Propane Users: Plans for the Future?

[kcflhrc]

One of my neighbors just installed 2 electric heat pumps to cut down his propane use

That will help when it is above freezing. But anything below 30 degrees and the heat pumps are worthless. I have a brand new heat pump with propane backup we installed right after we moved in.

 

[PastTense]

That will help when it is above freezing. But anything below 30 degrees and the heat pumps are worthless. I have a brand new heat pump with propane backup we installed right after we moved in.

Apparently some new model heat pumps will go to a much lower temperature:
"Fujitsu has just released their latest heat pump, the RLS-2H which maintains it’s rated output down to -15°F"
The Latest Heat Pump Works Down to -15°F

 

[grsthegreat]

Apparently some new model heat pumps will go to a much lower temperature:
"Fujitsu has just released their latest heat pump, the RLS-2H which maintains it’s rated output down to -15°F"
The Latest Heat Pump Works Down to -15°F

these arnt very efficient..and need heated condensate drains. 15,000 btu isnt much compared to the 125,000 btu furnace my house needs. I have a heat pump and it works good till the temps hit 35F, after which the defrost cycle system robs any savings in energy. Then it goes to propane backup heater (95% efficient unit). I have a wood burning fireplace also, and plan on stocking up a better supply of wood than i did last year. i just got lazy.

 

[PastTense]

We are considering
...
B. A coal-fired OUTDOOR boiler system.

Would you have to load the coal into the system manually every day or so--or is the coal in small pellets or whatever and will flow into the system smoothly?
Where do you get the coal? My impression is that people only use coal not that far away from coal mines. The nearest dealer to me (and it looks like about the only one is the state) is 100 miles away.

 

[dave1949]

Bagged nut or pea coal is available here in a few farm & hardware stores. I don't know how the cost compares but usually coal is cheap on a btu basis.

Coal stinks and pollutes. And if you ever get a backdraft and your stove puffs, it is not going to be good. Been there and tried that.

 

[coobie]

I planned for the future about 10 years ago and installed a wood pellet stove to heat our whole house.Propane prices did the same thing about 10 years back from 99 cents per gal. to over $2 per gal.Got sick of getting screwed.coobie

 

[BitChin1]

That will help when it is above freezing. But anything below 30 degrees and the heat pumps are worthless. I have a brand new heat pump with propane backup we installed right after we moved in.

Actually this is not the case with mini-split units - mine works quite well down to -5deg and still puts out warm air at -13deg and at very efficient level.
I also have a ground source unit for lower levels and it works at any outside temp we will experience in SC Kansas.

 

[Ridgewalker]

We have a 1,000 gallon tank that I filled in November. It's setting at 50% at the moment and I shouldn't have to refill until summer. Our atrium ranch faces SE and we had windows open today even thou it was 11F. The sun really warms the house up!

We have a wood burning fireplace and a couple of oil heaters for use in the basement when the sun is blocked. I spent about 800$ per year on propane. I'll take it!

 

[arnoldziffel]

Our nearest large coal dealer is 5 miles away. They will deliver bulk or bagged.

An outdoor coal boiler is very similar to an outdoor wood boiler. Only the plumbing needed to circulate the coal heated liquid enters your home.

The boilers I'm looking at are automatic stokers with large hoppers that can hold enough coal for days.

We have very high quality coal here in the northeast. When operating properly there is no smell, no smoke.

 

[Beltman60]

put in a wood pellet stove 3 years ago
first year 1 ton
second year 1 1/2 tons
this year I hope to get thru with < 3 tons

I pay $200 per ton max

my back up is propane and I only have a 250 gal tank that is on 60%
my hot water heater and kitchen stove still use propane

my house is warmer when running my pellet stove (74 deg with coldest part of the house at 66 deg)than running my heat pump (whole house at 67 deg)
my wife and daughter hate when it warms up outside (above 30 deg) when I go back to using the heat pump

pellet stoves are noisy and require electricity to move the heat
I have mine on a rather large ups and with power outages have plenty of time to get my generator out from the barn and get things hooked up to my main panel to run all my electric

 

[charlz]

One possible thing to keep an eye on when selecting an alternative to propane might be electricity. I know California is/was experiencing NG shortages for their power plants and were asking people to cut back on electricity. If you are in an area where they are converting from Coal-fired to NG-fired power plants the same thing may happen in your area in the future. Not sure it would get to 'rolling blackouts' in the middle of winter but something to think about when wanting to isolate yourself from one form of energy or another.

 

[ray66v]

My plan: Told my Dad I am moving back home for the winters, if propane gets over $3.50. We are using $600+ worth a month now, at $2.

Moving back home is humorous, because I am essentially retired. :laughing:

But, not really a bad idea on all levels, he does have free gas. :thumbsup:

 

[tcartwri]

I'm pretty sure after this winter we are going to see some kind of price regulation, which I know will mean higher average prices year round.

 

[bucktaker]

searching for either a 1000 gal tank or two 500's to store enough summer fill to last all yr.

Got lucky and got my Jan fill before all this nonsense.....should be good fo the rest of the year if the weather moderates enough to run the heat pump instead of propane furnace

 

[newbury]

We had two 250 gallon propane tanks with about 200 gallons each in them that were stolen. Since they were just filled to the 200+ gallon level about a month before they were stolen we only replaced the one <snip>

Perhaps this is off topic... but HOW does one steal a 250 gallon propane tank, much less two of them?

We are pretty sure one of the propane companies took them. They didn't just cut the copper feed tube but disconnected it and bent it over so it wouldn't collect water. However upon questioning they wouldn't own up and we couldn't track them down. They are probably at some remote deer camp.

 

[timster2]

Propane truck just stopped by, however, because my tanks were still half full wouldn't give me any propane. Seems because of the shortage they are only filling tanks half way. So much for conserving, now I have to keep checking my tanks so I don't run out.

 

[QuasarZ]

These posts are interesting and I am learning a bunch. I will be building a house in the spring and my only gas source is propane. I am trying to learn about all of the alternatives. Keep it coming!

 

[lutt]

This propane has gotten way out of hand like everything else anymore. We use a forced air wood furnace in the basement. I also have natural gas. As many ice storms as we have had on the last 25 or so years here on northeast Arkansas, I wouldn't be without wood. Not a big fan of heat pumps, no matter how efficient they get them, they still won't feel as warm as wood. Plus, it's something else to worry about putting power too. If I built a new house, I would design it around a centrally placed wood heat source. My house is built like that now, even of we loose power the furnace still will hear the house. LUTT

 

[therealmjfox]

Propane is way out of hand and is no longer cost competitive with just about any other heating method, and hasn't been for some time. I crunched the numbers using data from the dept of energy and my results are here: Unjustified Precision: Propane heat is for suckers... and yes that includes me.

I agree that heat pumps can feel chilly but it's even cheaper to run a heat pump in emergency mode (meaning force it to use the electric strip heaters, which are nice and toasty but expensive) than to use propane and it has been for some time. The DOE data bears that out and so do anecdotes. I have a coworker with a similar sized house who did that during the polar vortex and complained about getting a $350 electric bill. My propane bill for roughly the same time period was $850.

I'm also looking into a 1000 gallon propane tank to replace my 500 gallon one so I can do more summer fills, but I'm not convinced that is consistently cheaper. It would have been this year but that's just one data point. Historical data on summer propane prices is hard to come by, the DOE only tracks prices October through March.