It is early September. The days still feel like summer on the Estancia Valley floor, and the nights have not yet gone hard. That is exactly when we want ranch tanks looked at. Stock tank heaters, shop stoves and well-house tanks start their long run in the next few weeks, and they use propane while nobody is standing there watching the dial.
Stock tank heaters run when you are not looking
A stock tank heater is a quiet load. It sits at a tank you may not walk to every day. On a cold spell it can run for hours at a time, night after night, just to keep water open. We will not hang a single gallon number on that, because the heater size, the wind, and how long the cold holds all change the burn. What we can tell you is this: the tank feeding that heater is the one people forget, and it is the one that goes empty while the house tank still looks fine.
If you have cattle or horses on water tanks around Mountainair, Estancia, Willard or out toward Ribera, walk those gauges now, before the first real freeze. If the heater or the line looks damaged, call us. Do not thaw a regulator or hunt for a leak yourself.
Barns, shops and well houses
Shop heat is the other sleeper. A barn or shop that stayed dark all summer becomes a second house the first week somebody is welding or calving at 2:00 AM. That building often has its own tank. Same story at the well house. A pump house that freezes is a long, wet day, and the little tank that keeps it from freezing is easy to ignore because it sits behind the building.
Irrigation engines and other propane engines on the place have their own pattern. They may sit for months, then run hard. If that engine has its own tank, put it on the same list as the house. We deliver for agricultural use across the Estancia Valley and around Mountainair, Pecos and Ribera. That includes barns, shops, stock water, and the engines that keep water moving.
Several tanks is how a ranch runs dry
A house on will-call with one tank is a simple job. You look at one dial. A ranch with a house tank, a shop tank, a well-house tank and a tank at the corrals is a different job. The tank you see from the kitchen window gets checked. The tank behind the barn does not.
That is the place most likely to run a tank dry on will-call. Automatic propane delivery helps because we are scheduling from usage, not from whoever remembered to walk the pasture. We also offer tank monitoring on qualifying tanks, which is the better fit when tanks sit in different spots and nobody is out there every day.
We can deliver to more than one tank on the same property. Tell us how many there are, where they sit, and which office is closest: Moriarty, Mountainair or Pecos. If a tank is new to us, we will need a safety check before that tank goes into service, with someone over 18 there to give access and sign.
What the bobtail needs to reach a remote tank
A loaded propane truck is heavy. Soft ground after rain or snow will eat a drive. Before we can fill a remote tank, we need four things:
- A gate that opens, including any lock or code, on the day we come
- A track that will hold a heavy truck, not a two-track that turns to soup after a storm
- Dogs put up
- A clear path to the fill point, with no brush, implements or hay stacked against the tank
If the approach washed out this summer, or you hung a new gate, tell the office before we roll. Weather can delay a delivery. We will not guess our way down a road we cannot get back out of. Sort the access while the ground is still dry.
Our drivers run out of Moriarty across the valley through Stanley, McIntosh and Estancia; out of Mountainair through Willard; and out of Pecos toward Glorieta, Rowe and Ribera. Each office covers about 35 miles. If you are not sure which location is yours, call and ask.
Look at the gauges this month
Walk the tanks this week. Note the percent on each dial. If a tank is already down, place an order during office hours rather than waiting for the first ice on the stock tanks. We are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and closed Saturday and Sunday. The offices are closed over the weekend, so a Friday-night surprise waits for Monday.
A ranch that waits until the water tanks ice is already late. September is still an easy month to get a truck down a dirt track. November is not. Call the nearest office while you can still see the ground.
Carbon monoxide and a gas odor
Propane appliances work hardest in winter. Every level of the home should have a working carbon monoxide alarm. If you smell an odor like rotten eggs, or a CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside first, call 911 from a safe place, then call the office nearest you during business hours. Do not look for the leak yourself. Do not go back inside until responders say it is safe.
Moriarty - 2502 U.S. Route 66 W, Moriarty, NM 87035 - (505) 407-2260 (main)
Mountainair - 711 West Broadway, Mountainair, NM 87036 - (505) 847-1136
Pecos - 274 Glorieta Hwy, Pecos, NM 87552 - (505) 757-0977
Questions we get
How much propane does a stock tank heater use?
How much a stock tank heater burns depends on its size, the wind and how many hours it runs, so we will not put a single gallon number on it. What we see is that these heaters run when nobody is watching, and they can empty a tank that was not on anyone’s list. Check that gauge before the first hard freeze, and call us if you want that tank on automatic delivery.
Can you deliver propane to more than one tank on my property?
Yes. We can fill more than one tank on the same ranch. Tell us how many tanks you have, where they sit, and which office is closest. A property with tanks at the house, the shop, the well house and the corrals is the one that runs a hidden tank dry on will-call. Automatic delivery and tank monitoring help because every tank gets on a list, not only the one you can see from the porch.
What do you need to get a propane truck to a remote tank?
We need a gate that opens, a track that will hold a heavy truck after rain or snow, dogs put up, and a clear path to the fill point. A loaded bobtail will not make a soft two-track, and we will not force a driveway we cannot leave. If the approach changed this year, call the office before we come. Weather can delay a delivery when the ground will not hold the truck.
Do you deliver propane for agricultural use in the Estancia Valley?
Yes. We deliver propane for agricultural and commercial use in the Estancia Valley and around Mountainair, Pecos and Ribera. That covers stock water, barn and shop heat, well houses, and propane engines on the place. Call the nearest office Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and we will tell you whether your location sits in that office’s area.