A property with Gas bottles..

LuttiS

We're looking at a house. We like most of it, the downstairs rooms are nice, lots of room, all freshly done up, new kitchen etc. Upstairs is a possibly a little small but it's not a problem, 3 bedrooms, two of them are double, just not huge double.. new bathroom, no shower, but plenty of space to put a bathtub type one in.

The problem is.. it runs on 4 of the big orange gas bottles (uses 2 at a time i assume with an auto changer thing)

I'm not sure i like this, not being run on mains gas.. In my mind it would be more expensive, less choice of supplier, and generally a hassle. 

I've looked into it on internet, and would you believe it, the internet doesn't agree. So i'm putting it to the fretboard grand council.. 

Is this an issue? Are my costs likely to skyrocket with this? Anyone have any actual (semi-recent) experience of using gas bottles for property?

Thanks

Funkfingers

Much depends on how remote the property is. If there is no mains gas branch connection to the house, expect to be given a quotation for the costs of installing one.

Even if you own and run a plant hire business, the gas provider will insist on excavating and back filling all trenches themselves. (Elf an' safety!) 

I live in a rural county. Many homes have either bottled gas or fuel oil containers. TIP: Thieves prefer fuel oil because it is portable. Propane needs to stay in the pressurised vessel. It would take a fork lift, telehandler or HIAB lorry to purloin a proper gas container.

Somebody I knew through work heats his home on fuel oil. He reckons that demand is seasonal and that there are deals to be had by ordering well in advance of when you need the fuel.

Sporky

It could be handy if there's a summer-blockbuster style home invasion. Lure them all into the house, run away and blow it up. Somehow.

Funkfingers

Sporky said:

Lure them all into the house, run away and blow it up. Somehow.

Flagged for incitement.

Actually, those steel vessels are bloody difficult to break. Corrosion takes decades to work its magic. Only Wile E. Coyote would try an oxy-acetylene torch or an angle grinder. 

randella

My parents have Propane - it powers just the hob in the kitchen and isn't a problem at all.  They find their (very) rural suppliers to be reliable and efficient.

The heating at theirs is fuel oil - as @Funkfingers says, there is a risk of theft but there are ways to mitigate this through the location of the tank.  As for buying the stuff, they're part of a club with their neighbours which lowers the cost as the oil can be ordered in bigger quantities.  Pretty sure they order in summer too but don't hold me to this.

CHRISB50

Sporky said:

It could be handy if there's a summer-blockbuster style home invasion. Lure them all into the house, run away and blow it up. Somehow.

Worryingly, this was my very first thought as well.

If you've ever seen the Bourne Identity, you will know that blowing one of those bad boys up, will create a perfect diversion. Should you happen to have a sniper assassin, somewhere outside your gaff.

EricTheWeary

Propane and propane accessories!  Dah dun da da da dah dun da da da...


I have stayed in a property heated on fuel oil and they ran out of oil. Turns out the suppliers don't run an emergency service so we shivered for a few days until the next supply run came. I guess propane is much the same, just needs a bit of thought to make sure you have enough. But external gas tanks are common on houses all over the world so I don't think it would stop me.   

“I wasn’t flirting with her. I didn’t even mention that I work in propane!”

martinw

We have a propane tank. (I always say pro-pane in a Texas accent) and it's fine.
We're with Calor but there are a few other suppliers, so you can move.
Price wise it's not too bad, a bit dearer than mains, but not a big deal. The price of living in a rural location.

We have a telemetry system, so they come and fill it up when it needs it, without us having to do anything.

Fretwired

I rented a place with four of those years ago. It was in a remote village. You do have a choice over suppliers and it worked very well for me. The house was small so the bills weren't that high. There was a system to switch from an empty bottle to a full one and the truck would come round on a regular basis as all the other houses were on gas bottles.

Phil_aka_Pip

You can choose your gas supplier. I went with an independent supplier who turned out to be cheaper than Calor.

LPG is all right. You order it when you want it/are ready to pay for it

thumpingrug

Here in Dorset around 30% of properties of off mains gas.  Its much more common that you realise.  You can enter in to contracts for supply or shop around to ensure you get the best price.  Often you will find neighbourhoods work together to get better purchasing power, so ask some of the neighbours if there is an active energy club that you can join

ennspek

A house just outside our village literally blew about six months ago. You could hear (and feel) the blast for miles.
I'm sure they are generally very safe but thought it worth a mention.

martinw

Houses with mains gas blow up too.

ennspek

I'm well aware mate, just thought it worth mentioning.
Remind me to email you about that amp. Hope you're well.

m_c

LPG is more dangerous than mains/natural gas. Natural gas will naturally dispel into the atmosphere, whereas LPG will pool at the lowest point, and without any air movement will sit there for a long time, just waiting for ignition.

Having said that, I grew up with LPG from a big tank. It is more expensive than mains gas, and fuel oil systems.
I'm not sure how the costs add up now, but a big tank used to be cheaper than bottles, and whatever company supplied the tank/gas would also carry out the required testing on the tank when needed, but you were tied into the one supplier unless you got the tank swapped.

Provided it's serviced correctly, there should never be any safety problems.

LuttiS

Thanks for the reply all - Going to book another viewing and see how we feel about it all

martinw

ennspek said:

I'm well aware mate, just thought it worth mentioning.
Remind me to email you about that amp. Hope you're well.

All good here thanks. I emailed you a few weeks ago, hope it got there?

Snap

Wouldn't let it be a factor in whether you buy the house tbh. Not a big deal. As has been said, you just need to be a bit organised in ordering your fuel. We have oil, its very straightforward to manage. Also are a lot of p[alces round here not mains connected to anything but water and electric. Gas & oil are common. No issues.t

There are price comparison sites too for your fuel.

Boilerjuice is one I use.

You may find that there is a gauge on the gas tank too.

exocet

I don't have direct experience but a friend of mine moved into a new house not paying much attention to the gas. It was on a large fixed tank rather than smaller bottles. He simply phoned up the supplier who came round to refill.....not realising that by doing so he was effectively signing up to a fixed term supply contract (12 months) at well over the market rate.

Phone around and check T's&Cs before signing !