Anyone have bulk tank LPG at their house

L

Leesfarm07

Senior member
 Telford, Shropshire
I've just bought a building plot but mains gas is proving very expensive to have put in. Looking at alternatives and was wondering if any forum members use bulk LPG and if so how do they find the realistic running costs
 
We've been on bulk LPG for 18 years for central heating and cooking as there is no mains gas in our village. I'm guessing it works out about 20% more expensive than mains but you can mitigate this with top-notch insulation and a modern condensing boiler. We changed our boiler and immediately reduced usage by about 30-40 %. Also you really do have to negotiate HARD with suppliers and switch pretty much every time, they fight to sign you up with one or even two hundred pound cash sweeteners but then jack-up their prices after the introductory 6-12 months. Watch out they are not clawing back money through the tank rental/maintenance charge so factor than in to your calc's and the length of contracts and fixed price periods - they WILL jack up prices unless you kick off and threaten to leave.

If I was intending to stay another 10 years I'de get some solar panels and maybe heat pumps to reduce bills but in all honesty LPG probably isn't hugely different over the price cycles to oil or mains and definitely cheaper than electricity.
 
Ewazix said:
We've been on bulk LPG for 18 years for central heating and cooking as there is no mains gas in our village. I'm guessing it works out about 20% more expensive than mains but you can mitigate this with top-notch insulation and a modern condensing boiler. We changed our boiler and immediately reduced usage by about 30-40 %. Also you really do have to negotiate HARD with suppliers and switch pretty much every time, they fight to sign you up with one or even two hundred pound cash sweeteners but then jack-up their prices after the introductory 6-12 months. Watch out they are not clawing back money through the tank rental/maintenance charge so factor than in to your calc's and the length of contracts and fixed price periods - they WILL jack up prices unless you kick off and threaten to leave.

If I was intending to stay another 10 years I'de get some solar panels and maybe heat pumps to reduce bills but in all honesty LPG probably isn't hugely different over the price cycles to oil or mains and definitely cheaper than electricity.
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That's very interesting thank you. We are not far at all from the mains gas pipe but the cheapest quote so far is £10665.57 to connect us :cry:
I have only just started looking at suppliers of LPG and just requested a quote from Calor as a start. Being a new build I'll insulate to the max and have a really good spec boiler. 10k would go a long way towards offsetting any difference in running costs
 
Slight hiccup with this...the local Co has advised me that you need 3m of clear space around the tank. You can have a blast wall on one side but the other 3 need the 3m clearance. You can't have trees shrubs cars sheds anything within 3m even if it's underground. Surprising that the tank rental and maintenance is only £1 a day and the gas costs around 20% more than mains so it's ideal. Just need a plan B on sighting the tank.
 
I have an oil tank and LPG for cooking.

the regulations about the siting of them is fairly new, mine is still old fashioned nicely out of the way next to the house to avoid it being emptied by unauthorised people ...

Oil has been a nightmare cost wise, hence installing a couple of wood burners in the house to offset the costs a bit. Having a £1500 bill every other month in the winter is not much fun.
 
I have oil and LPG for cooking - again no mains gas in my village. the oil is seriously cheap at the minute but over 20 years usage prices have fluctuated from approx £400 per year (1996) to over £1200 per year. Currently about £550 per year. LPG is just silly price for us
 
Thanks guys....its just such a minefield with pros and cons with every system. Definately get a wood burner though. The lpg guy is coming to do a site survey so ill know more then. He even suggested a 4 bottle system but that seems very temporary
 
I have a two bottle system for cooking, that lasts 2 years.

Bluespit, no idea how you can heat your house so cheaply. I must be heating the whole outside :cry:

Will have to look at more insulation. Already done the loft and new Windows.
 
pvr said:
I have a two bottle system for cooking, that lasts 2 years.

Bluespit, no idea how you can heat your house so cheaply. I must be heating the whole outside :cry:

Will have to look at more insulation. Already done the loft and new Windows.
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2 years!!!.. blimey!! Perhaps it is worth considering if the only alternatives are oil or electric. I haven't really looked at oil as I still see it as a smelly high maintenance form of heating. But them again I'm only basing that on old systems I've seen. I'll be going to a few homebuilding shows this year so ill see what's new on the market.
 
If its a new build you can insulate well, install some solar panels and heat pumps then and if you have a good enough architecht and get the calculations right the only thing you will need the gas for is cooking so a big tank becomes unnecessary
 
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