Gas Flow rate!!!!!!!

[2001rotax800]

Has any one ever looked at there gas meter when the pool heater is running? I hooked up my gas line last night and fired my heater up OMFG!!!!!!! 2 cubic feet every 20 seconds, that equals 6 cubic foot a minute, 360 cubic feet an hour, or about 300,000 Btus, I have a Max-e-therm 333. My gas meter is only rated for 250 cubic feet per hour so I know it is maxed out. I am looking into converting to propane since it has over double the btu content of natural gas. natural gas is 1000, btus per cubic foot, propane has 2500-2800. I may have a lead on inexpensive propane, so I am looking into a new gas vaulve controller for lp. Also, ther sure is alot of heat that comes out the exhaust, and these are supposed to be efficent heater. I would hate to see an inefficient one.. I am also considering a pool water loop at the discharge of the heater. There has to be something that save me some $$$$$$$$$

 

[JohnT]

Propane is more expensive than natural gas based on energy content. I'd be stunned if propane is available in any way that makes it cheaper than natural gas since its price tracks crude oil pretty well.

 

[HarryH3]

We're on propane and have a 500 gallon tank buried in the back yard. Last fill was $2.49 per gallon. We would love to have natural gas available!

As for the "pool water loop at the discharge of the heater", it's not as easy at you might think. If the exhaust is cooled too much then the exhaust gas condenses on the cool surfaces and form an acidic liquid that eats through most metals. Ultra efficient furnaces use stainless steel in their heat exchanger to prevent self destruction from this. Your pool water loop would need to be made from stainless and designed in such a way that the acid drops couldn't fall back into your heater.

 

[dschlic1]

Have you looked in to solar heating? Big up front cost, but zero operation costs!

 

[Rockcrawler]

Cheap fix

You could put some "cheap" solar panels up for under a $1000.00 and have "free" heat you can't get any cheaper than the sun

 

[EskimoPie]

I have a Max-e-therm 400k BTU unit and i've been SHOCKED at how cheap it is to run... We had some days in the 80's in February this year so we started swimming then. The pool was still in the high 50's but I bit the bullet and turned on the heater, expecting to pay maybe $100 for the privilege of swimming. We heated it like that a couple of times in February and our gas bill only went up ~$20 that month. Since then we've used it a LOT... basically heating it up every weekend and some week days through March and April and had gas bills that were $10-$30 above average... Definitely worth it for me!

 

[Craig]

I'll have to look at my meter next time I fire up the heater (pools not even open yet) but much like eskimoPie, my monthly gas bill did not go up that much. I left it on everyday throughout the season and my gas bill only went up about $60/month.

I live in NY and assume my rates are high compared to the national average further supporting my not so bad to run theory.

Something does not seem right!

 

[JasonLion]

This month has been fairly cold but swimmable with a heater here in Maryland. We have been spending about $10 a day on gas heat for the pool to keep it comfortable. During the summer we leave the heater on to deal with the occasional cold night so the water will always be perfect and that hardly costs anything, but spring and fall the gas bill really shoots up.

 

[EskimoPie]

Heh, had to open my big mouth... I went and checked my most recent gas bill on-line to see what I was paying per therm and sure enough, Feb, Mar, April I used 17, 25, and 35 therms of gas respectively... This makes sense as I found out how cheap it was I was using it more and more. Then I notice May (my billing cycle ends mid-month) and somehow I've managed to use 82 therms this month for a bill of $145. I'm stumped as obviously it's been a lot warmer here in southern arizona lately and I've been using Solar more and more. I wonder if I didn't accidentally leave the gas grill running or something...

But back to my original intent, here is southern Arizona, after adding up delivery charge, safety surcharge, and fuel cost, I'm paying ~$1.51/therm. What about you?

 

[2001rotax800]

I was mistaken. I pay $1.22 for 100 cubic feet not per cubic foot. This really cuts my cost, the way I figure now at 360 cubic feet an hour will only cost $4.40 per hour, much much better. Thanks for the responses.

 

[JasonLion]

We are paying $1.64 per term.