1000 gallon propane tank chart
The 1,000 is the water capacity, and the gauge shows percent of that, so each 1% is 10 gal. Tanks are filled to about 80%, which makes 800 gal of propane. Ferrellgas lists the same 800 gal and says this size mostly serves large industrial and commercial jobs, with some larger homes.
Your reading
Usable is the gallons between 80% and 20% (200 gal left at the bottom). I treat 20% as "empty" so there is time to get a delivery.
Gauge percent to gallons
| Gauge | In tank | Fill brings |
|---|---|---|
| 80% | 800 gal | 0 gal |
| 70% | 700 gal | 100 gal |
| 60% | 600 gal | 200 gal |
| 50% | 500 gal | 300 gal |
| 40% | 400 gal | 400 gal |
| 30% | 300 gal | 500 gal |
| 20% | 200 gal | 600 gal |
| 10% | 100 gal | 700 gal |
How long it lasts in a whole house
The rates come from Ferrellgas on propane use. A propane furnace (200,000 Btu/h) uses about 1 gal an hour while it runs. A tankless water heater uses about 1.5 gal a day, and I added 0.33 gal a day for a range, the top of Ferrellgas's 5 to 10 gal a month. The hours the furnace runs each day are my own picks, so replace them with what you see in winter.
| Furnace runs | Gal a day | Gal a month | From 80% | From 50% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 h a day | 5.8 | 177 | 102 days | 51 days |
| 8 h a day | 9.8 | 299 | 61 days | 30 days |
| 12 h a day | 13.8 | 420 | 43 days | 21 days |
Days count down to 20% on the gauge. These are cold-spell figures. The 12 hour row is a furnace running half the day, which happens in a hard cold spell. For a closer rate, how much propane a furnace uses works from the furnace size and outdoor temperature.
Fills per year
Ferrellgas says an average family of four in the Midwest can expect to use 1,500 gal of propane or more a year. I assume a delivery when the gauge reads 30% and a fill back to 80%, which is 500 gal a time. That order level is my own choice.
| Use a year | Fills a year | Months between |
|---|---|---|
| 800 gal | 1.6 | 7.5 |
| 1,500 gal | 3 | 4 |
| 2,500 gal | 5 | 2.4 |
The 800 and 2,500 rows are round numbers I picked to bracket Ferrellgas's 1,500.
Size of the tank
Ferrellgas gives 16 ft 1.5 in long and 41 in across. It is a big cylinder, so ask your supplier about placement and clearances before you order one. The 500 gallon propane tank is the more common home size and holds 400 gal at 80%.
Related pages
All sizes side by side are on the propane tank percentage chart. The 250 gallon propane tank chart covers a smaller tank, and cost to fill a tank has delivery prices.