Propane Tank Installers in Durham

There are several sizes of propane tanks to choose from. The size you choose will depend on several things, such as how large your house is, where your house is located, and the energy demand of your home. If you are using the propane tank for your entire home, you should consider using a 500-gallon propane tank.

Dimensions 500-gallon propane tank

The 500-gallon propane tank is quite large and is usually used for commercial purposes and large houses. Before you buy it, you should understand certain things like the dimensions of the propane tank. The tank is approximately 10 feet long with a diameter of 38 inches. It holds about 400 gallons of propane—this amount is usually 80% of the total water capacity to allow the propane to expand.

Weight of a 500-gallon propane tank

An empty 500-gallon propane tank weighs around 949 pounds and 2649 pounds when full. It will be able to generate 10000 BTU per hour for 190 days and 15 hours, and this amounts to around 45,750,000 BTUs.

How long does a 500-gallon propane tank last

It is essential you know how long your 500-gallon propane will last especially if you live through long winters. On average, the US household uses 750 gallons per winter, which lasts about six months. Thus, if the 500-gallon propane tank can hold 400 gallons per winter, you would need two refills.

However, we would look at the average propane usage during winter more concisely depending on the size of the house.

The average household size in the US is 2,200 square feet. Thus using 750 gallons ÷ 2,220 square feet= 0.34, you can calculate how much propane in gallons you would need for different sizes of houses:

• If the house is around 500 square feet, 170 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 1,000 square feet, 340 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 1,500 square feet, 510 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 2,000 square feet, 680 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 3,000 square feet, 850 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 3,500 square feet, 1,190 gallons of propane should be enough.
• If the house is 4,000 square feet, 1,360 gallons of propane should be enough.

Thus you can estimate how many times you may need to refill your 500-gallon propane tank based on the size of your house.

From the above information, it is clear that a house with 1,500 square feet will use 510 gallons for six winter months. So, to find out how long your full 500-gallon propane tank will last per size of the house, you will do six months multiplied by 400 gallons / 510 gallons = 4.706 months.

(Recall, a full propane tank is only 80% full, thus = 400 gallons)

So, using this calculation, you can estimate how long your 500-gallon propane tank will last based on the size of your house.