propane gas use, how to track, my tank is emptying too soon

[traderspoc]

Need some guidance to to track or measure propane gas use by each appliance in the house,

stove, water heater, clothes dryer, etc

i had my propane tank checked, with soapy water, no leak. no smell.

but is needing fill up three times this winter.

is there any other method that will check for leaks . that not in the open.

[RVGRINGO]

Your nose will tell you if you have any leaks.

The hot water heater is your largest consumer of gas. Consider going solar; it will pay off in two years.

Unless you bake a lot, the stove does not use much, nor does occasional use of a radiant heater.

Sunshine will dry clothes, then you can use the dryer to fluff them and finish drying, if needed.

With normal usage, one couple should use about 240L of gas every 2 or 3 months. 240L is an 80% fill for a 300L tank.

[johanson]

Very well explained RVGRINGO. Like many here, I too, put in a hot water solar system. What a great difference that makes. Now I fill up every ten months or so instead of perhaps every two or so months

I sure hope you don't have a gas leak in some underground pipe between an appliance and your tank. It can be terribly difficult to find.

Good luck "sniffing" out the leak. Let's hope what ever the problem is, is easy to find and easy to fix.

This question has been asked upon occasion in the past, and several good maintenance folks were recommended to help find that leak. Perhaps someone reading this thread might know of such a person to recommend, should you not be able to find the leak yourself.

[Bourbonman]

Pressure testing is th best solution

A gas dryer uses a lot of gas, & turning the hot water heater temp control to pilot only ,between showers will save a lot of gas

we are a family of two & have used 50% of a 300 Ltr tank(when filled is only to 90%) in four months

An experienced person can determine the cylindros, by movement of the tank by hand, when it is nearing empty

The best solution is a two tank operation with a "switch valve"

[jrm30655]

The only real way to know is to put a gauge in line, charge the line, then cut off the tank and see what happens over 24 hours.

A plumber can do this.

[giltner68]

I used 1 tank from July to last Wednesday, as you say, heating hot water is the killer, I have a gas stove, dryer etc. but in the morning I lite the fire, a half hour later plenty of hot water for the shower, take it, go out and turn it off until the next day. Cut my usage in half.

[solajijic]

Having moved into Ajijic central almost a year ago we find we use 50% more gas than we did for almost 6 years of living west of the village. There hasn't been a substantive change in our daily household habits. I am at a loss as to why.

When we mmoved in there were waterline grade copper pipes connecting the tank to the house. We had that corrected however my best thought is that the interior pipes leak.

I am thinking about replacing the tank water heater since it obviously hasn't been maintained and drained over the years. And then putting an on demand unit on the outside of the master bath when we redo that room in the spring.

[SallyValley]

"With normal usage, one couple should use about 240L of gas every 2 or 3 months. 240L is an 80% fill for a 300L tank.".

After reading what RVGRINGO said and an incident Saturday, I decided to do some math.

My tank on the roof is 300 liters. When it hits 20#, I know it's "low," but we never let is get that low. I also see that 85# is the max it should go, especially considering the tank is over 15 years old.

We decided to call for gas, but considering what has been said in another threat on gas trucks (and anote forwarded from one of the fraccs), we decided to check things first.

My husband did something I would never do, he took a ladder and went to the roof to read the meter and check for leaks. Meter reading was noted at 30#.

We said to put in 50 liters sort of as a test. We calculated how high the pressure meter should be.

Hubby and I went to the truck to watch that the flow meter was at zero. It was. Suddenly, the screen went blank and (swear and cross my heart), less than 10-seconds later the guy comes out of the cab with a bill showing 51 liters, at $6.5500 per liters for a total price of $334.05.

I said that the readout on the screen went blank and he said there was a problem. I asked how then I could tell how much gas was delivered (hubby is standing there quiet). I was told the printer was working and it shows the amount delivered. I had a problem with this since having worked with computers (mainframes), printers don't measure flow.

So I asked hubby to check the meter at the tank. He did and it had moved from 30# to 35#. He waited for the gauge to settle. The rooftop helper was there and saw it; then the pumper man came up and down. I told him this was WRONG and after some discussion where he was not happy, he put in more and brought the reading to 39#.

Another thing that struck me wrong was that the receipt he the truck guy gave me was from a different company than shown on his truck and was undated; most other gas receipts have the date printed on them. I had never heard of the company shown on the receipt I was given.

