If you live in a rural area, and you want central heating, you have a choice between electric or propane heat. Typically, you will not find natural gas lines running through rural neighborhoods, and if you go with electric heat, a blackout could rob your home of heat. Thus, propane makes a good, reliable choice. When you decide on the propane route, you will need to decide whether to rent or buy the tank. 

An Analysis of Buying a Propane Tank

When you buy a propane tank, you may have to make payments over a period of time, but eventually you will own your tank. When you pay your last payment on a tank, you can eliminate one monthly bill. You may still have some sporadic maintenance costs, but as long as you keep a reserve on hand, maintenance should be easy to handle. Another benefit of buying your own tank is that you have the option of burying it. When you rent a propane tank, you typically are required to keep your tank above ground because it is easier to perform maintenance on an aboveground tank. Burying a tank will save space in your yard and prevent your tank from creating an eyesore in your yard. 

An Analysis of Renting a Propane Tank

The benefit of renting a tank is that you don't have to worry about maintenance or replacement costs for the tank. As long as you can handle the monthly costs of renting a tank, this is a significant advantage. While it should take years, if not decades, for a propane tank to wear out, when your rented tank does, it is the rental company's problem. If you have to keep your tank aboveground, there are steps you can take to camouflage the tank. For example, you can plant bushes around the tank. As long as a technician has access to the tank, there should be no issue with planting  greenery around your tank. 

When you live in an area where below-freezing temperatures are a real possibility, you want reliable heat. Using electricity to heat your home means that, if you have a prolonged blackout in the winter, you have to worry about pipes freezing and causing damage in your home; you may also have to worry about health problems for your family. When you decide that propane is the right most reliable choice, make sure to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of renting versus buying your tank, and choose which option is best for your situation. For more info, contact a company like Ferrell Fuel Co Inc.

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