All About Propane

[shrouded]

My wife and I are looking at buying our first home. We may have gotten a mortgage arranged (our fingers are crossed). There is one place we are very interested in, but it has one feature that I know little about. The home was built in 85, and since the city hadn't run gas to the location yet (though it has now), it was built to use propane.

What I currently know is this: there is an underground propane tank on the property. The valves were replaced two years ago. Everything _currently_ functions as it should. I don't know enough about propane to know if there are specific things I should look out for. What is the general lifespan of a tank? Should I anticipate an expensive piece of maintenance having to be done to it in the near future? What are the typical costs of having a property put on the city's natural gas?

I am calling around trying to find a good source of info locally. Any advice in the meantime (or links to good resources) would be greatly appreciated.

[lendaddy]

No, propane is not a hassle and maintenance is nill. Good luck with the house and don't worry about the propane.

[88BlueTSiQuest]

Propane is cheaper than Natural Gas. The only drawback is the high cost of filling every 6 months(or however often you need it), but it still beats out natural gas in price.

[dhoward]

[Racerbvd]

Originally posted by dhoward

Yep, ask Hank Hill, he knows everything about Propane and Propane accessories

My water is heated by Propane, been very happy.

[Paco Anton]

My parent's house was destroyed by a fire a few years ago due to a propane explosion.

The story was that the electricity went out and the safety valve in the boiler didn't work properly so propane started to flow into the room. Apparently propane goes down, not up as natural gas, so it accumulated in the lower floors. When my sister tried to restart the boiler once the electricity came back the spark ignited the propane and it exploded. I had to put away the flames in my sister with a carpet.

The firemen arrived 30 minutes later and managed to keep the damage only to the first floor.

So, be careful about safety issues!!!!

[singpilot]

Propane IS heavier than air. But has been addressed in your install. Ask the people at the company that fills the tank for an inspection. It's in their interest to make sure it's right.