Propane shortage

[DannyBoy]

Guys, at 56 degrees in the house "at large", make sure you don't have any cold spots where pipes can freeze. 56 degrees at the thermostat could mean something problematic in the basement of an older house or a borderline area, etc.

I would suggest that you trace your pipes in the basement, especially along outside walls and near any type of opening(window, door, etc,) and make sure you have good pipe insulation on them and/or heat tape, etc. Just trying to help prevent a problem for anyone, this is pipe busting weather to be sure.

My neighbor wishes he would have heard that before last night. Dropped his thermostat real low and woke up to a flood at 6 a.m. this morning.

I keep an electric heater going in my basement and crawl space where my sewer pipe runs specifically for this reason. Learned the hard way last year. Old house, old pipes, big problems!!

 

[Daver]

My neighbor wishes he would have heard that before last night. Dropped his thermostat real low and woke up to a flood at 6 a.m. this morning.

I keep an electric heater going in my basement and crawl space where my sewer pipe runs specifically for this reason. Learned the hard way last year. Old house, old pipes, big problems!!

Sorry to hear that, but with these very low temps it is something that can happen. The cost of cleanup and repair can be many times the cost of a spare electric heater, some insulation, etc. Probably half of the calls our business took today were related to freezing pipes or something like that.

 

[Deer Nut]

I have 35% left on a 500 gallon tank. No way we will get by. We burned 43% in 33 days. Older farm house. We've probably got two weeks left on this tank, max.

 

[SaskGuy]

This thread has been enlightening. I'd have never guessed you guys were dependant on propane down there, never. I'm also also wondering if there are diff't building codes and specs on housing and insulation from here to there.

Nice set up Skully!!! Looks familiar. When do you fire up usually and how many months do you burn?

 

[wapsi-bottom-BP]

I know this isnt the classified section. But for anyone looking for something extra to fight this cold weather, I have a nice wood burning stove just sitting in my garage right now. Its a Nice stove, adjustable heat, glass door.. id take $200.

 

[JNRBRONC]

This thread has been enlightening. I'd have never guessed you guys were dependant on propane down there, never.

Most city dwellers are on Natural Gas lines, rural people on propane tanks as a general rule.

I don't think there is code on insulation, but only a fool wouldn't build a well insulated structure. Had insulation blown into the walls of the old farm house, added to the attic and sprayed a layer of foam around the foundation.

 

[Skully]

Nice set up Skully!!! Looks familiar. When do you fire up usually and how many months do you burn?

I usually fire up around the end of Sept. and run through the middle of April. I do have a buddy that runs his year round just to heat his water but the only set back was having your windows open on nice days to have smoke blowing in them! My only regret with my boiler is that I didn't put pex tubing in my floors before I poured my concrete. The radiant heat option is amazing! I had an add-on wood furnace in the basement when we built the house. It was messy and dusty and brought bugs in the house and as a fire fighter I didn't like the safety issues it presented. It really is a luxury to have the thermostat set where you can be comfortable or work in a heated shop without worrying about your next gas bill! I would not recommend this type of heating system for anyone with close neighbors as I have heard it can cause troubles, but where I live it's not an issue.

 

[Hardwood11]

I'm with ya Kaare, I bought a Central Boiler three years ago and it has already paid for itself. I heat 3500 sq feet of living space, a 30x40 garage and all of my hot water with fire wood that I cut off of my farm and neighbors farms. My wife is cold blooded so she likes to keep it about 76* in our house.
I've had the same Propane in my tank for 4 years now and I just love watching the gas truck drive on by!

Skully--How many cords a year, and what type of wood do you prefer?

 

[AIRASSAULT]

I usually fire up around the end of Sept. and run through the middle of April. I do have a buddy that runs his year round just to heat his water but the only set back was having your windows open on nice days to have smoke blowing in them! My only regret with my boiler is that I didn't put pex tubing in my floors before I poured my concrete. The radiant heat option is amazing! I had an add-on wood furnace in the basement when we built the house. It was messy and dusty and brought bugs in the house and as a fire fighter I didn't like the safety issues it presented. It really is a luxury to have the thermostat set where you can be comfortable or work in a heated shop without worrying about your next gas bill! I would not recommend this type of heating system for anyone with close neighbors as I have heard it can cause troubles, but where I live it's not an issue.

I wish I had a more updated wood burner like yours.. I have the smaller Hardy boiler. It is still pretty awesome.. It sure goes through the wood though. I couldn't even guess how many cords I go through because as fast as it burns, it just takes too much time to neatly stack it. I usually start burning in mid-late October and have a pretty big pile, but I always have to end up cutting more through out the winter and I usually burn into April also. The people who had my place before me installed the boiler and they put that PEX tubing floor heat in my 860 sq ft living room. I haven't had the luxury of using that part of it yet though because they put too thick of padding and carpet down and they said it was keeping the heat from radiating properly, so they disconnected it. My goal this summer is to rip up the carpet and clean off the sealer and everything and try the acid concrete stain. Then I'll be able to hook up that floor heat and it should be nice! I cant wait.

