Monday, November 10, 2008

Energy Costing less = More money in the budget

I keep a couple of 30 pound propane cylinders at my house that I use to run my water heater. About three years ago, I used to get my propane from a local company who delivered it to my house. One day, just about two weeks before Christmas, I found that I was out of propane. The company had let me run out. When I called them, they told me that "I still had 60% left in my tank." I told them that although their system may say that I had 60% left, I was out, and they had let me run out.

She proceeded to tell me that I would need to pay $75.00 for an off day delivery (It was a Saturday,) and $50.00 for them to do a pressure check, in addition to $3.99 per gallon for my propane. I had been paying $2.79 not too long before.

I resisted the urge to tell them just what they could do with their propane tank!

I grabbed one of the 30 pound cylinders, and went to the hardware store. I have been doing this ever since.

The price had gone up to $3.99 per gallon, plus the hardware store had taken away my 10% off discount, so it was getting pretty expensive. It was still cheaper than electricity however.

I had recently debated on going back to a delivery company, but then I would have that bill again. You see, I have developed a bit of an aversion to bills that come in the mail. We are in a good position right now, and all that we get for bills are electricity, cable/internet, and a water bill. When propane at the hardware store went up that high, I just KNEW that I could save some money with a delivery company.

Well, the 30 pounder ran out today. One bad side effect of this is that my wife calls me up at work and tells me that we have no hot water. Lately, she has taken the tank to the store for me, so all that I have to do is hook it up when I get home. However, she didn't have her vehicle today, so it was up to me.

I grabbed the cylinder, and headed to the store. Imagine my surprise, when I went to pay for my seven gallons, that the price had dropped to $2.99 per pound. I was saving $7.00 on this fill! My family averages one of those cylinders per week, so the savings at that rate is over $350.00 per year.

So, I guess that I am back to being my own propane company for a while. I may have to get the bigger tanks filled, and set them up on a changeover regulator, so that I don't get that call at work telling me that we have no hot water! If you ask me, it is a small price to pay for no monthly bill.

So, what do you put up with to avoid a monthly bill on something?

Well, for anyone who wasn't bored to tears by my musings about propane, I will see you tomorow!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, You disconnected your line to your main( company owned) propane tank and used the cylinder. Is this like the cylinder you use to run a grill?. I just dropped $800.00 to have mine filled.

GettingUP said...

Yes... I will have to write a post about why I did this. It is a pain sometimes, and I may go back to delivery again, but it certainly has served its purpose!