Month: March 2019

Propane Fire Pits: A Great Option for Your Home

As outdoor living spaces become a popular home feature, more and more homeowners are seeking out elements that can make their outdoor extensions more comfortable and enjoyable. In addition to your choice of furniture and hardscaping, another way to add character and enhance the ambiance of your outdoor living space is the addition of a propane fire pit. From a Mendota fireplace inside your home to an outdoor fire pit, fire features create great focal points to any space because they add a unique and practical feature that will allow you to better enjoy the comfort of indoor and outdoor spaces as you gather with your family or perhaps a company of friends. Not only do fire pits and fireplaces add a nice decorative feature to your living space, they also add warmth and function.

One of the main considerations you should make when deciding to mount a Mendota fireplace or install a fire pit in your property is the type of fuel source for the appliance. Typically, fire pits and fireplaces can be categorized into wood-burning and gas-powered types. Wood-burning fire pits make use of coal, wood, and other organic fuels for heating, while gas fire pits use natural gas or LPG/propane. There are many benefits to choosing gas fire pits, particularly propane-powered ones, not the least of which is the greater availability of propane services and suppliers everywhere in the country.

When choosing gas power, make sure that you have a propane service close by so you can have a constant supply of gas and easy access to maintenance as needed. Other benefits to choosing gas-powered fire pits include greater safety, as gas power is a lot easier to manage and regulate with a turn of a knob as opposed to feeding the right amount of wood or coal to a wood-burning pit. Gas fire pits and fireplaces also leaves far less residue than wood-burning alternatives, requiring less cleanup and maintenance.

Advantages of Propane Gas as Fuel

If you are still using electricity or another type of fuel to run your home, you might be noticing a few disadvantages such as higher costs and the high impact to the environment. You do not have to worry about those issues with home propane. In fact, there are many benefits to using propane in the home. Also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the product is used in many applications, such as heating, cooking, clothes drying, fuel for vehicles, and BBQ grills. Here are the advantages that you need to know about it:

  • It is cost effective for your home – The Department of Energy stated that you could pay twice as much to run your water heater, furnace, dryer, or range with electricity rather than propane gas. Appliances that run on LPG tend to have a longer lifespan, too, and they are easier to maintain and service than their electric counterparts.
  • Cleaner – Another reason to use home propane is the cleanliness of the fuel. It is acknowledged as an alternative clean fuel in the 1990 Clean Air Act, and it is approved in the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The US Environmental Protection Agency tested LPG in vehicles and found that it produced 30 to 90 percent less carbon monoxide than gasoline. Toxins and smog emissions are reduced, too. Moreover, propane is a nontoxic substance that will not harm water or soil.
  • Readily available – Propane gas for the home is supplied by local service providers, some of which offer automatic delivery with a ‘never-run-out-of-gas’ guarantee. The fuel itself is made from natural components, as it is produced from crude oil refining and natural gas processing, and with more than 90 percent of propane in the US domestically produced, you can be sure that it will be delivered to your home when you need it.
  • Easy to store – Propane gas is stored in regulated tanks installed in the home, with pipes connected to your property to deliver the fuel wherever it is needed.