Not Buying Propane!!

[toddnic]

We use our gas furnace a few times each season primarily when we are traveling or are away from the house for a prolonged period of time. I haven't purchased propane in a few years but saw that our tank was at 50% so I decided to check prices. Well.....I'm not buying propane! The prices ranged from $2.35 to $3.09 per gallon depending upon how much I purchase and how quickly I pay. WOW! I think the last time I purchased propane I paid under $1.50 per gallon. Thankfully the tank is at 50% and will last a few more years . I can't even begin to say how thankful I am for our wood stove!

 

[illini81]

My wife and I bought a house 9 months ago that was heated with a combination of electric baseboard heat and a propane fireplace insert and propane stove. We replaced the propane fireplace insert with a wood burning insert and we don't use the propane stove. However, we have a propane hot water heater, and so we still have to buy propane. I just paid $4.10/gal for a fill up! This is after shopping around for the cheapest rate. I am going to replace the propane hot water heater with electric as soon as I can. From the little research I've done, propane was a reasonably priced heating option 10-15 years ago, but it doesn't seem to be the case today.

 

[Happy Stacker]

Did the math to convert to US$. Up here propane is $2.06/US gal.

 

[begreen]

I pulled the propane furnace in 2006 when propane prices approached $2/gal. They went over double that amount soon afterward. It was one of the better decisions I have made.

 

[toddnic]

I pulled the propane furnace in 2006 when propane prices approached $2/gal. They went over double that amount soon afterward. It was one of the better decisions I have made.

I like having the propane furnace backup for when we are away but I definitely would not use it as my primary heat source. Too expensive....

 

[begreen]

Our backup is now a high efficiency heat pump system. It works great for mild days. When it gets 45 or below we are burning wood.

 

[djkeev]

I built a home for a family back in 85 or so, they opted for a propane furnace and even at that time I thought "dumb move!"

Dave

 

[webby3650]

Wow! You all must have cheap electricity where you live. Or LP is just higher? Other than wood, it’s the cheapest heat here, unless you have natural gas. No way I’d have a heat pump! Almost worthless all winter in this climate. Lots of people are swindled into one though, then they end up putting in a woodstove to offset the $800+ electric bills. Our electricity is almost unbelievably high here!

 

[webby3650]

Last time I bought LP, it was .93 a gallon...

 

[djkeev]

Wow! You all must have cheap electricity where you live. Or LP is just higher? Other than wood, it’s the cheapest heat here, unless you have natural gas. No way I’d have a heat pump! Almost worthless all winter in this climate. Lots of people are swindled into one though, then they end up putting in a woodstove to offset the $800+ electric bills. Our electricity is almost unbelievably high here!

I have a heat pump in the Reading Pa area. It is THE cheapest fuel source outside of natural gas........ which I do NOT have out in the woods where I am.

Dave

 

[illini81]

Wow! You all must have cheap electricity where you live. Or LP is just higher? Other than wood, it’s the cheapest heat here, unless you have natural gas. No way I’d have a heat pump! Almost worthless all winter in this climate. Lots of people are swindled into one though, then they end up putting in a woodstove to offset the $800+ electric bills. Our electricity is almost unbelievably high here!

In my region of CT, there really aren't good heating options. Oil is the most common option. I'm going to guess that electric heat is second. However, we have some of the highest electricity rates in the country. Propane is an option, but is expensive as well. Natural gas is mostly unavailable. Kinda sucks.

 

[webby3650]

I have a heat pump in the Reading Pa area. It is THE cheapest fuel source outside of natural gas........ which I do NOT have out in the woods where I am.

Dave

As long as you heat with wood once the temps really drop right?

 

[begreen]

Wow! You all must have cheap electricity where you live. Or LP is just higher? Other than wood, it’s the cheapest heat here, unless you have natural gas. No way I’d have a heat pump! Almost worthless all winter in this climate. Lots of people are swindled into one though, then they end up putting in a woodstove to offset the $800+ electric bills. Our electricity is almost unbelievably high here!

The midwest normally gets a huge break on propane prices. Where we are pricing is the opposite. Electricity is reasonable and propane earns the name propain. The heat pump is miserly and doesn't add a lot to the bill. Worst case maybe $30/40 a month or less during sunny 50+ days.

 

[xman23]

Questions for the heat pump fan boys. I have been considering it for the cabin. Are you heating and air conditioning with the heat pump? Is it multiple split units? And what brand are you using?

