The 1,000-gallon propane tank is one of the biggest propane tanks for a house. For an average US household, it is a perfectly sized propane tank if you don’t want to refill it during the winter heating season. Quite a frequent question regarding the 1,000-gallon residential tank is this:
How long will a 1,000-gallon propane tank last?
Obviously, this primarily depends on how much propane you burn per day, week, month. Here’s the wide range answer: a 1,000-gallon propane tank will last anywhere between 2 months and 11 days to 2 years and 4 months (847 days, to be exact).
To estimate how long does a 1,000-gallon propane tank last for your house, we only need these two metrics:
- 1,000-gallon propane tank, when full, contains 800 gallons of propane. This is the 80% safety measure; you never fill 1,000 gallons of propane in a 1,000-gallon propane tank.
- How much propane do you use per heating season (6 colder months; from October to March). Using data provided by Statista (explained in the article about how long do propane tanks last), an average US household (2,200 sq ft) will burn through about 750 gallons of propane during the heating season.
Mind you, this is an average consumption. The real propane consumption can vary quite a bit, as explained by Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD): “An average-size modern home using high-efficiency propane heating equipment and other appliances in a warm climate region can expect to use 194 to 258 gallons per year, while the same home in a cold climate region would typically use 991 to 1,844 gallons per year.”
For all intents and purposes, we will use the 750 gallons of propane for 2,200 sq ft for 6 colder months average. Based on this, we can calculate how long will a 1,000-gallon propane tank last (on average) for any house size.
How Long Does A 1,000-Gallon Propane Tank Last For A House?
Quick example: If you have an average 2,200 sq ft house, you will burn about 750 gallons of propane during 6 heating months. That means that the 1,000-gallon propane tank (that contains 800 gallons of propane) will last for the whole heating season.
How long will a 1,000-gallon tank last for a smaller house, say 1,000 sq ft? Or a larger house, say 4,000 sq ft?
Using the averages, we can neatly estimate for how many months and days will a 1,000-gallon propane tank last.
We’ll look at another example to illustrate how this calculation is made. Further on, you will find a table of how long should a 1,000-gallon propane tank last for average houses with square footage between 500 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft.
Example: 3,000 Sq Ft House
Let’s say we have a 3,000 sq ft house and you use propane-powered heating. Using the averages above, we know that we use about 0.341 gallons of propane to heat 1 sq ft for 6 months (180 days).
Here how we can calculate how much propane we need for the whole 6-month long heating season for an average 3,000 sq ft house:
Total Propane Needed = 3,000 sq ft × 0.341 gallon / sq ft = 1,023 Gallons
We will need 1,023 gallons of propane in total. That means that we are burning 5.68 gallons of propane per day.
Now, we have a 1,000-gallon propane tank with 800 gallons of propane. We can calculate how long will our propane tank last like this:
1,000-Gallon Tank Last For = 800 gallons / 5.68 gallons/day = 141 Days = 4 Months And 21 Days
This is the basic idea of how you can calculate how long will a 1,000-gallon propane tank last for any house size. Here you can see the calculation made for various house sizes:
1,000-Gallon Propane Task Longevity For Different House Sizes (Calculated Table)
| Home Size (Sq Ft): | 1,000-Gallon Tank Lasts For: |
| 500 sq ft | 2 Years and 4 Months |
| 1,000 sq ft | 1 Year and 2 Months |
| 1,500 sq ft | 9 Months and 12 Days |
| 2,000 sq ft | 7 Months and 2 Days |
| 2,500 sq ft | 5 Months and 19 Days |
| 3,000 sq ft | 4 Months and 21 Days |
| 3,500 sq ft | 4 Months and 1 Day |
| 4,000 sq ft | 3 Months and 16 Days |
Hopefully, with these calculations, you have a better understanding of how long a 1,000-gallon propane tank should last. For similar calculations, you can also check the numbers for other propane tank sizes, such as:
I get about heating home only that’s at least 500 sq. Feet what about if included appliances such as washer,dryer stove and refrigerator. How long with these appliances included?
Hi Bryant, this is very hard to answer. If we go with the average usage – 0.341 gallon / sq ft for 6 months – you will likely burn about 170.5 gallons per 6 months. Add washers, dryer stove, fridge, and you shouldn’t get to more than 200 gallons per year. 1000 gallon tank contains 800 gallons of propane, so it’s good – given these statistical averages – for 4 full years. Hope this helps.