The fall of fuel oil in the US

Platts ^ | 4/29/2014 | John-Laurent Tronche

[Vinnie]

I think it was the same burner tip because switching from one fuel to the other was a minor change.

[mad_as_he$$]

Here in Northern Nevada there are many oil fired furnaces. Heat pumps don’t work well. #2 off road is WAAAYYY cheaper than propane per BTU. Not so many natural gas delivery systems in the spread out areas.

[thackney]

Thanks.

I don’t think you could buy it that way today. I might be wrong, but I would expect two different sets of burners for two different fuels.

[jughandle]

From a different perspective, after being without utilities due to the storm in the northeast, storage of fuel oil or propane seems more attractive than natural gas which may or may not be available.

[Vinnie]

Still being sold. Check it out.
http://www.powerflame.com/index.php

[thackney]

Thanks for that link, I didn’t realize the capabilities existed for such turndown ratios.

http://data.powerflame.com/support/supportdocs/Catalog/pdf/type-ac/AC-InstallationAddendum.pdf

I was thinking much more simplier units like the burners on stove. Most of those even switching between propane and natural gas require changing the burner, or at least nozzle tips.

Cheers!

[thackney]

Normally here on the Gulf Coast, when hurricanes knock out the power our gas is still available.

Almost all Natural Gas distribution systems get their pressure requirements from the mainline transmission line. They only use regulators to take pressure cuts and do not need compressors to maintain pressure.

The mainline transmission pipelines normally cover large areas and will not lose but one or two stations in the big hurricanes. At the same time, knocking down the electric lines reduces the power demand and actually reduces the Natural Gas demands on the pipelines until the power is restored.

[jughandle]

Yes, the system overall is reliable. I work for a gas utility, we had several local interruptions from damages and water getting into some old low pressure systems. Some we could repair immediately, others took days to weeks. One section had many homes with natural gas backup generators that were useless.
The one major loss was on the coastline where the barrier island’s feeding main was washed out, a few thousand without service for months, at least half of those homes weren’t touched by water and were inhabitable.

[Fledermaus]

Thanks, I couldn’t tell what they were writing about.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) I hope it’s fairly easy, and doesn’t take all year to get going on it. I’d like to change furnaces while it’s still relatively warm, and not be caught with no heat source (oil tank and no gas, but a gas furnace, for example). :’o

[thackney]

Having an assured supply of fuel in when there is major destruction is difficult.

Following Hurricane Ike, our street was about a week without power. By the end of that time, most of the homes on our street were left empty. I and a few others had gasoline generators. But by the fifth day, I was driving over an hour to find fuel then spending another hour in line.

If I buy another generator, it will probably be a Honda Tri-fuel unit (gasoline, propane & nat gas). As for now, I own a lot of 5~6 gallon tanks.

Many people in this area invested in natural gas generators afterwards. Most of our area kept the gas up. That was probably not the case in a few lower areas.

Cheers