Home Propane Tank Mount/Base?

[Snattlerake]

It's not safe and it's not legal to bury a propane tank designed for above ground use.

They use the same valves and fittings but they're located differently. The also use a different coating and need a tower/riser to protect everything (in addition to the cathodic protection).

You'd also have to be very careful about the location of the tank because they can float. You'd need to anchor them or bury the feet in cement before you cover the tank. You should also cover the tank with some sort of non-abrasive material (like sand) before backfilling because rocks and other debris can compromise the protective coating and could render the cathodic protective bag useless against corrosion.

Ha, you beat me to it I see.

 

[Raido Free America]

More questions for the newbie country livin' guy.

We have a 1000 gallon propane tank I bought refurbished that will feed our new 24kw standby generator getting installed next week. We will, over time, convert a lot of our home appliances over from electric to propane. Currently whole house is electric and don't care for that. So, I see tanks of all sizes just sitting in yards with the tank's feet sitting on concrete blocks, paver stones or whatever flat hard surface the homeowner had laying around. Rarely see them actually bolted down to a concrete pad or whatnot. My original plan was to forum up two 12"W x 12H "x 4'L concrete "beam" with anchor bolts stubbed up to bolt the feet down. My thought is this will keep the tank off the dirt/grass and give it a bit more sturdy footing andkeeping it in place. With time and energy being so valuable at this time I'm looking to do something else. My next thought was to go buy two best condition railroad ties I could find. Cut them to about 5' long and drill two holes in each one to match the tank's feet down. Would be a one day project rather than take 5 times as long to do the concrete beams.

Do you all think this is a reliable way to keep the tank secure on the ground, etc? I would think the railroad ties would give me 10-15 years of serviceable life before they would need to be replaced. What do you think and what have you all done with your tanks?

You likely know this, but Propane tanks must be inspected, and stamped, on a regular basis before they can be filled. I'm not sure what the time is? A large capasity tank is a good idea because that gives you the option to fill you tank when the price of propane is the lowest, usuially in hot weather, and have it last all winter!

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I'd say a 1000 gal tank is pretty large capacity...

 

[Aries]

Your topic caught my eye. Considering dumping local natural gas supplier switching to propane. Pondering placing propane tank. Nothing but problems with gas company. No one living in one of my houses since 10/21 (initially RV snowbird escape turned into 3 family hospice journey support events, compounded by 3 kids orphaned), water heater shut off, furnace on 40F during winter. Gas company jacked "estimated" usage higher than any month last occupied three years. Wanted access to check meter (meter and regulator in basement). Multiple responses telling them why use was so low, no one in town with access...not coming back 800-1100miles one way to pacify them. They state they are concerned for leak situation....leak would not be lower consumption....DUH. Can't talk to them, to resolve, threatening shut off service. Want service available as out-of-town friends/family have often used house during visits/medical issues. Understanding switch needs tank set/connected, switch appliances to propane, metering, and open account with local propane dealer. Call for refills as needed. No monthly account charges?? Any other issues to be addressed?

Be sure you can legally use propane where you live. Many towns and cities don't allow propane tanks by code. If you live outside city limits though, you probably have the option. Generally, propane is more expensive than natural gas but the price fluctuates so you can mitigate that by planning ahead.

 

[Firpo]

Just for reference, wife and I moved into our house 6/1/20. We’ve gone through ice storms, polar blasts and power outages, to date my 22KW Generac has ran 13 hours. Additionally my cook top is gas and I heat (supplement) my 5bed 3,600sqft house with the two gas fireplaces. Let’s see, what else? I’ve also filled 3-4 5 gallon bottles and with all this have used a total of 50 gallons (approx) of propane. Crunching the numbers that averages out to a monthly cost of $22.92. We have a heat pump, actually three and at first I was using them extensively to heat the house and man what an electric bill. started running the fireplaces and the heaters hardly ever kicked on this past winter. One time we were running on the generator and it kept tripping on “over current”….Say What?? I got curious and put a clamp meter on my service entrance and had the Mrs turn on the heater w/heater strips. Just one of those darn things drew 82 amps. Ridiculous!!

 

[Foxfire5]

I would bury the tank.

I bought an old 1000gallon tank from Suburban propane then welded up (made) two steel two foot high horses welded the horses to the feet of the tank dug a hole poured a concrete reinforced pad. Good luck getting that tank out of there. Thinking about it I shouldn't have sold the old place

 

[Snattlerake]

Come to think of it we refilled our tractor off of the same tank so it was Butane instead of Propane.

 

[TerryMiller]

Come to think of it we refilled our tractor off of the same tank so it was Butane instead of Propane.

Not all tractors ran on butane. I'm pretty sure my dad's and my grandpa's all ran on Propane.

Additionally, if one is using butane instead, if really cold weather comes about, they have to have some propane added to the tank to get the pressure back up in order to have heat.

Another thought came to mind with regards to propane, although this wouldn't apply to the OP's questions. When I used to deliver propane, I had a customer tell me once that he dang near called me up and chewed my a$$ out for letting him run out of propane. A winter storm had hit and took out the electric. He didn't think of the fact that he had central heat and with no electricity, he could have had 10,000 gallons of LP and still couldn't have heated his house.

Another customer I had was building a new house, so I asked if he was going with central or some other type of heater. When he said he was going central, I told him about that other customer's problem. He went home and called his builder and told him to add in two wall furnaces in the new house to supplement the central heat. Sure enough, that next winter we lost electricity and he praised me for weeks after that.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Yep... I just ran my new propane line today as a matter of fact. I now have a shiny new gas kitchen stove instead of that blasted electric range. Also hooked up the gas fireplace. I can now heat and cook if the power goes out.

As a bonus removing the electric range freed up space on my panel for my generator switch. I'll start on that next.

We can be off-grid capable as soon as I get the generator switch installed. Looking forward to having that redundant capability.

 

[rickm]

LOL might want to check but alot of gas cook stoves today wont light without electric even if you hold a match to them.