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Old 10-13-2016, 07:33 PM   #1
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Propane Usage

Hi there! I'm just wondering how quickly you all go through propane in colder weather? We recently bought a 2017 Rezerve 36db. We have had a few nights of weather in the 30's. We went through a 30 gal. tank between Saturday afternoon and sometime in the middle of Wednesday night. That included cooking a couple of meals and running the fridge on propane for a few hours while we traveled. Granted, this 5er is big, but if it goes through the propane that fast I wonder how people can afford to full-time RV in cooler climates! I also don't know if the dealer gave us a full tank, or if they filled it partway. Also, how accurate is the gauge? My husband switched it to the full tank this morning, set the thermostat at 55 for the day, nothing else ran on propane, and it appears to be around the 2/3 mark this evening. We are concerned that it could be using that much, but we also wonder whether there might be a leak somewhere.
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Old 10-13-2016, 08:23 PM   #2
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Seems like excessive gas use. Gas is easy to smell so I doubt you have a leak inside. I'd make up a water dish soap mix and brush it on all connectors and outputs.

Is your hot water running on gas as well?
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Old 10-13-2016, 09:50 PM   #3
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When in very cold weather a 30# bottle will last 5-7 days depending on thermostat setting. We use a small electric ceramic heater to supplement & then can stretch the 30#er to about 10 days.
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Old 10-14-2016, 04:57 AM   #4
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My experience, in cold weather (32 F) a 30 lb tank will last perhaps 2 days if the furnace runs a lot. Keep your temperature as low as possible but still be comfortable. Make sure to turn both tanks on and use the auto switchover to eliminate any inconvenience of middle-of-the-night running out of propane.

If possible, run 1 or 2 ceramic heaters and/or your electric fireplace (if you have one). I run one in the bedroom and one in the living area. This accomplishes 3 things:

1. In cold weather it extends the propane life
2. The additional heat helps smooth temperature variation between times when the furnace runs
3. Fan-forced hot air will diminish the amount of condensation on the windows

We have camped in weather down to 10 F very successfully following this method. Be careful not to overload your circuits. Turn all ceramic heaters off before running a hair dryer or the microwave.

Also - please note that your tanks are 30 lb, not 30 gal. One tank holds about 7.5 gallons.
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Old 10-14-2016, 05:00 AM   #5
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That certainly does sound excessive! I would defintely check that out!

We winter in Florida and some nights in January it can get down to close to or even below freezing. We do not run our furnace at night. We figure we are just heating the outdoors.

What we do instead is use an electric blanket to keep warm when sleeping. When I get up (I am an early bird), I turn on the furnace for about an hour to warm the place up and that's it. This saves us a lot of propane.
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Old 10-14-2016, 08:53 AM   #6
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Propane gauges are notoriously inaccurate. That's why the automatic switchover was developed. Short story: both tank valves open, directional pointer pointed to one side or the other, not middle. One tank will run until empty, then red flag will appear in window. The pointed-to tank is now empty. Close that tank valve, switch pointer to the new supply tank. When you do, red flag will go away. Leave it there while you get first tank refilled. Repeat when current tank runs empty and red flag appears.
We use propane a lot. I prefer the faster water heat, and am more comfortable with propane heat vs an electric heater which can get kicked around by us or the dogs.
I just refilled two tanks, $8.99 each. Not bad at all!
I think you'll find you have a lot more in those tanks than you thought.
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Old 10-14-2016, 01:19 PM   #7
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If there's any chance of getting below freezing at night you definitely need to run the furnace as it also heats the storage areas/basement/underbelly where water lines/holding tanks are located, portable heaters will not reach those areas. Burning a bottle of propane will be cheap compared to repairing/replacing frozen ruptured water lines or holding tanks.
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Old 10-14-2016, 03:59 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
If there's any chance of getting below freezing at night you definitely need to run the furnace as it also heats the storage areas/basement/underbelly where water lines/holding tanks are located, portable heaters will not reach those areas. Burning a bottle of propane will be cheap compared to repairing/replacing frozen ruptured water lines or holding tanks.
It has to get quite a bit below freezing to do any damage to the lines. When it is 32 F. outside it is usually at least 40 inside. It's also not going to be that cold all night. One has to be prudent about this.

Most of the time in Florida the temperature in January will be in the forties overnight.
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Old 10-14-2016, 05:51 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loneoak View Post
It has to get quite a bit below freezing to do any damage to the lines. When it is 32 F. outside it is usually at least 40 inside. It's also not going to be that cold all night. One has to be prudent about this.

Most of the time in Florida the temperature in January will be in the forties overnight.
SORRY! That wasn't specifically directed to you or others living in Florida or other snowbird destinations, but others may be where it actually gets cold & need to know to keep from having frozen lines. We are in Arizona & probably won't burn more than 1 - 30# bottle this winter.
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Old 10-14-2016, 08:12 PM   #10
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Thanks for all the replies! It has definitely been cold here. Temps have been in the 50s to low 60s during the day and 30s at night, and we had the thermostat set at 70. I expected some propane usage, but it seemed like a lot to go through a 30 lb tank in 4 1/2 days. However, if I take a rough estimate of 8 ft wide by 40 ft long, that's approximately 320 sq ft we are heating. That's quite a bit of space. It's about $28 to fill a tank here. That could add up fast!
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Old 10-14-2016, 09:23 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2017Rezerve View Post
. It's about $28 to fill a tank here. That could add up fast!
I just checked nationwide propane prices. You must be talking about swapping a tank, not having one filled. If you have 20 lb tanks, that's 5 gallons. If, as you say, you have 30 gallon tanks, then each would hold about 7 or 8 gallons. Even 8 gallons, at an above-national price of $2.50/gal, would be $20. Suggest you shop around.
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Old 10-15-2016, 05:49 AM   #12
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Lp gas useage

2017 reserve, see u r in ND, check out this website: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). shows avg per gal.
Price of l.p. in SD for 2nd wk of Oct is $1.055 per gal. Also sug checking with rv dealers, truck stops & l.p. dist in ur area. We have found traveling in Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming & other western states that they run weekly specials(on certain week days) below $1.00. These will work out to below $7.00 to below 8.00 per 30 lb tank. Good luck.
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Old 10-15-2016, 08:51 AM   #13
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I took a serious (moderator edit) on propane yesterday. I had one tank that was out of date so I took both tanks to FerrellGas in Marion, IL. They're the only ones close who can certify a tank.

$10 to certify the tank.

Total bill $75.

$65 to fill 2- 30 pound tanks.
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Old 10-15-2016, 04:05 PM   #14
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Wow! thats $5 a gallon, they are totally ripping people off at that price.
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Old 10-18-2016, 10:56 AM   #15
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We've been using propane much faster in this Crossroads than we ever did in our smaller Weekend Warrior. I used to be able to go most of a year with just two tanks, but I've refilled these larger tanks more than once since March. I think the larger double sized fridge really sucks up the LP. We've only run the furnace once. I can't imagine how fast we'll go through LP when the winter comes.
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Old 10-18-2016, 11:34 AM   #16
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That sounds very excessive. Maybe you should check for leaks around the tanks and lines. Home Depot and Lowes sell a leak checker for just that.
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