Switch from Propane to Natural Gas?

[skives19]

We just found out the natural gas is being run down the road that connects to our road. The gas company is offering to run it to our house for approximately $3,600 lump sum or $45 a month for 10 years. The calculator on the gas company website says we will save $585 a year based on the amount of propane we use and the amount we are paying this year.

What do you guys think is it worth it to switch?

 

[Dataman]

Can you get the Jets for your Item? Propane is heavier than natural gas, so the orifices for natural gas are different from those for propane. The orifice size that is ideal for natural gas may be too small for propane, causing it to flow too slowly. This could lead to insufficient flame size, blocked orifices, or an uneven flame.

 

[ABMax24]

Natural gas uses a bigger orifice, and lower supply pressure.

Natural gas is typically operated at 7"WC and Propane is 11" WC.

Most household appliances are convertible, a good gas fitter should be able to convert the appliances in your home in a day.

I'd switch, I'm on natural gas, I couldn't imagine using propane and the hassles of having a tank and having it filled regularly.

One thing to inquire about is the piping inside your house, make sure it's up to code and they will connect you to NG without costly upgrades.

 

[old greybeard]

Until 2 years ago it would have been a no brainer. But NG has climbed dramatically, and our propane is still cheap, $2.25 a gallon. They wanted $20k to run it 200yds to my house. You’ll have to do the math depending on your local prices. Propane long term should remain cheap in my heavy fracked area, as its a by product.

 

[ABMax24]

Until 2 years ago it would have been a no brainer. But NG has climbed dramatically, and our propane is still cheap, $2.25 a gallon. They wanted $20k to run it 200yds to my house. You’ll have to do the math depending on your local prices. Propane long term should remain cheap in my heavy fracked area, as its a by product.

What is the going rate for natural gas in your area? Even at $2.25/gallon propane is $24.59/mmbtu. All costs included I'm paying almost exactly $10/mmbtu for natural gas.

Yes you'd have to burn a lot to pay for $20k to have it connected, but the OP is $3600 to be connected.

 

[Eman85]

They ran NG down our road years back, we had propane. They didn't charge anything to run it to us as they were our propane supplier, out gas company is a county utility. They converted everything over to NG also at no charge.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

45x12 is $540 In yearly fees to save $585 doesn’t seem like a great deal if you consider the hassle of conversion.

Now, the $3600 one time if you’re saving $585 has a much better pay back.

 

[Poindexter]

The only serious contribution I have is to keep your old parts if you do switch, so you can switch back.

As above, appliances that work on both NG and propane do need to switch gas jet orifices sizes when switching fuels. If you have the parts to switch back and forth you have freedom of choice.

I replaced my boiler this year and am still burning #1 fuel oil, in competition with all the 18 wheelers that need diesel.

I have a NG burner for my new boiler on the shelf in the garage, but my local gas company simply will not tell me how much they charge for NG. My local NG company will say stuff like "The same as #1 fuel at $2.50 per gallon" or "the same as #2 fuel at $2.65 per gallon," but they (the NG company) simply will not say how much they charge for natural gas.

I don't like it. I get that western europe needs to replace a LOT of missing NG this winter and the global markets are topsy-turvy, but I am not willing to buy a product from a company that will not tell me what the price of their product is.

 

[blades]

It is just not the price of gas to look at but the monthly fees, connection , rental charge of meter, delivery charge/line maintance, low income assistance , various sales taxes. These are all in addition to the price of the ng per volume rate. some of these are percentages of the volume price so they vary month to month. That is why they won't give you a definite price other than the price by volume of the NG itself, which is subject to adjustments also.

 

[old greybeard]

Just refilled propane. Price dropped from $2.25 in December to $2.10 now. Interesting reading about cost comparison. While price of propane is higher per gallon, its 2x as efficient.

 

[ABMax24]

While price of propane is higher per gallon, its 2x as efficient.

Your going to have to explain that, all my appliances are rated within 1% efficiency on NG or Propane.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Maybe it is more energy dense? Its not the same as combustion efficiency, but I get how somebody could make the comparison.

 

[ManitobaSky]

Its energy density, ft3 of natural gas is 1050 btu propane is 2500 btu. Natural gas is still about 5x cheaper here per btu.