This is a checklist of questions to ask your supplier and installer. It has no personal story and no referral codes. Your supplier, contract and tank may differ from the examples.
Before you start
Find out who owns your tank and what you signed. That can decide who pays for what.
Check who owns the tank. It is often the supplier’s, but confirm from your paperwork.
Check whether you signed a contract with the supplier. With no contract, you may not pay a collection charge. That depends on your supplier.
Ask the supplier, in writing, what happens when you stop using the tank.
If your supplier says the tank is due for replacement
A “due for replacement” letter is a decision point. Its options are the supplier’s, and they may all keep you on LPG. Typical options are a new tank above ground, a new tank below ground, or LPG cylinders.
Treat the options as the supplier’s view. Before you agree to anything, ask whether you would be better off leaving LPG. Get a heat pump quote.
If you are moving to a heat pump, ask for removal only, in writing. Do not ask for replacement.
Read any cylinder option carefully. The tank may be removed free only if it is safe to do so. Otherwise it may be left in place and signed over to you. Ask who owns a buried tank that can’t be removed, and who is responsible for it.
Ask who arranges and pays for any digging. Some suppliers expect your own contractor to do it.
Ask about the tank’s age and condition. Suppliers judge a tank against an expected lifespan, often around 30 years. Ask what yours is judged against.
What removal involves
The work itself is short once it is booked. The waiting and the coordination are the hard part.
Disconnecting the gas. An approved engineer does this. Your heat pump installer may not cover it, so ask early and ask who pays.
Gas extracted. A tanker removes what is left in the tank.
Digging. Get the supplier’s requirements in writing before you book builders. Then the hole is right first time. The cost depends on tank size, access and ground, so get a quote.
Lifted out by crane lorry. Check access for a large vehicle. Look at gates, overhead lines and soft ground.
Collection. Ask for a written date, not “within X months”. If the supplier won’t commit to a date, ask why, and keep chasing in writing.
Line up the dates so the tanker, builders and crane arrive together. A missed slot may mean another wait.
Gas left in the tank
Don’t assume you will get a refund for leftover gas. Don’t assume you will be told the rate either.
Ask before removal day whether a refund will be paid.
Ask the rate per litre, and how and when it will be paid.
Get it in writing. Email is fine.
Photograph the tank gauge before the tanker arrives. You can check the volume later.
If you bought the gas, compare the refund rate with what you paid per litre. If it came with the house, you have no price to compare against. Ask for the volume and the rate anyway. Check them against current LPG prices.
After removal, ask for a statement showing the volume and the rate. A bank transfer alone does not show how it was worked out.
Make it easier
Start the conversation with the supplier before install day, not after.
Keep a log of every call and email, with dates.
Chase in writing as well as by phone.
Plan the digging around your install so the garden is not left open.
Budget for the digging separately, even if the supplier collects the tank free of charge.
Grant note
Some homes can get a £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for an air source heat pump. It runs from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. The home must be in England or Wales and off the mains gas network. It applies when you replace a coal, oil or LPG system. The usual grant is £7,500.
The higher amount has a start date and a deadline. Check your eligibility on GOV.UK before you rely on it.
Just Ask: Heatpump
Just Ask: Heatpump is an independent companion to Visit a Heat Pump and Get a Heat Pump. Built from real installation experience to give honest, practical guidance before you commit. Everything here is about air-to-water air source heat pumps.
© 2026 Michael Pope
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