Propane Providers

[Cabin Fever]

I'll soon be moving into a house that uses propane. Is there anything I need to consider when choosing a propane provider or just go with who the current homeowner uses (Phelps Sungas)? Seems like it would be easier than having them remove their tank and someone else moving one in. I'm told there's not much difference in price between providers.? Any other advantages or disadvantages?

[SportsmanNH]

You might not be able to switch if its an underground tank and the gas company owns the tank.

If you want to switch companies , the company you want has to negotiate with the company that owns the tank to purchase it.

If you are going to switch companies I would recommend picking a company that has a service department. A lot of heating oil and gas companies have gotten away from service. So if you have no heat in the middle of the night on a friday night in freezing cold temps you have to rely on some plumbing and heating contractor that probably dont answer the phone on weekends. 

Im a builder and I wont do business with a gas company thats putting underground tanks  on new homes I'm building for sale that doesn't have a service department. PERIOD !  

[Cabin Fever]

4 minutes ago, SportsmanNH said:

You might not be able to switch if its an underground tank and the gas company owns the tank.

 

It's an above ground tank.

[Otto]

Hopefully you own the tank. If not, seriously consider buying it or purchasing one of your own.  It helps you negotiate your pricing.  I would stay away from Suburban Propane, I had horrible service from them and they will undercut you in first year and then really up the price after that.  Most people are not willing to change, so they make their money that way.  

How big is the current tank and what does it service?  I had a 500 gallon underground tank and it had to be filled 3 or 4 times a year.  We ran heat, stove, hot water and dryer off it, so it got year round use.  

[Zag]

44 minutes ago, Cabin Fever said:

I'll soon be moving into a house that uses propane. Is there anything I need to consider when choosing a propane provider or just go with who the current homeowner uses (Phelps Sungas)? Seems like it would be easier than having them remove their tank and someone else moving one in. I'm told there's not much difference in price between providers.? Any other advantages or disadvantages?

There is also Valley Propane in Honeoye/Hemlock. I’ve always liked the smaller companies vs the big ones. I know my mother got a better deal with valley vs who she used in the past.

[SportsmanNH]

2 minutes ago, Cabin Fever said:

It's an above ground tank.

That makes it easier to switch companies. They still bitch though but too bad.  The biggest thing is having a service department. 

 

5 minutes ago, Otto said:

Hopefully you own the tank. If not, seriously consider buying it or purchasing one of your own.  It helps you negotiate your pricing.  I would stay away from Suburban Propane, I had horrible service from them and they will undercut you in first year and then really up the price after that.  Most people are not willing to change, so they make their money that way.  

How big is the current tank and what does it service?  I had a 500 gallon underground tank and it had to be filled 3 or 4 times a year.  We ran heat, stove, hot water and dryer off it, so it got year round use.  

Otto with all due respect , you dont want to own the tank even though you do get a small discount in price for liability reasons. It's easy enough to switch above ground tanks after negotiating a price with another company . There is the lease contract between you and the company thats usually 1-3 years, usually 1 year . If you aren't happy with them you can switch. The cost of those tanks is over 3 grand.  The savings for owning your tank verses having a company install theirs is usually less than 10 cents a gallon. Thats 150 a year savings that will take you 20 years to pay for itself . Its big bucks to have someone service the tank and regulator .

One thing I totally agree with you on is Suburban Propane Company sucks. They are robbers . I had one dealing with them and that was the last. They were the propane company that serviced a condo I own as a rental property. When I found out how much they were charging for the propane I got the condo association to throw them out and come and get their tanks . They were charging everyone ( 38 units ) $1.60 MORE than the market price. Their price was $3.70 a gal when the going rate was $2.00 - $2.15 a gal .

[Otto]

@SportsmanNH, my tank was underground, and when I switched the savings was realized in closer to 5 years,  And I upgraded to a fiberglass tank from metal.    It serviced my whole house, so we went through a lot of propane.  

Thankfully, I no longer have to deal with that with a natural gas fired boiler. 

[mowin]

In my area, any underground tank is self owned, not leased or owned by the propane company.  

If you own your tank, you can call around for better price per gallon, and I definitely doesn't take 20 yrs to recoup your cost unless you're only running a cook stove off of a 1000gal tank.  Even then, no monthly lease fees. 

[DDT]

Phelps Sungas was the best but were bought out by Griffith who stinks. Highest price. 

Best I've found is Gromark in Caledonia. Ask for Sean. He services us at two locations.

 

[Bigfoot 327]

Check to see if there is a propane co-op in your area. Their pricing is often a fraction of the commercial outfits that don't have your interests in mind.

[G-Man]

4 hours ago, Cabin Fever said:

I'll soon be moving into a house that uses propane. Is there anything I need to consider when choosing a propane provider or just go with who the current homeowner uses (Phelps Sungas)? Seems like it would be easier than having them remove their tank and someone else moving one in. I'm told there's not much difference in price between providers.? Any other advantages or disadvantages?

There is big price difference between providers call several and have them give you prices for lock in and normal. 

[Steve D]

I have used just about all of them in the area and so far the best price we have got was from Hometowne Energy. We just changed over this year so I can't give long time recommendation but so far so good. If interested I can send the information.