Coalpail.com Forum

cArNaGe wrote:Gave Surburban a call a few days after fill up. I'm gone from 5:30am to 8 pm on the days I work so I couldn't do it right away. They said they would be out the next day to pick up the tank. I got up the next morning. Disconnected the tank and the regulator going in the house.
Took the valve and fittings off ( I paid for them) and put them in the lid. Went to town and bought a 100lb tank and regulator. $230 for that . I came home and the tank was gone. I was surprised. Last week we got a statement with an $842 credit but no check. Got the check today.

WHOOO !! WHOOOO!!!! That'l buy5 or 6 ton of PA's finest!

I just prepaid today for next season's propane, 300 gallons at $2.65, automatic delivery. That's my typical yearly use. Out of curiosity I called another dealer and pretended I own a 300 gallon tank, and asked for a quote on a one-shot 250 gallon delivery. She said $2.60 per gallon. (Actually, her exact words were, "We can do it for two-sixty," and I'm thinking, "260 dollars. Wow! I should have done this years ago".) So I said, "Just slightly over a dollar a gallon, then" and at that point she clarified. Damn.

So based on that small sample, it would be a mighty long payback period if I really DID buy a tank. Incidentally, they said I would have to show them a bill of sale for the tank to prove it's mine. I think some others in this thread have mentioned the same thing.

After a tank is on your property for five or more years you can do a buy out on that tank. My tank is a 1000 gal in ground finished a buy out on it. One it gave me 20 cents off from my supplier but I could also shop anywhere. My supplier wanted to sell propane to me propane for 2.45 per gal. and hes 5 minutes away. Another supplier drove 65 miles to sell me propane for 2.09 per gal. Brian

26Weeks wrote:After a tank is on your property for five or more years you can do a buy out on that tank.

Where do you live? Is that a state law or regulation?

I live in upstate NY and used to deliver door to door. For home heating tanks about 20 cents per gallon will go to the cost of the tank. After 5 years I don't think the propane company will say. Hay thanks for being a loyal customer and helping us pay for this tank heres another 20 cents off per gallon. But I am taking a big chance. My tank has been in the ground since 73 if it leaks its all mine. Brian

I can't stand propane and Suburban is the MAIN reason. It's also expensive. That's why I'm looking deeply in these forums because I want push away from propane. I'll keep the tank, in case of an emergency, but I want the independence with a coal furnace. I can shop around for the coal. FREEDOM.

I have plenty of room in the basement and the duct work is right there. The house is around 2400sqft with 2 floors and master bedroom loft.

poconoman wrote:I'll keep the tank, in case of an emergency

Not if you hang around here very long.

Welcome aboard!

When I moved into my new home I was shocked at the cost of heating with propane compared to the cost of coal so I had a coal furnace installed in parallel with my existing propane furnace. The propane furnace is controlled by a separate thermostat and will come on if the house temperature drops too much. Most of the time the coal furnace provides the all the heat with the propane being used when I am away from home more than a few days. Let me know if you would like to see some pictures of my set up. Most of the important stuff is in the wiring.

I've tolerated Suburban for the last 4 years (Since I bought this place) but no more. I called monday to price a delivery only to find out their price was $3.79/gallon COD. Called another supplier that everyone nearby is happy with, they've been in business many years, yada yada to find their price was $1.79/gallon COD. Gave them my information over the phone, they said they'd be out in less than 10 days to set a new tank. They called yesterday (Thursday) and were here at 9:00 this morning, set the tank, put the propane in, I gave them a check and saved several hundred dollars. As long as Suburban was only gouging me a few cents on the gallon I paid to avoid the inconvenience of switching, $2/gallon was more gouging than I could stand. How do some folks sleep at night?

I hate Suburban with a passion! If I'm able to buy out their 500gl tank and have the freedom to choose a supplier, I'll be a much happier camper. But, my first goal is to do a ton of research and get me a whole house coal furnace. Once that's done, I can go to phase two and get rid of Suburban!

30.06 gets rid of those tanks jiffy quick

Well I ran out of propane this morning! O well I haven't even thought about it since the spring. Time to load my 100 lb tank in the truck and go spend $60.

Thanks for the reminder I need to do the same with the 100# tank today. Just a stove and dryer for the use. A BBQ tank lasts us about 3 weeks.

My friend tells me Suburban sucks here too. Dealt with them in PA and was not entirely satisfied but propane was a lot cheaper then. I deal with a local distributor who is more reasonable.

My propane use is only 200 gallons a year to run my stove, clothes dryer, hot water tank, and occaisionally the furnace. This year I installed my own 100 gal tank. With a usage of only 200 gallons a year they were charging me $3.19 a gal. With my own tank it dropped to $1.99 a gal and it will pay for itself in 4 years. After that it's all gravey.

Got a letter from "Abandoned Property Services, LLC", in the letter is an indication about a check issued to me from Suburban Propain in 2008 for $200+ dollars-that was never cashed. I guess that's my refund for the gas that was in the tank. They wanted the form returned, I have to indicate if I want a replacement check issued. DUH. Also they wanted to know if I have the "stale check" in my possession.