I just picked up a couple 500 gallon propane tanks today in Damariscotta, Maine. They have a couple others available. One of them is 1000 gallon (42" dia. X 16 feet long up on a high stand a foot or two off the ground and the other is 250 gallons. I was going to go take a look at them but as I got mine strapped down to the trailer the thunderstorm pulled in and I was back in the pickup. They looked in decent shape. Mine haves some loose paint but no serious rust on them. He said he wanted $800 for the big one and I didn't ask about the smaller one. I asked if he minded if I posted his # here and he said sure, he wanted to sell them. Call Troy @ Colby & Gale 207 563 3414.
Propane tanks available in Midcoast Maine
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Darn their not that far from me, didnt even know about them. Ya not interested in selling one of your 500 gal tanks??
~ Phil
~ Phil
No, Phil, I want 1000 gallons. Good to ask though. I couldn't get that big one into my 15'4" basement corner. Some 1000's are only 15' long and that was what I was looking for. This one has fully spherical ends which makes them a little longer for their volume than the ones with flattened ends. I'm going to piggy-back them and get a little higher vertical stratification. Going to be a fun project with my nuclear rated welder colleague at work.
Hi Dave, I had to ask. Im actually thinking of calling about the 250 gal one as I think some storage is better than none and I think if I could find a 500 gal later that would make 750 which may be enough for my house. I could stack the 250 on top of the 500.
Haqve a welder friend that can do this work thats great. The welder I know is leary of welding on a propane tank. Ive been told that just filling the tank with water and draining it will remove all gas from it, also just exposing it to air the gas will evaporate but Id still be leary myself welding on a tank.
What are you using to weld on for fittings? Black pipe threaded adapters??
~ Phil
Haqve a welder friend that can do this work thats great. The welder I know is leary of welding on a propane tank. Ive been told that just filling the tank with water and draining it will remove all gas from it, also just exposing it to air the gas will evaporate but Id still be leary myself welding on a tank.
What are you using to weld on for fittings? Black pipe threaded adapters??
~ Phil
Phil, What Troy (or any propane professional I would think) did to the tanks I got was to pull all the fittings at top (fill valve, gage, etc.) and fill it with water. That drives all the propane gas out. Then they pump the water back out. If they didn't do that they would be selling you a bomb. I don't believe the old husband's tales about propane leaking out of the "pores" of the steel and exploding later. However, even though ethyl mercaptan ( the 'smell' of gas) is water soluble it doesn't mean the tank won't stink to high heaven after this procedure. Another thing that he did that was suggested somewhere on this forum was painted in large letters "WATER" on the sides and ends of each tank. He leaves the fittings off so the tank is open or it legally becomes a "tank" and requires a permit to take over the road even if it is empty (500 gallons or more).
I stuck a blower onto some PVC pipe I had laying around and reduced it to a couple of 30" long 1" pipes thru a tee down into the tanks and am just going to push air through it for a month if I have to, just to reduce the smell out of consideration of my welder friend. Might shoot a coat of black paint on the tops so they get really hot in the summer sun; maybe boil it out better.
They'll load it with a fork truck by the end so they can put it right into a pickup. I bet the 250 weighs 600 lbs. so plan ahead. Good luck
I stuck a blower onto some PVC pipe I had laying around and reduced it to a couple of 30" long 1" pipes thru a tee down into the tanks and am just going to push air through it for a month if I have to, just to reduce the smell out of consideration of my welder friend. Might shoot a coat of black paint on the tops so they get really hot in the summer sun; maybe boil it out better.
They'll load it with a fork truck by the end so they can put it right into a pickup. I bet the 250 weighs 600 lbs. so plan ahead. Good luck
Phil, got carried away with my lecture about used tanks, forgot your last question. I'm going to use some heavy wall steel tubing to connect the pipes. 3 or 4 inches dia. to reduce turbulence. To weld to the tank use only "forged" fittings. Most of the commonly available fittings are cast or malleable and don't weld securely. A Standard Heavy Flange in 2" is less than $7 from MSC (mscdirect.com) or any industrial plumbing supply should have them. That will give you a nicely welded,rugged female pipe thread into the tank. You can use regular black pipe to screw into that. I'm going to lead into the tank with larger pipe than the rest of the system to help reduce turbulence that might break up the temp stratification. You could also weld on any other forged fitting you fancy but forged fittings do cost a lot more than malleable black iron and the threaded flanges are comparitively cheap. If you want to weld it, low carbon steel (forged or machined from bar) is OK, cast or malleable is not.
I cleaned up my old tank, and I have to say, the fear of a lingering smell seems overblown to me.
I filled mine with water, added a gallon of bleach, and let it sit for about a week. Drained it, let it sit for another week open, and the finally hooked up an air compressor and blew it out several times - the smell is almost no existent, or at a minimum, very benign.
