Jaybird1980
Grandmaster
I believe that the wall heater I posted above could be ran on a 20# grill tank. Burn time would depend on BTU output of the heater. Could confirm with a propane company to make sure
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Generator advice
- Thread starter 04FXSTS
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I believe that the wall heater I posted above could be ran on a 20# grill tank. Burn time would depend on BTU output of the heater. Could confirm with a propane company to make sure
I will never have an electric furnace again.
I knew it would be more expensive compared to natural gas. I reasoned that not having a gas bill at all would be worth the extra expense.
Unfortunately I was basically learning all of this stuff on my own with my first house and had very little knowledgeable or experienced help.
What I didn't realize was that my all electric heating bill would be over 3x what my future gas heating bills would be... and it didn't even keep up in the coldest months.
Switched to a gas furnace, and instantly saved a butt-load of money every month and was much more comfortable in the dead of winter.
Sorry, but I don't have anything valuable to add about electricity generation.
jaymark6655
Plinker
I will never have an electric furnace again.
I knew it would be more expensive compared to natural gas. I reasoned that not having a gas bill at all would be worth the extra expense.
Unfortunately I was basically learning all of this stuff on my own with my first house and had very little knowledgeable or experienced help.
What I didn't realize was that my all electric heating bill would be over 3x what my future gas heating bills would be... and it didn't even keep up in the coldest months.
Switched to a gas furnace, and instantly saved a butt-load of money every month and was much more comfortable in the dead of winter.
Sorry, but I don't have anything valuable to add about electricity generation.
I was thinking the same thing until I replace my units with new ones that worked and insulated my house. Went from $500+ a month especially in the winter (might of had a couple $800 bills) down to barely breaking $100 a month. It was insane.
My electric furnace was brand new, my insulation should've been adequate.
jaymark6655
Plinker
Kind of shocked by that. In my case the attic had settled and the crawlspace had none. Could feel cold air around outlets in exterior walls despite being a newer house. For me biggest thing on the new unit was SEER number.
We went from a 1400sq ft less than 10 year old house all electric to a 1700+ sq ft home with gas and lack of insulation. Our old elec bills were over 300 in the winter time. Our gas bill and elec bill combined now are about 150 in the coldest months.
I would never do all electric heat without a heat pump. Only way i would do electric heat again is if I have solar.
I would never do all electric heat without a heat pump. Only way i would do electric heat again is if I have solar.
Glad I asked here, lots of good info and suggestions now just have to figure out the best option. First I will get a professional to come and check out what I have and what it will take for a back up generator system. The wall mount propane heater could also be possible, if not in the house it sounds good for my shop when I get it built.
Our house is a new 1400 sq. ft. modular, moved in March 14 this year so it is well insulated and the heating system is brand new. What we had was about the same size but with a heated basement the system was NG hot water baseboard. It was a brick home built in the 1940's, no real insulation in the walls but R-30 in the ceiling and double pane windows with storm windows.
This was over in Illinois and our power bill ran around $110-120 per month. The gas bill in winter would run $200-250 and real cold months up to about $300 plus the power bill. My last power bill here was $163 so that is probably $100-150 less than I would have paid total in our old place. Our only options in this area are propane or electric and my wife and I did not want propane. So, it is what it is, We are so happy here I don't care if it does cost more for utilities it is still worth being in a free state. Thanks all your help and suggestions are appreciated. Jim.
Our house is a new 1400 sq. ft. modular, moved in March 14 this year so it is well insulated and the heating system is brand new. What we had was about the same size but with a heated basement the system was NG hot water baseboard. It was a brick home built in the 1940's, no real insulation in the walls but R-30 in the ceiling and double pane windows with storm windows.
This was over in Illinois and our power bill ran around $110-120 per month. The gas bill in winter would run $200-250 and real cold months up to about $300 plus the power bill. My last power bill here was $163 so that is probably $100-150 less than I would have paid total in our old place. Our only options in this area are propane or electric and my wife and I did not want propane. So, it is what it is, We are so happy here I don't care if it does cost more for utilities it is still worth being in a free state. Thanks all your help and suggestions are appreciated. Jim.
that is a whole different subject. I have an open air fire place in the basement. 3 years ago I installed a high efficiency insert. Now it’s worth using the fireplace when it gets into the single digits and lower. I have acres of woods so no cost for the wood except my labor. I imagine a high efficiency stove would be the same. Glad we could help you out and welcome to the free state of Indiana.
