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How long does a 500 gallon propane tank last? Someone can easily guess that the duration depends on the usage. Is that true? Yes, that could be true, but there are just a lot of things you need to know about this answer.
A 500-gallon propane tank is quite huge, and on average, it should last a household for up to 4 months, at least. Regardless, there are households that may use a 500-gallon propane tank for up to 6 months or more, but definitely not for a full year.
We understand that you need a clue on how long your household could survive on a 500-gallon propane tank, and here’s all the information you seek
How Long Does a 500 Gallon Propane Tank Last For a Household?
Actually, it would be difficult to correctly predict how long your household could use the propane tank.
However, to be honest, 500-gallon is really big and would go a long way. For better understanding, let’s breakdown how propane tank is being used in several homes.
What Do You Use The Propane For?
Do you have a furnace? Cooktops? Multiple fireplaces? All these can be powered by the propane tank, and of cause, they’d consume the content of the tank.
According to Couch Oil Company, a home furnace burns around 500 – 1,200 gallons of propane in a full year, while an average homeowner could consume up to 300 gallons of propane within a year in boiling water, and 1,250 gallons for cooking.
With these statistics, it is yet not so clear how long a 500-gallon propane tank can serve your household.
Factors That Decide The Duration of Propane Tanks
There are three main factors to consider here:
- The number of people living in your house
- What’s connected to the propane tank
- Size of your house
1. The number of people living in your house
The more people living in a house, the more possible consumption of the propane gas. This is because there would be possibly more appliances connected to the propane gas.
2. What’s connected to the propane tank
In some homes, you’d find a lot of appliances, from water heaters to furnaces, fireplaces, and so many others. All these appliances are connected to the propane tank, and they can consume tons of gallons.
3. Size of the house
It’s quite simple, a bigger house means more appliances, and all of these drain the propane tank’s content.
What To Do?
You should simply have it at the back of your mind that you’d need to fill a 500-gallon propane tank at least twice a year. Well, you can try to minimize consumption by disconnecting certain appliances from using the tank.
If your 500-gallon propane tank finishes earlier than you expect, what you need to do is to check the appliances you use in your house. All 500-gallon propane tanks are the same size, regardless of the company, or your location.
We had earlier predicted 4 months as the average duration of a 500-gallon propane tank for a household; yours may be shorter than that – if you have a large house.
In contrast, if you’re a small household, you may end up refilling just once in a full year.
What More?
Propane doesn’t expire – it literally lasts forever; so, you can travel for vacation while you still have propane left in your tank. Whenever you get back, you can resume using the propane, and it’d still work good.
There are quite many companies that offer propane refilling services at competitive prices; you should plan to refill your tank the moment the content drops down to 20%.
However, it is advisable not to refill a propane tank up to 90% to allow space for thermal expansion.
Summary
Okay, now, how long does a 500 gallon propane tank last? There’s no perfect answer to this question; the duration will be decided by the three factors mentioned above (in this article).
You should never leave your propane tank to run completely dry before refill. Also, you can find alternatives to replace and minimize the number of appliances that utilize propane in your house; this can make your 500-gallon last much longer.
Hopefully, this article helped, have a nice day.
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