I spent 20 years in a rural Illinois area before moving into the city.=20
We had a Charmaster Chalet combination oil/wood furnace  for about 10 of=20
those years.

http://www.charmaster.com/

There was a sawmill in a nearby town where you could by slab wood (oak)=20
for $20/ton.

But near the end of that time, the quality of the heating oil available=20
deteriorated (I can think of no other explanation) so that it was not=20
able to operate reliably even after repeated service calls. It had a=20
standard, modern Wayne cartridge-type oil burner.

So we installed a high efficiency furnace that ran on propane.

Almost everyone else in the area used propane as well; it was very=20
common because farmers around here use propane-fueled dryers to remove=20
moisture from their corn.

I assumed from that experience that propane would always be more=20
economical than oil.

My assumption about widespread use of oil on the east coast comes from=20
impressions I have gotten over the years. They may be in error.

Mark

On 5/6/2011 1:40 PM, Olin Lathrop wrote:
> Mark E. Skeels wrote:
>> Why is it that using oil for heat is prevalent in the east?
>> Can it be more economical than natural gas?
> I don't know how you inferred that oil heat is "prevalent" in the east fr=
om
> my single statement.  However, it's certainly not uncommon.  In my
> particular instance and that of many others all over the country, natural
> gas isn't a option since that requires utility infrastructure.  The only
> utilities near my house are electrical (power, phone, internet, cable).
> There is no gas, water, or sewer to hook up to.  This is quite common
> outside of "city" areas.
>
> Long ago I rented a apartment in Lowell, a nearby small city.  There the
> heat was powered by natural gas.  The gas company could profitably run a =
gas
> main down the street and hook up lots of customers.  The houses were most=
ly
> multi-family and dense-packed onto 1/4 acre lots.
>
> The cost/benefit to the gas company is very different in rural areas.  Th=
e
> minimum zoning (with various exceptions) in Groton is 2 acres, for exampl=
e,
> and then there are lots of unbuilt areas too.
>
>
> ********************************************************************
> Embed Inc, Littleton Massachusetts, http://www.embedinc.com/products
> (978) 742-9014.  Gold level PIC consultants since 2000.
--=20
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