When we first went south for the winter, two of the things I forgot to budget for was the electricity monthly charge, as we had never paid for electricity at a campground, and also the weekly trip to the laundramat. In our summer campground where we work May thru September laundry and electricity is free.
Propane usage
- Thread starter Scott_smj
- Start date
2psnapod2
Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
We will be getting the washer and dryer but I never had paid for electric either. So some places are free at least. We will just have to watch for it.
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
My test results are in. This was a 4 week test. During the test, I never used a portable 110 heater, only the furnace. We don't have a fireplace either. The first 2 weeks we ran the hot water and fridge on LP. The next 2 weeks we ran the Hot water and fridge on 110. I feel the air conditioning and furnace usage during the 4 week period was pretty close to the same for both test periods.
The results.
First 2 weeks, 2-30# LP fills ($35.50) and 110 Kwh of electric (110 X .19) used for a total cost of $56.40.
Second 2 weeks. 1-30# LP fill ($17,75) and 257 Kwh of electric (257 X .19) used for a total cost of 66.58.
There you have it. It appears that running the fridge and water heater on LP is cheaper for our situation. LP and Electric costs vary but this still give us a tool to use for figuring what is best for us. I switched everything back to LP a few minutes ago.
The results.
First 2 weeks, 2-30# LP fills ($35.50) and 110 Kwh of electric (110 X .19) used for a total cost of $56.40.
Second 2 weeks. 1-30# LP fill ($17,75) and 257 Kwh of electric (257 X .19) used for a total cost of 66.58.
There you have it. It appears that running the fridge and water heater on LP is cheaper for our situation. LP and Electric costs vary but this still give us a tool to use for figuring what is best for us. I switched everything back to LP a few minutes ago.
My calculator showed $11 difference per MMbtu and your actual usage cost was $10 difference, glad the numbers crunched.
Where are you staying with the high electrical price and cheap propane?
We pay about .11 delivered for electric and much higher for propane at 0.85 per pound.
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
We are in Mission, TX. Propane is pretty close around the general area. Electric on the other hand is high due to a good sales pitch to the owners of the park we're in. Seven Oaks Resort. I guess they (Electric Co. Sales Reps) go around and convince the owners to lock in at a rate that may be high but they guarantee not to raise it for a contracted number of years. Probably 3. I know there are some parks paying .19/Kwh and others are around .13
We're paying .09 up in Wisconsin. We haven't seen our bill here yet so I don't know if there are meter charges or sales tax. Probably is.
Natural gas has been much cheaper so it make sense the propane should be as well. Just isn't here in South Central NE at this time. Going to get the Coach out of the shop/storage in a couple of months and head out. We are expecting the electric rates to go up due to more wind energy coming on line. It already has in Western KS where our ranch is located. Up to 0.13 while we are still at .11 here. Still much better than what they are charging you there.
We're paying 13 cents/kWhr here in Pharr, and today I paid $27 for a 40lb propane refill, at my site. I'm using electricity for hot water, most heat, and the fridge. When I did the calcs last year, the costs were close, but using electricity means less wear and tear on the furnace, and is quieter.
Rickhansen
Well-known member
Ray,
I assume, but you didn't confirm any difference in the weather between your two, two-week test periods. You can get heating and cooling degree-day information (and historical) from various sites like weatherunderground.com. Like others have said, propane and electric rates vary drastically by area. We are paying 11 cents per Kwh and $28 for a 30lb tank of propane.
We rely heavily on the electric and trim the temps out with the furnace on propane. At least I don't have to refill the electric tank every 3 days.
I assume, but you didn't confirm any difference in the weather between your two, two-week test periods. You can get heating and cooling degree-day information (and historical) from various sites like weatherunderground.com. Like others have said, propane and electric rates vary drastically by area. We are paying 11 cents per Kwh and $28 for a 30lb tank of propane.
We rely heavily on the electric and trim the temps out with the furnace on propane. At least I don't have to refill the electric tank every 3 days.
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
Yeah, sorry, I didn't give that much thought, mainly because the weather has been pretty consistent here in Mission. There have been a few nights a bit colder than most and the opposite applies for the daytime temps. A few cooler days and a few warmer days. I did note that the furnace and A/C usage was pretty consistent over the 4 week period.
Wondermutt
Member
If you really want to know what your actual usage is going to be, you can not use weight as a valid measurement. You need to use the BTU output/Consumption. This applies to any appliance that uses propane. Here is how you do that.
These assumptions are calculated based on a 60 degree f day, and near sea level. Remember that propane appliances use the vapor not the liquid as the fuel source. You need to also know that this vapor is a by product of the liquid in the tank boiling into a vapor state. The factors that determine how much vapor is in your tank is: Size of tank (this determines how much space is available for the vapor, and the surface area available to promote the heating of the liquid), Amount of liquid propane in the tank, outside temperature, and elevation. The colder it is, the boil rate is less and the same is partially true with elevation. While not linear, they both play a part in the amount of vapor you have to use. I can get more detailed, but for this exercise, I think we will be OK.
Generally, one gallon of liquid propane has a BTU content of 90K +/- or 90,000 +/- BTU. So if you have a 45k BTU furnace, and it runs continuously for 2 hours, you will be out of propane in two hours. But you say, I tried the wondermutt equation and one gallon of propane only lasts 1.75 hours? What gives? It could be that your in a cold climate and you see your tank ice up. What that is telling you is that there is less surface area to heat the propane and it could be that the boil off has ceased. So you wait for the tank to thaw out and walha, you get your .25 hours of heat back. Why? Because propane stops boiling at -42 degrees f. While it may not have been that cold outside, it could have been close inside the bottle. Combine that with a lesser surface area to heat the liquid and that is the main reason why. It is way more complicated than that, but that is a high level overview.
Use caution when calculating weight as a measure of consumption. The weight measure was implemented for transporting and DOT guidelines only.
These assumptions are calculated based on a 60 degree f day, and near sea level. Remember that propane appliances use the vapor not the liquid as the fuel source. You need to also know that this vapor is a by product of the liquid in the tank boiling into a vapor state. The factors that determine how much vapor is in your tank is: Size of tank (this determines how much space is available for the vapor, and the surface area available to promote the heating of the liquid), Amount of liquid propane in the tank, outside temperature, and elevation. The colder it is, the boil rate is less and the same is partially true with elevation. While not linear, they both play a part in the amount of vapor you have to use. I can get more detailed, but for this exercise, I think we will be OK.
Generally, one gallon of liquid propane has a BTU content of 90K +/- or 90,000 +/- BTU. So if you have a 45k BTU furnace, and it runs continuously for 2 hours, you will be out of propane in two hours. But you say, I tried the wondermutt equation and one gallon of propane only lasts 1.75 hours? What gives? It could be that your in a cold climate and you see your tank ice up. What that is telling you is that there is less surface area to heat the propane and it could be that the boil off has ceased. So you wait for the tank to thaw out and walha, you get your .25 hours of heat back. Why? Because propane stops boiling at -42 degrees f. While it may not have been that cold outside, it could have been close inside the bottle. Combine that with a lesser surface area to heat the liquid and that is the main reason why. It is way more complicated than that, but that is a high level overview.
Use caution when calculating weight as a measure of consumption. The weight measure was implemented for transporting and DOT guidelines only.
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