On Fri, 27 Sep 2013 05:56:53 -0700, wrote:

If it were me, I'd just continue to use the existing
tank. And if I could find the previous owner, I'd contact them and ask
who owned the tank.

Well, I've changed my mind based on the information in this thread.
But I'm still lining up my ducks!

Basically, I realized from what was said here, that I don't
actually own the existing tank. So it's probably theirs (if they
can prove it - which they probably can).

So now I'm stuck paying $120/year, which, if it costs $1000 to put
in a new 1000-gallon tank, has a break-even point of about 10 years,
which seems worth it (since there's the additional savings of being
able to switch suppliers and saving an addition 25 to 50 cents
per gallon, which, on 1,000 gallons, could be as much as a few
hundred bucks per fill).

However, I just found out that a new 500 gallon tank, from the
same company that I'm using now, is actually around $1,800 &
a new 1,000 gallon tank is double that (they said the cost is
about $3.60/gallon).

So, that changes the economics but the equations are the same.

SAVINGS:
Yearly rental $120/year
Price-per-gallon savings (varies, but can be as high as $1)
Number of gallons per year (varies, but roughly 1,500 to 2,000)

COST:
$3,600 for a 1,000 gallon tank (dunno if regulator is included)
$400 for plumbing, pad, and trenching (I'm roughing costs out)

BREAK EVEN:
Assuming I can save, on average, 75 cents per gallon on about
1,500 gallons, that's a savings of $1,245 per year if I own
the tank.

Given the cost of ownership is $4,000, it would take only 3
years to make my money back - so that's a no brainer (since
it's less than 5 years) to own the tank myself.

If I assume a savings of only 50 cents per gallon, that brings
the break-even point to 4-1/2 years, which is still a no
brainer (since it's still less than 5 years).

So, if the company starts charging me rent for the tank,
and, at the same time, limits me to only them for fuel,
it seems to be a no brainer (by my logic anyway) to simply
buy the tank (maybe they will sell me that exact tank so
that I don't have to put a new pad in to meet the new rules).

Is my logic sound?