Propane Price Lock in Rate is a Joke

[Wisneaky]

I don't even know why they bother even charging for it at that price. Might as well give it away, and just pay a $50.00 delivery fee.......

At that price I'm almost considering saving my wood until LP gets more expensive. My tank is almost full and I have enough paid in advance to almost get another complete fill up.

 

[Cory S]

At that price I'm almost considering saving my wood until LP gets more expensive. My tank is almost full and I have enough paid in advance to almost get another complete fill up.

If you have good storage for wood, I would. Unless your wood is free obviously. I would burn propane in the summer just for fun at that price.....

 

[Wisneaky]

If you have good storage for wood, I would. Unless your wood is free obviously. I would burn propane in the summer just for fun at that price.....

I actually have mine stored in a dry shed. I pay for my wood. I think it's around $150 a loggers cord right now. I have plenty of wood. It would cost me about the same if I use my LP vs wood at that price. My LP furnace is 95% efficiency and I use around 4 to 5 gallons a day depending on how cold it is out, that's with the gas stove, water heater, and dryer.

 

[Peterfield]

I called today because I was curious to see what the price was now. It is .89 a gallon here.

Cheaper than bottled water. The surplus must be staggering.

 

[Tails1]

Just for the heck of it what is everyone paying for LP now? With gasoline prices climbing here and the next recession on the horizon I am curious. Also pellets are more expensive around here this year, couldn't find any under 5.99 a bag. Last year I got for 4.19 a bag. . Hardly used the wood stove last year but will be using it more this year for sure.

 

[Bioburner]

I filled in September for 1.13 a gallon. Bottled water is 20 cents a gallon if you fill your own jugs
Gasoline came down a nickel today. Paying 2.14 in the RGV
The Keystone pipeline had issues with delivery and is fully operational

 

[bags]

I filled in September for 1.13 a gallon. Bottled water is 20 cents a gallon if you fill your own jugs
Gasoline came down a nickel today. Paying 2.14 in the RGV
The Keystone pipeline had issues with delivery and is fully operational

Hey Bio, Hope all is well.

I was thinking about doing a supplemental propane heater deal here but I'd probably want to kick myself afterwards. There would be some costs for the unit and cylinders totaling $400 - $500 just to get started. Still on the fence about one for a smaller area and it wouldn't be used daily or even weekly. Cost of propane here is just under $3 bucks a gallon. About the same as kerosene. Really the only perk is the ease of use minus loading and unloading cylinders to refill etc;

I would buy my own tanks. Probably a few 40 pounders or possibly two 100 pound cylinders that I would take and get filled. Pellets are still cheap enough here as I paid $199 per ton out the door for Somersets locally.

 

[UpStateNY]

First year for propane heat for me. I was able to get my LP gas provider to agree to a $1.65/gallon of LP. I am currently using their two 110 gallon propane tanks on the side of my house. BTW they charge a $10 safety charge on every delivery. Not sure what that is all about. They have been delivering about 50 gallons each month so the $10 each delivery is a concern. Now that the months are colder I will need a delivery every month. until March.

Depending on what happens next year with price of propane, I will be considering purchasing my own 300 or 500 gallon propane tank for about $2000. Not cheap but it will give me the option to lock in the best price.

 

[jwfirebird]

maybe its what they charge to be safe on your property

car gas has been 2.60, oil is about the same I think, was at a 1/4 they wanted around 550-600. but first tank this year, can go through one ea sept oct nov . using wood more than most years, which is free plus consumables for me

 

[bogieb]

Just happened to be looking at my propane account online yesterday to see when my last delivery was (March of this year). They display today's buy price for my account and it was at $3.09/gal. Don't use enough to be able to lock in a price - but being in the boonies could never get a "good" deal anyway.

 

[Orson_Yancey]

I have been thinking about it. Don't know if it would affect the perceived value of the house (one way or the other) if I decided to sell later. But, it would get all those pesky FHW pipes out of my way and I wouldn't have to run the boiler 2-3x/day during really cold weather to make sure they don't freeze (pipes run thru unheated garage). I also have trouble with spending the $$ to convert, but you did give me a good reminder that maybe that is the way to go and I should think more deeply about it before I go and get a hug, self-owned propane tank. I could then just buy a 100# bottle for my gas stove (love cooking with gas, hate electric), but that would be much more versatile on where I could place it.

Hi Bogieb,
I had some zone pipes freezing in a cold part of the house near a crawl space. I improved the situation by lining the
zone pipes with electric heating cable. Now I no longer need to run the zone, just to protect the zone pipes.

