Our first homesteading opportunity | Page 2 | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

I spoke with my mother yesterday and she said they put 100 gallons of propane into their tank 4 times a year. This costs them roughly $2,000 each year, so $5/gallon for propane. They use it to heat water, cook and heat the house. She said it's been hideously expensive for years now.

I'll figure out natural gas soon and get back with the info.

KVR said
holy crap, how much does a 20 lb propane tank cost out that way?

That's a great question. I seem to remember filling ours for about $50. I am assuming they were 20 lbs since I never bothered to look.

That being said, you generally get those filled at the grocery store and a separate group of local businesses take care of home tanks. 

My mother is living in the mountains about 35 miles away so that could be affecting her since they are stuck with their local provider which I do not doubt is taking advantage of the captive population. The store in their area that fills the smaller tanks for BBQ generally charges about $50, so I think there's a difference based on the service being provided - delivery. I'm going to look into that as well.

Well, this turned out to be bunk. My friend definitely oversold it. We went to see the property and his dad said the orchard was off limits and hinted at raising the rent once the place was "fixed up" which to be honest required much much more than the painting and easy fixes he was mentioning. There's a few tiny raised beds and a small green house, but no room for anything else let alone raising sheep. All the rest of the property is leased out to agriculture and the lot is tightly bordered by road, the family home/orchard and the electrical substation.