Two final points:

1) This incident caused me to pull several of my old gas receipts over the last 3 years. BTW: I never let the tank get below 20# and usually refill ("just fill it up") at 30#.

My prior bills showed deliveries of 279 liters; 238 liters; 270 liters, 295 liters, 271liters and 272 liters.

2) Hubby hasn't been been able to find his glasses for 2 days and thought he might have left them by the tank. He went up to look and noted the pressure had dropped 6 points from Saturday. Apparently someone had accidentally stepped on the copper tube going to the tank and there was a leak. It was fixed by our plumber at nominal cost.

Sorry for being so long-winded (hubby complains about that).

I think the trick is to watch the flow meter and only pay what it shows. If the meter fails --- ????

Thanks.

Sally

[SallyValley]

"With normal usage, one couple should use about 240L of gas every 2 or 3 months. 240L is an 80% fill for a 300L tank.".

After reading what RVGRINGO said and an incident Saturday, I decided to do some math.

My tank on the roof is 300 liters. When it hits 20#, I know it's "low," but we never let is get that low. I also see that 85# is the max it should go, especially considering the tank is over 15 years old.

We decided to call for gas, but considering what has been said in another threat on gas trucks (and anote forwarded from one of the fraccs), we decided to check things first.

My husband did something I would never do, he took a ladder and went to the roof to read the meter and check for leaks. Meter reading was noted at 30#.

We said to put in 50 liters sort of as a test. We calculated how high the pressure meter should be.

Hubby and I went to the truck to watch that the flow meter was at zero. It was. Suddenly, the screen went blank and (swear and cross my heart), less than 10-seconds later the guy comes out of the cab with a bill showing 51 liters, at $6.5500 per liters for a total price of $334.05.

I said that the readout on the screen went blank and he said there was a problem. I asked how then I could tell how much gas was delivered (hubby is standing there quiet). I was told the printer was working and it shows the amount delivered. I had a problem with this since having worked with computers (mainframes), printers don't measure flow.

So I asked hubby to check the meter at the tank. He did and it had moved from 30# to 35#. He waited for the gauge to settle. The rooftop helper was there and saw it; then the pumper man came up and down. I told him this was WRONG and after some discussion where he was not happy, he put in more and brought the reading to 39#.

Another thing that struck me wrong was that the receipt he the truck guy gave me was from a different company than shown on his truck and was undated; most other gas receipts have the date printed on them. I had never heard of the company shown on the receipt I was given.

Two final points:

1) This incident caused me to pull several of my old gas receipts over the last 3 years. BTW: I never let the tank get below 20# and usually refill ("just fill it up") at 30#.

My prior bills showed deliveries of 279 liters; 238 liters; 270 liters, 295 liters, 271liters and 272 liters.

2) Hubby hasn't been been able to find his glasses for 2 days and thought he might have left them by the tank. He went up to look and noted the pressure had dropped 6 points from Saturday. Apparently someone had accidentally stepped on the copper tube going to the tank and there was a leak. It was fixed by our plumber at nominal cost.

Sorry for being so long-winded (hubby complains about that).

I think the trick is to watch the flow meter and only pay what it shows. If the meter fails --- ????

Thanks.

Sally

P.S.So far, the only one I would come near recommending is Jesus Romero with Vela.He speaks English very well and is on time for appointments.

Thanks.

Sally

[johanson]

Yes, I too check the meter, both on my tank which is at ground level and on the truck. If the driver is going to try to overcharge some of his customers, the chances are much less that he will try with you if he knows you are watching/ checking up on him.

[cedros]

Need some guidance to to track or measure propane gas use by each appliance in the house,

stove, water heater, clothes dryer, etc

i had my propane tank checked, with soapy water, no leak. no smell.

but is needing fill up three times this winter.

is there any other method that will check for leaks . that not in the open.

What size is you tank?

[cedros]

Your nose will tell you if you have any leaks.

The hot water heater is your largest consumer of gas. Consider going solar; it will pay off in two years.

Unless you bake a lot, the stove does not use much, nor does occasional use of a radiant heater.

Sunshine will dry clothes, then you can use the dryer to fluff them and finish drying, if needed.

With normal usage, one couple should use about 240L of gas every 2 or 3 months. 240L is an 80% fill for a 300L tank.

This duo uses 200 liters about every four months.

[bajandy]

To measure remainig propane in tank pour hot water over tank. Slide hand down the wet area. Where the tank turns cold to the touch is the present propane level.

[milamac]

What's the phone # for Vela Gas, please?