 

[Orson_Yancey]

Hi Bogieb,
One of my plans is to own my own propane tanks, then I can have any propane company fill them. The savings is about
$1.00/gal. You might be too far a way, but I was getting some good tank purchase quotes from
Rye Energy Co., Portsmouth. As of last April, a 120 gal tank deliver full for about $700, purchase price.
Some other factors to consider. The NH Law require tanks over 120 gal, above ground, to be located
a considerable distance from any buildings (I think 200 feet) and the line must be buried underground. (Expensive
to install.)
But it it is legal to line up multiple 120 gal tanks along the side of a building, manifold them together.
(I see this often, as many as four 120 gal tanks lined-up beside inches from a building.)
It sounds like you might already have a large tank close to your house. I am just guessing, but these situations
may have existed before the law was passed, and hence have been "grandfathered in". Any new tanks
arrangements will have to comply with the current law.
I too am not a fan of propane; hence, I plan to phase out all propane usage except for the backup generator.
I inherited the propane arrangement when I purchased the house.

 

[Orson_Yancey]

I think the biggest issue with owning your own propane tank is a decent sized propane tank costs $1500-$2000 and then you have to get transportation (it won't fit in the back of my poor little Patriot - LOL, and wouldn't even fit in the bed of a pickup truck). Then you have all the hook ups, pressurizers and what-not. A 275 gallon Oil tank is a less than $500 at BBS, will fit in the bed of a regular sized pickup, and doesn't have much for installing the line (a filter and a petcock maybe?).

Also, propane tanks must be recertified every 12 years and if it flunks, there goes another couple of grand to buy a new one. Oil tanks don't have to be recertified, and they can routinely last 25 years.

The question is, can I recoup the ~$2k cost within a 12 year time span with savings realized by going to my own tank. At this point, probably not since I haven't even used 150 gallons since last December. Now, if I didn't have pellet stoves and still went thru 300-400 gallons of propane during the winter months, I'd have a better chance of at least breaking even.

Hi Bogieb,
I guess this is an old thread. But I will mention that if you purchase an ASME propane tank, it is certified forever. It is the older
DOT tanks that have to be re-certfified regularly.

 

[Pete Zahria]

$3.09/gal.

wow....


Dan

 

[bogieb]

Hi Bogieb,
I guess this is an old thread. But I will mention that if you purchase an ASME propane tank, it is certified forever. It is the older
DOT tanks that have to be re-certfified regularly.

Last November I changed propane companies, got rid of the 500 gal tank and put in 2-120 gal tanks next to the house (the behemouth is out of the yard). Buying my own tanks didn't make sense as even at $1/gal savings, it would take 6 years or more to recoup the costs and I am unsure I will be here that long. I saved over $1/gallon just by changing propane suppliers (even at the $3.09 quoted the other day).

 

[bdud]

I paid $4.51 a gallon for a delivery 10/25/17. Oh I wish I could pay under $3 a gallon..

 

[bogieb]

I paid $4.51 a gallon for a delivery 10/25/17. Oh I wish I could pay under $3 a gallon..

That is about what I'd be paying if I still used my old company.

 

[Maladjusted]

I paid $4.51 a gallon for a delivery 10/25/17. Oh I wish I could pay under $3 a gallon..

WHOA!! I bought a 1000 gal tank and had it buried when I built my house. Been here 9 years, so I have fully recouped the cost! I usually pay $1.59 - $1.79 per gallon having 600 or 700 gallons delivered every other year.

Mal

 

[3fordasho]

I paid $4.51 a gallon for a delivery 10/25/17. Oh I wish I could pay under $3 a gallon..

Crazy! my summer fill was $.99/gal. With the wood heat I average about 200 gallons/year. If I was paying $4.51 a gallon those tanks would be disconnected and sitting out by the road. One tank still leased, the other two I now own, price the same either way but owning does give me the right to shop around if current supplier becomes unreasonable.

 

[redbill]

I was $3.26 in central MA, not my tank. I got it down to $2.50 a couple years ago when I was using more, but now with my P68 running 24/7, I don't think I qualify for the cheaper rate.

 

[the pony boy]

Thank God I don't have propane heat any more. I had propane forced hot air and never liked it. Last few years I was able to get reaonable rates with a pre buy plan but that was tough because I had to pay in advace to get it. Looks like my rate would have been in the upper 2 dollar range if I was still using. Just filled up with oil and paid 2.20 a gallon. And new house has radiant baseboard.

 

[bdud]

I use ~150 gallons a year, ~$600 + $100 tank rental, which I use to heat a large garage/ workshop.
I think I will seriously work on fitting a heating coil in the garage ac unit and run that from a zone off the house pellet boiler.
Propane for me is not getting cheaper, maybe as I don't use it for the house, possibly most expensive tier?