Oil guy couldn't fill my tank today

leonz

For more back round information, and for what it is worth; newer cylindrical oil tanks that are ment to be used outside for fuels and oils are surrounded by capture basins that look like a white cardboard box with the long flaps reaching the top of the tank that act as rainwater, snow and ice preventers to keep water out of the capture basin that surrounds the tank.

These oil capture basins have external forklift pockets under the capture basins that allow them to be moved from placed to place.

gg1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1876660#Comment_1876660

Thanks for your answers. The furnace company is sending someone out tomorrow. He also mentioned if you are thinking of going LP, now might be the time, but he also said, lets look at your tanks. My oil furnace is over 20 years old, but runs good at the moment. So my tanks are starting to go and my furnace is over 20 years old. I guess I need to decide if I want to change. I have a heat pump that is good to about 35 degrees. I'm in the mountains of Pennsylvania and it gets pretty cold here.

No the guy didn't even knock on the tanks, so he might not be the guy that does tanks, he was servicing the furnace.

I have a feeling I am going to be deciding if I should go LP. I mean a 20+ year old Carrier furnace, is pretty old and parts aren't made for it. Thankfully I got a used blower motor from the furnace company. Tanks are both a little wet looking on the bottom, so they are going to need replaced. LP or oil?

gg1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1876662#Comment_1876662

So a basic estimate to replace both tanks and plumb it correctly is going to be around $6,000. So a propane tank I believe is free if I always get propane from the same company. I'll have to check on that to make sure. Changing to propane is what two HVAC guys said to do if I can swing it. I do like that hot oil heat and no outside ugly propane tank.

leonz

Helo and good afternoon gg1,

UGGHHHHH,

what they did not tell you is that there is a charge for disposing of the old oil tanks, the oil in the tanks that has to be vacuumed out, and the time and materials it takes to cut open the tanks in half lengthways with a sawzall and use absorbent pads to suck up the liquid remaining in the tanks and scraping out the sludge and putting it all in DOT approved containers that have ring locking lids.

The waste oil vacuumed out of the tanks will end up at a place that can burn waster oil for heat.

The absorbent pads and sludge scraped from the walls of the tanks are deposited in DOT approved barrels with locking ring lids and taken to an incinerator and dumped out to be burned for fuel.

After the tanks, pipes and oil lines have been cleaned using a citrus solvent to dissolve the oil and scraped sludge, the cleaning cloths are also put in the same DOT approved waste oil barrels and the barrels are carted to an incinerator in most cases dumped out and the barrels are reused.

After all this, the old oil tanks can be sent to a scrap yard to be shredded and smelted back into new steel.

If your oil dealer and a plumber can do this for you all the better.

After all this you will have to decide what fuel to use. Large surface placed propane tanks need to be placed on solid concrete blocks/huge pavers and then you can add landscaping around them to hide them with blue phitzer junipers and lattice fencing or just densely planted rose bushes.

You can buy a very large propane tank and bury it in sand too, which is an option, and they will install the tank and trench a direct line to the foundation and run the copper line to the basement and core through the foundation wall to your furnace.

The more propain you buy the less it will cost per pound so keep that in mind as you could hide two 500 gallon tanks behind painted lattice and shrubbery if this home is going to be a long term residence.

I wish I could be of more help to you.

bburd

@gg1 in your part of the country, heating with propane typically costs about twice as much as heating with oil using modern equipment.

I suggest looking into local propane prices before you decide. Keep in mind the difference in heat content:

1 gallon of #2 fuel oil contains 140,000 Btu of heat.

1 gallon of propane contains 90,000 Btu of heat.

Combustion efficiency is similar, so you will burn about 1.5 gallons of propane for each gallon of fuel oil that you burn now to get the same amount of heat.

SlamDunk

From the comfort of my easy chair, i wouldnt write off those tanks yet based on that photo. Maybe if there was a strong diesel smell….I'm with @bburd onsticking with oil.

You know, a modern oil furnace, properly sized and tuned would pay for itself in fuel savings. My parents had an ancient oil furnace that burned three thousand gallons of oil per winter. We replaced it with a better sized furnace, 80% efficiency, and now burn between 400&500 gallons per year, depending on the winter.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Check the price of propane before you decide. If it was me from what i know about propane prices I would stick with oil.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Its easy to come on this site and have everyone including me tell you how to spend your money.

This is my take.

Propane is going to cost $$. You would still have to remove the oil and the tanks. You can't just abandon them.

Put 1 new tank in. Make it a 330 gallon thank if they can get it down there or a 275. Your previous post said you only get the tanks filled 3-4 times a year. You can easily get by with 1 tank. Your probably getting oil every 2 months now. Once a month is a non issue.

That gets you back running.

See how that goes and then you can save up for a furnace and another tank which you may never need to add. You can have them give you an estimate for another tank and a furnace so you know what your looking at.

I understand big, unexpected expenses

gg1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1876673#Comment_1876673

Thanks. Price of tank removal is $2,000. No value in oil, so I'll run it down. Price for a 500g buried propane tank with me digging (I have a backhoe) is $4,500 installed and plumbed to the house. A Carrier LP furnace installed is about $10K. Damn, this is expensive. My oil furnace is about 30 years old and a Carrier. I can get an above ground 500g tank for free, but married to a company and I just don't think it is a good move. Lease is free, but you can't get a better price.

Price of Oil is about $3.15 and price of propane is $2.59 today.

HydronicMike

"…Price of Oil is about $3.15 and price of propane is $2.59 today…"
138,000/91,000=1.5165
$2.59*1.5165=$3.93 Equivalent price to get the same btu's out of propane.

EBEBRATT-Ed

So 1000 gallons of oil would cost $3150.00. The equal btus in propane is $3930.00. The propane is costing you 25% more.

You mentioned 3-4 fill ups a year. So if you filled up 3 times say 400 gallons each time.

1200 gallons of oil=$3780

= in propane would be$4725. Your saving $1000/ year using oil.

techforlife

The laws of physics overrule the laws of economics every time. Old leaky tanks with issues equal new tanks with proper set up. Unfortunately, your financial situation does not change the situation.