Propane tank size?

[Dave2590]

Just bought a Hayward H400HDP(400,000 btu) propane pool heater. I spend winters in Central Florida where my pool is but also have a home in Northwest Pa. Apparently the propane industry is different in Florida. There are few dealers nearby and they will not provide a large tank (over 120 gallon) unless the consumer purchases it. A 120 gallon tank rents for $75 a year but I believe you are then tied into the dealer as far as tank refills at whatever price they want to charge you for propane. In Pa I use propane to heat my house and have a 500 gallon propane tank that is provided free by the dealer. Propane gas is reasonable.
I can buy a 250 gallon tank for $1,275 and a 500 gallon for $1,650. Total cost for the 500 gallon tank including installation and filling the tank is over $3,100 ! For the 250 gallon tank over $2,100 ! I think the only upside to having your own tank is being able to shop for propane and not being tied in to my dealer. I should mention that I have an above ground pool so not sure of its longevity. Its 2 years old now.

I read somewhere that an undersized tank can cause freeze ups due to inadequate vaporization. Having said all this what size tank would you recommend?

 

[Donldson]

Here is something I found that should be helpful:

Some rough number crunching...

My 400K natural gas heater consumes 1cf about every 14 seconds, so an hours worth is about 250 cf. (Your propane consumption will likely be different)

120 Gal of propane is roughly 4200 cubic feet (guessing by a chart I saw) you have about 16 hours worth of gas in the tank.

Some more quick and dirty math, your heater should be able to raise your pool temperature by 2-3 degrees per hour. So it largely depends on what you expect your use to be and how much heat your pool loses, but to me a 120 gallon tank seems a bit small for your situation.

EDIT: I deffer to CJadamec's estimation that you would be using 4.4 gallons/hr. I hadn't noticed that the post I quoted was comparing a natural gas heater to propane, which isn't a good 1:1 comparison. The 2-3 degree per hour estimate should be accurate though.

 

[CJadamec]

For a 400kBTU heater I wouldn't go less than a 500 gallon tank or (2) 240 gallon tanks. You can freeze a propane tank by drawing too much gas off of it. Having the tank buried in the ground generally helps to keep that from happening.

400kBTU's will consume about 4.4 gallons of propane per hour of run time. There are 91kBTU per gallon of propane.

About 4 years ago I bought a 500 gallon tank and after all the bills were paid it cost me 3700, the propane to fill after it was installed was extra. I don't know about the propane market in florida but where I am since I own the tank I am paying at least 1 dollar per gallon less then people I know that rent tanks. At times I've seen people who rent their tanks pay more than double my price per gallon and those people consume as much if not more propane per year than I do.

In short yes buying your tank will cost extra but you should basically pay for the cost of the tank in a couple years from lower fuel costs.

 

[HiddenRiver]

This is all great information that I have been wondering about for our soon to be installed propane gas heater. Wish we had natural gas available but, we are glad to have alternate heat. I don’t think this gas heater will use as much gas as a pool but it’s good to know relative costs! Thanks!

 

[CJadamec]

I'm in the Northeast and heat my home with propane. I also cook, make hot water, and dry clothes with propane. Over the last 4 years since we built the house I'm averaging 1000 gallons a year of propane for everything. Heating with propane is much cleaner and quieter than oil heat in my opinion. Adding to that, wall mount condensing boilers reach 96% efficiency.

 

[ps0303]

Yes FL is different on many things as compared to northern states. They don't usually give away tanks for free down here.

Do you live in an area where you have a HOA as that might also dictate what you do for the propane tank. Most of Dade City is rural so you might be lucky.

I routinely come across many 400K units on tanks less than 500g.

If you can, I would consider purchasing your own tank so that then gives you the option to purchase propane from any dealer you wish.

I sent you a PM.

 

[Dave2590]

A big thank you to all the replies ! I've resigned myself to buying a tank and believe I will go big with a 500 gallon. One more company to call and get an estimate. Thanks again.