Residential forced air furnace: temporary heat

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

Haven’t had a chance to figure that out yet.

I bought 100 # cylinder from a fellow I found on Craigslist the other day. I paid $65 and as a bonus it was about one fifth full of propane. I ran that down, but did not exhaust it. Now I’m working on a 20 pounder that was full when I started. It seems to have drawn down pretty quickly, considering that I don’t use the furnace that much. I will probably get another 100# cylinder in the next couple days. I am also thinking I need to build a rack for my trailer so I can transport the cylinders upright and secure to and from the propane dealer.

Unseasonably warm temperatures are forecast for the next 10 days. It is really noticeably easier to keep the bus warm when the temperature is in the upper 20s lower 30s than it is when the temperatures are in the single digits. And likewise, when the air is calm it is easier than if the wind is blowing. Last year at this time we reached almost 30 below zero. I feel fortunate that we’re not seeing a repeat of that.

I have a 20 year old doublewide (3" walls) in the Mohave desert. Coldest winter temps are usually in the high twenties. I have a propane furnace and the propane company charges about $0.30 - $0.50/gal more to deliver in the winter. I buy 100 gallons at a time, minimum delivery. It is hard to get get accurate readings from the tank gage (it is not very precise), but it will go down gallons a day if you set the tstat up above 65.


I have to turn off the propane after it warms up because the pilot seems to use about 5 gallons a month, which is about right according to the propane company.


I am one of the few on the grid out here, fortunately, I use electric radiant heat for spot heat and it doubles/triples my electric bill in the winter but it is still cheaper than propane. I use propane for a quick whole house warmup and then turn it down and use spot heat. Maybe that would work for you, if you are on grid. If you are just working you don't need a very high temp (40-60?) unless you are painting or something like that.