Heating Help? (Warren: college, camp, living in)

[woxyroxme]

A lot of people have propane tanks in downeast Maine and have them filled by dead river, gas pipelines are not feasible for an area so remote and sparsely populated.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by Hockeygirl063

Glad I saw this before I posted.

As far as oil goes and I know it can depend on how cold it is but does one tank last a whole winter? If not how do you know you need a refill? I would hate to run out during a cold spell.

Also about boilers, which I know nothing about is there maintenance on them? If so how often? Are they an efficient way to heat a house?

Thank you once again for answering my questions.

Most oil tanks are 275, but hold about 250 gallons. The average 2000 square foot home in Southern Maine uses 800-1000 gallons, and oil companies can put you on an "automatic fill" program where they top off your tank on a regular basis based on degree days. My company comes about once a month and seldom does my tank get below 1/2 full. Oil boilers/burners should be serviced annually, many companies will include that in an annual service plan. Oil boilers/burners normally are about 80-85% efficient, when that drops into the 70s, it's probably time for a new system. A good oil boiler/burner can last 30 years or more, many of the new wall hung gas/propane heaters will last half of that.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

A lot of people have propane tanks in downeast Maine and have them filled by dead river, gas pipelines are not feasible for an area so remote and sparsely populated.

FYI: DEAD RIVER is a fuel company, not dead river.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by suaz

How many months do you heat for? 10?

I start burning wood in the middle of October, and stop at the end of May.

From Mid October to late November it gradually rises from once every four days to once a day. From Late November to lat December, I burn twice a day. In January and February, I burn all the time. Starting in March it fades back to 2x a day. By April its once a day gradually moving in Mid to late May to once every 4 days. Usually the last day for burning anything is about June 15. Today I didn't burn at all.

[Brodels]

Originally Posted by Hockeygirl063

Glad I saw this before I posted.

As far as oil goes and I know it can depend on how cold it is but does one tank last a whole winter? If not how do you know you need a refill? I would hate to run out during a cold spell.

Also about boilers, which I know nothing about is there maintenance on them? If so how often? Are they an efficient way to heat a house?

Thank you once again for answering my questions.

Most tanks will have a gauge on top so you can see how much fuel you have left. When mine gets down to a little bit less than a quarter of a tank, I will have fuel delivered. As others have mentioned, you can enter into an agreement with your fuel company to bring you fuel every so often so you never run out.

My house is about 1500 square feet and I burn about 3.5 tanks each year. My boiler heats my hot water though as well.

Oil is efficient enough and is very common in Maine. It may or may not be the best choice given your individual situation, but it's relatively hassle free compared to some other options.

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

FYI: DEAD RIVER is a fuel company, not dead river.

Yeah, I know that

[LarryLogger]

I've been living in the South for the past 30+ years and am preparing for my retirement as a forestry professor at Clemson University.

In mid-March, I turned off the furnace's thermostat (natural gas) and won't need to start it back up until late October or so.

On the other hand, by mid-April I'm ready to turn on that same thermostat to get the central air conditioner going. Evenings are somewhat cool in early season but daytime temps and humidity is starting to get high. Once its on, I'll run it until mid September (pure electric $$)

Pay for heat or pay for cool; either way it costs a lot of money unless you want to live half the year north and half south

I teach a summer forestry course (a field course "camp" that most university forestry programs have for college juniors). Think about learning to cruise timber at 100 degrees and 100% humidity. This is my 32nd time to teach, not counting my own summer camp conducted by UMaine in 1977 (half in Carrabasset Valley, half in Bridgeton).

I'm looking forward to my move back north

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

A lot of people have propane tanks in downeast Maine and have them filled by dead river, gas pipelines are not feasible for an area so remote and sparsely populated.

We have a couple big LPG tanks next to our house. We use that for our hot water heater and clothes dryer. When we were building we wanted to give ourselves greater flexibility for future home heating methods.

My career taught me to have a primary system, a secondary backup system, and multiple tertiary systems for any vital task.

[221B]

Originally Posted by Hockeygirl063

Glad I saw this before I posted.

As far as oil goes and I know it can depend on how cold it is but does one tank last a whole winter? If not how do you know you need a refill? I would hate to run out during a cold spell.

Also about boilers, which I know nothing about is there maintenance on them? If so how often? Are they an efficient way to heat a house?

Thank you once again for answering my questions.

Our home is about 1600 sq.ft., and we use about 600 gallons of oil per year, but we supplement with a wood stove in which we burn about 1-3/4 cords of wood each year.

The conventional wisdom is to have your boiler serviced once per year. It seems to cost about $200 or thereabouts.

Also, factor in getting the chimney flue cleaned and inspected at least once per year, depending on your wood burning usage and types of wood. (we clean our own).

The first year we lived in Maine, we lost power during a big winter storm for about 36 hours, and boy were we glad we had the wood stove!

[Hockeygirl063]

Thanks for helping me out and answering my questions.

My friend lives in a semi rural area in PA and they use propane to heat the house supplemented by a pellet stove. Not sure how much they use but they have 3 kids and probably 1500-2000 sq foot house