Propane

[anothermbdusted]

How long generally does a 30lb bottle of propane last??? Like spring time winter and such??? Tyvm

[Robbbyr]

Absolutely dependent on usage.

Some factors:
Water heater - Is it a LP/Electric unit usually on electric? Do you shower in unit using LP or campground bath house? If you have multiple campers showing in unit? If on LP is it left on 24/7 keeping water hot around the clock?
Furnace - Furnace is big user of propane. Do you camp when heat is frequently required?
Refrigerator - Very frugal with propane, but it does use some propane if on LP versus electric.
Range/oven - Do you cook indoors frequently? Stove typically not a big user since it is intermittent in use, but it can add up.
Outdoor grill - Do you possibly have an outdoor grill tied into your propane system? If so and you BBQ frequently it can also add up to you usage.

Again, completely dependent on how you camp!

[Jagiven]

Hard to say. The furnace is the greatest propane consumer. I would guess 2 -3 days of continuous use. In the cool season we stay with places with electric, so we use an electric heater as our primary heat source. Doing that, we can go all season on less than 20 pounds. Which is about 50 nights.

Water heater is your next biggest consumer. Typically is just burns to stay warm. We rarely turn on ours.

Frig uses very little propane

Stove, could be a big consumer, if your using all the burners and oven. But it really does not use much, as most of us cook simply while camping.

Calculations
Rv furnaces come 12K, 16K, or 18K Btu
1 pound = 21KBtu
Modest rv furnace 12K Btu
21K/pound X 30 pounds = 630KBtu
630KBtu / 12KBtu/hr = 52.5 hrs (burn time with 100% efficency)

Rv furnaces run alot! Below is a calculated run time running, If you have;
50% efficency-cycle time; 104 hours,
25% efficiency-cycle time; 208 hours,

Best shown here is two weekend, but I know people, who can only get a day out of a 20 pound tank.

[ttavasc]

It will depend on a number of factors. The furnace uses a lot of propane, not to mention battery for the fan if you don't have electric hook-up. We avoid using unless we are someplace without hook-ups. When we have electric hook-up we'll use a small electric heater in the 600-750watt range rather than the furnace. The hot water tank and fridge are relatively low consumption as is the cook top, especially if you like to cook outside.

Last season we filled the tank once and then topped it off at the start of this season. We have a longer 10-day trip coming up mid to late September so we'll top it off just before that one. Average cost to top it off has been about $12.

I've been tracking our consumption by weighing the tank before and after each trip and now have a pretty good feel for what's normal usage and when to refill it.

[anothermbdusted]

Ok so I guess I'll add a electric heater to the mix( any suggestions??) and it sounds like it should last me all year then ... I will be cooking mostly outside as I don't want condensation building up inside from what I have read using the propane burners... I have a generator .just needed to know.mainly so I have a general idea just in case is all....tyvm for all the great info...

[Dondeb]

Has anyone tried the Tank Check system? We installed one sensor on the bottom of each of our two tanks and it tells you immediately the percentage of propane available in each of our tanks. We haven't had it very long but so far we are very pleased. Now we have no worries how much propane is left or about running out.

LP Tank Check - Monitor the Propane level in your tank-pplmotorhomes.com
LP Tank Check - Monitor the Propane level in your tank-pplmotorhomes.com[/url]

[tnchuck100]

Originally Posted by anothermbdusted

Ok so I guess I'll add a electric heater to the mix( any suggestions??) and it sounds like it should last me all year then ... I will be cooking mostly outside as I don't want condensation building up inside from what I have read using the propane burners... I have a generator .just needed to know.mainly so I have a general idea just in case is all....tyvm for all the great info...

Just a comment on your generator usage. When on a generator let as many appliances as possible run on propane. Water heater, refrigerator, furnace. It is more efficient than converting gasoline to electric and the electric to heat.

[Seann45]

No one can answer that for you... as we all have different demands on the system
Do you leave the oven pilot light on all the time? do you leave the water heater on propane turned on all the time? do you cook a lot on the stove top or do you cook on an open wood fire pit And the very biggest user the furnace.. do you keep the furnace on set at 70 overnight (my gf does) ...

My gf is in a class B and my TT is 3x its size yet she burns 100 lbs of propane to my 30 lbs..

[Seann45]

No one can answer that for you... as we all have different demands on the system
Do you leave the oven pilot light on all the time? do you leave the water heater on propane turned on all the time? do you cook a lot on the stove top or do you cook on an open wood fire pit And the very biggest user the furnace.. do you keep the furnace on set at 70 overnight (my gf does) ...

My gf is in a class B and my TT is 3x its size yet she burns 100 lbs of propane to my 30 lbs..

[bwalton]

If your question is asked because you're afraid you'll run out while camping there are easy ways to tell the propane level in the tanks. There are several inexpensive gauges you can purchase but I've always found the easiest, cheapest and most accurate method is to simply poor very hot water on the tank. Pour it near the top and then run your hand down the side of the tank. Where the tank feels cool/cold is the level of the propane.

If you have dual tanks you should have one that is full while the other is being used. Using this method I have never run out and have never had to fill more than one tank at a time.