[Porsche-O-Phile]

The tank in question is an AST - it also bothers me because there's no concrete pad under it and it's precariously close to a drop-off in the back yard (maybe 2-3 feet behind the tank the ground slopes down about 15' to a marsh/wetland area). If I end up buying this place I'd like to put in a pad (and a retaining wall) and buy the tank, assuming it isn't owned already. I'll have to check.

No markings that I can remember - although there's about 6" of snow on top of it right now and I ain't going out there to look. I'll wait until it melts off in a few days and then go poke around.

The more I read about these "automatic fill-up" things, the more I'm utterly convinced they're highway robbery. I honestly want to know what kind of fool would sign up for something like this - it's like saying "here, have monopoly power over me - it's okay". Sheesh!

IIRC the tank out there is a 380-ish gallon one and I've seen ones around 1,000 gallons for a few hundred bucks online. I figure it would realistically take a grand or maybe $1500 when you factor in tank, delivery, any permit required, etc. That's just preliminary research though. Heck, you'd make that back in a year based on some of the co-op prices and the "rape me" rates that Company X is charging (I found one co-op charging $2.40 a gallon and the current "automatic refill" rate is $3.70). So figure it's safe to assume a buck a gallon savings by being able to shop around and/or get on with a co-op. At 5-10 gallons a day use the tank would pay for itself in a couple of years assuming 3-4 months a year of heating required.