Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
jba3fan

a question for Lazarfan and/or Mollyd or anyone else

jba3fan
16 years ago

I have been searching for info on the difference of using a 100 gal. propane tank compared to using a 100 lb. propane tank. and when I came across your link I seen that you were using a 20 lb. tank for your Empire vent free heater. How did that work for you last winter? I have been looking at the Mr. Heater like you were talking about Mollyd. Both heaters seem to be pretty much the same.

What kind of experinces has anyone had eithere way?

I am looking at picking up two 100 lb propane tanks from Home Depot....$180.00 and a splitters from a local RV place that I haven't priced yet but figure its going to be at least $60.00 and add another $30 for a longer hose and fittings .. and then to have them both filled before I come home from Home Depot at aprox 50 gal worth at $2.60 a gal... another $130.00 start up fee. The gas company's I talked to said they wouldn't fill up those tanks here at home that I would have to take them to them to have them filled up.

I have an appointment with a guy from Amerigas Monday to check out the area and his Guesstimate is somewhere around $600.00 to have my heater hooked up with a full 125 gal tank of propane....

To me that sounds like a better option to have the rented tank filled up by them then to have me yank out and have my own much smaller tanks refilled down the road.

Here is a link that might be useful: HFGH lessons learned link

Comments (3)

  • birdwidow
    16 years ago

    I haven't an HFGH, so can't give you any intelligence about it, but if you do a cost-benefit analysis on paying the cost of a larger tank upfront, and the lesser cost for the LP in bulk, you would surely have a fairly quick payback over the course of a winter or three. Not to mention the other gas you would pay for in the process, that your vehicle would burn.

  • mollyd
    16 years ago

    Hi,

    I haven't been here for a while and by sheer luck I popped in elsewhere where someone told me about t your post jba3fan . Last winter I used the Mr. Heater till about January when it went belly up. I returned it to Walmart where I had bought it and went to Home Depot where I bought a Pro Com Blue Flame heater. It worked pretty well the rest of the winter but I found that since it was a ventless heater I ran into air problems. The heater would use up the oxygen in the greenhouse and shut off. I then made a vent for it in a side wall and rigged up a boot and dryer exhaust hose to get air into the heater. This too worked well till we had a real bad snowstorm and the snow covered the vent! I had to trudge out there in the middle of the night, clear the snow and rig something to keep the snow from clogging it up again. This year I set the vent opening up much higher than before.
    The dual 100 pound tanks worked fairly well. Each tank ran the heater for just over a week. Sometimes two full weeks if we had a lot of sunshine. At those times I could shut the heater off till nearly dark. Those are rare days here in the winter months.
    If I had my druthers I would invest in a venter heater and get the largest tank you can afford and your LP supplier will fill for you. It's no fun hauling those tanks around every few weeks!
    My splitter was $55. and those 18" hoses were $10. each By the way talk to propane dealers in your area before you buy your tank! I found that most don't want to fill tanks up that aren't theirs. Also they require specific openings which retail store ones don't always have. Some dealers will provide you with the tank free or at a nominal charge if you sign up with them for the year.
    We did our own heater hookup. Any plumber can do that for you if you aren't handy. It's not worth $600. for that job!

    MollyD

  • jba3fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks Molly
    I went ahead today and I am going to go with AmeriGas and have them put in a 124 gal tank with 100 gal propane
    Free rental on the tank if I use 60 gals of propane a year. $50.00 instalation fee and one hour of labor at $89.00(thats going to be well worth the price to save me my time running back and forth to Home Depot). HAZMAT fee and $96.66 for Permit fees $2.349 a gal delivered for
    propane is better then lugging a 100 pound tank arround.

    I ended up with a 20,000 btu buddy heater, its ventless so I have taken note of adding intake hose near the heater.