Need advice please on getting propane heat installed (Clarks Summit, Clark: how much, house)

[sausages]

After an electric bill of $650 last winter I have decided now to install a 35btu heater (propane) downstairs... when we first moved we have a little stand alone fire chimney with a pipe out to the ceiling, we bought a wood burning stove but it turns out the pipe was not good enough to use with the stove.

So now I am getting a propane heater, I need advice on this since I know nothing about them. I wondered if the pipe we have might work for us to get a vented heater and if not is it very expensive to get it installed ?. I looked at one at Keystone Propane for about $900, on top of that I would have installation, the tank could go outside on the other side of the wall. (maybe we could use the pipe that is already there.

How much does all this cost, the installation, propane tank etc. One would think the propane companies would offer a good deal on installation if you are going to use them for propane.

Any thoughts on what to get. Eventually I would like to run it upstairs and get another heater for the main living area. We are going to put vents in the ceiling so the heat can come up to the bedrooms.

Really need advise on this.. Thanks

Do the propane companies charge alot for installation.

Ideally I would have loved to have kept the wood burning stove but cannot come up with anyone to help install it with the correct piping.

[rcb1966]

Call an independent dealer for your construction solution, such as S&T Coombe in Blakeslee - 570-646-8254. They are real professionals, & then subscribe to an LP gas company for your fuel. This is your best option. Coombe will send someone to your home to evaluate your situation. Good Luck!!

[thecoalman]

Propane is not a great saver of money and comparable to oil or electric. Natural gas is cheaper because it's piped to house not delivered. Really depends on the rates at the moment but for example using some typical rates:

Oil .......@$3.10/gallon = $28.75/million BTU
Electric @$.0.10/kwh = $31.53/million BTU

Propane @$2.30/gallon = $32.34/million BTU

Here's some others:

Wood @$200/cord = $15.15/million BTU
Pellets @$300/ton = $22.73 /million BTU


Coal @$160/ton(delivered) = $8.03/million BTU
Coal @$130/ton(picked up) = $6.52/million BTU

As you can see coal is King, the other are not even in the ballpark. Delivery to Clarks Summit right now shouldn't be much more than that.


You can figure out your own costs using local rates with this calculator:
FUEL COST CALCULATOR!!! - Energy, Coal News and Discusssion

You'll need Excel to open and work with it, if you don't have Excel you can download and install Open Office. I should note that I adjusted the cost per ton for both pellets and coal and adjusted the efficiency of coal units to 80% to reflect what they are. Some coal boilers approach 90% efficiency. Also I believe a cord of wood is more than $200 but I could be wrong and if course if you're cutting it yourself you're trading time for money savings.

Ideally I would have loved to have kept the wood burning stove but cannot come up with anyone to help install it with the correct piping.

This isn't rocket science assuming you have a chimney in place? Wood demands more maintenance and attention to the flue because of higher stack temperatures and the creosote. You could post your question over on Hearthnet (damn I hate posting links to the enemies web site ) :

Hearth.com Wood Stove and Pellet Stove Forums....and much more! | Powered By ExpressionEngine


If you need someone to do it give Dan at the Fireplace Gallery a call.

Coal, Wood, Gas, Pellet - Fireplace Gallery - Noxen, PA

[sausages]

We do not have a chimney - what we had was a small little stand alone thingy that you could put a few logs into and a pipe going up to the ceiling - when we got the wood burning stove we thought the pipe and connection to the ceiling was good enough but it is not.


On another floor we have a big fire place so I was looking for something to produce heat.


I like the idea of a wood burning stove that uses pellets but we would be back to were we started the pipe and connection to the ceiling is not good enough.


Trying to get something that would not cost more than a couple of thousand to buy/install etc. and that would heat a good deal of the house. I think you can get a propane heater with 35btu and that can easily get hooked to the wall for ventilation.

Sorry I may not have been very clear...

[thecoalman]

On another floor we have a big fire place so I was looking for something to produce heat.

The trouble with a fireplace is that they are very inefficient, a lot of the heat goes out the chimney. A stove is designed to contain the heat.

Insert? Hitzer, Inc. - Wood & Coal Heaters, Gas Logs & Fire Places, Fireplace Inserts (http://www.hitzer.com/model503.html - broken link)



The smaller coal stokers can be power vented, I'm assuming your "Wood stove" is actually a pellet stove? So it would need the same thing. You will need ventilation of some sort no matter what appliance you are using.

Coal or pellet stoves should be hooked to existing chimney if possible even if you disconnect your existing furnace from it and power vent that instead.