That is exactly what I do, but way less complex than a wall-mount. I have a propane torpedo style Ready Heater that runs off a grill tank (or any other propane tank if you want). Even using it in the UN-insulated shop with a metal door over the course of a full day keeping it as warm as I like (probably 50s-60s) I probably don't use more than 1/4 tank of propane. I don't use it all that much out there, but usually a tank lasts all winter. I also have 2 kerosene wick heaters in the basement for emergencies. When it comes to heating, I like to have several options if the power goes out. It's also nice that since they're all portable I can loan them out if someone is about to have a bunch of busted pipes. Obviously you want some good monoxide detectors too if you go this way.
By moving my heat off of the generator, I'm able to pretty comfortably get by with a 5500w generator for the rest of my needs. My cap was the water heater back when I had an electric. A single element was 5kw on its own so it would have had to have been left to do its thing while nothing else was powered and I might have had to manually disconnect one of the elements to get it by. So, it would have been run the water heater, turn it off, then take a shower. With gas furnace and water heater, I'm overkill on genny for my required needs. Just probably would unplug the fridges and shut the furnace down before running the well pump to shower, refill vessels, etc just so its not loaded so heavily.
Anyhow... I'm presently taking the cheap way out and it works alright. I've only needed my generator a couple of times in the 15 years I've owned it so I'm OK with it being a less than perfect arrangement. There's legitimately many thousands of dollars between what I have and what some folks in here have, so, it's all up to your budget and desires. If a full house "care-free" system was $10k, I could sure use $10k of other preps a lot more than a genny that large. My present setup is easily under a grand, all in with heaters/tanks/cords/etc. Food for thought.
If adding a propane tank, switching to gas heat would likey be cost effective in the long term and help you out with generator size. For reference the blower on my 120k BTU furnace only needs a 120v 15 amp circuit and typically uses 5 amps or less while running. Even small portables could handle that load.
FWIW... When I had propane, I managed everything so I only had to fill once a year. That made my gas bill about $400-$600 annually,depending on the summer fill price that particular year. That was also with a leased tank so my price was artificially high since I was strapped to Amerigas, but I never had to worry about the tank or pay a lump sum for one either.
Also FWIW, I moved into that house in late December and the jerks I bought it from left me with 10% of the tank in the peak of heating season. In January it cost almost double the summer price to fill up.
Also FWIW, I moved into that house in late December and the jerks I bought it from left me with 10% of the tank in the peak of heating season. In January it cost almost double the summer price to fill up.
It's even worse than you know, but that isn't really the point I was after. The point was that propane is twice as expensive in the winter, so get a tank big enough to make it until summer.
I probably should have just said that.
I know some people who live in the country, and they've had whole house generators for some years.
All of them are powered by propane and they really like them.
If it was me, I'd use propane in the country, or natural gas if a hookup was available.
But keep in mind that prices for propane and natural gas can vary depending on time of year and location.
You need to run the numbers for your locale.
For example, in my old hometown up north several years ago, they'd quadruple the price of natural gas in the winter when I needed the most.
So instead, I had a propane tank in town, and filled it in the summer when the price was at it's lowest.
SOME people thought I was nuts, until they ran the numbers!
All of them are powered by propane and they really like them.
If it was me, I'd use propane in the country, or natural gas if a hookup was available.
But keep in mind that prices for propane and natural gas can vary depending on time of year and location.
You need to run the numbers for your locale.
For example, in my old hometown up north several years ago, they'd quadruple the price of natural gas in the winter when I needed the most.
So instead, I had a propane tank in town, and filled it in the summer when the price was at it's lowest.
SOME people thought I was nuts, until they ran the numbers!
Having had Geothermal in a former house and liked it a lot, I had the current propane furnace removed in the current house & went Geothermal again. Good Fed tax credit available at the time, elec Co REMC gives breaks for electric heated homes, and County gives homeowners a tax break w/Geothermal too.
It doesn’t use a lot of electricity (except it the emergency heat coils ever need to kick in) but that has only happed briefly maybe x2 during the past 5 yrs. Also have acreage/trees for the free standing wood stove in the basement.
I recently purchased a 12,000w portable dual-fuel generator that can run off propane bottles and/or gasoline. I looked at getting a
transfer switch, until I stumbled upon this inexpensive & nifty Interlock device for about $50 bucks.
https://www.geninterlock.com/manufacturers/
Good YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/GbtRxcb-cmA
It doesn’t use a lot of electricity (except it the emergency heat coils ever need to kick in) but that has only happed briefly maybe x2 during the past 5 yrs. Also have acreage/trees for the free standing wood stove in the basement.
I recently purchased a 12,000w portable dual-fuel generator that can run off propane bottles and/or gasoline. I looked at getting a
transfer switch, until I stumbled upon this inexpensive & nifty Interlock device for about $50 bucks.
https://www.geninterlock.com/manufacturers/
Good YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/GbtRxcb-cmA
