Propane costs up

[tibadoe]

Just filled up our little 120g tank for the gas logs. We top it off each summer. This year: $1.69 - but only needed 40 gallons. We do have wood stove we can use if needed.

 

[Oaktree]

Just filled up our little 120g tank for the gas logs. We top it off each summer. This year: $1.69 - but only needed 40 gallons. We do have wood stove we can use if needed.

Must be nice. Had our tank filled a couple months ago and it was pushing $4/gal, probably over that now. Fortunately, we only use it for cooking & hot water, use maybe 150 gal/yr.

A neighbor of mine who currently heats with propane is seriously considering going electric. Who'da thought electric would ever be an economical heating option??

Isn’t wood burning being attacked by elites? Are you folks who rely on wood for heat concerned?

Not particularly. Wood heat is way too established here in northern New England for us to give up without a major fight. I do see how it might be restricted in densely populated areas though.

 

[orezok]

We bought two 1000 gallon tanks 20+ years ago. That's 1600 gallons of usable capacity, and typically we go through 900-1100 gallons in a year, so we call every vendor during the low point in summer for their best price.

Amerigas in summer is about 239 here usually (low point in year + bulk delivery - often well into $3 range in the winter but I only know this from others complaining), and we've paid 139-149 every year for at least the last 6 years. Not sure what it'll be this year yet.

Buy your own tanks if you can.

Unfortunately buying tanks would make no difference. They got a monopoly and charge the same price year round. BUT, they do provide you with a jar of Vaseline with your annual contract.

 

[ericm979]

Isn’t wood burning being attacked by elites? Are you folks who rely on wood for heat concerned?

It's not being attacked by elites, it's being restricted due to the air pollution it generates. People gotta breathe.

Some places on the west coast have air pollution problems due to geography and the number of people. For example both the SF and LA bay areas are large urban populations between the ocean and mountains. The prevailing wind is from the ocean and the pollution gets trapped in the basin by the mountains. That makes for serious air pollution. It's even worse when there is an inversion holding the polluted air down. Hence air pollution regulations that may not make sense to someone from another part of the country where there's fewer people and the wind blows it all away. You can find plenty of old pics of LA's brown air.

Most wood burning restrictions are a requirement to use an EPA stove when you replace yours. Which is a good idea anyhow. They work fine, make more heat and put out a lot less smoke. Some places can call "spare the air days" when there's an inversion. You're not supposed to run your stove then unless it's your only heat source. A few counties have more strict restrictions like not allowing stoves/fireplaces in new construction.

Having lived around the SF bay area since the '60s I've seen a marked improvement in air quality even though area population has gone up 50% in that time. I disagree with some individual air pollution rules but as a whole they have been beneficial.

 

[ponytug]

I helped organize a propane buying group 30 odd years ago; we got a bunch of neighbors together and then offered the local LPG suppliers a bulk buyers group. At first, it was just two propane companies, but as others lost customers, they converted. All of the local propane buyers now participate, typically for $1-$1.50 off per gallon on a keep full basis.

Typically, if you can get enough folks together to use a tanker worth, you can get a hefty discount because the propane supplier gets to spread the delivery cost across all buyers. They win, you win.

All the best,

Peter

 

[RickB]

LP prices have been all over the place for the last 20 years. I've seen it as low as 90 cents/gal and up to around $3. It's all about supply.

And the less you buy the more it costs. True with anything, but low volume propane REALLY costs.

 

[Diggin It]

It's a weird company spread out across several states. Each office is more like a franchise though with different names even though they all use the same color trucks. They give two prices, one for less than 200 gallons and another lower price for over 200 gallons. They sued to offer a significant discount if you paid within 10 days, but they seem to have stopped that. And I hear they've been bought out, so I'm not sure what will happen.

The idea of banding together and shopping companies for quotes won't work because each one demands to do a 'safety check' before they'll take on a new customer and they all seem to check different things for different fees.

 

[lman]

Must be nice. Had our tank filled a couple months ago and it was pushing $4/gal, probably over that now. Fortunately, we only use it for cooking & hot water, use maybe 150 gal/yr.

A neighbor of mine who currently heats with propane is seriously considering going electric. Who'da thought electric would ever be an economical heating option??

Not particularly. Wood heat is way too established here in northern New England for us to give up without a major fight. I do see how it might be restricted in densely populated areas though.

We use electric geothermal which is more economical than LP gas in my area.

 

[Jchonline]

Isn’t wood burning being attacked by elites? Are you folks who rely on wood for heat concerned?

MoKelly

No elites love the wood stove...its the new progressive carbon neutral heating option. Wood is renewable! Plus the EPA mandated double, triple, quadruple, quintuple recombustion chambers in every stove in 2020 so don worry everything will be fine!
Seriously though there are tons of modern looking wood stoves out there now and many EPA compliant stoves are super efficient..I mean like over 75% which is amazing.. We have a Lopi steel stove...its pretty awesome. We have propane based radiant heat but seldom need to turn it on. I live on 45 acres of timber so we always have firewood.

 

[ponytug]

I wouldn't sweat the safety check fee before you need it. As I recall, the switchover was a non-event, and the fee to switch was waived, but I admit it was a few years ago and my memory isn't what it was...

Current prices;

June 1, 2021​

Brand 1	Brand 2	Brand 3	Brand 4
2.750	2.517	2.700	3.200

You can see more data on the website.

YMMV!

All the best,

Peter