How Long Will A 100lb Propane Tank Last

For heating, nosotros use diverse residential propane tank sizes. 100-gallon propane tank is the smallest of these tanks. We are going to look into how long will a 100-gallon propane tank last for heating a house.

The math here seems simple at first. For example, if we use 2 gallons of propane per day for heating, the 100-gallon propane tank will last for 50 40 days. That's considering, due to the eighty% tank rule, a 100 gallon when full doesn't incorporate 100 gallons of propane; it contains 80 gallons of propane (condom measure).

how long will a 100 gallon propane tank last — A 100-gallon propane tank dimensions are 72″ x 18″ ten 20″. This tank can hold 80 gallons of propane.

In exercise, however, nosotros need to look into our heating needs. These primarily depend on the size of our firm (square footage). As we will see further on, if we have average United states of america household size and propane consumption, 100-gallon propane will last anywhere from 11 days to 85 days (almost 3 months).

To summate how long does 100-gallon propane last, we need to exist aware of the following metrics:

1 gallon of propane contains 91,500 BTU of heating energy.
100-gallon propane tank (when 100% full) contains 80 gallons of propane. This is a prophylactic measure; if a 100 gallon would contain 100 gallons of propane, the force per unit area on the interior wall of the propane tank at college temperatures could be dangerously loftier.
These 80 gallons of propane contain vii,320,000 BTU of heating energy.

In that location are 2 means how we can calculate how long will a 100-gallon propane tank last:

By heating demand. Example: Let's say you need 10,000 BTU/h to estrus your house. That means that a 100-gallon propane tank will concluding for vii,320,000 BTU ÷ 10,000 BTU/h = 732 hours; that's thirty.v days or well-nigh 1 calendar month.
Past house size (500 sq ft to four,000 sq ft houses). Here we employ average winter propane consumption per sq ft (0.34 gallon/sq ft; based on average usage). Case: An average ane,000 sq ft house will require 340 gallons of propane for six months of heating (from Oct to March). That means that a 100-gallon tank will last for about 42 days.

We will prove you how to do both calculations. If y'all know your heating demand (anywhere from ten,000 BTU/h to 200,000 BTU/h), you should follow the 1st calculation.

The simpler style to get an thought of how long will a 100-gallon tank last is to wait at the second calculation, based on average propane consumption and firm size.

Notation: You tin check how long do all propane tanks (from i lb to two,000 gallon) last hither.

Permit's beginning with the 1st theoretical adding, and we'll follow with the second adding (abode size based) that's much more practical:

1st Adding: How Long Will 100-Gallon Propane Tank Last (Based On Heating Need)

This ane is pretty simple in theory. We only demand 2 figures to calculate how long should a 100-gallon tank last. These are:

100-gallon propane tank contains seven,320,000 BTU of heating energy. This is the easy part.
What is your average heating need? This could be x,000 BTU/h, twenty,000 BTU/h, 30,000 BTU/h, and so on. This is the hard part: it's not all that piece of cake to evaluate what your average need is.

If you practice figure out how many BTU/h you burn throughout the winter, you can easily calculate how long will a 100-gallon tank last.

Case: Let's say that nosotros need on boilerplate twenty,000 BTU/h to estrus our house in the winter months. We know that a full 100-gallon propane tank contains 7,320,000 BTU. Assuming 100% efficiency (in reality, the efficiency of called-for propane is most 98%), we can calculate how many hours/days will 100-gallon concluding like this:

100-Gallon Tank Lasts For = 7,320,000 BTU ÷ 20,000 BTU/h = 366 Hours

That'due south about xv days or half a month.

Hither is a calculated table of how long volition 100-gallon propane last if we know the heating need (BTUs/h):

Heating Need (BTU/h):	100-Gallon Tank Lasts For:
5,000 BTU/h	61 days
x,000 BTU/h	31 days
20,000 BTU/h	15 days
30,000 BTU/h	10 days
twoscore,000 BTU/h	eight days
l,000 BTU/h	6 days

In many cases, this 1st adding is theoretically audio but very impractical. That's considering it's well-nigh impossible to determine how many BTUs/h we need (on average) during a half dozen month heating flow.

That's when determining how long a 100-gallon propane tank should final, we apply the 2nd calculation (based on domicile size):

2st Calculation: How Long Volition 100-Gallon Propane Tank Concluding (Based On House Size)

Because adequately evaluating heating needs in BTUs/h is very hard, it's easier if we use boilerplate propane consumptions.

Equally we accept written in our article about how long does whatever propane tank last, we can take two statistical measurements to determine average business firm propane consumption:

An average US household consumes about 750 gallons of propane per heating season.
An average Us household size is two,200 sq ft.

Based on this, nosotros tin can calculate that we, on boilerplate, need 0.34 gallons of propane per sq ft per heating season. Hither is the calculation:

750 Gallons Of Propane ÷ ii,200 Sq Ft Firm =0.34 Gallon Of Propane Per Sq Ft

This is a very useful estimation. We can now estimate how long volition a 100-gallon tank for 500 sq ft, ane,000 sq ft, two,000 sq ft houses, and and then on.

You will find a calculated table for the nearly common house sizes beneath. Get-go, let'south solve one example to illustrate how you can use this estimation.

Example: Let's say we accept a 1,500 sq ft house. We know that, on average, we will demand 0.34 gallons of propane to oestrus 1 sq ft during the heating season. How much propane do we need for the whole half-dozen months of heating?

Heating Season Needs = ane,500 sq ft × 0.34 gallon/sq ft = 510 Gallons Of Propane

That ways that an average 1,500 sq ft house volition fire through 510 gallons of propane in a six-month long heating season (180 days).

Nosotros know that a 100-gallon tank contains lxxx gallons of propane. This volition not last for the whole heating season but it will keep the heat on for some time. How long exactly? Hither'due south how we calculate that:

100-Gallon Tank Lasts For = (80 Gallons ÷ 510 Gallons) × 180 Days = 28 Days

That means a 100-gallon tank will last for virtually a month if we apply it to heat an average i,500 sq ft habitation.

What about smaller 500, 1,000 sq ft homes, or bigger 2,000, three,000, 4,000 sq ft houses?

Here is the calculated table of how long will a 100-gallon tank last for all of these home sizes:

Dwelling house Size (Sq Ft):	100-Gallon Tank Lasts For:
500 sq ft	85 days
i,000 sq ft	42 days
i,500 sq ft	28 days
2,000 sq ft	21 days
2,500 sq ft	17 days
3,000 sq ft	fourteen days
3,500 sq ft	12 days
four,000 sq ft	eleven days