Propane Bill Came Today – OUCH!

January 14, 2008 · Filed Under · 11 Comments 

So we live out of town about 6 miles and we don’t have access to natural gas out here in the “boondocks”. Instead we have a 250 gallon propane tank and a contract with Amerigas. They send out a truck based on last years usage, typically they come out 3-4 times per year and fill us up. It has been awhile since they last came and a noticed last week that our tank was down to 18% full which is the emptiest I have ever seen it. So they came out to fill it and a few days later we get the bill for the tune of $642!!! Propane gas, like regular gas has gone through the roof and is currently at $3.18 a gallon in our neck of the woods. Fortunately I do the following things to keep our propane usage to a minimum:

propane.jpg

  • Burn Firewood. I have a modern fireplace insert with an EPA approved catalytic converter. This baby really pumps out the heat. I have a fire going every night and almost every morning. I can get our family room up to 75 degrees and the rest of the house at about 68 degrees. Plus, I get my firewood for free from trees cut down on my own property.
  • Maintain The Furnace. On days and nights when starting a fire is just not practical we do use our forced air furnace which runs on propane gas. But I keep the air filters clean and I maintain the furnace system to keep it working at peak performance levels.
  • Limit showers and baths. Our hot water heater is also run with propane gas. So my wife and I make it a practice to not take long hot showers. This is almost impossible anyways with 3 small children in the house! Also, we don’t run the washing machine on hot. My wife will run it with warm water on certain articles of clothing but never on hot. Also make sure your hot water heater is not turned up to high, we keep ours at the recommended setting on the unit but I have a notion to turn it down a bit and see if anyone in the house notices the difference! 

FRUGAL TIP: When giving the kids a bath, plug the tub, then turn on the hot water faucet. I have seen people turn on the hot water, then plug the tub after the water gets hot. Total waste of water. It does not take much hot water to warm up the cold water you have added while waited for the hot stuff to kick in.

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Comments

11 Responses to “Propane Bill Came Today – OUCH!”

  1. Mrs. Micah on January 14th, 2008 7:11 pm

    In 99% of all cases I don’t see why it’s necessary to wash clothes in hot water. I have to shrink fabric periodically, which requires it to be really hot. But detergents are generally good enough nowadays to be fine with cold.

  2. Silverstar on January 15th, 2008 11:44 am

    $642 for gas! Holy crap! That’s nuts!

  3. Kyle on January 15th, 2008 11:49 am

    I know….I can buy a lot of refried beans for that amount!!

  4. Four Pillars on January 15th, 2008 8:41 pm

    Hi Kyle.

    I maintain the furnace system

    What exactly do you do to maintain the furnace other than replacing the filters?

    Mike

  5. Kyle on January 16th, 2008 7:16 am

    Hey Mike,

    Here is a great article I found awhile back that will answer your question: http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-maintain-a-furnace.htm

  6. Four Pillars on January 16th, 2008 6:19 pm

    Thanks for the link – I’ll give it a try.

    Mike

  7. Aaron Stroud on January 17th, 2008 5:22 pm

    That is a hefty bill. Kyle, are you on a well or city water? We built our house out in the woods last year and we’ve been loving every moment out here. It sounds like your place is similar to ours (lots of space to stretch out and plenty of trees).

    We’ve been entertaining the idea of warming our water before it gets to the water heater. A simple solar heater setup would make a big different during the warmer months. But we’d have to have a backup system (possibly a compost heater) to warm the water during the winter.

  8. Kyle on January 18th, 2008 7:56 am

    We are on city water. Good idea with warming the water first, especially if you could use solar means. How does a compost heater work?

    We are on 3 acres, alot of trees and a seasonal creek. No neighbors looking in our backyard, VERY quiet. We love it as well.

  9. Aaron Stroud on January 20th, 2008 2:59 pm

    A composting water heater is simply a huge compost pile with a hose running through it. This site has some pictures and a quick description of their composting water heater.

    A composting water heater does require attention (new material, stirring the pile, etc), but it sounds like a great idea if you have the space, time, material, and a desire for rich dark dirt.

  10. Kyle on January 23rd, 2008 4:34 pm

    Interesting, that is pretty inventive. Would have to coil the hose I suppose. I will check out that link, thanks Aaron.

  11. JHS on January 26th, 2008 11:08 pm

    Hi there:

    I can relate. I got a $444 bill from PG&E because the price of gas has gone up so much and it has been a very cold winter here so the furnace has been running a lot. I about fainted when I saw that number. It’s about 3x higher than last year.

    Thanks for contributing this post to this week’s edition of the Carnival of Family Life, hosted at Confessions of a Novice. The Carnival will be live on Monday, January 28, 2008, so be sure to stop by and check out all of this week’s excellent submissions!

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