Propane furnace - any experience?
 

We are considering bidding on a house that is just awesome, but it has a propane furnace. Does anyone have a propane furnace or experience with one? I know that insulation, layout, and climate a have a lot to do with it, but have absolutely NO clue on this.

There is an in-ground 500 gallon tank. The range, fireplace, and instant hot water are all propane too, which is great.

I'm really concerned that one little cold snap could eat through $1000 in propane in a month. It doesn't get very cold for very long here in Texas, so I think a heat pump could do the job just fine. The house was build in 2006 and I'm kind of baffled why they put a propane furnace in. Have propane prices jumped up that much recently? Right now it's about $2.20/gallon, but I'm sure they jack up the price in winter.

I WILL be asking for a utility estimate, but I'd like CP's opinion as well.

Had a hydronic set up that was propane fired. Loved it. Economical too.

Propane is very similar to natural gas. Burns cleanly and usually cheap. Most of your equipment is going to be very similar. But a propane aperture is going to be slightly smaller than natural gas.

Talk to the propane supplier about past usage.

Many propane dealers will give you a "lock-in" rate price that you pay on a flat rate per month for the year. Just understand that you may pay more if the propane prices drop during the year. Compare pricing among local dealers.

Since the tank is buried (very good idea considering lighting/fire/tornado exposure), find out if the homeowner bought it and if it is fully paid off. Just hope that the previous homeowner bought a new tank made to be buried and didn't cheapen out on the installation.

Thanks for the quick responses. We have to move quickly on this place. The guy just got divorced and he is looking to get out quickly. The house is priced well below what we'd expect to pay. We are doing a second visit tomorrow so we'll give everything a more thorough look over.

I live out in the country and used propane for 22 yrs. I echo what phobia stated.

I have 2 furnances heats 3500 ft sq, newly insulated when I put on the extension (1/2 old farm house 1/2 new). I pre-pay in Aug $1000 to lock in and for the last 5 yrs still have a surplus in the acct at the end each year.

what's your $ rate per gallon that you locked in?

it's whatever the rate is at the time you deposit. propane goes up during peak usage.

I know. I meant what is HIS? He said $1000 lasts him through the year, so I want to know how much that bought him.

well geez, he said he gets through the winter with a surplus after a $1000 dep. in august???

here's a link to prices

about $1.60/gal

btw- as with all resources nowadays, the unit price varies drastically upon locality. you're in poop country so you will pay an extra poop price. I'd expect $2.30/gal

Ugh. Here in texas, the price is significantly more. It looks like about $2.20

http://checkpropaneprices.com/?field...many_to_one=TX

ROFL

Well, I guess we'll see how much the previous owner used in a winter.

If this thing is going to be a money pit then forget it.

that's a good idea. I had an old place about the same size years ago built with oil furnace. that damn thing used about $3500 per winter.

Find out about your electric rates (KWH). If you like the house that much, then plan to put in a heat pump with the propane as emergency heat. You can probably calculate a break even point (or have your HVAC contractor help you figure it). Maybe the electric company has incentives to go all electric. 2 years ago, it cost me 11,000 to go heat pump natural gas backup in my 2200 sqft home.

The house is at the top of the budget as it is. Changes or improvements are out of the question...hopefully the owner just didn't fill out the information sheet correctly and the unit is a heat pump with a propane backup...

The weird thing is that this is a new house 2008 and it's the ONLY one I've seen around here that has propane.

You're moving out of the hills? sadface.jpg

I just called our propane dealer. The current price is $1.40:) I'm in NE KS. When we first bought the old house, it leaked worse the a screen door. Built in 1913. Snow blew in through the upstairs bedroom windows and with no heat (just the old gravity feed vents) I had a pile of snow on the floor in the morning.

I blew through 500g of propane in a month. The price back then was $.60/g. During that winter it spiked to $2.00/g. That sucked.

After adding new windows/blowing in insulation in the attic and walls, updating the HVAC, new siding etc, the 500g would last all year.

After we added on and required another HVAC I use 600g and contract for 800. The house is VERY tight. The extension was built with 2x6's instead of 2x4's which allowed for thicker insulation.

I see that your house was built in 2008, thus should be well insulated and tight. Is there anyway that you can talk to the contractor that built it?

I just switched propane companies. Tank rental is $75/year. Old company propane $2/gal, new company $1.50/gal. Have the option to pre-buy as much as I want at $1.55 per gallon as long as it's in my tank by 1Jun14 or budget pay (straight monthly payment) based on previous usage and balance up by same date with a max price cap of $1.65. I like propane heat since, during power outages, a small generator to power the furnace if you have a blizzard or ice storm you can stay warm until the electric comes back on. (had one storm in the past 10 years where electric was off for 3+ days)

Youll be fine....

Propane and Propane accessories are very affordable, AFAIK. I am on natural gas, but I have a buddy on propane and some family members. Go for it!

used propane for over 30 years in 2 different houses.
no problems. it is a good idea to buy it ahead of time on contract, as stated earlier.
sec

it is odd. I pay a small fortune in gas bills for the properties I have. even during the summer months when gas isn't in use it still costs me $40 per property just in tax and fees. maybe the orig owners wanted to avoid this?

I had a major power outage for 3 weeks during a 2005 ice storm. That generator saved my butt. I go without power 2-3 times a year. Usually not for very long.

I think, thou, if using natural gas...results would be the same. Of course, electric heat wouldn't.

Strange. Do your properties have gas hot water tanks? Cloths dryers?

sec always speaks wisdom.

Yeah, we're moving out of the city and we've been looking in Benbrook, Aledo, Lakeside city, and Azle directions. These city houses just cost way too much compared to what you can get a few miles out.

Understandable. I hate Benbrook cops so I would never live there. They're dicks. I had one pull me over in Fort Worth one time.

Aledo and Azle aren't bad. I'm just not a big fan of the subdivision/development type of neighborhoods (don't like that all the houses look pretty similar).

Bah you should rip out the propane system and install a methane system. That way if you run out during the winter all you need to do is eat some beans!