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Old 20-02-2017, 12:18   #1
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How much propane do go thru?

At the Seattle Boat Show I got to thinking about how much propane folks go thru living aboard. I have no doubt it varies quite a bit based on where you are at and also on what all you use propane for.
Primarily wondering if you were using propane for cooking and heating. Anyway, just kinda curious.
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Old 20-02-2017, 12:20   #2
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Cooking only, and a 10 lb tank lasts a month or more, however we do very little baking. I think if you bake, it will go up more, and I don't know how safe or realistic propane heat would be.
I think you would need a huge tank to use it for heat
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Old 20-02-2017, 12:22   #3
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Cooking two/three meals a day, about three months to a 20# cylinder. I have two.

Heating in winter could be one every week or so if anchored out. I tend to find a slip for the winter months though.
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Old 20-02-2017, 12:39   #4
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Cooking only a 4.5kg/10lb cylinder lasts me about a month, has been as low as 2 weeks when I have a 'celebrity chef' in the galley.... up to 6 weeks when by myself.

Seems to be some form of concensus here... rare for CF.
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Old 20-02-2017, 12:53   #5
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

We go through a 10 lb bottle in about a month. we don't bake much but do use the same bottle for BBQ
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Old 20-02-2017, 12:57   #6
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

While cruising, 10 lb bottle lasted six weeks, used for stove, BBQ, and on demand hot water heater (for both showers and dish washing).
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:05   #7
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

'just too many variables! We don't use all of our two 13 lb bottles during a year, but we don't bake or use our oven at all. We are often running our 7KW generator for an hour or two when cruising and we like to put it under load, so we cook then with 110V. When we are at a dock we usually cook with shore power. We never heat with propane and we do no grilling. I have very simple needs regarding food and often my preparation involves no more than opening a package.

We're also cruising in fairly warm places and we bathe in the late afternoon without a need to heat water.
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:08   #8
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Full time liveaboard, cooking and hot water, we get around 10 weeks out of a 9 kg bottle. We carry 4.


For heating, we use solar power. (When it starts getting cold we move closer to the sun.)
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:11   #9
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

I live aboard, solo, eat three meals a day on the boat, have two 20 lb. tanks, and go through a tank about every 3-4 months. I don't skimp, and my daily routine is; boil a kettle of water first thing in the morning for coffee, a full kettle that makes coffee that goes into a thermos for the day. 50% of the time I make a hot breakfast...eggs, toast and some sort of breakfast meat. Lunch I rarely cook except for heating soup in the colder months. Dinner is where most of the usage happens...the oven for an hour, give or take and a few stove top items.

Don't use the tanks for BBQ (use smaller tanks) but I'm going to change that when I do my deck refit and add a line for it. Have diesel heat so don't use propane for that.
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:27   #10
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Seems like everyone agrees on 6-12 pounds/mo, no doubt depending on the number of people and the cooking.

In heating season, about 1-1.5 pounds per day, depending on how cold it is (34' cat with pretty fair insulation and all of the windows covered, but not all insulated).
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:30   #11
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Thanks for all the replies. No doubt there are many variables. On land, we cook and bake a lot. Don't eat out and bake our own bread. Pack leftovers for work lunches. It saves us a ton of money and I know when we do finally make the jump to living aboard we will continue to do so.
I can see that heating with propane would get pretty spendy quickly. At dock no doubt electric is the way to go.
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:32   #12
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Maybe the rate of use of things like propane are related to your former experiences. If you previously lived in a house with a big energy supply, then you likely use more.

Nancie and I never lived in a house as adults and our first twenty years living aboard were without propane, refrigeration or even a depth sounder other than a lead line.

After 45 years aboard we are selling our ketch and we've been living ashore for about three weeks. We seem to have things running all the time,... climate controls, ceiling fans, washer/dryer, electric lights, internet router, etc. I notice that we're using about 20 KWH/day. I have no idea if this is normal.

We have over a thousand square feet and I'm comfortable with a chair in the "walk-in" closet.
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:34   #13
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

Two 9 kilo tanks. 3months per each, used primarily for stove top cooking, running the BBQ, and occasional baking. I usually only bake bread where it cannot be purchased. It will be slightly shorter before a refill if I am baking. I think this usage is pretty average.

Our heater is diesel.
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Old 20-02-2017, 13:36   #14
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

2 persons, 3 meals a day plus baking. 10# tank 23 to 25 days. Regular as clockwork.
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Old 20-02-2017, 14:30   #15
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Re: How much propane do go thru?

I once asked the same question of my liveaboard friends (a couple). They say they go through a 20lbs tank every 3-4 months depending on weather. On cold mornings they do take hot showers. But they usually spend May-October in New England and Nov-April in Florida. And the lady bakes her own bread.
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