Propane VS Coal

 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 4:30 pm

I posted this in another thread but figured Id make it its own. I just bought coal and propane this week. I filled up my propane tank for .96 cents per gallon. (Up from .89 cents last year ;) ) I also bought 3 tons of Blashak nut at 197 per ton delivered.

If I did my math right I think I may be on almost an equal playing field as far as cost per btu is concerned. I think it may cost me roughly 16 dollars more per tank full of LP to heat with propane vs coal. I figured the Hitzer 50-93 at 70% efficient and my Carrier condensing furnace is rated at 93% AFUE. I left electricity out of the equation since I run the blower on the coal stove continuously and the blower on the furnace only runs on a call for heat.

I used 91,500 btu per gallon of propane
AND
13,200 btu per pound of anthracite

Am I fairly accurate or did I duff my calculations? :eh:


 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 5:26 pm

You did not show your work.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 6:00 pm

Anthracite only has about 12,300 BTU's per pound on an "as received" basis. On a "dry basis" (not ash free) it has about 13,200 BTU/Lb., but it typically has about 4 or 5 percent moisture (even if it looks dry as a bone and is dusty as all get-out).

To get to 12,300 BTU's/Lb. you need to account for the water as a percentage, and then also account for the heat required to evaporate it.

Edited to change "as delivered" to read "as received".
Last edited by lsayre on Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 6:13 pm

91,500x .93= 85,095 btu into my house per 96 cents of LP burned

13,200x.7= 9,240 btu into my house per 10 cents of anthracite burned. (Rounded to 200 per ton)

85,095/ 9,240= 9.21 pounds of coal X 10 cents per pound= 92 cents

So

85,095 btu of propane equals 96 cents

85,095 btu of coal equals 92 cents

For every gallon of propane burned I will use 4 more cents than I would with coal. So 400 gallons (80% allowable liquid in a 500 gallon tank) of LP equals 16 bucks

 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 6:14 pm

9.2 pounds of anthracite coal equals 1 gallon of Propane

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 6:16 pm

93% efficient propane and natural gas appliances are only 93% efficient in a perfect (lab setting) world. The world we live in is not perfect.

Ditto for 70% efficient coal stoves.

That said, the propane stoves ability to supply heat only as needed and also in only as much quantity as needed (in addition to where needed) vastly exceeds these same abilities with respect to a coal stove.

 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 8:44 pm

So with the 12,300 figure, in all reality, i would probably save money burning propane instead of coal. Sad as that is.


 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 9:07 pm

BlackBetty06 wrote:So with the 12,300 figure, in all reality, i would probably save money burning propane instead of coal. Sad as that is.
Saving $$$ is #1 !

 
cabinover
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Post by cabinover » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 9:44 pm

However....comfort is worth a lot more $$ to my wife. Coal wins out here even though my LP is much less expensive. BTW, your's is less expensive than mine and I work for an LP company!!! :cry:

 
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 7:25 am

My 84 year old neighbor, who gets government assistance via their providing for a certain percentage of her annual her propane at no cost to her, recently had her allotment of a free 203.9 gallons (corrected to 60 degrees) added to her tank. The bill came to $541.00. That's a tad more than $2.65 per gallon. I must assume that the taxpayers are picking up this tab. Since it appears that propane currently costs less than half this amount, does this mean that the propane service involved here is ripping off the taxpayers?

 
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Post by coalfan » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 10:00 am

that goverment pollitics for yah of course we are getting screwed again i thought you would know that !!!!!!!!!!!

 
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Post by top top » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 10:55 am

BlackBetty06 wrote:...............................................I just bought coal and propane this week. I filled up my propane tank for .96 cents per gallon. (Up from .89 cents last year ;) ) ..................:
Who is your propane supplier?

I had to fill my tanks a little early this year, before the seasonal price drop, but it cost more than double what you paid. I would like see if they deliver to my area. Thanks.

 
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Post by warminmn » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 11:04 am

Propane costs vary a huge amount by location and even more so in the east. Prices go from under $1 to over $4 depending on location. Its crazy that I can get coal here 1000 miles from the source for less than some of you in New England, but LP can be 3 times as much there.

LP would be cheaper than coal here right now too. I'd sure miss that heat source though. Nothing beats a hot stove to sit by. I'll decide in the fall.

 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 2:53 pm

I got my propane from Sauder Fuels. Martindale propane was within 3 cents if the bill was paid in 5 days

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. Jul. 20, 2017 6:16 pm

You can use both ! 8-)


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