Anyone considering a used propane tank, I wouldn't not do it just because of the fear of the smell - its seems easily rectified.
I filled mine with water, added a gallon of bleach, and let it sit for about a week. Drained it, let it sit for another week open, and the finally hooked up an air compressor and blew it out several times - the smell is almost no existent, or at a minimum, very benign.
Anyone considering a used propane tank, I wouldn't not do it just because of the fear of the smell - its seems easily rectified.
HI Dave thanks for filling me in, he has two 250 gallon tanks which Im thinking of buying, waiting to hear back from one place that MAY be willing to sell a 500 but dont know the price for. Onice I know Ill decide.
so your going to connect the two tanks with big 3 or 4 inch pipes? I take it your going to get them welded in place as they will become one unit afterwards.
Also sounds like you will be plumbing them in series IE hot into top of one, at top and its return into top of second at top and its return on the bottom?? Ive wondered what the best setup is, I see some folks running them in series and some in parallel.
MrEd, thanks for the suggestion on how to clean them out, im in no hurry so that sounds like a good way to do it.
~ Phil
so your going to connect the two tanks with big 3 or 4 inch pipes? I take it your going to get them welded in place as they will become one unit afterwards.
Also sounds like you will be plumbing them in series IE hot into top of one, at top and its return into top of second at top and its return on the bottom?? Ive wondered what the best setup is, I see some folks running them in series and some in parallel.
MrEd, thanks for the suggestion on how to clean them out, im in no hurry so that sounds like a good way to do it.
~ Phil
Chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide will break down the mercaptan. I read about it but opted for the fresh air flush because I think what will oxidize the stink will oxidize the steel tank. If time were short I would have done it that way. Good to know someone tried it and it works.
Phil, Yeah, I'm going to weld them into one unit. Not only at the passage between the tanks but support legs between them to the ground. That will make it more difficult to get into the daylight basement but hoisting one boiler on top of another and sealing them together would be very tricky down there. I'd rather do all that with a forklift at work. They will weigh over 10,000 lbs. when full, I want them solid. Boiler supply water will come in at the top on one end. Then it will go down to the far end bottom into the top of the bottom tank and out the other end at the bottom. Makes the most sense to me. I'll post photos when I get to that point but it won't be until cold weather.
Phil, Yeah, I'm going to weld them into one unit. Not only at the passage between the tanks but support legs between them to the ground. That will make it more difficult to get into the daylight basement but hoisting one boiler on top of another and sealing them together would be very tricky down there. I'd rather do all that with a forklift at work. They will weigh over 10,000 lbs. when full, I want them solid. Boiler supply water will come in at the top on one end. Then it will go down to the far end bottom into the top of the bottom tank and out the other end at the bottom. Makes the most sense to me. I'll post photos when I get to that point but it won't be until cold weather.
Sounds great dave, good luck. I plan on stacking them as well but will just have a couple of fittings going from top to bottom probably 1 1/4" PEX as I will be buying that to connect the tanks to the wood boiler. Thanks for the link on where to get fittings. THe storage is last on my list, need to get the wood boiler in first but figured Id secure the tanks as they appear hard to get. IM thinking if 500g isnt enough to go till the next firing (plan on two a day) then Ill get a third. NoFossil has 800 gal and appears to be enough. Im also looking to have a flange welded onto the top tank to put in a domestic HW coil, You dont by chance know of a source for those?? Ive found some DHW coils but no flanges yet.
Good luck.
~ Phil
Good luck.
~ Phil
Phil, I also want to put a DHW coil in the tank. Flanges get expensive very quickly as they get larger diameter. Take a look at Weldbend.com. My computer locks up when I use the attachment function so you'll have to type it in. F.W. Webb in S. Portland might have them. Probably a good question for a seperate post but I want to use a copper coil through a steel flange; sounds like galvanic apocalypse to me. Maybe through a bronze bushing? I have too many fires in my frying pans to do more than an occasional burst of research into it right now. Let us know if you find a foolproof solution real cheap and easy, huh.
Phil,
I got a flange and gasket from this place.
http://www.hydro-eng.com/flanges_gaskets.htm
I think it was $65.00 for the 12” flange and $25.00 for the gasket. Here’s a picture of them.
Ron
I got a flange and gasket from this place.
http://www.hydro-eng.com/flanges_gaskets.htm
I think it was $65.00 for the 12” flange and $25.00 for the gasket. Here’s a picture of them.
Ron
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Hi Ron, thanks, I saw that in your post, unfortunatly I cannot mount my tanks standing up, I think thats the ideal way as there is less surface area on the top for heat loss, IE insulate the smaller top area and sides well and vertical mounting will have less heat loss. With it like that you can weld yoru flange on the bullet end and get a easy fit. I will need to mount mine on the curved side so will need a flange that has a neck so the flange sticks out some. I know nothing about this, can a welder aquire and weld on a 6 in piece of pipe to a flange like you have? Then weld that onto the tank? I was looking for a flange with a neck, which are alot more expensive and they are smaller sizes what Ive found so far.
