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this stuff is actually kind of confusing. my house uses propane for heating, water and cooking, so i'm in the process of setting up a new account with a company. the awesome french Canadian guy that fixed everything in my house replaced/installed a propane water heater so now i've been calling propane companies. i have an old 420 pound (96 gallon) tank and a 100 pound tank i both own. at first i thought since the 420 pound tank is old that it's no good any more. but there are no obvious holes or leaks and then i thought, instead of just getting rid of it and leasing a new one from a propane company that would be delivering propane, i could instead have it re-certified. from my previous experiences propane services seem like a shady business. prices change, and it doesn't seem like you can even go out and buy your own 420 pound tank. so once you pick a company and pay a $250 installation fee and lease one of their tanks, you're like married to the company. and if they jack up the price of service and delivery you can fire them but then have to go through the process all over again. the fluctuation in prices depends on how much propane you use and the market. but if you own your own tank, you appear to have more flexibility.
it's kind of a long story. i guess over 10 years ago i used to have this angry old man for service. if i didn't pay him right away he would fucking bang on my door. and then the house started falling apart, and my propane heater broke and water heater was turned off. so i started using electric heaters and the wood stove. so i used no propane and the tanks stayed full. and he comes out and says he filled it and tries to charge me. so i caught the guy ripping me off and fired him. i had two 420 pound tanks when i moved in, one was being used and the other was not and off to the side. i assumed when the landlord hired him he came down and removed the old tank, put it off to the side, and had my landlord lease a newer one from him. so when i fired him he came and took his tank, hooked back up the old one and left.
a year later he sells his business to a big company. and includes me as a customer. i tell the new company to fuck off and they start sending me a bill for the 420 pound tank or return it. now, to tell you the truth, i really have no idea who owns the 420 pound tank that's left behind. all i know is there were 2 big tanks when i moved in, one in use and one not. so i tell the company that i had fired the angry old propane man a year ago and he came to the house and took his tank and the one currently installed was mine. and i think this is true because otherwise it wouldn't have been put aside all those year or he would've taken it. then one day i see two guys from the new company in my back yard trying to take/steal the tank. so i yell at them and tell them i own it and the angry old man ripped them off. this worked.
there was old 100 pound tank hooked up to the 420 pound tank (you fill the big tank through the small tank), but that broke one day and i bought a new 100 pound tank at home depot. i forget why i turned the propane water heater off, but i started using it again. i would take the 100 pound tank, which was sort of heavy, and put it in my car and drive to a place and fill it up. and then drag it back to my backyard and hook it up. lol. i wonder if the 420 pound tank left behind really was his and i ripped them off. yet, it doesn't make sense leaving a 420 pound tank unhooked and off to the side all those years. there didn't seem to be anything wrong with and i used it after he was gone.
one of the companies i called last week and set up an appointment to have tanks installed and serviced was the company that tried to steal it. they sent me a contract through email to sign and send back but it was in PDF. i couldn't edit the PDF file so i assume i was supposed to print it and sign it and then take a picture of it and upload it and send it back? then i talk to my neighbor Pedro and discover they (same company) are charging him $5.95 a gallon while they quoted me at $2.59 a gallon. this could be because he uses less propane but still, that's a big difference. Pedro wasn't too happy to hear about that. so i call them back and tell them i am going to wait before signing the contract and see what my options are. ..now i am worried i just fucked myself and they might come out and try to steal that 420 pound tank again even though it's been a long time.
so i called a different company today and he's going to come out tomorrow and check everything out. i have no idea if this 420 pound tank can be refurbished, used or recertified. maybe the tank is good and it's the apparatus (valves) just needs to be checked and replaced. it's at least 25 years old, but if it was no-good or worthless, why would that other company have wanted to steal it or have me pay for it before.
it's kind of a long story. i guess over 10 years ago i used to have this angry old man for service. if i didn't pay him right away he would fucking bang on my door. and then the house started falling apart, and my propane heater broke and water heater was turned off. so i started using electric heaters and the wood stove. so i used no propane and the tanks stayed full. and he comes out and says he filled it and tries to charge me. so i caught the guy ripping me off and fired him. i had two 420 pound tanks when i moved in, one was being used and the other was not and off to the side. i assumed when the landlord hired him he came down and removed the old tank, put it off to the side, and had my landlord lease a newer one from him. so when i fired him he came and took his tank, hooked back up the old one and left.
a year later he sells his business to a big company. and includes me as a customer. i tell the new company to fuck off and they start sending me a bill for the 420 pound tank or return it. now, to tell you the truth, i really have no idea who owns the 420 pound tank that's left behind. all i know is there were 2 big tanks when i moved in, one in use and one not. so i tell the company that i had fired the angry old propane man a year ago and he came to the house and took his tank and the one currently installed was mine. and i think this is true because otherwise it wouldn't have been put aside all those year or he would've taken it. then one day i see two guys from the new company in my back yard trying to take/steal the tank. so i yell at them and tell them i own it and the angry old man ripped them off. this worked.
there was old 100 pound tank hooked up to the 420 pound tank (you fill the big tank through the small tank), but that broke one day and i bought a new 100 pound tank at home depot. i forget why i turned the propane water heater off, but i started using it again. i would take the 100 pound tank, which was sort of heavy, and put it in my car and drive to a place and fill it up. and then drag it back to my backyard and hook it up. lol. i wonder if the 420 pound tank left behind really was his and i ripped them off. yet, it doesn't make sense leaving a 420 pound tank unhooked and off to the side all those years. there didn't seem to be anything wrong with and i used it after he was gone.
one of the companies i called last week and set up an appointment to have tanks installed and serviced was the company that tried to steal it. they sent me a contract through email to sign and send back but it was in PDF. i couldn't edit the PDF file so i assume i was supposed to print it and sign it and then take a picture of it and upload it and send it back? then i talk to my neighbor Pedro and discover they (same company) are charging him $5.95 a gallon while they quoted me at $2.59 a gallon. this could be because he uses less propane but still, that's a big difference. Pedro wasn't too happy to hear about that. so i call them back and tell them i am going to wait before signing the contract and see what my options are. ..now i am worried i just fucked myself and they might come out and try to steal that 420 pound tank again even though it's been a long time.
so i called a different company today and he's going to come out tomorrow and check everything out. i have no idea if this 420 pound tank can be refurbished, used or recertified. maybe the tank is good and it's the apparatus (valves) just needs to be checked and replaced. it's at least 25 years old, but if it was no-good or worthless, why would that other company have wanted to steal it or have me pay for it before.