Residential propane service questions

[ua_guy]

When we moved into our house two years ago we scrambled to find any propane vendor that would drop a tank and fill it on short notice, as we were without hot water or the ability to use the stove. At the time, their prices and service contract seemed reasonable, but as we learn more, we are thinking of changing things up in 2016, which is when our service contract expires.

Do you think it's better to own or lease your tank?

Do you schedule your fill ups when you need it, or do you participate in an auto fill program (based on estimated usage) where the costs are spread over the year?

Are you in a contract, or do you choose the next available/cheapest provider whenever you need fuel?

On tank sizing (ours is 500 gallon) -- do you think going to a larger size is better? I would imagine with a 1000 gallon tank we could have more fuel on hand making it easier to ride out spikes in fuel prices (and hold out until we can cherry pick a drop in fuel prices).

[bjl584]

I own my tank. I found a company that would just come to my property and fill it as needed. No contract and no lease.

I have a 120 gallon tank and use it for my stove and oven only. Signing onto a lease or a contract didn't make sense in my case. There were penalty fees built into the contracts that would back charge you if you didn't use X amount of fuel by a certain date. This wouldn't be an issue if I was heating the whole house with propane, but with a stove only, the tank will most likely last about 2 years.

All that I needed to provide the company was a form stating that I own the tank and a release of liability.

[Fishindude77]

I have a big 5-600 gallon tank set up and installed by my supplier.
While I might be able to own a tank and shop around, i really don't think it's worth the effort. Most suppliers will give a nice per gallon discount if you commit with them early and stay on the keep full program, so they don't have to make special trips to your location.

Unless you are a huge user, like a farm, I don't think this is an area where there are big savings available.

[ua_guy]

I have a big 5-600 gallon tank set up and installed by my supplier.
While I might be able to own a tank and shop around, i really don't think it's worth the effort. Most suppliers will give a nice per gallon discount if you commit with them early and stay on the keep full program, so they don't have to make special trips to your location.

Unless you are a huge user, like a farm, I don't think this is an area where there are big savings available.

We were on a fixed price of $1.99/gal for the first year, but then it went "market rate" after that- sometimes .20-.30 cents higher. If we're using 1500 gallons/year that would be a couple hundred extra in our pockets depending on fuel prices. But, the time to recover that cost is extended because we'd also have to buy a tank. I've seen a range of pricing on those.

Our current service provider isn't interested in negotiating the going rate of propane. I'll call them in July 2016 to see if they'll sweeten the deal since we'll be off-contract.