Propane Prices

[SamSpade]

I'm using a heat pump and keeping the house around 65 - and it's still killing me and I'd love to have a 375 heating bill.

However, the cold weather should only last about another month, and then I'll have some relief.

I think what bugs me is I've done everything I can to lower my electric consumption, and even with my old heat pump and drafty house, I was able to lower my power consumption by about 800 kilowatt hours - and I STILL paid more than last year.

REALLY want to add a different kind of backup system next year, even if it's a wood stove.

[bcp (Premo)]

Originally Posted by sccrmommy

Maybe I'm wrong about the size of my tank. I was just looking online for anything that looked about my size. It's just the standard one you see everywhere else, so maybe it's 200, I don't know! All I know is I'm about to start selling myself to pay the bills....any takers? LOL

dont even joke about that.

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

Originally Posted by sccrmommy

Sorry-I have a VERY small 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house. Maybe about 900 sq. feet. and I think it's the standard above ground stand up 500 pound tank. I swear to god United isn't putting in as much as they claim they are! I guess I would never know, but I just don't see how there's anyway that an adult and a child go through a whole tank a month. We're rarely ever home!

I have a 3 B/R, 1 BA home less than 1000 sq. feet. When I bought the place in '96 it had; and [still] has baseboard heat in every room. In my living room which is roughly 10'x20'; I never measured it; I'm guessing; in addition to a ceiling fan at one end of the room, there is one thermostat on one of the walls; pretty much in the middle of the room and one baseboard heater on each end of the room. Both are controlled by the thermostat. It is the most inefficient method to heating that room.

A few years ago someone in my family bought me a stand alone propane heater which Dad and I spliced into the gas line to the water heater. Greatest thing since sliced bread; that heater! I didn't have to walk around in sweats wrapped up in a wool blanket and a sleeping bag. It was great!
I only have my hot water heater and my "heater heater"; my primary source of heat; on propane.

When my gas company keeps their records straight, I usually pay a little over $200 per delivery when it's cold like it is today. But, the last time I received a fill up, I got a bill for 300-something dollars. I'll have to find my copy of the bill to see what the price of propane was per gallon on the day I got my fill-up but I want to say it was around $2.00/gallon.....or pound or however propane is measured.

I don't have the money to install a central heat/air system that uses oil so I am making due with what I have. It works for me. I've learned how to live with it. But anymore is there really a cost benefit of one (propane) over the other (oil)?

[Etred101]

Propane use is be a function of
efficiency of your furnace
themostat setting
efficiency of your insulation, windows
hot water heater use
stove
leaks
space
Propane cost per gallon should be around $3.00 with some variation by providers, location and market fluctutations. I just paid $2.84 per gallon on 2/14/08.
Worked out to about $500 month propane Dec - now. Less before and less after.

[daisycreek]

Originally Posted by sccrmommy

I know there was a thread on this a few weeks ago, but I didn't follow it closely. On 12/31/07 United Propane filled my tank and it cost me $375 and some change. Almost one month later, 1/28/08 they came and filled it again and it cost me $364 and some change. They came last week and now the bill is $396!!! I've never had electric heat so I'm curious how it compares. $400 a month is taking it's toll on this poor single Mother!!!! I keep the thermostat set to 70, so it's not like it's running all the time. What's everyone's thoughts?

If you see a cute woman on a corner in PF you know who it'll be!!!!

i use a kerosene heater placed under my ceiling fan (reversed) to keep the furnace from cutting on .. the kerosene is pricey but at @ 3.00 per night still cheaper than propane and the house is much warmer.. i would recommend a carbon monoxide alarm,

[Ol-man]

Originally Posted by bcp

prices still wont go down.
if prices drop, the shareholders of the oil companies are going to see losses,.

you cant go from making 10% profit on $4.00 to making 10% profit on $2.00 and expect the share holders to suck it up. fuel will not ever come back down. the best we can expect is that it will hang at a certain price level long enough for incomes to be able to absorb it again.

I agree with you, the refinery damage from Katrina excuse the government used to raise the prices to above $3.00 was just a test to see if would affect consumption it did'nt so they lowered the prices for a while and then slowly got them back up around that price again. Also the public is easily programmed to accept it, how many times have you heard someone say or even said yourself " the gas at Sheetz (WaWa) is down to $2.85 or $2.90 or whatever,when just a few years back it was barley above a dollar. Also it's a copout to hear talking heads on TV say that Europe and other countries pay $5-$8 per gallon, we should feel lucky! I say "F" them! we have the best road system in the world and our culture is defined by the automobile, so we demand affordable fuel. As long as there still super large trucks and SUV's what sense does it make to buy a little hybrid s**t box to mingle with that kind of sheet metal. One thing for sure it will hit 4 bucks by summer but not to worry! the weather will be better and I can rotate between riding the Huffy 10 speed or saddle up the burro.