Propane & furnace & fireplace for heat

[WhittleBurner]

I know this is one of those "how many angels can we fit on the head of a pin" questions, but I need some information.

Next year I will be selling my condo here in FL, and will be looking to live in my 313RLTS. In FL during the winter monthly rates are quite high but I've noticed some other gulf states (AL, MS, LA) have much lower rates - but no doubt I'll need to run the furnace. I've never filled a propane tank (not even on a grill, it's always been charcoal LOL) so when I just checked propane prices and I saw $3.99/gallon my eyes popped out of my head.

It's now got me wondering how long the 2 x 30 lb tanks last in a winter in S. Alabama, MS, etc. where average temps Jan-Mar are low-mid 40's. Being acclimated to SW FL temps for the last 15 years, we keep the house at 76 degrees year round. Also, how much heat does the fireplace (electrical) put out? I've actually never used either except when we tested it at PDI.

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.

You said that was 3.99 a gallon. I know some places will tell you per gallon but it's billed per pound. Don't remember the conversion but it wouldn't be as bad as it sounds. We just got back from a 2 week trip in mich. with the lows in the mid to upper 40's. We have a portable electric heater we put in the bedroom but it would rarely come on. Would set the fireplace at 70 and it would maintain 69 in the bedroom pretty well.

[bertschb]

You said that was 3.99 a gallon. I know some places will tell you per gallon but it's billed per pound.

The places that have filled my tanks in Oregon and California charged by the gallon. Not sure about the rest of the country (or other places in OR and CA that I haven't visited).

[Slowpoke Slim]

If your electric is paid, I'd be pretty surprised if you couldn't keep the RV warm enough with the fireplace heater and maybe a 2nd space heater. Our fireplace heater has no problem keeping the RV warm enough down to about 20-25 F. What we have to watch out for is keeping the furnace running enough to keep the basement warm so the pipes don't freeze. If we run the fireplace heater on high, the t-stat for the furnace almost never kicks on (which = cold basement and frozen pipes).

Since you're not getting cold enough for freezing pipes, I'd just try it with the fireplace heater and see how it goes. If you're paying for electric, maybe run both the fireplace heater and the furnace both, to offset the cost of the electric a bit.

[WhittleBurner]

The places that have filled my tanks in Oregon and California charged by the gallon. Not sure about the rest of the country (or other places in OR and CA that I haven't visited).

In the east wherever I have gotten propane they put the bottle on a scale then bill me for whatever poundage it is that it took to fill the tank.

[Keebler]

In North Carolina, I have only seen charging by the pound. I don't know if it gets cheaper when buying more, but filling the five pound tank I use for my portable gas grill was $5 from empty.

[WhittleBurner]

I know some places charge for a full tank regardless of what they put in. I always look for a u-haul because they only charge for what they put in.

[D2Reid]

I have paid as little as $18 and as much as $32 to fill my 30lb/7 gallon propane tank. They are always empty when I take them to get filled. In the winter we get a 100 gallon propane tank delivered. I paid $2.75 a gallon in Salt Lake City.

[jim1521]

So now as a follow-up question: How exactly do you get them filled? Do you disconnect them from the trailer, put them in the back of the pickup and drive them somewhere, or do you haul the entire trailer to somewhere to get them filled? Or do they come to you (like heating oil trucks do)?

[bertschb]

So now as a follow-up question: How exactly do you get them filled? Do you disconnect them from the trailer, put them in the back of the pickup and drive them somewhere, or do you haul the entire trailer to somewhere to get them filled? Or do they come to you (like heating oil trucks do)?

I just disconnect mine and take them to get filled. Takes 10 seconds to pull them out of the RV. We also have a propane service that comes around our RV park and will fill bottles that owners have removed and set at the curb. They also fill the large tanks that can't be removed from class A motorhomes. I think they charge about $1 more per gallon for that service.

[arhayes]

So now as a follow-up question: How exactly do you get them filled? Do you disconnect them from the trailer, put them in the back of the pickup and drive them somewhere, or do you haul the entire trailer to somewhere to get them filled? Or do they come to you (like heating oil trucks do)?

Ditto.... Just disconnect it pull it out of the trailer. I refill one of the two when it is empty. That way I always have a full tank in reserve. While the rigs have a changeover valve so that they can switchover automatically from the empty tank to the full tank, the danger in that is that if you are not paying attention, at 3am on a cold night you'll find you have no propane. I keep the valve closed on one tank until the one in use is empty, then manually switch to the full tank and pull the empty to be refilled.

When you get ready to buy gadgets, you can consider the Mopeka tank sensors. Google it and that'll give you some "boy toys" to put on your Birthday or Christmas wish list.[emoji6] I love mine!


Alan