worthwhile to consider buying your own tank. Then you can shop around.
The $9 per month fee is just nuts. Unless this is a really, really small tank - you aren't going to be buying propane 12 months a year. Unless they are averaging your annual purchases, in which case you will be fine.
I would most definitely call around for other suppliers.
When you boot a supplier, they take their tank and the new supplier puts theirs in. I considered buying my own tank but it just didn't make sense financially. The up-front costs would have taken too many years to recover, and when the valve of the company owned tank developed a small leak it wasn't my problem. I had them come in and replace it at no cost to me. In some situations owning your own tank makes sense. It just didn't for me.
One other comment - when there was a supply shortage a couple years back, the locally owned company I used kept all of their customers supplied by temporarily underfilling tanks on the delivery runs (which cost them more money in delivery costs). The national companies just kept on as normal and told customers "tough luck," even though they had contracts.
If I had to own my own tank, I would probably have two (redundancy) and have enough capacity between them for an entire year.
On the consumption, $108 is an underestimate, even on a vacation home.
Years ago I bought a 700 gallon tank, for a 1000ft2 house, fairly well insulated, used gas only for space heating. I could always fill the tank in August or September, when almost all years you get a fairly predictable low in prices, and it would last all winter. But that was with me helping out using a wood stove.
When I married DW, being Russian, she hates all sorts of fans and forced air appliances with a passion, so we just use the wood stove, she's home all day to stoke it. She's happy with that, so the big old propane tank just sits in reserve.
Getting back to OP's question - sounds like a raw deal to me, shop around you should be able to find better.
I never had experience with propane before moving here. We use propane only for our propane fireplace to heat the house, and it does a great job.
When we were looking to buy, we were told to try to find a place where you owned the propane tank. We did that...I think that saves a lot of hassle right there.
I just call the propane company at the beginning of the cold season & they do the fill. If we have run it down to zero & there is no more propane (that always happens) they have to come inside to do a safety check & light the pilot, but there is no charge for that.
There are never any fees like you're talking about. I have no contract. I would find another company & look into buying my own tank, that is what most people in my area do.
Last edited by MarciaMarshaMarcia; 03-25-2017 at 04:04 PM..
To start service, one-time $75 installation fee (even though tank already in place and in use by former home owner).
One time $10 safety education fee.
Tank rental fee: $65 per year.
$9 charge per month minimum purchase.
If terminating contract within 3 years, $100 charge.
Shop around. See what kind of a deal other companies will give you.
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