Thanks Tom

 

[webby3650]

The midwest normally gets a huge break on propane prices. Where we are pricing is the opposite. Electricity is reasonable and propane earns the name propain. The heat pump is miserly and doesn't add a lot to the bill. Worst case maybe $30/40 a month or less during sunny 50+ days.

Everyone I know that has one is unhappy with it, and uses wood to offset the outrageous heating bills. They are not effective under 30 degrees and inefficient under 40, from what I understand. I talked to as many installers as possible and researched it throughly before making my decision. 95%+ LP was my decision.

 

[Sprinter]

I can't imagine having to heat a house with propane, at least around here. We do use propane for the kitchen range but it uses very little and works nicely for cooking and in case of a serious power failure. 50 gallons can last us a year for that. So with the wood stove and gas range and rotating about 40 gal of gas through containers and the cars, we can get along for months with just a small Honda gen.

Propane is also a good fuel for dual fuel generators since it doesn't age like gasoline. Again, mostly for emergencies.

 

[webby3650]

I can't imagine having to heat a house with propane, at least around here. We do use propane for the kitchen range but it uses very little and works nicely for cooking and in case of a serious power failure. 50 gallons can last us a year for that. So with the wood stove and gas range and rotating about 40 gal of gas through containers and the cars, we can get along for months with just a small Honda gen.

Propane is also a good fuel for dual fuel generators since it doesn't age like gasoline. Again, mostly for emergencies.

Or if it’s readily available. Evidently it’s cheaper it certain parts of the country. I only fill my 500 gallon tank in the summer. We use about half a tank annually, furnace, range and water heater. I pay less than $1 a gallon typically. Switching to a gas water heater alone dropped my electric bill by about $50 a month!

 

[Woody Stover]

Everyone I know that has one is unhappy with it, and uses wood to offset the outrageous heating bills. They are not effective under 30 degrees and inefficient under 40, from what I understand. I talked to as many installers as possible and researched it throughly before making my decision. 95%+ LP was my decision.

Aw crap, I was thinking a mini-split would be the way to go here. Hadn't really done the research yet, though. It is a bit warmer down here though..maybe 5 degrees.

 

[webby3650]

Aw crap, I was thinking a mini-split would be the way to go here. Hadn't really done the research yet, though. It is a bit warmer down here though..maybe 5 degrees.

I’ve heard good things about the mini split. Not real practical in my application though.

 

[Sprinter]

I pay less than $1 a gallon typically

Oh, well, that's pretty good. I just checked our last bill and it was $2/gal for our smallish 50 gal. tank which wasn't too bad I thought. But it changes all the time. I've actually thought about buying a larger tank just for prepper reasons but I'm not sure it would be worth the cost. It's good energy storage, though, for it's stability.

Our electric costs are quite low, but the the power grid can be a bit flaky, and a disaster would be, well, a disaster. So I don't fully count on it. I like to have a variety of energy sources at hand.

 

[begreen]

Everyone I know that has one is unhappy with it, and uses wood to offset the outrageous heating bills. They are not effective under 30 degrees and inefficient under 40, from what I understand. I talked to as many installers as possible and researched it throughly before making my decision. 95%+ LP was my decision.

It all depends on what's installed and where. For our climate it works great. FWIW, several mini-splits are now good down to -5º these days. Some have air handler packages that can tie into a conventional ducted system.

 

[redktmrider]

Aw crap, I was thinking a mini-split would be the way to go here. Hadn't really done the research yet, though. It is a bit warmer down here though..maybe 5 degrees.

We put in a 3 head mini split in our 1000 sq ft addition. It's a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat system , it claims it can heat down to -17F with out any secondary system. When it gets cold, it mainly heats the 500 sq ft bedroom as the Ashford heats the other 500 sq ft along with some of the older parts of the house. I've been pretty pleased with it so far. It sure is a lot better than than the ducted heat pump in the old parts of the house. The rooms served by the mini split feel much warmer even though the temps are the same.

 

[webby3650]

It all depends on what's installed and where. For our climate it works great. FWIW, several mini-splits are now good down to -5º these days. Some have air handler packages that can tie into a conventional ducted system.

The mini splits are doing great I hear. Some people like their pumps, but not the folks on rural energy. It’s about 2/3’s more on average to operate.

 

[Wolves1]

I heat my house with wood 24/7 but i do have a it’s a Mitsubishi split unit with hyper heating I did try itvwith outside temps under 10 and it did heat very fast. If you don’t have the hyper heating it will continuously run on high and it will not be efficient at all.

 

[RobbieB]

I pay $7.50/gallon for propane regularly.

Blue Rhino propane exchange at the grocery -