Propane prices....OW!

[Fred Voorhees]

Guys, what the heck has happened to the price of propane? I went to have two twenty gal bottles filled today and nearly passed out. I paid $19 per bottle. I remember not that long ago I was paying down around $10 per and it has rapidly increased. Anyone care to supply an answer as to why? Geez, it's getting expensive to heat my wood shop:eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That's about what we paid in September for our new b-b-q grill.

[Matt Meiser]

Uh, because it is energy? :D

We buy 1100 gal of propane a year for heating/hot water/dryer. This years cost us about $1800 (we pre-buy in September.)

[David G Baker]

Fred,
Be very thankful that you don't have to cook and heat with propane. Natural gas is what I have but many friends do not have any other option. It is getting to the point where they have to make the choice between food, prescriptions or propane.
A Michigan utility is being sued because they cut the power to a senior couple and they froze to death. That is how bad it is getting in Michigan.

[Scott Donley]

4.8 gallons for the BBQ last month, 19 bucks ! Last year this time, 8, and I thought the steak was getting expensive :mad:

[Kyle Kraft]

Fortunately, I am hooked up to natural gas. I stuck it to the propane and propane accessories man by running a line outside the house with a QD to plug in the 'barby.

[Bryan Rocker]

I would do natural gas if it had made it this far down the street. Instead I do propane as well. The last time I filled my tank, Early november it set me back $800. The most recent top off was for 200 gallons @ $2.48 a gallon......

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

I full time in an RV so propane it is. Last week, I had to fill all 3 of my tanks, including my 100lber....$3.00 a gallon, up from $2.79 a month ago. Running me $80.00 a month to heat and eat!

Doug

[David Duke]

We use propane to fuel our pre-heat furnace and go through about 500 gallons in 6 days. Our price has jumped over a dollar a gallon in the past six months we now pay (unless its went up since Christmas) 2.20 a gallon.

[Rick Frye]

what is up with new global economics?

[Michael Gibbons]

After high school I attended an auto repair school and the one instructor told us that when gasoline is originally refined it is naturally unleaded. But remember when the unleaded was always more at the pump? More consumer deception. The lead had to be added to the mixture which is an extra step in processing which in turn would have made it more expensive. Go Figure. Diesel fuel is less refined from what I understand so why is it so much more money? Anyone? Less refining= less time = less cost to produce should mean less than gas.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Natural gas in New Jersey is no bargain either. Last year, prices were stable. But the year before there was a tremendous increase. So far this year, prices have been high but stable. However, winter is still young.

Electricity is becoming the big horror. It was deregulated in NJ about 2 years ago and the price per KWhr rose from 11 cents to 17 cents. It's worse for commercial accounts. The aggravating thing is that the revenue is not going towards alleviating the electrical congestion in my area. Again, it's brokers inserting themself in the middle of things without adding any practical value. It's regulation via Wall Street.

-Jeff :)

[Denny Rice]

I heat my shop with propane it cost about 2.60 a gallon. Thats not near as bad as my home, its heated with #2 fuel oil---hitting close to 4 bucks a gallon!:mad:

[Kyle Kraft]

My brother-in-law heats w/ oil and he recently installed a pellet stove. He is a statistical genius and he can tell you his exact cost to heat his home comparing oil to pellets based on heating degree days. He is "saving big money".

[David G Baker]

Kyle,
A friend went from full time propane to corn burner and part time propane. He is now back to propane due to the tremendous jump in shelled corn price. He should have done what your brother-in-law did and switched to a furnace that burns corn or pellets. I guess there is quite a bit of difference between a corn burner and a corn furnace. My neighbor heats his pole barn with a combination furnace, he mixes the corn and pellets together. He says it is cheaper and more efficient that way.

[Brian Elfert]

$18 to $19 to fill a 20# cylinder is fairly normal around Minneapolis although some Holiday gas stations are still at $13 or $14. Cylinder exchanges are sometimes cheaper especially when Menards has a sale or rebate on exchanges.

What I hate is paying full price when the cylinder isn't empty. Nobody I can find around here will charge by the gallon for the 30# and under cylinders.

Flying J is still charging $1.99 to $2.19 per gallon at most locations for Propane, and they charge by the gallon for any size. No locations nearby, but I stop there when on the road with my RV.

I am trying to sell my house to move to a more rural setting, but the high price of propane is a big issue for me. Geothermal is probably the best heat source long term, but the upfront cost is huge.

[Ian Haywood]

Diesel fuel is less refined from what I understand so why is it so much more money? Anyone? Less refining= less time = less cost to produce should mean less than gas.

My guess is volume... I'd guess that there is much more gasoline produced than diesel, so as with most things, as volume increases, price per unit drops.

Ian