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Is a propane furnace any more unsafe than a natural gas furnace?
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Either way, if you smell gas don't go down in the cellar with a lighted match to find the source!
*Your question: "Is a propane furnace any more unsafe than a natural gas furnace?" is phrased to make the assumption that they are both unsafe. I don't believe that to be the case. Regardless of fuel used how safe a furnace is depends on being properly installed and properly maintained. History says that if both are done there is little or no hazard regardless of fuel used.If not properly installed and maintained there are several hazards that could do you in whether the fuel is coal, oil, propane, natural gas, or whatever; fire, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, explosion, etc.
*If you have any type of appliance that needs an exhaust, don't run a whole house fan/exhaust without opening some windows for makeup air.Can blow out pilot lights or trigger carbon monoxide alarms.
*If I had my choice, I would go with NG rather than propane, for the simple reason propane is heavier than air and, if there's a minor leak, will build at floor level; if there's a minor NG leak, it will tend to rise and (hopefully) dissipate.As FredB notes, the trick is proper installation and maintenance (and the problem, I would add, is getting proper installation and maintenance.)
*If I had my choice, (and I did) I would go with NG rather than propane, for the simple reason propane is more expensive, requires that darn tank, and must be monitored for refilling.Since Bob didn't give his CO lecture, I will. One of the hazards of any combustion device is carbon monoxide. I have had a CO detector go off in an (oil heated) house we were renting. Made the $50-75 cost seem well worth it.If you want to talk about unlikely events, a few houses have blown up when the propane tank get knocked over (snow slide or motor vehicle) and the flex line disconnected INSIDE the house. Fills the house from the bottom up until it hits an ignition source. Exceedingly unlikely but it has happened.On the other hand, numerous house fires were started a few years ago in Alameda, California when a PGE natural gas regulator failed and sent 60 psi (instead of 1/4 psi) natural gas to a whole neighborhood. Suddenly pilot lights were blow torchs. Also exceedingly unlikely.If you leak propane, it fills a room from the bottom up. If you leak NG, it fills a room from the top down. Either one is a bad idea. If a building inspector is not going to confirm the plumbers leak test, you ought to or you might consider an independent inspector. My wife never asks a patient a medical question if there no decision to made from the answer. Can you get natural gas? Do so. It is cheaper and more convenient. Must you use propane? Then do so.
*I've made up my mind. I'm going all electric. The furance would be located in the attic and the fact that propane settles is unsettling. I moved a house to the middle of the cow pasture at the farm and there is no natural gas available. One hvac guy said he thought I would have difficulty heating my house in the winter with two 5 ton air to air heat pumps. But, in south cent. TX the winters are generally mild, but I do get some strong winds. But, I'm sealing the entire house with icynene.
*I remember one Christmas in Humble, Texas (north of Houston)....Mild enough to wear shorts and t-shirt.One time there was a brief flurry and the schools shut down.In the summer a sunny day would turn dark and dump rain for 5-minutes then turn sunny again and car exhaust would be gurgling under water at concrete intersections.
*Gee Fred I know you say you made up your mind but please reconsider. All electric is a very expensive and inefficient way to go. Before you do that please take a serious look at putting your heating unit somewhere else than the attic. For the life of me I can't figure out why some designers are so penny pinching as to do that anyway.Perhaps a small add-on utility room just for the furnace and water heater would be the answer. These are very common in many areas. Or, if you have a garage put the unit there. That is the place of choice in most Northern construction.Don't be too afraid of propane/natural gas. Literally millions of people and homes use this stuff with nary a problem. Sure, occasionaly something nasty happens. But the odds for that are about the same as being struck by lightning.
*Fred M:Usually agree with Fred B's comments, but not on this one. Take a look at the "BIG decision time.." thread in the Energy section. I do agree that (even for electric due to conducted noise) an add on utility room would be better than the attic.
*Fred did you happen to check that electric strip heaters only gives you 3.413xxxxx Btu's per watt? Going dual fuel may add to the upfront costs but really holds down the overall costs in the long term.
*Art B: I'm confused about your post. You seem to be disagreeing with me for recommending gas fuel in an exterior utility room. But from the posts you told me to look at that seems to be exactly what you recommended. What are you saying?Fred M: After thinking more about this I am mystified why you would have such phobia about gas. Has someone been filling you full of it? From your posts the only thing that is odd about your heat installation is putting the heat plant in the ceiling. Also, even with your relatively mild Texas winters all-electric will eat your lunch for you. Especially now where the electric companies appear to be able to boost their rates by leaps and bounds.
*F.B. Sorry for lack of clarity. Extra room for utilities are good idea. My contrary opinion is that all elec. (assume heat pump vs. resistance heating, induction vs. resistance cooking, etc.) is less expensive for energy than gas or propane, besides avoiding some individual phobias. Phobias: best to let those persons with phobias avoid the cause when it effects them only, such as NG or propane. I myself cannot understand the phobia against nuclear power, but found some rational explanations quoted below that could be applied to anything. (nuclear phobias prevented some California plants and Everybody on West coast is paying for those phobias which I think is a different story than gas)Nuclear phobia quote: "If you look at the anti-nuclear movement, it is rooted in... [fear of industry/government and lack of individual].. control. It is rooted in a kind of paranoid view of what they're doing to me. Of all the .... factors, this is the one where the politics has got its leverage...............Q: So we're talking about nuclear fear as a mass pathology?A: Right."PBS interview, Dr. Robert DuPont http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/
*I think propane is heavier than air and nat gas is lighter.So if its in the attic some codes prohibit propane as a leak will go downstairs.
*More house fires are started from the electric lines that from any type of gas.
*I'd like to thank everyone for the very insightful comments. FredB, this is a 106 year old Queen Anne that was moved and there is no place to put the furnace downstairs even though it is a large house. We had to take half the breakfast room just to get a downstairs half bath. We are trying to make the place somewhat of a "show house", so the propane tank was not popular to start with. The garage is not even on the drawing board yet and it will be very detached. We don't have a phobia with gas, we have natural gas in our current home and my wife would have preferred natural gas in the new kitchen but it's not available. I asked the question so, yes I've heard the stories. The guy that recommended propane started with "you know propane furnaces are safer than they used to be". I don't anticipate the winters eating my lunch but the summers will. . . John Bartlett, The hvac man said he can install a on/off switch for those heating strips. We are also considering zoning with two units(up and down, east and west.) Don't ask me about the east/west, I haven't got a grasp of that yet.Grace, we have a new electrical system installed and it will be inspected by an second electrician who is a city elect. inspector (an inspection is not required where we are located). We will also have a fire sprinkler system installed and we already have our own fire hydrant with 200 ft. of hose. thanks everyone, Fred
*I have propane for heat, and no, it's not as cheap as nat. gas. It produces fewer btu/lb. Also it's heavier than air. That's why code here requires a vent pan under the unit in my attic, vented to the exterior. Did the same thing with my water heater, but found out later it wasn't code. It still makes me feel better, and if it ever begins to drip water it won't fill my garage. I don't even give my propane heater a second thought anymore.
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Is a propane furnace any more unsafe than a natural gas furnace?