Anyone have propane heat/hot water?

[tw89yj]

damn, forgot Travis is the resident propane expert!

Haha! Used to be, I retired. But I still remember a thing or two.

I dealt with this exact complaint, multiple times every day during the winter months, for 15 years. If you aren't smelling gas, and the gas company has performed a leak test, you are burning the gas. The is no meter to go by on the house or the tank, just a guage that displays capacity percentage of the tank.

And yes, propane has gotten expensive in the past few years.

 

[Macdaddy4738]

Hm. Well thats a bummer to hear that. I suppose I can always invest in one of those Edinpure heaters. They aren't really too expensive.

Like I said, Im new to the whole propane heat deal, so I wasnt sure what was normal.

 

[tw89yj]

Hm. Well thats a bummer to hear that. I suppose I can always invest in one of those Edinpure heaters. They aren't really too expensive.

Like I said, Im new to the whole propane heat deal, so I wasnt sure what was normal.

I would buy a vent free wall mount or freestanding heater, install it in the living room, and use it solely. A 30,000 btu propane heater should heat up to 1000 sq ft and is 99% efficient. Take it with you when you move out. You should be able to pick up a good one for around $400.

 

[lockedup5]

I would buy a vent free wall mount or freestanding heater, install it in the living room, and use it solely. A 30,000 btu propane heater should heat up to 1000 sq ft and is 99% efficient. Take it with you when you move out. You should be able to pick up a good one for around $400.

I've got one I'd sell if interested

 

[OnlyOneDR]

My folks heat a 2000 sqft manufactured home (read: crap insulation) and they spend ~ $3000 per year on propane. That's insane. I have natural gas and have spent a lot of money on insulation and efficiency upgrades on my 1700 sqft home and spend <$100/mo in the winter on heating the place, and I keep it 71-72 degrees in the house.

 

[Your Hot Dog Guy!]

I would buy a vent free wall mount or freestanding heater, install it in the living room, and use it solely. A 30,000 btu propane heater should heat up to 1000 sq ft and is 99% efficient. Take it with you when you move out. You should be able to pick up a good one for around $400.

Macdaddy, I'm not trying to take advantage of you but I have one for sale. PM me if interested.

 

[Macdaddy4738]

Well now that the temperature has dropped back I can tell this house just hemorrhages heat. Its kicking on once an hour or more though set at 66-67.

I'm going to approach the landlords about splitting the cost of new insulation for the attic.

As for the offers on the heaters, I'm trying to avoid those for now, but I'll keep them in mind. Thanks!

 

[RatLabGuy]

Well now that the temperature has dropped back I can tell this house just hemorrhages heat. Its kicking on once an hour or more though set at 66-67.

I'm going to approach the landlords about splitting the cost of new insulation for the attic.

As for the offers on the heaters, I'm trying to avoid those for now, but I'll keep them in mind. Thanks!

Before you do, go over all the usual candidates and see where it's worst, and prioritize.
Like I said the $15 window cover kits at Lowes can make a huge difference

 

[Your Hot Dog Guy!]

Macdaddy, Lowes has this clear film that you put on the inside of your windows and heat it with a hairdryer and it shrinks and almost disappears and will save you a ton! If you have a fan in the hall ceiling this is a big loss of major heat and money. Let me know if you have this and I will explain.

 

[kbenz]

I bought some of them oil filled radiant heaters to help out on the propane woes. They do pretty good cutting down the gas usage and are pretty cheap to operate

 

[upnover]

I keep reading "house built in the 40's
Has insulation been upgraded? how much of what type insulation is in th attic?
Windows as you described can be completely sealed, but a thin piece of glass let's a lot of heat out. Does it have storm windows on the outside? if not, a piece of plastic over the outside would create a insulation barrier that would help keep heat in. Walls is another concern. My Mom and Dad's house was also built in the 40's. When they bought it, after renting for years, they started upgrading. it had wood lap siding. The insulation people pulled boards off, and vacuumed out the old insulation. It was,.....saw dust! They then pumped in insulation. Dad had siding installed which had an insulation wrap included under the siding. He had the attic pumped with insulation as well. The switched to gas heat, gas water heater, and gas stove. his power bill was cut in half, his heat, gas vs oil, was cut by 2/3's. They had a couple of ceiling fans as well. this was on 9' ceilings.

I live in a 14X70 mobile home. it had a electric furnace. It would suck some bucks out of my pocket. I removed it, and made that area a cupboard. I now heat with a kerosene monitor heater, I use 5-6 gallons a week, I also use an oil filled heater in the bedroom. I am comfortable and it doesn't break the bank.

 

[Macdaddy4738]

The house is 100% brick on the outside, so no wooden siding of any type. The windows are single pane, so I suspect that is one of the key issues. The attic is fully insulated, was probably done after the '40's, I suspect sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, the house was clearly added on to at some point, and the style of the bathroom (which is in the addition) is late 50's.

Terry, I do have fans in almost every room (none in dining room). None in the hallway either.

I'll look into those window cover kits. I've been checking on the gas level every day since Sunday, and it hasn't moved a bit. I don't get it, because the heat is on much more often now that it's gotten a bit colder. Is there any sort of valve to open/close at the fill up point that perhaps was left a bit open last time?

 

[tw89yj]

The gauges aren't that precise. You can see it move over a week or so, but not day to day.

 

[shawn]

Based on the $/BTU numbers I posted on the first page, your costs are in line for the house. It's just that propane is expensive relative to natural gas.

Putting film over the windows might help, but I wouldn't expect any magical improvement.

 

[rockcity]

split the cost of insulation in the attic on a rental? Have you calculated your $ savings on that and compared it to what it would cost to insulate the attic? If I were the landlord, I wouldn't do crap as it gives 0 ROI! However, he may just raise rent to cover his added cost and then some to get a positive ROI. Its a loose/loose for him. don't get your hopes up.


Best bet is to invest $ in something that is portable that you can take with you when you leave rather than insulation in the attic of someone else's property

 

[OnlyOneDR]

\Threadjack

Mind you, my house was built in '60 but local building codes then did not require insulation in the walls, but this is what I have done to each wall over the last few years to really fix things up:

Before and after:

Plywood over lap-board and tar-paper:

Empty wall cavities being stuffed with R-13:

Radiant poly over Styrofoam:

New 1/2 PT, then caulked at all seams:

Vapor barrier:

Between this work and gutting all the raggy enveloped insulation in the attic and re-rolling to R30 everywhere and R60 where I could fit it I have cut all my heating and A/C bills at least in half. I also put gaskets over all the exterior wall receptacles and gasketed as much of the windows as I could (single-pane but have storms). The house is far more comfortable but I have spent probably $3000 on all this in materials alone. Takes years to recover that money but made it far more comfortable inside (and I don't have to hear my furnace run very often, bonus). Had I paid someone to do all this work it would have cost many times more than that. Give it a shot and talk to the landlord but as stated above don't expect a miracle.

\Threadjack off