Propane shortage?

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Living south of Chicago in the heart of corn country I fill in the summer. Cost was 20 cents a gallon cheaper last summer than the summer before. Paid $1.25 a gallon for a 300 gallon fill.

This years crop harvest was not delayed. And was quite dry to start with, at least around here.
 
In the northeast people in the country (no natural gas) use to heat with oil. But with the high cost of oil and leaking tank issues many people who need a new boiler/furnace are going with propane. I am not sure what the percentage is who are converting.

Propane as other have said is a product of refining.
 
We sized our tank to last the winter as delivery could be an issue with a 2wd propane truck on our driveway, but we don't go through that much.

OT
I really don't understand why more people don't have a woodstove though.
$3k installed, lasts forever, no major maintenance required, fuel grows on trees, needs no power, fuel storage for a year require no infrastructure, no price manipulation [censored], no taxes paid on the fuel(usually). Most people need the exercise of moving wood, or even processing if they want a real workout.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
We sized our tank to last the winter as delivery could be an issue with a 2wd propane truck on our driveway, but we don't go through that much.

OT
I really don't understand why more people don't have a woodstove though.
$3k installed, lasts forever, no major maintenance required, fuel grows on trees, needs no power, fuel storage for a year require no infrastructure, no price manipulation [censored], no taxes paid on the fuel(usually). Most people need the exercise of moving wood, or even processing if they want a real workout.


Wood here is $350/cord and I don't have access to trees that I can cut. Also, some areas restrict wood burning due to air quality issues.
 
We got a bit of a shock today. The wife called to get our tank filled and was told the current price is $2.89/gallon. Last time we filled up it was $1.69/gallon. In addition, our propane company is rationing customers to a 60% fill. We have a 500 gallon tank which will be at about 20% by the time they get out here, so we'll be able to get a max of 200 gallons.
 
You are one of the lucky ones if they will come and fill to 60%. We ran out Sunday at church and placed our order back in Dec.

After the corn farmers used up so much drying wet corn this wet year $3 a gallon seems to be the going price.

Locally you need enough storage to last all winter to get the summer price to burn all winter.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Is propane primarily used in rural areas? I live in a suburban area and we're all warming up with natural gas.


Yep, there's no natural gas service where I live, so most homes around here use propane.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

OT
I really don't understand why more people don't have a woodstove though.
$3k installed, lasts forever, no major maintenance required, fuel grows on trees, needs no power, fuel storage for a year require no infrastructure, no price manipulation [censored], no taxes paid on the fuel(usually). Most people need the exercise of moving wood, or even processing if they want a real workout.


$3,000 gets me almost 5 years worth of propane. Add to that the purchase cost of the wood at $150-$200 per cord times about 4 cords per winter = $600-$800/year. Then I have to rig up a dry place to store it (let's say $200 worth of building materials and we'll amortize it over the 5 year period mentioned above).

So in the 5 year period mentioned above it will cost me between $1,840 and $2,040 each year, where I currently pay $700-$800/year for fuel.

There's also my time which has value. I have no desire to trudge out a couple times a day and get wood to stoke the fire and spend the time keeping the fire going. We also have a fairly large 4,200 square foot house, and a wood stove at one end means extremely cold temperatures at the other end of the house and in the basement unless we rig up a bunch of box fans. No thanks.

There's also the stink of burning wood, which I don't care for and don't want in the house. And my current HVAC system also filters and humidifies the air, which burning wood in a wood stove can't do.

There's also the insurance rate increase with burning wood because it's a higher risk for fire.

So maybe now you'll understand why many of us don't burn wood for winter heat. Unless you have access to cheap or free firewood it doesn't make sense, and even then it may not be desirable.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

OT
I really don't understand why more people don't have a woodstove though.
$3k installed, lasts forever, no major maintenance required, fuel grows on trees, needs no power, fuel storage for a year require no infrastructure, no price manipulation [censored], no taxes paid on the fuel(usually). Most people need the exercise of moving wood, or even processing if they want a real workout.


$3,000 gets me almost 5 years worth of propane. Add to that the purchase cost of the wood at $150-$200 per cord times about 4 cords per winter = $600-$800/year. Then I have to rig up a dry place to store it (let's say $200 worth of building materials and we'll amortize it over the 5 year period mentioned above).

So in the 5 year period mentioned above it will cost me between $1,840 and $2,040 each year, where I currently pay $700-$800/year for fuel.

There's also my time which has value. I have no desire to trudge out a couple times a day and get wood to stoke the fire and spend the time keeping the fire going. We also have a fairly large 4,200 square foot house, and a wood stove at one end means extremely cold temperatures at the other end of the house and in the basement unless we rig up a bunch of box fans. No thanks.

There's also the stink of burning wood, which I don't care for and don't want in the house. And my current HVAC system also filters and humidifies the air, which burning wood in a wood stove can't do.

There's also the insurance rate increase with burning wood because it's a higher risk for fire.

So maybe now you'll understand why many of us don't burn wood for winter heat. Unless you have access to cheap or free firewood it doesn't make sense, and even then it may not be desirable.


I suspect you don't really care if propane is $6/gal, that's fine, but many people do care about the price.
Also a modern wood stove doesn't release smoke inside the house and if you are burning properly you will barely notice it outside.
We have a pretty optimal land and house set up for wood burning so it works quite well as our main heat source, and it takes all of 5 minutes to bring in 2 arm loads and load the stove 3 times a day.
As a backup/alternative heat source I think its pretty hard to beat for many people, but it requires some manual skills, knowledge, planning, and some physical work which I guess makes it a "waste of time" for many.
I like doing it though, its fun to run the saw, and falling trees well is satisfying, as you are sort of making something from nothing even if you are just collecting wood from a friend in town when they need to have a tree taken down.
Its probably my only hobby that pays quite well too as our propane is always around $2.50/gal.
 
The main $$$ reason locally to ditch heating with wood is the ability to find a property insurance carrier to write coverage in rural areas. There are health issues too.

With the EPA moves for 2015 may increase the cost so much (perhaps the plan) stoves are going to be expensive.
 
Originally Posted By: GaleHawkins
The main $$$ reason locally to ditch heating with wood is the ability to find a property insurance carrier to write coverage in rural areas. There are health issues too.

With the EPA moves for 2015 may increase the cost so much (perhaps the plan) stoves are going to be expensive.

We recently switched to a local rural based insurer due to my tractor and they added $100 for wood heating. Maybe many states don't have a woodstove inspector/installer certification program? As long as ours was installed by a certified tech, they were good with it.
 
I heard a lady at work paid 3.75 per gallon today. It's almost cheaper to heat with gasoline.. Somehow. o_O
 
Yah, Propane is like heating oil only different. People use it where there are no gas lines. I would dearly love to be able to use it. I burn weed trees, mostly, choke cherry and locust. Both burn well. The cherry smells like maraschino cherries when it is split. Locust burns well too and makes great fence posts. So Pop Rivet,about how much did it cost to have the storage capacity you have installed? I wold love to buy at more favorable rates than my present situation
 
I have a 500 gallon tank and use about 250-300 gallons a year.

But the tank only gets filled to 80% and when it gets to 10% you should have a truck come and fill. So plan accordingly.
 
Apparently there is a such an excess or market pricing is attractive a local place is going to export it abroad.

Its unfortunate as a regularly dormant railroad line(maybe a train a week) is turning daily at the end of my property. At least the tracks are so rough that it cannot go faster than 10mph I believe.
 
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