Fuel Oil News

Fuel Oil News May 2016

The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding

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20 MAY 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com Training Program," Taylor said. "Most problems occur due to human error, and complacency is the root of all evil. Once we start becoming complacent an accident can happen." He added, "The properties of propane are very, very predictable and I tell my people it's always going to react the same way, but you have to respect it, you have to respect the product and once you lose that respect and become complacent, someone's going to get injured." Selling tanks that are to be buried creates potential liability, Taylor warned. "You can't j u s t b u r y it and for- get it." The National Fire Protection Association's L i q u e f i e d Petroleum G a s C o d e 58 requires c a t h o d i c protection testing every 24 months. "That is the testing of the magnesium anode bags," Taylor said. "We have a full-time person that does nothing but go around and test the anode bags and they replace them as needed to make sure [the tanks] aren't deteriorating in the ground. Metal is always trying to turn back into dirt. Mother Nature is trying to take that tank back to what it came from." Selling tanks for underground instal- lation without telling the customer about the NFPA requirement for periodic test- ing creates "long-term time bombs in the field," Taylor warned. "Once you've sold that tank to the consumer you've lost control over who's going to be handling that testing. We never sell propane tanks. Selling tanks is really the kiss of death in so many respects." PRICE OF ENTRY Launching a propane business requires "a huge investment," Taylor said. The invest- ment includes equipment, tanks, safety training and insurance. Based on what a number of industry vet- erans have told Fuel Oil News, here are some of the major costs: a delivery truck, approxi- mately $125,000 to $150,000; a crane truck, with a price tag of about $100,000, to set tanks on customers' property; and a service truck, such as a Ford F-450 or F-350 with a small utility body, for roughly $75,000. For a bulk plant with a 30,000-gallon tank on land you already own: $250,000. That includes the cost of site work such as piping, concrete, fencing, electricity lighting and security. These investments together amount to approximately $600,000. Then there are the tanks that go on customers' property. Tanks that hold 100 gallons typi- cally cost about $400, experts told Fuel Oil News. Purchasing 100 at that price will cost $40,000. Larger tanks, which hold 1,000 gallons, cost about $2,000. l F O N "All of our employees go through the NPGA Certified Employee Training Program." For more on getting into the propane business, visit the website fueloilnews.com, go to the digital archives and pull up the February 2012 issue. See the article titled "Propane: The Price of Entry," pages 18-21.

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