What is happening to propane prices?

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • DanS26
    Solar Fanatic
    • Dec 2011
    • 972

    What is happening to propane prices?

    Just got a quote for my summer fill of propane....$1.00 a gallon. WOW! Just two years ago it was selling for $4.00 a gallon.

    What a great economic system we have. Big media jumping all over the little old grandmothers freezing in their Iowa homes because they cannot heat their homes in the rural areas in winter of 2013. Everyone bails on propane and calls for government oversight and controls on propane. Propane tanks being ripped out for the last two years and replaced by geothermal all over the Midwest. Now propane is one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest, form of energy.

    A gallon of propane is the BTU equivalent of 26.8 kWh. At $.15 kWh (which we pay here in rural Indiana) that is the equivalent to $4.02 per gallon.

    I wonder how long the great deal will continue........
  • DanKegel
    Banned
    • Sep 2014
    • 2093

    #2
    I don't know if $1/gallon can last too long,
    but it seems unlikely it'll shoot up to previous levels any time soon.

    http://fortune.com/2015/01/09/oil-pr...hale-fracking/ has some interesting context.

    Comment

    • Sunking
      Solar Fanatic
      • Feb 2010
      • 23301

      #3
      Like any commodity, demand and supply drive the cost. Natural Gas and Propane supplies are at all time records with dwindling demand. Since 2008 Natural Gas prices has fallen from 10.79 to 3.29 at the well. Since 2008 electric rates have dropped right along with it.

      Same period for propane in 2008 was $1.90 gallon at its peak. Today 34 cents.

      It is the market and we have massive supplies of energy.
      MSEE, PE

      Comment

      • Naptown
        Solar Fanatic
        • Feb 2011
        • 6880

        #4
        The trick to low propane prices is to own your own tanks.
        Don't buy into the "we will install your tank and you rent it for a dollar or whatever. You are then stuck with that supplier and they can charge what ever thay want.
        Own your tank!
        NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

        [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

        [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

        [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

        Comment

        • Sunking
          Solar Fanatic
          • Feb 2010
          • 23301

          #5
          Originally posted by Naptown
          The trick to low propane prices is to own your own tanks.
          Ditto, they come with fixed locked in ppg pricing for term of contract. which is usually over market price. If you locked in 2 years ago you are paying 3 times market value.
          MSEE, PE

          Comment

          • DanS26
            Solar Fanatic
            • Dec 2011
            • 972

            #6
            Originally posted by Naptown
            The trick to low propane prices is to own your own tanks.
            Don't buy into the "we will install your tank and you rent it for a dollar or whatever. You are then stuck with that supplier and they can charge what ever thay want.
            Own your tank!
            Well, not to pat myself on the back, but I will.... I bought two 1,000 gallon tanks at a very low price since everyone was bailing on propane. Now that is more than a two year supply for me...heating, cooking, hot water and back up generator. Propane can be stored indefinitely in tanks as opposed to gasoline. It is just the perfect fuel for long term storage and now it is the the cheapest fuel on the market. It is amazing that most people missed this opportunity.

            Here in the Midwest, empty propane tanks are stacked 30 feet high in the tank farms.....what a waste of resources. It is amazing to me how big media can affect the average American mindset.

            Comment

            • Sunking
              Solar Fanatic
              • Feb 2010
              • 23301

              #7
              Originally posted by DanS26
              Here in the Midwest, empty propane tanks are stacked 30 feet high in the tank farms.....what a waste of resources. It is amazing to me how big media can affect the average American mindset.
              No not really a waste of resources, and still a great opportunity at a bargain basement prices. Every ounce of those tanks are recyclable and worth quite a bit of money on the salvage market. If they do not resale as tanks, they get made into your next car or high rise building.
              MSEE, PE

              Comment

              • DanS26
                Solar Fanatic
                • Dec 2011
                • 972

                #8
                Originally posted by Sunking
                No not really a waste of resources, and still a great opportunity at a bargain basement prices. Every ounce of those tanks are recyclable and worth quite a bit of money on the salvage market. If they do not resale as tanks, they get made into your next car or high rise building.
                I plan on buying two more 1000 gallon tanks at these prices. That will be at least a five year supply of energy for me. It is unbelievable that this opportunity exists and not a peep from the media. I hope they ignore this for the time being.

                Comment

                • Sunking
                  Solar Fanatic
                  • Feb 2010
                  • 23301

                  #9
                  Originally posted by DanS26
                  I plan on buying two more 1000 gallon tanks at these prices. That will be at least a five year supply of energy for me. It is unbelievable that this opportunity exists and not a peep from the media. I hope they ignore this for the time being.
                  You will not hear it much from main stream media, they have a leftist agenda and do not believe in cheap energy. They think fossil fuel is evil. They do acknowledged falling NG prices spinning it from that evil Fracturing devils.
                  MSEE, PE

                  Comment

                  • inetdog
                    Super Moderator
                    • May 2012
                    • 9909

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Naptown
                    The trick to low propane prices is to own your own tanks.
                    Don't buy into the "we will install your tank and you rent it for a dollar or whatever. You are then stuck with that supplier and they can charge what ever thay want.
                    Own your tank!
                    One potential advantage for the consumer of going with a leased tank is that the supplier can put in a fill gauge that can be read remotely as the truck drives by. That means that you do not have to keep checking your fuel level and calling for a refill when you need it.
                    There is a price for that convenience, but for some folks it counts for a lot.
                    SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

                    Comment

                    Working...