Propane

NorthwoodsMike, I am going into the office and talk to someone this week. I'll take notes and ask questions and not worry that I'm tying someone up on the phone. I'll post when I have the info. this week. I am much better at understanding plants and animals than technology and electricity.

I wonder how this is tying in with the new EPA woostove regs. And the new fee they just added to heating oil on that farm bill. Pretty soon it's going to be too expensive or illegal to heat your own home! And that's not even talking about "shortages" - real or imagined.

We haven't filled any of our LP bottles because the cost in town in over $5/gal and bush prices are closer to $8/gal. We've got the woodstove for heat and are also cooking and heating water on it... but you really can't bake bread or make pizza in our little stovetop oven Guess I'd better get to work on that woodfired mud/brick oven sooner rather than later.

Many years ago - when I was a boy scout I was taught to be prepared - that still is good advice - reading all the threads I get the impression that in general people don't prepare themselves for emergencies - they are dealing with very high cost propance now - but what are they going to do when there isn't any available at all - at any cost - what they going to do when there is food shortages - or water shortages - or no gas for vehicles - etc. - folks need to think about these things and prepared for the worst - you never know when a real disaster can strike and you have to pretty much live on your own for a length of time -

I am just so happy looks like we found insurance today. Just don't make sense so much Oak and Hickory around not putting it to use.

Going to cost about $1000 to convert the Fireplace back to wood but it will be worth it. Propane is $3.49 today here.

big rockpile

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If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

I am SO happy to read this! Can you install some kind of a liner and woodstove insert?

A plain old fireplace is not the way to heat a house - you need to put a insert or stove in the fireplace - when you put a fire in a plain fireplace without either of these you are basiclly just getting heat in front and around the fireplace - the rest of the house will get colder from the air coming into the house to replace the air going out the chimmey -

JoePa, you have hickory? You are indeed blessed! You get to sleep through the night. We get some hickory with the wood we buy and I put it aside for the last load in for the evening...

Thing is the fireplace has Insert, Blower and metal Lined Flue. No reason it couldn't have been insured after inspection. We had it inspected and all was good before just couldn't find anyone to insure it.

big rockpile

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I love being married.Its so great to find that one person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.



If I need a Shelter
If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

More Frigid cold forecasted for later this week! JOY!

Gasoline: $3.11 a gallon
Kerosene $4.63 a gallon
Propane $3.80 a gallon
Diesel: $4.01 to $3.79 a gallon

I just bought some Kerosene for the emergency heaters, we going to have sleet or ice, snow? Big storm hitting Tuesday, and propane company only will deliver 200 gallon minimum!

I am always amazed at the things that become a thorn in our side as we make our way through this life.

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www.MontanaSticksAndStones.com at Goshen Farm

Was the insurance company not willing to insure you because the conversion back to wood hadn't been done yet? Sounds like prudence on their part. Good luck going forward.

Last year they wouldn't even talk to us, we had it ready for Wood, inspected and all.

This year we have to convert it back, which only involves, unsealing Damper, unsealing Flue Pipe, putting Glass back in Doors, pulling Gas Log out and Gas Line. Inspect it again.

Put some Wood in get it burning. Which probably won't happen until next Fall because weather is suppose to be too bad for weeks and we still have Gas but not ordering as much this Spring.

big rockpile

big rockpile

__________________
I love being married.Its so great to find that one person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.



If I need a Shelter
If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

...........What goes UP , will , come back down ! , fordy

When people are unprepared for emergencies, that's their decision. On the other hand those who have prepared for the worst need to decide just how much, if any, they are prepared to help out those who have made the bad decision to not prepare. More importantly, they need to make a decision about how to best defend their family and possessions from those who would take them in times of extreme crisis.

I don't know first hand but from what I have seen on the Nashville News is the propane companies are not delivering to anyone who is not renting a tank from them due to the shortage.

Alot of the "shortage" is just due to delivery, the gas pipelines are carrying natural gas since that is needed immediately. The propane industry has more storage and is not as "on demand" so it's not getting priority on the gas pipelines. I haven't heard of any natural gas outages.

I was planning on using propane as a backup heat source to the wood. Sure makes me second guess that plan. But I think as long as I have a season's worth of storage I should be able to wait to refill.

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The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

If you are a Farm Bureau member, or member of other large organizations, check out the benefits offered to members. I don't know what organizations exist across the country, but some have benefits that will more than pay for the membership dues. Discounts on vehicles, some have financing, discounts on other items as well.

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"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness."
Thomas Jefferson to George Washington 1787

Local filling station will NOT fill my friends tank for his forklift (his usual place). He got three deliveries today...moving it all by hand.

Matt

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Yes - as long as I put any hard wood - like oak, hickory, iron wood, in the stove and turn the draft down - I'm good for 10 hours - during the day right now I'm burning a lot of spruce and fir that I got from trees that were blown over a couple years ago - I didn't want to waste the wood - so I'm using it - boy my pile is going down pretty fast this year - I'm just going to make it to the end of Feb - the way it looks - I have some wood that I stacked this last fall but I don't think that is dry enough to use - from experience I found out that you just waste the wood if it isn't dry enough -

Birch is the only decent hardwood that grows here, so I keep all that separate for overnight or when we'll be out of the cabin all day. The rest is aspen and spruce, and the occassional tamarack. We manage with wood heat just fine, even with the lower BTU soft woods in the woodstove... as long as we're not gone for more than 8-10 hours.

The problems come in when we need to go into town... it's 4 hours each way, so we're gone at least a whole day. That's when we really need a long-term self-feeding heat source like propane or oil (we have both) that will last 2-3 days on a fill to keep the cabin from freezing up (not toasty, more like 45-50). It's either that, or one of us has to stay home while the other one makes the long drive alone which is really dangerous this time of year.

Right now, both propane and heating oil are insanely priced. Gasoline isn't much better. The weird thing though, is that it's actually a WARM winter for us... ya'll down south seem to be getting our cold winter weather, but we're still paying the price hikes up here

I paid 3.78 a gallon the other day. Usually we only fill once a year (500 gal tank) but this year we are using so much more and have to fill a second time. Having my chimney fixed properly and fitted with stove pipe and installing a wood stove are now my first order of business. I have to save up the money but I hope to have it done by next winter.