Dear Friends,
The weather has gotten really erratic and severe in recent years — and power outages have become more common. That’s a big reason that there has been a growing demand for wholehouse propane backup generators like the ones made by Kohler.
To ensure that your generator will operate properly when the power goes out, please follow these tips and be prepared for the worst.
- Check your fuel gauge. Make sure your generator has enough propane to get you through at least a week without power, since impassable roads and other emergencies may delay deliveries.
- Test your generator. Put your generator through a 20- to 30-minute test run about once every three months. Power it up to a full load and observe — and then correct — any problems. In colder months, you may want to increase the frequency of test runs to about one per month to keep moving parts lubricated.
- Follow recommended maintenance guidelines. Preventive maintenance is the key to keeping your generator running at its best. Annual service is a must; twice per year (before the summer and before the winter) is ideal.
Treat your generator well and it will last for years to come, providing your family with peace of mind that no other home comfort equipment can match.
Warmly,
Dustin Kaiser
Vice President
Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the most devastating wildfires in our state’s history. As we all know so well, anyone could be affected at any time, with very little time to react. Please remember these tips should you ever need to evacuate your home because of an approaching fire.
Close the propane tank’s service valve by turning the handwheel clockwise.
Close all appliance valves and gas valves inside the house or structure.
Do not move propane cylinders indoors, into a garage, or to anywhere near a house or structure.
Move propane cylinders away from any house or structure to an area where fire impact will be minimal (no vegetation).
Contact us to let us know you are leaving the area and let us know when you return home. If you smell gas upon your return, leave the area immediately.
- Distribute heat evenly in rooms by running a ceiling fan in reverse. By recirculating the warm air trapped near the ceiling, you can lower the temperature on your thermostat.
- Start using a wireless remote thermostat — a device that transmits signals to a central receiver, which replaces your old wall thermostat. These thermostats can be used anywhere in your home, and work in much the same way as a TV remote. When programmed correctly, they can reduce fuel usage by about 10%.
- Convert your wood fireplace to propane. Gas fireplaces can produce twice as much heat as woodburning fireplaces at about a third of the cost.
- Use vent-free gas fireplaces to warm cold spots anywhere in your home — a less expensive and safer alternative to electric space heaters.
This is the time of year when you want to make wise choices to stay comfortable while you keep your energy costs under control. Here are some tips to help you.
4 Propane Upgrades to Consider
Balance out your comfort and savings throughout the year with these four suggestions for propane upgrades.
- Install a propane fireplace or propane log set. Vented propane hearths give you all the benefits of wood fireplaces without the smoke, mess or cleanup — and at a fraction of the installation cost — no chimney required!
- Warm up to a propane space heater. Do you have rooms that are drafty and cold? Do you do a lot of work in your garage? Vented propane gas space heaters are easy to install, incredibly efficient and extremely safe. They also burn cleaner, with fewer emissions compared to electric and fuel oil space heaters.
- Upgrade to a new propane furnace. Propane gas furnaces are best in their class in terms of efficiency, with ratings from 90 to 98% efficient. A propane furnace can provide affordable warmth and comfort for any size floor plan, from small residences to large custom homes.
- Go tankless. Swap out your old electric tank water heater for an innovative tankless propane unit. You’ll cut down on your water heating bills and enjoy a virtually endless supply of hot water.
Propane for a More Efficient Home
How much do you know about propane and its energy-efficient appliances? Here are some facts that may surprise you.
- Propane appliances typically reduce energy costs, delivering better value and comfort than other heating sources.
- Propane burns hotter and more efficiently than many other energy sources.
- Propane heats water quickly and efficiently for your shower and bath, as well as for your dishwasher, washing machine and pool. Whether you choose a propane storage tank water heater or a propane tankless water heater, you’ll feel the difference compared with less efficient electric water heaters.
- Propane is more efficient than electricity when you evaluate the total energy consumed, including the energy used in the extraction, production, processing and transportation of the fuel to the point of use. Based on this analysis, propane is 87% efficient and electricity is 32% efficient.
Put your Comfort on Automatic
Many of our propane customers get scheduled deliveries. They never have to call us for fuel because we carefully track their fuel usage and then make a delivery before their tank gets low. Automatic delivery does not cost anything extra!
This system works for most customers if usage is consistent, but there are exceptions, especially for customers who use propane appliances at their discretion, such as fireplaces, space heaters and pool heaters.
In cases like this, we ask that you call us for a delivery when your propane tank gauge reaches 30%. This will give us plenty of time to get more fuel to you. And if you start using a lot more or less fuel than you did last year, please call and let us know.
Safety Corner
We want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your propane appliances. Here are a few tips on how to keep everything running safely and efficiently in your home.
- Keep the area around your propane equipment as clean and clutter free as possible. Never store anything flammable near your appliances.
- Change or clean the filter in your furnace about once a month. Dust and dirt are the natural enemies of your furnace; a dirty filter compromises efficiency and can even result in a shutdown.
- If you ever smell gas, leave your home right away. Report the problem from another location as quickly as possible.
- Install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in your home. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions about location and maintenance.
- After a severe storm, carefully check your property for downed power lines, damaged gas lines or damage to your propane tank. Contact us to report any damage.
- Compared with other fuels, propane is much less combustible. When propane is combined with air, the source of ignition must be at least 940° — that’s twice as hot as the temperature required to ignite gasoline.
- Propane is an essential fuel for nearly 900,000 farms in the United States. It’s used for irrigation pumps, for drying crops and ripening fruit and for space heaters, water heaters, generators and refrigerators.
- Autogas, a propane-based motor fuel, is the third-most-popular vehicle fuel, next to gasoline and diesel. Because it’s so safe and cost-effective, autogas is now being used for buses, fleet trucks, forklifts, farm tractors and lawn mowers.
Source: Propane Education and Research Council.
A propane tankless water heater is a compact unit that hangs right on the wall. Tankless water heaters eliminate standby energy losses that occur in storage tank systems, because they only heat water on demand.
Since a tankless system can average a flow rate of hundreds of gallons per hour, your family can enjoy plenty of hot water. A tankless unit also lasts twice as long as a storage tank water heater and produces twice as much hot water as an electric water heater, with 50% fewer emissions.
Please call us for a free estimate on a new Rinnai propane tankless water heater.
The propane in your tank is a liquid, which changes to a gas before it leaves the tank. Like any liquid, propane will expand when its temperature rises. Propane will actually expand 17 times the volume of water given the same temperature increase.
That’s why our delivery driver needs to leave extra space in your tank to allow for propane to safely expand. Aboveground propane tanks are typically filled to about 80% capacity; underground tanks can be filled slightly more, because they are insulated against the heat. The extra space in the tank provides a cushion against the pressure that builds up inside. As an example, a 500-gallon tank that is 80% filled will safely hold 400 gallons of propane.
This so-called 80% rule is especially important in hot weather — when liquid propane will expand the most. Keep in mind that the amount of gas in the tank doesn’t actually change during periods of expansion and contraction — only its density does.
Propane gas expansion is the reason you should never paint your outdoor propane tank a dark color, since dark colors absorb more heat.