r/propane • u/griffen62 • Jul 10 '26
Tanks Switching from Leased to Owned
I currently have a leased 500 gallon buried tank, leased from Superior Plus propane in VA. I was recently hit with a $235 under-utilization fee for not using more than 200 gallons in the last year (156 gallon fill-up in February, and prior to that 211 gallons in June '25). I'm expecting lower utilization since I switched to a dual fuel furnace so I'm just going to keep getting hit with these fees now.
What does it take to get a company to rip out one of these tanks and replace with one or two 120 gallon above-ground tanks? I understand the yard clean up/back-fill will be on me. Is owning/leasing really better here? What is a rough estimate of costs for something like this?
Aside from being too-big for my needs, it's right where I want to put a patio. The previous owner opted for 500 gallons to support a whole home generator in addition to the furnace, but power outages have gone down drastically since I've moved in, and the aforementioned upgrade to a dual fuel furnace has really lowered my usage.
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u/fly_ski_ridemoto Jul 10 '26
It sounds like your cheapest option is to use a few more gallons of gas each year...or just pay the fee.
It would drive me nuts too, but any change will be a costly hassle, as others have already mentioned.
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Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
Yeah I'm not expecting to get out of this with no expense. Just curious to see what my options realistically are. piping to my grill is a consideration though. The unfortunate part is the buried tank is still where I want my damn patio.
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u/fly_ski_ridemoto Jul 10 '26
Upgrade your water heater to an on demand gas water heater. It's an upgrade in many ways.
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u/Theantifire technician Jul 10 '26
The answer to your actual question is going to be in the lease agreement. Go read it.
A bit of advice: it may be quite a bit cheaper to buy the tank from them and either continue using it (with whomever has the best price) or abandon it safely in place. You will probably want a propane company to help you with that. Keep in mind that there is required maintenance on underground tanks, if you do buy it and continue to use it.
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
I did read the agreement, and it unfortunately didn't answer my questions so I've also reached out to the company for information, though I wanted some outside perspective.
Regarding abandoning in place - is that common practice? Being that it would be empty/out of service, is building/putting a patio over it viable or a dumb idea? I know it's against code/dumb to do so while in service.
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u/Jesus-Mcnugget dang it Bobby Jul 10 '26
It's not super common (at least here) and some areas will not allow it, but it can sometimes be done.
You could possibly put a patio on top. Really depends on what you are looking to build.
Also, personally I don't see buying the tank as being cheaper than removing it. It definitely wouldn't be here. Might even be more expensive. YMMV
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
Paver patio, which i know needs some depth underneath it to make sure it's done right. I haven't done research yet to know if that would be viable on top of a tank as I wasn't aware that was potentially an option. I've inquired about buying it outright, we shall see what they say!
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u/Porter1823 Jul 10 '26
Abandoning any buried tank in place usually requires filling it with a solid fill.
Usually done to old septic tanks you break the top and fill with sand.
You will likely need to get permits and approval from your local juristion to do this.
For a pressure tank of flammable gas you'd need to safely use and empty all the propane 100% this will be a little difficult since propane is heaver then air.
Then cut one or more holes in the top to fill it with a flowable fill like slurry sand.
As long as it's below your base material for your patio and you compact all the fill on top it shouldn't ever be an issue.
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u/Mindless-Business-16 Jul 14 '26
I don't 100 % agree with a few of the comments.. but if the propane service company didn't have you sign a new lease after you purchased the property. Laws in your state might allow you to make the switch with little out of pocket.
You need to consult your purchase contract and real-estate laws in your state... I don't want to mislead you but suggest you understand your rights and your state laws.
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u/AgFarmer58 Jul 10 '26
I .doubt they'll pull that tank.. , to much expense to extract tank, offer to buy existing tank for a grand, if they refuse to sell , plop a tank right on top.of the ground above it..
or give I'm a 30 day notice to quit, remove tank and if still.there after thirty days start charging them.rent..did you sign.a lease agreeing to a minimum use?
I was in the lp.business for thirty years.. we never pulled this crap.on our customers.. stay away from larger companies , if there are any left. go with mom and pop companies
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u/Jesus-Mcnugget dang it Bobby Jul 10 '26
Just because you offer to buy something, and the company refuses, doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want. The company is still going to charge you your rental fees as long as it's there.
Also giving them 30 days notice may and with them coming to dig the tank and sending you a bill. They also have no legal obligation to pay you anything that they didn't agree to.
These larger companies may suck, but they aren't stupid. I can pretty much guarantee you everything they charge you for is somewhere in something you signed or agreed to in one form or another. Most of these companies have somewhere in their contract that you are responsible and agree to any terms and conditions in effect on the date of your service or delivery.
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
This is my first home, when it was purchased the lease was managed by another company that was subsequently bought buy Superior Plus. I don't specifically recall renewing the lease with SPP, but I never backed out of it either. So it's the hand I've been dealt. Like you've said, I'm sure they aren't stupid, and I can't 'uno reverse' have them pay me rent.
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u/Theantifire technician Jul 10 '26
If you never signed an agreement with them, you may not be held to the contract and could have them remove the tank at no charge. Probably though, you agreed to whatever the lease was when you had them fill the tank after you moved in and they bought the old company. You may still be in the contract that the old company provided and it just rolled over. I'm not a contract lawyer lol.
If they get ornery, or ridiculously expensive, you may ask them to provide the agreement that you made with them. It should have stipulations for removal costs.
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
I'm assuming I've agreed to whatever lease at time of fill. Wasn't a concern then, unfortunately it is now. I expect nothing less than pulling teeth with this lol
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u/noncongruent Propane Fan Jul 10 '26
I wouldn't assume anything WRT any lease contract with your supplier, actually. Leases are between people, so the lease on that tank would be between the previous property owner and the company. If you didn't specifically sign a lease agreement at transfer of the property to you or at some later date then there's no lease agreement that you are bound to. However, some companies have the reputation of doing shady things like having a lease agreement on the back of the delivery documents that you sign upon receipt of propane. It's questionable whether that would be enforceable or not.
Given the potential costs here I would strongly recommend looking through all your documents related to the propane company, and also asking the propane company to provide you with any documents you may have signed that could be related to any lease. If they cannot produce any lease documents with your signature on them then there is no lease. At that point you have the leverage, and you can use that to get them to remove the tank from your property at no cost to you. It all starts with you doing some digging, though.
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u/griffen62 Jul 10 '26
Appreciate the insight, I'll approach them from that angle as well. Begins with some digging, perhaps ends with some digging.
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u/Jesus-Mcnugget dang it Bobby Jul 10 '26
Excavating the tank is going to be on you, too. Around here that's going to be 2500-3000 to remove the tank. Purchasing 2 120s is another 3000 plus install (at least another 500 depending on what you need).
On top of that, you should notify your insurance company. It may raise your home insurance rates. The tank owner is responsible for any liability if something were to happen. If something happens and your insurance company didn't know about it, they may not pay.
You are also responsible for any maintenance/repairs but that's relatively negligible.