[hensley]

I would also suggest to never fill your tank, if you do get a leak there goes all your gas, you can schedule your gas guy to come every month or every other month. It is a bit safer this way.

Solar really cuts down on your gas, we have really noticed the difference.

[Bourbonman]

Comments-

Filling every month increases your chances of being "scammed"

Propane is heavier than air, so if you move to ground level, make sure the tank is not in a low "hole", in case of

a leak, the propane can accumulate

[ajijicbound]

We had a bad leak that we could not smell and the soap did not pickit up. We called Steve Warwick construction and he used an electronic device that could detect the leak. I would recommend. He Has an ad in the ojo

[Alpha1]

Use to do energy audits for commercial buildings and was involved in Kyoto Protocol (reduction of GHG) for a government agency. If you can't measure your use you can't control it. I have been monitoring my propane usage since I moved into the house, 2007. A simple spreadsheet can help track your consumption.

Headings

• Fill date
• Meter Fill (L)
• $/L (tax)
• $/L (no tax)
• % increase
• Days
• Months
• Litres/day
• filled from

The average consumption has been filled every 6 months with a consumption rate of 1.24 Litres/day. This also helps determine when your next fill should be. Have a dryer, stove, and on demand HW.

[lakeside7]

Your nose will tell you if you have any leaks.

The hot water heater is your largest consumer of gas. Consider going solar; it will pay off in two years.

Unless you bake a lot, the stove does not use much, nor does occasional use of a radiant heater.

Sunshine will dry clothes, then you can use the dryer to fluff them and finish drying, if needed.

With normal usage, one couple should use about 240L of gas every 2 or 3 months. 240L is an 80% fill for a 300L tank.

Question, why does my on demand water light up when I am not using any hot water? I guess I need to go solar, but given to day weather I would have a cold shower

[Bigrig1919]

I think I got scammed last week. Our doorbell rung at 7:30 am and two guys were at our door with a propane truck outside. They could not speak English , but after seeing the gas truck, I knew they were from the gas Company. After trying to understand what they were saying for about 10 min. They called someone on thier cell phone, which they said was their office.

The person on the phone said, the guys were asking if I wanted , $200, 300 or $500 pesos of gas. told them thru the translater, that I didn't call them. They said my real estate agent called them. We are renting the house. The last time the agent did fill the tank.

I told them to put $500 Mx in because I didn't want to run out and have not figured out how much I use.

I made a mistate of not looking at the tank or truck meter and they were paying anyway.

When he finished, he give me a bill for $500 pesos. I told him to bill the agent and he said , no I had to pay now.

(His English got better as we went along)

I said OK, and planned to give the bill to my agent or deduct it from the rent.

When I saw the agent the next day, she said I was scammed. She had just filled the tank up the week before.

[SallyValley]

I think I got scammed last week. Our doorbell rung at 7:30 am and two guys were at our door with a propane truck outside. They could not speak English , but after seeing the gas truck, I knew they were from the gas Company. After trying to understand what they were saying for about 10 min. They called someone on thier cell phone, which they said was their office. The person on the phone said, the guys were asking if I wanted , $200, 300 or $500 pesos of gas. told them thru the translater, that I didn't call them. They said my real estate agent called them. We are renting the house. The last time the agent did fill the tank. I told them to put $500 Mx in because I didn't want to run out and have not figured out how much I use. I made a mistate of not looking at the tank or truck meter and they were paying anyway. When he finished, he give me a bill for $500 pesos. I told him to bill the agent and he said , no I had to pay now. (His English got better as we went along) I said OK, and planned to give the bill to my agent or deduct it from the rent. When I saw the agent the next day, she said I was scammed. She had just filled the tank up the week before.

Too bad. I would opine they didn't put anything in your tank. $

You paid tuition; remember the lesson. If you forget it, ask Fox Mulder.

Thanks.

Sally.

[traderspoc]

thank for all for our reponses.

follows advice the pm ed to me.

turn gas water heater to pilot light, when not using it. my water heater is 10 years old 2003, and 16 gallons, but has fast reponse of 27 minutes to heat up again.

that means everytime used it it was reheating the water after i used it.

so now i turn it on about 25 minutes before i want to use it, after we shower turn it off to pilot light the rest of the day.

it appears i am using less gas. now still monitoring system more closly.

will considered solar water heater in future.

from what i read newer water heaters have better insulation and have electric pilot lights.

my stove has electric gas lighter, no pilot light gas wasted on the stove.