Backup propane supply

[AGreyMan]

I live in a rural area, and our home uses liquified propane (LP) as a fuel source for our furnace, water heater, clothes dryer and kitchen stove. We have a 500 gallon tank, and I usually call the co-op from whom we lease the tank when we hit the 20% mark.

I called a couple weeks ago for a refill, before the Polar Vortex and our 12" snowfall. If the tank runs completely empty, the co-op has a bull$hit $100 "leakdown test" they must do before they'll refill your tank, so it really stinks if you run out. Not to mention the lack of heat, hot water, etc.

I watched with some trepidation as the percentage fell from 20% to 15% to 10% to 8%.... We went into conservation mode with short showers, washing clothes in cold water, etc. when we hit 15%. I also shut off the furnace and we relied exclusively on the wood stove to make the house comfortable.

The co-op said that with the cold weather, many people had run out, so they were "emergencies" and were ahead of us in priority.

When we hit 8%, I switched over to my backup LP supply, a couple 100# tanks that I connected to the house gas tubing. Rest assured, I used my nose and borrowed a LP "sniffer" to see if there was any leakage from my setup. There was not.







We were able to alleviate some worry by having a backup LP supply.

Next year's plan is to purchase our own 1000 gallon tank, and to call when we hit 30%.

 

[240Geezer]

Can’t argue with your plan but 1000 gal seems kind of extreme. You’re committed at that point.
Smaller aux tanks are semi portable in case you need to reconfigure or move.
Just a thought.
Or a different gas company maybe.
I do know that a couple of years ago a sizable gas company up here in NH that went belly up. Left a lot of people in a bad way in the winter.
Luckily another company was able to step in and pick up with no catastrophe.

 

[WhiteWolf]

1000 gals is a minimum for me, Geezer. I'll be dedicating another 1000 gal tank to a generator. It's not like LP goes bad.

 

[240Geezer]

True Sac. 200 gallons lasts us 3 weeks minimum in the coldest of winters. That’s with no conservation or aux wood heating.
That’s furnace, hot water, and stove.

Everyone’s home and needs are different.
I only offer an alternative thought.

 

[AGreyMan]

I think in any situation there are a lot of variables that may elude a cursory view of the situation. Geez, I definitely appreciate your thoughts on the matter, and I have considered 2 of the 500 gallon tanks versus one 1000 gallon tank. That way if something happens, I only lose half my LP. Of course, my luck is that something would happen to the full tank, not the half empty one!

The idea of possible transport/repositioning ease of smaller tanks does bear some consideration. On the other hand if I am bugging out, transporting LP tanks is pretty far down on my "to do" list!

We usually prepay for 1000 gallons every summer. Usually we go through less than that in a year, but it's nice to have it locked in. Maybe folks remember a few years back when there was an LP shortage, and prices went way up? I was thankful we'd already had a contract that winter!

It's my goal to have 2 year's worth of LP on site, but my next step is a year's worth.

At any rate, it was sure nice to have a couple reserve tanks to draw from to buy more time.

 

[Sandman]

How much is propane in your area? We're at $3.49 now...last refill they billed for $4.99 and I called and told them to come pull the tank, so they backed down. Said they offered more services...? Thieves everywhere

 

[WhiteWolf]

My wallet feels your pain too Sandman. What with WV fuel taxes and the cost of transpo & storage, I paid $3.05/gal locking in my price over the summer last year. Since then, I've added the generator and another 1000 gal tank, and the two are tied to together. So I can pull a total of 1700 gals, in an extended outage. I also bought the new tank and bought out the lease on the old one - and in the next couple months will start shopping prices for next season's contract.

This place uses an awful lot of gas in the winter. Even after replacing the drafty windows and doors. Gas installer, last time, said the Yukon dual fuel furnace in the garage/studio is terribly inefficient. It's only advantage - and it's not much of one - is that I can burn wood in the firebox without any power to the unit. But the ash bin is freakin' TINY and so is the firebox; even when I'm using slab wood. It's on the list to swap out and upgrade. Yukons are made in Canada and unfortunately, EPA hasn't allowed them to do business in the US - starting sometime after this was installed.

I also replaced the gas dryer with electric. I know, I know... but everything else is pretty much propane and since I had the washer added to the generator panel and have two XLG drying racks... I can set them up by the wood stoves and dry clothes pretty fast. And I'm working on a location for a clothesline too.

 

[240Geezer]

I’m in favor of having as much on hand as one can afford. Be aware that regulators can and do leak. Fittings as well. A small leak can go unnoticed for months if the tank is located in an area you don’t normally access.
Trust me on this.
While it might not be a safety concern it’s dollars and capacity lost.

 

[The Branch Manager]

Might I suggest an additional 500 instead of one 1000 gallon? I've lost diesel before, I now use several 500's. Leaks happen.