At one time my house was set up to use a fair bit of propane. It ran the tank-less water heater, cookstove, dryer, and even a refrigerator.
Then the years went by. I went through a lot of water heating configurations. Currently I have an electric heater that can get a boost from a coil on the woodstove.
The refrigerator was a so-so experiment. Let’s just say they don’t make them like they used to. The old Servels used to last forever. The new propane fridges are not as bulletproof. While the Servel name is still out there, it’s a totally different company.
Our cookstove was a strange hybrid: part propane and part wood. I picked it up at an antique woodstove shop way the heck out in nowhere Maine. It served us well but eventually I got tired of rebuilding the firebox and replaced it with an airtight wood cookstove. The new stove is much more efficient.
Of course, then I needed a cooktop. Currently we are using an electric induction stove. There’s a learning curve and it doesn’t work with all pots and pans. Fortunately, it works just fine with my extensive collection of cast iron. It has two big pluses. The stove is fast and very efficient.
The only propane appliance left is the dryer. We only use it when it doesn’t make sense to hang laundry. In the winter we dry our clothes by the woodstove on an indoor line or a drying rack. When the weather is good we use a clothesline. We basically only use the dryer during rainy or very humid days.
Since we use so little propane we no longer have a service. The big 250 pound tank was replaced with a 20 pound gas grill tank. The propane company took away their big tank and their heavy duty regulator. The regulator from a gas grill works just fine for the dryer.
With the current price of propane I’m glad we’ve moved away from it over the years.
-Sixbears
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