NF-Cost to fill up home propane tank

[LostAnotherOne]

Planning on purchasing a home out in the country and there is a house that we want to look at, but it runs on propane. Don't know too much about maintenance and cost to fill one up so if anyone can give me any info that would be great. Thanks

[Raf]

the cost per liter of propane has varied a lot over the past 4-5 years. anywhere from 39 cents / liter to over $1 per. always cheaper in the summer but a tank wont last through the winter unless your home is extremely well insulated -- not likely with a farm house.

 

we no longer live in a place with propane but on average, i'd say it cost us $1100-1300 to fill IIRC.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Raf

[lew]

I've got a 1500 litre tank and as Raf suggested it can cost a lot in the winter if your running your whole house on it but in the summer it's cheap. All depends on what your running on propane.

 

I've spent as much as $800 to "top it up" in brutally cold months.

[Raf]

yes, now that Lew's refreshed my memory ours too was a 1500 liter unit and I recall some fills were closer to 700 while others were in the 1200-1300+ range. all depended on the price per liter.

 

propane is cheaper than hydro or oil to heat with but more than NG.

 

placed we lived at wasn't well insulated and we typically needed two tanks+ for the winters.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Raf

[Rustic-Fisher]

Great post !!! I'll be watching this one as we move next week to our rural property and its forced air hydro $$$$$$!!!!!

Switching to propane ASAP !

[DRIFTER_016]

I run propane here in Yellowknife and it generally costs me $2K per winter for heating.

I fill up in October and then again in February.

[Gerritt]

I was on propane when I lived rural..... And it sucked!

 

Prices were artificially inflated ( shortage of propane I was told)

 

Having a 800-1000 bill hanging on your doorknob was not nice to walk home too.

 

Your at the mercy of the market in terms of pricing..... And you never know if your vendor is being honest about the amount deposited in the tank.

 

Propane vendors are lower then used car salesmen as far as I'm concerned..... They will screw you, one way or another.

 

G

[Rustic-Fisher]

I was on propane when I lived rural..... And it sucked!

Prices were artificially inflated ( shortage of propane I was told)

Having a 800-1000 bill hanging on your doorknob was not nice to walk home too.

Your at the mercy of the market in terms of pricing..... And you never know if your vendor is being honest about the amount deposited in the tank.

Propane vendors are lower then used car salesmen as far as I'm concerned..... They will screw you, one way or another.

G

Good to know Gerrit, we're going to be just Northwest of Cobourg . PM me any company's to watch out for if ya got them .

(Sorry to hijack the thread )

Cheers ,

Ry

[LostAnotherOne]

Awesome guys. Thanks tons for the advice. Had my wife read these post cause she's the one taking care of it. Looks like NG for us. Thanks

[DRIFTER_016]

I deal with Superior Propane and they have always treated me well.

Their system on their delivery vehicles print out a receipt after they finish filling the tank, sort of like gas pumps.

Tells me cost per liter, amount of liters etc.

[Raf]

you may have a hard time finding rural and NG. they are out there but not common. unlike oil or hydro, i wouldn't let propane sway my decision and if there's a wood burner in the house to supplement, even better.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Raf

[lew]

 

Their system on their delivery vehicles print out a receipt after they finish filling the tank, sort of like gas pumps.

Tells me cost per liter, amount of liters etc.

 

I'm with Kelly's propane in the Kawarthas and they also print out an itemized bill when their finished filling the tank.

 

Good company and good folks working there, infact half the homes on this road deal with them too.

 

No complaints from me as far as propane goes.

[lookinforwalleye]

depending on the style and size of the home...you guys night want to look at a air source heat pump.

[Rod Caster]

Propane has been great for me. Heats my furnace, hot water and cooking stove. I spend around $500 per year. Keeping in mind, I heat with wood as well.

 

cost of propane right now is 0.51/L. I just filled my tanks ($250) and I likely do not have to purchase during the winter when the price typically goes up.

 

Can you get NG delivered and stored at home? I thought it was via infrastructure only?? I'm deep in the woods, so no gas lines here.

[woodenboater]

If/when I move out to the boonies, I plan to heat and cook with wood as much as I can and then use propane/ electricity for the warm months. Gives me an excuse to buy a Heartland or Elmira cookstove. and also would look into geothermal. electricity would be to keep things above freezing when away.

[wkrp]

Bite the bullet and go geothermal. Expensive , but you can almost make the payments by the savings . Free hot water in the winter time and cheap AC in the summer. It is truly the only way to go in rural areas where NG is not available

[DRIFTER_016]

Bite the bullet and go geothermal. Expensive , but you can almost make the payments by the savings . Free hot water in the winter time and cheap AC in the summer. It is truly the only way to go in rural areas where NG is not available

 

Yup, we had a heat pump when we lived in Grand Valley.

There are 3 types of heat pumps available.

1/ Air source

Takes warmth or cool out of the air and is the least efficient.

2/ Ground source

Uses buried pipes with antifreeze circulating through them to extract warmth or cool from the grounds heat. Mid efficiency.

3/ Water source

uses water from your well and takes warmth or cool from it. Most efficient but you need a well that can supply enough water to run the system as well as the regular water needs of the home.

The water source system also needs a place to get rid of the water too. This is most often a pond.

Not a bad deal, I had ours stocked with fish.

 

Ours was a water source heat pump and it cost less to heat/cool our large ranch style house than the previous house in town that was 1/2 the size and used NG.

[Rod Caster]

Is natural gas that much cheaper than propane? Or are the prices just less volatile and generally lower?

[Raf]

Is natural gas that much cheaper than propane? Or are the prices just less volatile and generally lower?

It's currently a lot less, and has been for several years. NG prices are at historical lows. My annual NG bill (we use it for furnace & cooking oven) is about $700 + a bush cord for our wood stove -- we just supplement with wood. once our current electric water tank dies I will see about switching that over to NG as well if it's not too bad ($$$ wise) to retrofit.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Raf