Propane usage

Scott_smj

Member
How much propane do you use? I have a new bc 3450. Working in Delaware for the winter I've rented a 100 gallon tank and in two weeks I've used 40% of the 80% fill capacity temps in the mid 30's maybe 20's at night does this sound right?
 

Buford445

Well-known member
Not sure about a 100# but I have gone through a 30# in 3 days before, If you have a 1500w Elect heater it will help offset the propane some
 

HappyKayakers

Well-known member
That's a trick question :D A lot depends on how you set your thermostat. Are you toasty at 75 all day and night? Or set it at 40 while you're at work, then bump it to 60 when you're home? Since you're going to be there all winter, some type of skirting would probably help greatly. Also, opening the blinds on the sunny side of the unit during the day will help with heating.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
The 40000 BTU furnace in the 3450 heats really well but it will use a lot of propane in the very cold temps! I learned that last winter when all I wanted was to keep the inside above the freezing level (we keep the BC in our driveway). Used up both tanks in less than a week.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
I use both the firplace and the furnace. One tank of 30Lbs will last approximatly one week with night time setting at 60F for 8 hrs and daytime setting at 70F

Outside temperature has been around 30 at night and 40 daytime.

This Furnace likes the Propane and we also have thermopanes in all the windows.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
A propane man in Texas told us last winter that our rv's furnance running steady, aka not shutting off, would use a 30 pound bottle up in 11 hours. I don't know if that is accurate or not but I do know that we have to get used to colder temperatures in side our new rv. We have been getting used to setting thermostat to 64 to try and conserve propane. I guess when we purchased a bigger rv with bigger slides we should have have known it would cost a lot more money to heat then our old 34 footer with two slides.
 

hoefler

Well-known member
We purchased 4 $18 Ceramic space heaters at Wal-Mart. I keep one in the basement, one in the bedroom on the W/D outlet, one at each end of the living room on dedicated outlets (fireplace circuit, no fireplace, and an dedicated outlet I installed next to the stairs ). We keep the thermostat set at 67*, at night we drop it to 60*, just like at home. Between the heat strip in the A/C and the space heaters, we have not had to use the furnace in 2 years. We had a long weekend in February, in St. Louis that the highs we in the mid 20's and the lows in the single digits. Vacationed late last fall in Jackson Hole with day time temps in the low 30's, and just got back from Florida with the lows in the 20's. I have yet to use one bottle of propane in 2 years. The wife loves to cook on the road, so its not like we are not using it.
 

fljlcw

Well-known member
4 electric heaters is great if your not paying the elec. bill but can counter the cost of propane if you do Fred
 

caokgafamily

Well-known member
I agree with everybody else on the use of electrical heaters. I use 2ea, one upfront and one in the back. We have camped a couple of times when it got down in the teens using the electrical heaters and the furnace would only kick on a couple times during the night.

Steve
 

grizzlygiant

Well-known member
If you are not on the move, a simple skirting of 1/2" particleboard will make a BIG difference in your propane/electricity heating bill.
 

Willym

Well-known member
I had to go and calculate the usage rate. I assumed a furnace efficiency of 77%, which is a number quoted by Atwood for their furnaces. I couldn't find one for Surburban, but they should not be much different.

The 40000 BTU/hr furnace will gobble up 2.4 lbs/hr when running continuously, so a 30 lb tank will last 12.5 hrs. This is fairly close to the 11 hrs quoted above.

I've also done calculations to compare the cost of heating between electricity and propane. If the two costs are close, I use electricity, unless temps go sub freezing and I want to keep my tanks and underbelly plumbing warm. With electric heaters you just heat the areas you need to, they are quieter, and cheap to replace compared to replacing a furnace. We use our fireplace quite a bit on cooler evenings and mornings. We will use the furnace if we want to heat the trailer up quickly.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Electricity is very close to the cost of bottle propane when you use the actual efficiency of the Suburban which is about 60%. If you are paying for electricity then you have to run the numbers based on what you are paying for each. Use about 98% efficiency for the electric heat. The larger propane tank should mean lower cost per gallon.

You will burn near 10 gallons of propane per day if you ran the heater non stop for 24 hours.

If electricity is included then it is a no-brainier to use all the electrical options you have.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I'll be in Summit County, CO next month (single digits at night, sometimes below zero). The power company cost calculator shows that if I run three 1500 watt devices 24 hours/day, the cost will be $9.71 per day - or about $300/month. Since the actual heaters are thermostatically controlled and may average <1000 watts, the cost may actually be closer to $200/month.

Propane at the park is about $3.40/gallon or about $30.60 for a 40# tank refill. I'm told you can easily use 2+ tanks per week, or about 9+ tanks per month. That would come to $275+/month plus the aggravation of handling the frequent tank refills.

So I'm hoping that the ceramic heaters in living area, bedroom and basement will do the job at no more than cost of propane, and perhaps less.

I'll find out soon enough.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
We too use electric heaters when we are not paying the bill but here in Arizona electricity is 15 cents a killowatt, fortunately it is warm here so far. We still have used 2 tanks of propane so far since November 7th. We had a few nights in the 30's here but most nights have been in the 50's.
 

Willym

Well-known member
That's about 9 cents per kWhr. A good price. Last winter we were paying 13 cents per kWhr, and $19 for 30 lb of propane. I went with electricity.

I'll be in Summit County, CO next month (single digits at night, sometimes below zero). The power company cost calculator shows that if I run three 1500 watt devices 24 hours/day, the cost will be $9.71 per day - or about $300/month. Since the actual heaters are thermostatically controlled and may average <1000 watts, the cost may actually be closer to $200/month.

Propane at the park is about $3.40/gallon or about $30.60 for a 40# tank refill. I'm told you can easily use 2+ tanks per week, or about 9+ tanks per month. That would come to $275+/month plus the aggravation of handling the frequent tank refills.

So I'm hoping that the ceramic heaters in living area, bedroom and basement will do the job at no more than cost of propane, and perhaps less.

I'll find out soon enough.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
Wow, our propane price, with in walking distance of the rv park is 2.13. It cost a little over $16.00 dollars to fill a 30 pound bottle. Price does vary a lot in different parts of the country.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
Wow, our propane price, with in walking distance of the rv park is 2.13. It cost a little over $16.00 dollars to fill a 30 pound bottle. Price does vary a lot in different parts of the country.

Propane runs from $2.29 to $2.99 here and is currently cheaper than it has been the past year or so!
 

HappyKayakers

Well-known member
I'll be in Summit County, CO next month (single digits at night, sometimes below zero). The power company cost calculator shows that if I run three 1500 watt devices 24 hours/day, the cost will be $9.71 per day - or about $300/month. Since the actual heaters are thermostatically controlled and may average <1000 watts, the cost may actually be closer to $200/month.

Propane at the park is about $3.40/gallon or about $30.60 for a 40# tank refill. I'm told you can easily use 2+ tanks per week, or about 9+ tanks per month. That would come to $275+/month plus the aggravation of handling the frequent tank refills.

So I'm hoping that the ceramic heaters in living area, bedroom and basement will do the job at no more than cost of propane, and perhaps less.

I'll find out soon enough.

Are you also planning on an electric heater somewhere in the underbelly? If not, you'll still need to run the furnace to protect your plumbing.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Are you also planning on an electric heater somewhere in the underbelly? If not, you'll still need to run the furnace to protect your plumbing.

One in the living area, one in the bedroom, one in the basement near the water pump, pointed toward the tanks. Also have tank heating pads.
 
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