Propane - $4 a unit!!!

homebirtha · #1 10/29/06, 07:56 AM

OUCH! We just filled our tank, first time since March, and it was $4 a unit. Just two years ago, it was under $2. We were thinking about adding a small propane wall heater for supplemental heat to our woodstove, but now we're rethinking it. Maybe an small electric heat pump would be better? Any thoughts?

Rockin'B · #2 10/29/06, 08:04 AM

What is a unit? I work for a company that sells propane and have never heard the term before?

mpillow · #3 10/29/06, 08:06 AM

We have a propane furnace at camp and just filled at $3.80 per.

Needless to say we also have a very big woodstove at camp too.
We are also looking into bio bricks for use in a woodstove now in addition to the regular wood supply...Heat pumps are not big enough and not used here in the North...we use #2 oil and HWBB(w/ boilermate Hot water) at home and primarily wood.

mink · #4 10/29/06, 08:07 AM

isnt propane pumped in by the gallon? that wouldnt be cheap heat anymore, fuel oil up here in new york is as high as $2.80 a gallon this fall......mink

Windy in Kansas · #5 10/29/06, 08:16 AM

It is give or take a few cents of $1.50 per gallon where I live in Hutchinson, KS.

If that $4 is for a one gallon unit--well someone is certainly making a lot of money on the transaction.

Mrs. Vet · #6 10/29/06, 08:22 AM

We are switching to wood heat this winter. Just can't go the high prices for propane this year.

homebirtha · #7 10/29/06, 08:29 AM

Yeah, now I'm not sure. I thought it was by the pound, but maybe it is a gallon. The bill says "unit", and I know it used to be around $2 per. We only use it for cooking, so we don't go through much. But if we use it for heat, I'm going to have to look into this some more.

suitcase_sally · #8 10/29/06, 09:34 AM

How big is your tank? When I only had a small 120 gal. tank they charged more than for a 500 gal. tank.

I would surely ask the propane co. what a "unit" is.

mpillow · #9 10/29/06, 09:45 AM

I believe tanks are designated by the pound...20# being your typical grill tank and 100# known as a pig (what we have at camp). The propane is cooled and liquified for storage and delivery purposes...our bill lists gallons but in relation to the 100# tank size I'm not sure if 1 liq gallon = 1 pound in the tank

skruzich · #10 10/29/06, 09:47 AM

PRopane down here is only 1.70 a gallon now. Supposed to go down to around 1.20 a gallon in july. One thing is for sure it won't go up this winter, theres a surplus.

harrisjnet · #11 10/29/06, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skruzich

PRopane down here is only 1.70 a gallon now. Supposed to go down to around 1.20 a gallon in july. One thing is for sure it won't go up this winter, theres a surplus.

That's about what I can get it for in Oklahoma to.

nehimama · #12 10/29/06, 10:04 AM

I feel your pain, homebirtha! I have to save all year for a once-a-year fill-up. Unfortunately, the hot water heater and stove run on propane. I try to use the crockpot, the microwave, and the roaster for a lot of my cooking.

I heat mostly with wood, with ventless wall unit propane heaters ONLY for backup or emergency (such as when I'm ill, and too sick to go out to the barn to haul in wood, or too ill to properly tend the woodstove). Bathrom is heated only for showers, with a small electric unit.

Other than that, lots of layers of clothing, and a buncha blankets on the bed. On really cold nights, an electric blanket.

NeHi

arabian knight · #13 10/29/06, 10:05 AM

That is what is around here also in WI. 4 bucks WOW somebody is being Racked over the coals without the benefit of cooling them down first.
That is what is called Gouging at its best.....................

suitcase_sally · #14 10/29/06, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpillow

I believe tanks are designated by the pound...20# being your typical grill tank and 100# known as a pig (what we have at camp). The propane is cooled and liquified for storage and delivery purposes...our bill lists gallons but in relation to the 100# tank size I'm not sure if 1 liq gallon = 1 pound in the tank

Small grill-type tanks are filled by weight - they put them on a scale and fill them. Once you get to the larger sizes it is in gallons with the gallon capacity stamped on the tank. Horizontal pigs start around 250 gal. and go to 1000. They may go larger, but I've not seen them.

Jack in VA · #15 10/29/06, 10:56 AM

So, what is a unit? A gallon of water is about 8 lbs. So if I fill a 20 lb tank for $16, what am I paying per unit?

nebula5 · #16 10/29/06, 11:03 AM

I think it was established in another thread awhile ago that propane prices vary widely depending on where in the U.S. you live. In NY, I'm still paying $2.45/gal and this is not unusual here.

shaycool · #17 10/29/06, 11:15 AM

1 gallon of propane weighs 4.24 pounds

HermitJohn · #18 10/29/06, 11:20 AM

I am using 20# (5gal) tanks for my propane two burner hotplate as I just dont feel like wrestling 100#(30gal) tanks anymore. It was $3 gallon last I had my 20# tanks filled. Meaning $3 is expensive, $4 is gouging big time. Elderly friend think cost him more like $2 per gal to come fill his big bulk tank. I am not sure of exact size of his tank but it was well over $600 to fill it from near empty. That wont last him more than month and a half and his house isnt that comfortable. Better since I helped him install new furnace, but still... attic has lot insulation but walls (old stone veneer) have none since no easy way to do it what with firestops and solid wood shiplap boards on interior walls.

I'd say anybody building new or doing extensive redo is fool not to consider super insulating or solar. Fuel simply isnt going to stay at present price short of a depression where demand stays way down, no matter what the neo's claim about vast new reserves of oil just over the horizon. I've been in a super insulated cabin. It was hard not to overheat it using just tiny electric space heater even in coldest weather. Made me jealous though my shack doesnt take much wood to heat. Unfortunately the person didnt think to put in a air to air heat exchanger so air tended to get stuffy/stale feeling to me. Beats the heck out of paying fortune to some gas company or cutting down half a forest to heat.

tamsam · #19 10/29/06, 12:22 PM

We use wood and coal to heat and everything else is electric except our little propane {20,000}wall heater. It is used only for backup when we go off or in case of emrgency. At most we have filled the 100 pound tank twice in a winter. We also get our wood from different places such as some one clearing property or downed trees. We use the propane as here in the winter it is common to lose power and the gas needs no elect if the power goes off when we aren't home. It works out great for us. The last coal was 25.00 a ton and we pick what we want and put in buckets or boxes. A trip to the caol yard gets us out in the winter and is about 25 miles from home. A load last us most times 2 weeks and usuall we only pay 5 or six bucks for what we get in the back of the ranger. Good luck with your propane Tamsam

Siryet · #20 10/29/06, 12:37 PM

5 gal replacement tanks at Wal Mart Here (Arkansas) are $13.95 I believe and that includes swithcing tanks.