 

[Hardwood11]

Guys, just think how cold it would be if we weren't experience global warming....wow we would really be in the deep freeze, thanks for the heads up Al Gore!!

 

[loneranger]

It is WARM. Record warm Pacific Temps, and warm all across the West. I was looking at Mtn. State temps last night, like Montana, and Idaho. In the 30's and 40's out there in the Mtns. One action, leads to an opposite and equal reaction. Warmer than normal one place,,leads to colder than average another place. It is Global Weather. US is only 4% of the globe.Don't know myself about Warming, but the extremes in weather are world wide and will continue,,for whatever reason.

 

[StickersNKickers]

New house has geothermal, do not miss the days of filling up my 1000 gal propane tank at my old house. I feel for you guys.

Same here. Pretty nice, but the electric bill still went up some this last month. Oh well, not as bad as some tho.

I even have some relatives who are farmers and they have way more left on their contracts than they will use up. They offered to have it delivered to my mom's place to help her out, and the gas company told them they couldn't do that. BS in my opinion, it is already paid for and they only live 3 miles apart, same gas company and delivery man my mom uses anyway.

Doesn't surprise me. Wonder if they would deliver to an extra tank on the farmer's property. Then haul it or transfer to another tank on a truck, and transfer to your mom's tank. Could be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing I guess. And not sure what kind of set up you would have to have to haul it considering the weight.

 

[Skully]

Hardwood11 to answer your question I prefer oak, hickory, and locust. Luckily I did a 20 acre Timber Stand Improvement project on my place that allowed me to girdle trees that were competing with marketable trees. This left me a lot of free firewood that is already dry and ready to go, all I have to do is drop it and block it up. The nice thing about a boiler is that it doesn't matter what wood you use , if its wet or dry, IT WILL BURN IT! I can throw wood in there that is covered with ice and snow and unlike other stoves it doesn't effect the heat output. When it reaches a designated temp it shuts the damper and basically just smolders until heat is called for again then the damper opens up, saving you lots of wood. It is actually much more efficient than the add-on wood furnace that I use to have in my basement. There is no roasting you hotter than the bowls of hell and then waking up freezing in the middle of the night. It is a steady, controlled heat that is very efficient. If you look at the pic of my boiler notice the snow on the roof of it. The water inside is 190* and the fire box even hotter. It is so well insulated that it will not melt the snow off of it. This model has a 25 year warranty also. On an average year I burn about 12 full size truck loads of wood but this year I am going to go over that.

Airassault, I shopped around a long time and researched different brands. For sure Central Boiler was one of the most expensive but also looked better built and had the best warranty. My only regret is not owning one 20 years ago!

 

[zvholk]

About how much does something like that cost?

 

[Skully]

About how much does something like that cost?

I think I paid around $8000 for mine. It seems like a lot of money but my wife is a systems analyst and she did the math. The third year it had paid for itself in fuel and electric savings.

 

[AIRASSAULT]

Skully, what is burn time on yours? I get about 12 hrs on a full firebox.. sometimes more or less depending on weather.. last night I filled it up too early and woke up to 60 degrees this morning and it took me a half hr to get her blazing again.

 

[SaskGuy]

I'm with Skully, it's a no brainer if you have the wood and some time.

Same scenario with me, works in the exact manner Skully described and paid for itself year 3. I get a 24 hr stretch on a full firebox and the constant temp in the house is whatever I set the thermostat at. I also use it to heat water during the months I'm fired up, usually Oct-May.

 

[Skully]

Skully, what is burn time on yours? I get about 12 hrs on a full firebox.. sometimes more or less depending on weather.. last night I filled it up too early and woke up to 60 degrees this morning and it took me a half hr to get her blazing again.

My fire box is 60x48x48. It will hold a lot of wood. If I stoke it real good I don't have to bother with it for 24 hrs. Even less when the temps are more seasonal. My cousin bought the next size smaller model. He uses just as much wood as me but has to fill it every 12 hrs. He's wishing he would have bought the bigger one now. By going with a larger stove I still have the heat capacity to heat a hot tub or anther building if I choose to do so later on.

 

[DannyBoy]

My fire box is 60x48x48. It will hold a lot of wood. If I stoke it real good I don't have to bother with it for 24 hrs. Even less when the temps are more seasonal. My cousin bought the next size smaller model. He uses just as much wood as me but has to fill it every 12 hrs. He's wishing he would have bought the bigger one now. By going with a larger stove I still have the heat capacity to heat a hot tub or anther building if I choose to do so later on.

How feasible would it be for a guy to build his own boiler and have someone install it?

 

[harleyjohnc]

This has got to be one of the most informative threads I've seen in some time; and certainlly wishin I had one of these systems about now. What is the expected life span on these?