It appears that the Arctic front is on its way out as it is a full 10 degrees warmer this morning than it’s been in several days. I slept straight through the night and awoke to a toasty rig. Yay!
I’m posting again today to address some more comments.
The first one is regarding the rental of a large external propane tank. I have explained this situation so many times I don’t even know if I’ve done it in a post or not, but I’ll say it again: tank rentals are not available here. In fact, I’m even lucky to have a propane refill place within less than 150KM as the Co-Op considered just doing tank exchanges.
Second of all, I appreciate the unnecessary concern about the propane tanks depressurizing after a period of use in super cold weather, but I really don’t see what the fuss is all about. The explanation is clear (so there’s nothing to troubleshoot), the easiest resolution (getting a larger tank) is not possible, and the duration of the problem is short and finite (two nights and two days). To me, it really hasn’t be a huge deal and certainly nothing to lose sleep over beyond the physical fact of having to get up to switch tanks.
I’m just glad to have this information for future cold snaps that we may have and I know that a lot of you have learned something from my experience.
Here’s how the next 14 days are shaping up to be. I’ve been watching the 14-day trend for a bit and it keeps improving. This is a-ok and very manageable!
Your sharing of the cold issues and how you handle them certainly is helpful. I for one appreciate your candor. Hope you stay warm and cozy the remainder of the winter. Take care.
For Future consideration:
Even with 1000 gal LPG tanks many farmers on the prairies have found it necessary to provide auxillary heat to the LPG tank. They may be accomplished by placing a 100W incandescent light bulb under the large tank with some sort of shrouding to contain the heat.
I do not believe that 100W would be required for a 30 lb tank. probably something more on the order of 25 W would be adequate. Again some sort of enclosure would be required to contain the heat but it should not be able to come in contact with the light bulb.
Enjoy reading both the Facebook and Blog postings. Hope that this is the only Arctic chill we get, even -7 C feels really cold here in the Vancouver area.
Good luck with the rest of the winter. Ken
Pleinguy, glad none of this is boring you. I have to say I’ve been more comfortable during this dry -40 spell than I ever was in warmer, but humid, winters.
Ken, after waking up to Arctic temps in my rig on Friday morning, I put a piece of styrofoam and a few layers of blankets down, put the propane tank on that, and then wrapped the blankets around the tanks. I don’t know if it made a difference or not, but it made me feel proactive. 🙂