Sounds like your local propane company needs some competition. Up here, you can't swing a cat by the tail without hitting a propane company. They compete with each other in the fall, they want you business. This year, the pre-buy price was $1.09/gal.... It varies every year, some were less some more.
That's part of the problem. It seems like all the companies around here decided on territories. No other company wants to come to our place because they don't want to pizz off the bigger company. Its a monopoly.
Having the new stove going strong, my wife actually said to me last night, "we don't need it this warm all the time". I think we're headed in the right direction. Now I just need to build my stack more.
Right now I'm just cleaning up my property. Its a little overgrown and had that big Poplar come down so there is a decent amount to get. Otherwise I scrounge. I am fortunate to live near several wood dumps so its like shopping sometimes. How about you?
I was gettting grapple loads I split with a buddy. He decided it was too much work for him and switched to pellets. Lately I have been buying 1 cord of 10 foot log lengths at a time. Same price pretty much and I don’t have to climb on a pile and cut. Unfortunately he is has lots of customers and can only deliver a load or two a day so he is backed up. I’m thinking about looking around for another grapple load. there is wood around to be scrounged but with 2 young kids and a full time physical job I just don’t have time. I plan to do some cutting on the property this year.
Thats funny. When i owned my house and had the insert going and the house temp got below 75 (the family room pushing 80) id add wood and/or turn the draft up. She would still be dressed to the hilt...socks sweats, sweatshirt with a blanket, and im in just shorts. I wasnt as bad in the following years.
It's one of those things that you never consider when you get married, but I'm fortunate to have a wife that is about the same as me when it comes to temp tolerance. Of course, we have had our house at 48 degrees before (not by choice), so perspective matters I guess.
I seldom even put a t shirt on and ALWAYS in sweat shorts in the house. Current and former SO's have commented how "hot" i am temperature wise. Ms. buZZsaw likes it cold and has windows open in the bedroom even in the dead of Winter. Heat triggers her COPD. After my divorce i would be staying over GF's and the insert would go out. Id get home and it was so cold in the house you could see your breath. The cats would be curled up into tight balls and look at me with the "start the fire, we're cold" look. Id start it up (NEVER turning up the furnace) and it'd take a while for the house to warm up.
I have more propane company stories then I would like. Best one was when I called them out on a weekend for a leaking valve on the tank.... Two guys in a beat up 4 door sedan show up, both in completely un-buttoned shirts, one of them gets out of the car with a lit cigarrette... Didn't understand why I had a problem with that at a gas leak call.... He determined it could wait for a pump out and have the regular service crew handle it.... When they show up the next day, the guy changed out the valve WITHOUT emptying the tank! I have changed companies a few times. Some are better, but in any case my little stove keeps them from being around too much.