Have you also located a DHW coil to mate to this flange already??
Thanks
~ Phil
Have you also located a DHW coil to mate to this flange already??
Thanks
~ Phil
Phil,
My welder is adding a short riser between the flange and the tank to make more room for the bolts. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t contour the bottom of a riser to the radius of your tank. In fact that is what I was originally going to do before I decided on vertical tanks.
Ron
My welder is adding a short riser between the flange and the tank to make more room for the bolts. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t contour the bottom of a riser to the radius of your tank. In fact that is what I was originally going to do before I decided on vertical tanks.
Ron
So Ron, hes welding on a piece of 12" pipe to form the riser? Also, have you found a source for a DHW coil that will bplt up to this flange? Ive found a couple of sites that sell DHW coils but not alot of info on the bolt patterns. Heres one with several round sizes available.
www.boilersupplies.com/tankheaters/american.html
You can go up one level (strip off the american.html) and see more dhw options.
~ Phil
www.boilersupplies.com/tankheaters/american.html
You can go up one level (strip off the american.html) and see more dhw options.
~ Phil
Phil,
Sorry, I missed your last question.
I’m going to make my own DHW coil. My welder is fabricating the lid. I wanted him to braze a pair of ½” x 4” long brass nipples in the lid but he was unsuccessful. He felt certain that 4” steel nipples would be okay and that there was probably some steel in my system already. I checked and sure enough there is some steel between the well and the taps now. Not really a surprise in a stone house that was built in the early 1800’s. I don’t know when “modern” plumbing was added but some steel was used. I told him to go ahead with the steel nipples. I will have brass fittings on both ends of the steel nipples and the feed and supply lines will be PEX. The coil will hang from the underside of the lid.
Ron
Sorry, I missed your last question.
I’m going to make my own DHW coil. My welder is fabricating the lid. I wanted him to braze a pair of ½” x 4” long brass nipples in the lid but he was unsuccessful. He felt certain that 4” steel nipples would be okay and that there was probably some steel in my system already. I checked and sure enough there is some steel between the well and the taps now. Not really a surprise in a stone house that was built in the early 1800’s. I don’t know when “modern” plumbing was added but some steel was used. I told him to go ahead with the steel nipples. I will have brass fittings on both ends of the steel nipples and the feed and supply lines will be PEX. The coil will hang from the underside of the lid.
Ron
Wow your going all out and crafting even the DHW coil too. Well take pictures of that before you put it in, Id be interested in hearing how you do that. Can purchase a DHW coil for about $300 but without a flange, if the same Co would sell both it would be easier... I guess I could have a cover for the flanges you found created and then cut out an opening for the DHW in that but that sounds clugy and another seal to potentially leak...
~ Phil
~ Phil
Hi all,
Great info here on the forum, been reading and learning as I put my system design together.
For those in Maine, there is a source of tanks across the border in New Brunswick.
http://www.triprovince.com/index.asp?DocID=4
I was quoted $600 (CDN) for a 1000 gallon. I hope to get mine a little closer to home, but thought I'd mention this in case it helps someone out.
Great info here on the forum, been reading and learning as I put my system design together.
For those in Maine, there is a source of tanks across the border in New Brunswick.
http://www.triprovince.com/index.asp?DocID=4
I was quoted $600 (CDN) for a 1000 gallon. I hope to get mine a little closer to home, but thought I'd mention this in case it helps someone out.
Well I got one 250gal tank, the guy at Colby and Gale decided afterwards he would keep one of the tanks, said it was repaireable. Im glad I only got a 250, its big enough for me to cope with, no tractor, heavy lifting and getting into the basement will be easier. Ill start with one 250 and see where it goes, I could easily stack two of them.
Another thought is standing it on end, I may be able to but would only be able to put about 1 ft of insulation on top of it. I would think stratafacation would be better in a vertical tank. It would be inside and under our bedroom so really the heat would not be lost. Any thoughts??
Another thought is standing it on end, I may be able to but would only be able to put about 1 ft of insulation on top of it. I would think stratafacation would be better in a vertical tank. It would be inside and under our bedroom so really the heat would not be lost. Any thoughts??
You could break out the demo hammer and cut into your floor and hand dig out and re pour and insulate the floor down lower to give you some room. Of course you would be too tired to get to the gym for a workout. 
I dont think my wife will let me. I filled and drained the tank once, boy does it stink! Its pretty far away from the house but we can smell it way down the road when we walked the dog. Going to fill it tonight with bleach in it and let it set a couple of weeks, we are luckly heading off for camping this weekend and wont be around to smell it!
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