Where Does Propane Come From?

Propane is a by-product of drilling for Natural Gas (Methane). All propane in our area comes from North America. The U.S. is a net exporter of propane, primarily to Central and South America. The propane is separated from the methane, butane, and ethane at the refinery. Propane is transported to our area via rail and pipelines. If propane did not exist, someone would have invent a similar product. It is that useful.

Is Propane less costly than home heating oil and diesel fuel?

Adjusted for BTUs, propane is about $1.00/gallon less than either home heating oil or diesel. This why school districts around the Country are converting their school bus fleets to operate on propane. It is not only saving them money, but equally important propane burns cleaner than diesel. Hunt Country Propane only sells clean burning propane.

We recently purchased a new home and were told that the tank was owned by the propane company. How did this happen?

Your builder, typically a production builder, struck a deal with the propane company where the propane company would provide the tank free of charge to the builder and the propane company would own the tank and lease it to you. It was a good deal for the propane company and the builder, but not for you.

The problem is people who don't own their tank pay significantly more than those who own their tank -in some cases, $2.00/gallon more. In effect, people who don't own their tanks are subsidizing the price of those who do own their tank. In building custom homes for nearly 28-years in our area we never built a home that the owner did not own the tank when they moved in. Our clients would never have accepted such an arrangement. Over the lifetime of homeownership, you could pay $15,000 - $20,000 more for propane if you don't own your tank than your neighbors who do own their tank.

Question 4. What is a Minimum Usage Fee?

If you are leasing tank and don't use what the propane company has projected you should use, you will be charge a Minimum Usage Fee ("Muffy") at the end of the Winter season. The #1 reason for your not using the minimum is typically due to a warmer than normal Winter. This fee can be $200-$300. The Winter was milder than usual in 2011-2012 and thousands of propane users were billed for a Minimum Usage Fees in April.

Hunt Country Propane does not have a MUF. Never has.

Read your contract and see if you have a Minimum Usage Fee. It's not reasonable – you don't control the weather.

What areas does Hunt Country Propane deliver to?

We are small, local propane company who currently only delivers in Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William, Clarke and Frederick Counties in Virginia. We are growing rapidly in this limited market area. We have no plans to expand beyond this area at this time. Every day we get calls from people wanting to become Hunt Country Propane members and save on propane. It only takes a 5-minute call to switch. It couldn't be easier.

Does your Hunt Country Propane provide other services?

We are one of the largest KOHLER generator installers in the area. As a propane company, we can provide a 500 and 1,000 gallon tanks for the generator which will allow the KOHLER generator to operate up to 8-16 days continuously should you lose power at your home. Our KOHLER generators are fully automatic. Being a propane company we can provide a turn-key solution. If there was a better standby generator for residential use, we'd be selling it. Unlike others, KOHLER generators have commercial-rated engines.

What can I do to make my home significantly safer at minimal cost?

The number #1 thing you can do to improve the safety of your home is to purchase and install a combination CO/Propane detectors in areas of the home you have gas appliances, for example, the basement. These Carbon Monoxide/Propane detectors can be purchased local or online from Home Depot and Lowes. They cost approximately $40/each.

Have a CO/Propane detector is as important, maybe even more important, than having smoke detectors in the home.

If you have gas appliances in multiple locations purchase detectors for all these locations. They could save your life!