Propane Opinions (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: HOA fees, appliances, homes)

[wellsme]

Hi,

The wheels are turning faster towards our retirement. It looks like we are talking about a year. We are trying to make our place in NW Cape Coral to the way we want it by that time.
That being said, we are looking into installing a propane system that would possibly serve our cooking (wife insists), generator, hot water and maybe future pool . Needless to say everything is currently electric.
Does anyone have any input on installation and running costs? I realize the cost of propane can fluctuate more than electricity. We would want a system we could build off of. Starting with the cooking and hot water. I have a call into a propane company, but wanted to hear from someone who had it installed and or are currently using propane.
Any info would be much appreciated, thank you.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by wellsme

Hi,

The wheels are turning faster towards our retirement. It looks like we are talking about a year. We are trying to make our place in NW Cape Coral to the way we want it by that time.
That being said, we are looking into installing a propane system that would possibly serve our cooking (wife insists), generator, hot water and maybe future pool . Needless to say everything is currently electric.
Does anyone have any input on installation and running costs? I realize the cost of propane can fluctuate more than electricity. We would want a system we could build off of. Starting with the cooking and hot water. I have a call into a propane company, but wanted to hear from someone who had it installed and or are currently using propane.
Any info would be much appreciated, thank you.

One thing I liked about propane is it gave me a backup source of energy when power went out. In NH I use to go winter camping all the time, heat worked, refrigerator worked, stove worked, hot water worked all when electricity was off. If you had it also power a generator that would be great for power outages. Cons is Propane cost can be volatile and can get very expensive.

[Mr Cape Coral]

Several of the new construction communities are featuring gas appliances. I find that buyers really like that feature.
The Propane tank is buried so it does not take up space or present an eyesore to the property.
I have seen homes that have the cook stove, water heater dryer and pool heater all on propane.
It also provides for your needs during a power outage. You could even add a generator on to the system.

[Samiamnh]

We love propane.....powers everything for us up north.Go with a big tank,500 or even 1,000 gallons,buried or above ground if you can conceal it a little.
My propane generator is 15 years old and starts and runs beautifuuly because propane,unlike gas doesn't go bad.
Never any tune up or cleaning issues

[Gas over electric]

Hi wellsme,

We're you able to get a propane gas installation in your retirement home ? What were the running cost associated with it. SW Cape Coral FL. is also an area that 95 percent of the homes and new construction homes have electric unless you enter a community with HOA fees. My wife also refuses to buy without gas so what company did you contract. Can you help me.

[wellsme]

Do to the fact that we had plans to install a pool and have a septic field in our front yard we could not go with an underground tank. Any tank has to meet setbacks from property lines, windows, vents and ignition sources, which limits where the tank can be placed.
We ended up with a 120 gal. tank which we just use for cooking. A dryer and water heater could be connected to this size tank as well.
The gas company (South Florida Gas, Fort Myers) obtained the permits. supplied the tank, ran the pipe, connected the stove and filled the tank for about $2000. My wife loves cooking with gas again.
It is costing us about a $100 per year to top off the tank. Maybe less in the future since we do a bit of cooking on our new Big Green Egg.
Whichever way you go, think of any future additions you may do to your property because it could be affected by any gas installation or visa versa.
Good luck.

[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by nhkev

One thing I liked about propane is it gave me a backup source of energy when power went out. In NH I use to go winter camping all the time, heat worked, refrigerator worked, stove worked, hot water worked all when electricity was off. If you had it also power a generator that would be great for power outages. Cons is Propane cost can be volatile and can get very expensive.

and it can explode and you need carbon monoxide detector in your home. If you go all electric none of that is a concern.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by LifeIsGood01

and it can explode and you need carbon monoxide detector in your home. If you go all electric none of that is a concern.

Home powered by electric don’t burn down? Is that what you’re saying?

[FireStation46]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

Home powered by electric don’t burn down? Is that what you’re saying?

He is usually clueless troll

[hardtail]

A little heads up. A pool heater will EAT up propane. Expext to burn through a full tank of gas on the initial heat-up, and keeping it heated will probably double your gas bill.