Propane vs. Nat.gas

[firewood guy]

If you have a propane water heater, you will have to buy a new water heater designed for natural gas. They are NOT interchangable. That may be another cost to consider.

Roger

There are units that are interchangeable. It involves not only an orifice (jet) change, but also a pressure regulator change @ the appliance as well. Any Lowe's , HD. or a local plumbing/HVAC supply house can turn you on to water heaters that are dual-fuel. They have been on the market for decades. I've gone back and forth on one small house that was built in the late 50's depending on the renter and the price of Nat/ LPG and the renters credit rating!!

 

[mama]

Ng

I live in northern Calif and we don't have natural gas up in the hills, so propane is all we have and its alot more than NG.For heat we use wood.

 

[1harlowr]

Agreed, but not a blanket fixed cost across the board for everyone. It should be built into usage volume, just like the rest of the rate structures for most energy sources, such as gasoline. If my gas meter does not whirl very fast, I should not have to pay $400 a year across the board for being hooked up.

That's robbery or pure socialism, whichever way you want to call it. :msp_angry:

It cost "X" dollars to hook you up whether you use much NG or not. Maybe your neighbor that uses a lot of NG doesn't want to pay extra to cover the cost of hooking you up. The neighbor might view it as a form of welfare to cover your hook up cost.

 

[ray benson]

Last nat. gas bill for 33 days was $30.73 which was 25.2 therms. If you do the comparison/conversion, propane is double the price of nat. gas for Nipsco.

 

[olyman]

with all the fees you have to pay for ng there are no savings.
There is no reason that we the customer should have to pay for the underground pipes that belong to a private company.

factoid!!!!!!!!

 

[olyman]

All these replies and none pointed out this one simple fact?

One source is federally regulated, the other has been de-regulated.

Do some research there, and it will be time well spent.

I have NG for my hot tub only, no kitchen appliances and I call them and they turn off the meter for a six month period with no fee for turn off or turn back on. Kind of like a second home service.

I could have went with Propane, but frankly I can't trust the delivery guy will actually fill me, and his mother-in-law doesn't wind up with my propane.

Can you?

yup--meter on del truck--and each fill is timed at 12 minutes,,no more time per ticket,,enough time to fill a 1000 gal empty tank--found this out three years ago--in iowa

 

[olyman]

Only different orfice, usually a easy and inexpensive converstion.

look into it--you have to change a piece in the regulator,,as ng and propane run at diff pressures,,plus the jet--

 

[Wood Doctor]

Propane operates at a slightly higher pressure than NG and has a higher BTU value than NG. Most cooking stoves have two sets of jets which need to be swapped out and the regulator is dual range and needs reset. I don't think that's the case for water heaters but I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

If you convert from propane to NG, you have to use a pressure regulator. Then you have to bore out the orifice to about 0.07". Without the pressure regulator, you create a blow torch.

Propane's higher BTU value is almost negligible. I'm running a gas furnace, gas water heater, gas grill (I converted that from propane to NG), and a gas clothes dryer.

 

[TreeClimber57]

look into it--you have to change a piece in the regulator,,as ng and propane run at diff pressures,,plus the jet--

Yes is different pressure.. guess it did have a regulator on it when I converted bbq.

 

[beerman6]

update: Consumers lady called and said it would be more than the $200 for three hundred feet hook up.I told her.

"Forget it the guys on AS told me not to do it..."


Today I received in the mail a nice letter from Parkers Propane.

Dear Mr.Beerman6
You dont spend enough with us so in 30 days we will be out to get our stuff.

Sincerely,

Mr.I cant have Fillet Mignon tonight.



I guess I'll be shopping for my own tank now?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Your Options

"I guess I'll be shopping for my own tank now?"

--------------
Or (1) buy lots of electricity and electric heaters, (2) find a natural gas pipeline somewhere, or (3) start cutting, seasoning, and splitting firewood and install a new wood furnace or stove. If you choose (3), then get ready to buy at least $7,000 minimum worth of equipment, (furnace, chain saw, log splitter, old truck, etc,).

Your choice. Good luck.

 

[beerman6]

lol...#3 is why they sent me the letter

 

[Wood Doctor]

lol...#3 is why they sent me the letter

That's what I figured. They are challenging you. opcorn:

Believe me, you probably still need a backup heat source. If you can do it with wood (#1) as primary and electricity (#2) as backup, you might be able to get rid of the propane tank.

Or, use electricity (heat pump) as the primary and use wood as the backup.

Your choice.

 

[tdb]

whats wrong

Get the N-G, no more dealing with someone that say your not spending enough money , were coming to get out stuff , I was so happy when Mich-con came through ., it is less then L.P.

Also 200.00 install fee , cant go wrong.

 

[beerman6]

The hook-up fee was going to be more than that,she didnt say how much but did say it would be way more.

Just got off the phone with Parker's they said that I averaged 51 gallons per year and there wasnt any option that they had that would suit me(them)

I found a place near me that has 100lb tanks for $45 and right now it would cost @$77 to fill it.

I just need to figure out if I want to deal with getting my own tank filled or not...

 

[Dalmatian90]

I believe the conversion factor is 4.25#/gallon

I'm guessing you'll need 2 to 3 100# refills per year.

If I was going that route, I'd consider 2 bottles and an automatic change-over regulator. When one bottle gets low, it switches over so you're never out, and you can fill the empty at your convenience.

 

[beerman6]

Yea,I think you are right the guy at the local hardware store said a 100# tank would take about 22 gallons (80% fill)

I think there is 20% left in my existing 325 gallon tank,so I might just shut the OWB down tonight and use the stuff I paid for already.