Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

ceh209

Hi there, I'm looking at moving house and we've viewed a house with LPG and an underground tank, and I've no experience of this at all.


Do underground tanks vary a lot in size? We've been told it's currently owned by Calor and is ~£660 to fill, which lasts about a year, but I don't know what ppl that is. Plus £24 a month for tank rental - which seems high compared to what else I've found online, but I don't know if that info is out of date.


We're looking at mainly rural houses so were expecting oil.. excuse my ignorance I never knew LPG was used for heating houses!

AdrianC

There's a lid to the tank, giving access to the valves etc. You should be able to see the tank data plate through that, which'll tell you what size it is. What price the ex-owners are paying for gas and/or tank rental is irrelevant to you, because you'll sign up to your own contract.

LPG is only a little different to natural (mains) gas - there's a different jet needed for the cooker/boiler to use it.

ceh209

AdrianC wrote: »

There's a lid to the tank, giving access to the valves etc. You should be able to see the tank data plate through that, which'll tell you what size it is. What price the ex-owners are paying for gas and/or tank rental is irrelevant to you, because you'll sign up to your own contract.

LPG is only a little different to natural (mains) gas - there's a different jet needed for the cooker/boiler to use it.

Thanks - does that mean you can negotiate the tank rental cost as well as the gas price? I didn't know if that was more fixed.

AdrianC

I'm on an overground tank, and the rental is around the 17p/day mark from every single supplier so far. Underground - entirely different kettle of fish, of which I have no experience, sorry.

Jez1009

£660 to fill suggests perhaps a 2000 litre tank (@c33ppl)?


Just renegotiating my 2 year LPG contract at the moment and Underground tank rental for me varies by supplier from £63 to £126 per annum if that helps. Like all things in the world of LPG it seems the cost is negotiable....

ceh209

Thank you everyone, if we get this house I will get my negotiating hat on!!

J_B

ceh209 wrote: »

Thank you everyone, if we get this house I will get my negotiating hat on!!

Maybe a read through some of this thread would help ... it's only just under 3000 messages!!

Bethmiss

Hello All

I could do with some more advice please. Gas ordered Tues 28th Nov, confirmed price still at 28ppl. Note on account to say tank level below 15%. I think I actually said it was about 14%, and no special rush for delivery.

Gas delivered Tues 5th Dec. It's a 2000 litre tank, and is only ever filled to max of 85%. We couldn't have used more than 10% in a week, so it couldn't have been empty. According to (very faint) JGas delivery note tank held 1756L, and is full at 85%. Can somebody please tell me how that is possible? Thank you very much. If I'm being dense about this, then I'm sorry. Other people I've asked calculate this the same way I do, but they're not familiar with LPG.

mcmullank

Bethmiss wrote: »

Hello All

I could do with some more advice please. Gas ordered Tues 28th Nov, confirmed price still at 28ppl. Note on account to say tank level below 15%. I think I actually said it was about 14%, and no special rush for delivery.

Gas delivered Tues 5th Dec. It's a 2000 litre tank, and is only ever filled to max of 85%. We couldn't have used more than 10% in a week, so it couldn't have been empty. According to (very faint) JGas delivery note tank held 1756L, and is full at 85%. Can somebody please tell me how that is possible? Thank you very much. If I'm being dense about this, then I'm sorry. Other people I've asked calculate this the same way I do, but they're not familiar with LPG.

There are a few things here:
1. LPG is a gas and what you get delivered is a liquid. The conversion between the two is dependent on temperature and pressure and the standard is based on 15°C and 101.3kPa. Therefore the actual number of litres that you have delivered will normally be charged based on these standards. It does mean that with a 2000ltr tank, you may have a variance of 50 litres just based on the temperature when you get your delivery.
2. The percentage gauges are not that accurate. In fact I have the same size tank as yourself and have received a delivery of 1876 litres into the tank and it has shown 85%! It also wasn't completely empty when filled.
3. A 2000 litre tank is normally able to take a maximum of 2200 litres which is how i could receive the delivery mentioned previously.

Hope this helps.

Bethmiss

Huge help thank you mcmullank. I knew temperature came into it, and now I also understand why Del Note has corrected to 15 degrees C on it.
Previous largest fill was 1634L and that was a long time ago.

I'll wait with interest to see if JGas man comes back with such an easily understood explanation!