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How do you like them apples?

Ultradog MN

Ultradog MN

Well-known Member
Location
Twin Cities
My dad used to say that...
I got a call about 7:00 this morning from my tennant. She said the 500 gal propane tank had tipped over.
I thought, "Whaaat??"
It's 120 mi from here and I'm working today and don't have a way to lift it back up so I told her to call the propane company. She had just put 300 gals in it.
He came pretty quickly and sent me the photo. No leaks fortunately.
I own the tank. It's been there for at least 10 years and never moved.
Seems strange but it's pretty obvious what happened - sun warmed the ground on one side. The other side was shaded by the tank.
I don't think I like them apples and won't like the bill either.


cvphoto18757.jpg
 
Don't know, but you might be real lucky the whole place didn't disappear in a fireball.
 
Those "mounts" don't look at all adequate for that big tank. Probably need 4 inch or 6 inch timbers extending cross wise a few feet longer than the diameter of the tank.
 
Ron, not only the timbers but also the steel mounting skids welded on the bottom of the tank. I would think they should be at least as wide as the diameter of the tank. If it were me, I might question the company who sold the tank originally, hopefully it is the same one that they still use to fill it. Perhaps they might share in the cost a bit which would be nice.
 
He called back a bit ago.
Said he's done and it will cost about $200.
Not as bad as I feared.
I told him I was going to beef it up this summer. He said concrete was good but not legal to use wood or timbers or they can't fill it.
There's laws about everything else so I suppose that too.
I'll do something.
 
local concrete place here makes a 4 foot concrete lintel for propane tanks, might check with your local concrete guy to see what they have.
 
Two things. Does your ground always swell that much upon freezing ? Our driveway is heaved about 8 or 9 inches above the surrounding ground.. Clay, what a pain! May everything settles down for the summer. How did the company leave it sitting so it doesn?t tip again?
 
WOW! AMAZING the fuel Co. would fill it with blocking heaved.

Around here, the local propane company sends out letters ever year outlining what is expected before they will fill a tank, including that they be level and on secure support.

Also, system leak checks are required every few years, and they won't fill a tank that's been run empty without doing a system leak check.
 
It?s been quite a year in many parts of Minnesota. The past 12 months have been extreme as to cold, wet, and windy. The ground doesn?t know what to do with all the excess moisture and deeper frosts and what not.

Person has to feel pretty good all that happened is a $200 bill from that. Things coulda gone a lot worse, and I?d expect it to cost more than that!

Paul
 
Those are standard propane feet. I imagine it has been leaning for some time. Propane guy should have alerted the tenant that it was leaning. Maybe he did.

A larger pad under each end would be nice but unless you go below the frost depth it's just a matter of time. One option is to put 12-24" of coarse gravel in the ground under the supports, gravel won't heave without fines but unless you wrap it in geotextile fabric the fines will work their way in.
 
My gas supplier in Bemidji, Mn told me when I set my tank, no wood, no slab, period! It has to set on 4 concrete blocks, 8 X 16 at least 4? thick. When he came to fill, did leak check and the blocks dug down and measure them, then he went to the truck for the hose! Different areas, different laws!
 
Yep last fall the one at the church was leaning pretty good so we lifted it up and got it leveled out
 
Its a standard LP tank. Not a thing wrong with it. But the blocking underneath it is wrong. They are supposed to be 4" thick, 8" wide, and 24" long. Very little chance of blowing up. The high pressure regulator at the tank must be changed. Liquid LP gas in vapor regulator is not good.
 
Dad would say it when something went wrong.
Flat tire, broken window, tree fell on the power line, etc.
I wonder if it is a regional thing or maybe just old fashioned.
 
I would dig down a bit and put large crushed gravel first then as been said get the large correct blocks end to end so its 4'' x 8'' x 24'' on each corner
 
My local propane supplier called me out on putting pressure-treated lumber underneath my tank because "It is a fire hazard!" (Even though THEY were the ones that installed it) I put about three cinder blocks on each side, halfway buried in the ground, and put a road grader blade on top of them, cut to length. That was safe enough for them.
 
Propane company first said, " Tanks to close to garage".
So I moved them out under tree.
Couple of years later, they said, "Tanks to close together, must be at least 3 feet apart", but since only one tank is connected to the house and garage. We decided the second, backup tank, is now the tractor tank. Don't have a propane tractor.
So, now everything is A-OK. Didn't have to move the tank.
 
o.m. g.! that was a disaster waiting to happen, lucky the tip over is all that happened. I would not trust an empty tank on those blocks.
 
Most of the propane companies around here use silo staves when they can get them . Just silo staves and ferns hold up mine and a few hostas.
 
I had mine about tip a few years ago. I caught it leaning and ratchet strapped it to a tree a ways away to keep it upright. I went and got some lintels from the cement block plant, he had a few with nicked corners and sold em to me for a cheap price. Been Rock solid ever since.
 
in this house, its "how do you like them Opels?", from the car ad in the ?'80s?.
you are lucky, though the guy filling the tank must have overlooked some tipping when he filled it last time.
 
I was going to add that but I decided not to when he said he was 120 miles away. Agree on the tank filler.....carless mistake....I think I'd be having a serious discussion with the filling company.
 
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