Propane tank refurbishment moves from cleanup job to fleet strategy for propane marketers

▶ Freight, timing and a wider menu

A favorable shop price can disappear on a half-empty truck. Hearn advises full loads, prescreening obvious rejects and arranging return freight so replacement new or used tanks can fill the spaces left by scrapped vessels.

TerraVest targets about four weeks for domestic refurbishment, subject to logistics. Morenus says turnaround at LP Cylinder can stretch from roughly four weeks to eight or nine as seasonal volume rises. Sending tanks in spring or early summer gives marketers more room than waiting until heating season.

The scrap rate matters before the first tank is loaded. Morenus urges marketers to look for legible identification, obvious pitting or dents and outdated fittings in the yard. That does not replace the refurbisher’s inspection, but it can keep transportation and handling costs from accumulating on tanks with little chance of passing.

Hearn similarly advises customers to agree on what happens to a reject: whether it is scrapped, documented and replaced by a new or used tank on the same return trip. The answer affects the number of installations a marketer can support when the truck comes back.

Geography helps explain recent investment. TerraVest acquired Jet Peinture to bring refurbishment and recertification nearer customers in the Northeast and eastern Canada, Hearn says, while adding capability for tanks up to 2,000 gallons. Worthington’s Hydrostat acquisition added refurbishment and reconditioned inventory to its new tank business. TRIARC invested in refurbishment as another service for customers of its manufacturing operation.

These manufacturers can combine new and refurbished equipment in one conversation and, in some cases, one shipment. Worthington offers customers the option to refurbish their own tanks, purchase reconditioned or new tanks, trade used equipment toward new sizes, or sell unwanted inventory. Its TAGGED inventory system aims to help marketers know what they have and what is ready for refurbishment or retirement. TerraVest records inspection results by serial number, giving an acquirer a clearer picture of an inherited fleet.

That wider menu explains why tank makers see a place in the service business. Wallace says TRIARC began the work after hearing customers ask how to get costly steel back into circulation.

Hearn notes TerraVest’s Jet Peinture acquisition brings the work closer to northeastern U.S. and eastern Canadian customers, where moving empty tanks long distances could erase much of the value.

From an environmental standpoint, keeping a serviceable vessel in use preserves the steel already made and avoids discarding it prematurely, though economics and asset availability remain the immediate customer concerns.

“Hiltz’s newer blast facility recovers and reuses its media,” Moody says. “Refurbishment makes the strongest claim when inspection demonstrates that the tank can safely deliver more years of service.”

The marketer’s discipline is to know the fleet, screen it before shipping, budget the entire roundtrip and start early enough to get tanks back when customers need them. The expanding choices make that planning more valuable, whether the next installation calls for existing steel or a new vessel.

“New demand stays strong with upsizing and growth,” Hearn says. “Refurb takes care of the installed base.”

▶ Tank refurbishing providers

Advanced Cylinder & Tank

Location: Adel, Georgia
Key contact: Bruce Roberts, owner and general manager
Services and sizes: Refurbishes aboveground, underground and AG/UG tanks. Handles tanks of any size and configuration, horizontal or vertical. Pickup, inspection, blasting, exterior treatment, new valves and gauges, and delivery. It also converts aboveground tanks to underground tanks.

Aultra Tank & Equipment

Location: Portage, Wisconsin; Wells, Nevada
Key contact: Rachel Paskey, director of sales and growth
Services and sizes: Customer-owned and company-supplied refurbished tanks: 120, 250, 320/330, 500 and 1,000 gallons, with aboveground and underground versions of the two largest sizes. Steel shot blasting, inspection, powder coating, new valves, remote-ready gauges, leak testing and vacuum purging.

BLT Tanks

Location: Kingfisher, Oklahoma
Key contact: Tabitha Ryan, business manager
Services and sizes: Rebuilds 120-, 250-, 330-, 500- and 1,000-gallon propane tanks. Published process includes shot blasting, inspection and pit gauging, replacement gauges and valves, polyurethane enamel and pressure testing. Company reports approximately 30-day turnaround.

Certified Cylinder

Location: Crossville, Tennessee
Key contact: Missy Allred, vice president of sales and logistics
Services and sizes: DOT cylinder recertification and refurbishment plus ASME tank refurbishment. Published ASME process includes pickup, evacuation, blasting, inspection, powder coating, new valves and gauges, and delivery.

Hiltz Propane Systems

Location: Marietta, Pennsylvania
Key contact: Peyton Moody, vice president of sales and service
Services and sizes: Refurbishes bulk plant storage tanks, 18,000, 30,000 and 60,000 gallons, with larger projects as available. Evacuation, inspection, thickness testing, blasting, painting, tank installation and authorized code repairs or alterations.

LP Cylinder Service

Location: Shohola, Pennsylvania
Key contact: Pete Morenus, director of business development
Services and sizes: ASME tank refurbishment, 120- to 2,000-gallon tanks; DOT cylinder refurbishment and requalification, including 20- to 420-pound cylinders. Inspection, blasting, coating, valve work and return logistics. Sister company of Quality Steel.

Manchester Tank 

Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Key contact: Customer service team
Services and sizes: Specializing in the refurbishment of all types of DOT and ASME cylinders, and vertical and horizontal tanks. From 33-pound cylinders to tanks up to 2,000 gallons, the company helps maximize asset value through refurbishment, recertification, repairs, blasting, painting, valve replacement and testing.

Shasta Tanks

Location: Anderson, California
Key contact: Jason Wehunt, vice president
Services and sizes: 119- to 1,150-gallon tanks. Blasting and corrosion inspection, two-part polyaspartic coating, RegO valves, methanol and vacuum preparation, plus tank and lid color matching.

TerraVest Tanks

Location: Kaleva, Michigan; Cowansville, Quebec; Jet Peinture in eastern Canada
Key contact: John Hearn, vice president and general manager
Services and sizes: Customer-owned domestic ASME tanks from 118 to 1,000 gallons, including horizontal, vertical, aboveground and underground types; Jet Peinture handles tanks up to 2,000 gallons. Inspection, nonpressure component repair, blasting, powder or liquid coating, valves, gauges and vacuum purge.

TRIARC Tank

Location: San Antonio, Texas
Key contact: Jared Wallace, senior vice president and general manager
Services and sizes: Currently refurbishes 120- to 1,000-gallon horizontal ASME tanks; 119-gallon vertical tanks are planned. Screens and inspects vessels, removes residual product, blasts, replaces valves and gauges, and applies a liquid finish. Can coordinate new and refurbished tank orders.

Worthington Enterprises

Location: Columbus, Ohio; refurbishment operation in Rice, Minnesota
Key contact: Brian Zehentbauer, senior business director for heating and cooking products
Services and sizes: Refurbishes customer-owned ASME tanks and sells reconditioned inventory alongside new tanks. Pickup, inspection, blasting, coating, replacement valves and return delivery; horizontal, vertical, aboveground and underground tanks, commonly 120 to 1,000 gallons.

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