Oil Tank Replacement Cost
A replacement is two jobs on one invoice. The old tank coming out, and the new one going in. Most quotes hand you a single number and most questions about that number are really about the second half.
Published prices for this job vary more than for almost anything else a homeowner buys. Two companies both serving New Hampshire put a 275 gallon replacement at $4,150 and at $1,000 to $3,000. Below is what each of them actually says.
This page is about the tank going in. What comes out is covered on removal cost.
What Other Companies Publish for a Replacement
These two ranges barely overlap, and both companies work in New Hampshire. Before concluding one of them is wrong, read what each figure is said to include and where each company is based.
| Job | Published figure | What that figure covers | Whose figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 275 gallon replacement, Granby tank | $4,150 | Stated as an average across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut, for a basement or outside installation without significant access issues. Includes the tank itself. | CommTank |
| 275 gallon replacement, Roth tank | $4,250 | As above, with the Roth double-wall tank instead of the Granby. | CommTank |
| Oil tank replacement, New Hampshire average | $1,000 to $3,000 | From a Concord NH contractor's 2025 price guide. Said to include removing the old tank, installing the new one and heating system adjustments. Permits and inspections flagged as possible extras. | New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement |
| Indoor tank replacement | $1,500 to $4,000 | Same Concord NH source, varying by tank size, installation complexity and modifications needed. | New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement |
| Aboveground tank replacement | $1,000 to $3,000 | Same Concord NH source. | New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement |
| Premium tank uplift | add $500 to $1,000 | Same source, for a tank with a longer warranty and higher-quality materials over a standard one. | New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement |
| Removing the old tank, if quoted separately | $475 and up | Accessible unfinished basement within 25 miles of their Wakefield MA office. Worth knowing because it tells you roughly how much of a bundled replacement price is the removal half. | CommTank |
These are other companies’ and national cost guides’ published figures, quoted as they appear, checked August 14, 2026. None of them is our price and none of them is a quote for your property. Contractors edit these pages without notice, so check the source before relying on a number.
The 275 Gallon Question
275 gallons is the standard domestic size and it is what most New Hampshire houses have. It is the default for a reason: it fits through most basement arrangements, it suits the delivery economics, and every supplier stocks it.
Bigger is not automatically better. A tank sized well above the household's actual use ties up money in standing fuel and turns over more slowly, and slow turnover is not a virtue. Smaller means more deliveries, which in a bad February is a different kind of cost.
The thing worth knowing about a full 275: it holds well over a ton. The base and the supports are not a detail, and on an older basement floor they are sometimes the part of the job that needs the most thought.
Single Wall Against Double Wall
A single wall steel tank is the cheaper unit and it is what most existing tanks are. A double wall tank has an inner tank inside an outer shell, so a breach in the inner one is contained rather than arriving on your floor.
The case for double wall gets stronger the worse the consequences of a failure would be. Over a finished basement, over a slab that drains somewhere you would rather it did not, or anywhere a spill would mean remediation rather than a mop, the premium buys something real.
We would rather quote both and let you choose with the difference in front of you than decide it for you and not mention there was a decision.
The Parts of the Install That Are Not the Tank
Supply and return piping, and whether it is being reused or replaced. NHDES best practice calls for corrosion resistant piping, PVC, polyethylene or equivalent coated copper, on indoor and outdoor installations.
Fill and vent, including an audible vent whistle so the fill can be heard working during a delivery. Filters, valves, and the fittings that make the system serviceable later.
Whether the new tank goes where the old one stood or somewhere better. Moving it can shorten the run and improve delivery access, and it changes the price.
NHDES, as of August 13, 2026
The Hidden Variable Is the Building
Two identical tanks in two identical houses can be a day apart in labor because of what surrounds them. Basement finished after the tank went in, a turn in the stairs, a bulkhead that a new tank will not pass, a floor that needs work before it carries the load.
This is why a phone quote for a replacement is close to meaningless, and why the quotes that vary most are usually the ones where somebody has actually looked.
Reading Two Ranges That Do Not Overlap
The gap in the table is roughly four times, on the same nominal job, from two companies that both work here. It is worth understanding rather than assuming somebody is overcharging.
The higher figure comes from a Massachusetts company with a large service area, quoting a specific tank brand and stating the tank is included. The lower one comes from a Concord contractor quoting a general New Hampshire average. One is a product price, the other is closer to a starting point.
What you cannot tell from either, and what decides your actual number, is whether the person quoting has seen your basement. A range published on a website is not a quote and cannot account for a turn in your stairs.
The practical use of the table is as a check. If a quote lands well below every published figure, ask what is not in it. If it lands well above, ask what is.
CommTank, New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement, as of August 14, 2026
Grant Money Against a Replacement
In New Hampshire this is the piece that changes the arithmetic. NHDES Safetank reimburses up to $4,000 to upgrade, or remove and replace, an aboveground home heating oil tank for income-qualified homeowners.
Put that next to the table and the scale of it is obvious. $4,000 against a published regional price of $4,150 leaves very little to find. Against the Concord source's $1,000 to $3,000 it covers the job outright.
The conditions travel with the number every time. It is income-qualified, NHDES applies that test rather than us, it is a reimbursement against pre-approved work rather than a discount, and $4,000 is a ceiling rather than a payment. On most projects the contractor is paid directly so you are not carrying the full cost while you wait. The application has to be in before the work starts. The process.
NHDES, CommTank, New Hampshire Oil Tank Replacement, as of August 14, 2026
Spending It Where It Counts
If the budget is tight, the place not to save is compliance. Eligibility for the state's cleanup fund depends on the tank meeting NFPA 31 and the NHDES best practices, so an install that quietly falls short has removed a protection you will never see until you need it.
The tank itself, the wall thickness decision and the piping are legitimate places to weigh cost against benefit. The standard is not.
NHDES, as of August 13, 2026
Common Questions
- How much does it cost to replace a 275 gallon oil tank?
- The tank itself is the smaller part. What moves the total is access, whether the old one leaves whole, whether the piping is being replaced, and single against double wall. In New Hampshire, Safetank can take up to $4,000 off for income-qualified homeowners.
- Is a double wall tank worth the extra money?
- It depends on what a failure would cost you. Over a finished basement or anywhere a spill means remediation rather than cleaning up, the premium buys real protection. Over a bare slab in an unfinished cellar the case is weaker.
- Should I replace the piping at the same time?
- Usually yes if it is old. It is the cheapest it will ever be to do while the system is already open, and NHDES best practice calls for corrosion resistant supply and return piping.
- Can I get a bigger tank than the one I have?
- Often, subject to the space and the floor carrying it. Whether you should is a different question, since a tank well above your actual use ties up money in fuel and turns over slowly.
- Does the grant cover the new tank or just taking the old one out?
- Safetank is framed around upgrading, or removing and replacing, an aboveground tank, so the replacement is the case it was written for. It reimburses up to $4,000, against work approved before it starts.
Related
Reviewed August 13, 2026. Every figure on this page is dated and listed on our sources page.