I read through my last few newsletters. I feel I need to update you on the projects I’ve been doing on the farm. I’m happy to report that I won the Battle of the Bats. I installed a homemade bat extruder in early May and after watching the bat tornado outside my bedroom window the next morning it was obvious (that was creepy) the bats couldn’t figure out how to get back in. They won’t be missed.
My barn roof project didn’t go quite so well. After replacing the majority of the nails with screws and sealing the crown, I went into the haymow yesterday during a thunderstorm to check my work. It’s still a huge improvement but I still have some leaks. Fortunately I have enough buckets to catch the drips.
What did I learn from this? If you want a professional job done, hire a professional to do the work.
Especially when it comes to propane. Today we were unable to install a propane system to a brand new house because the homeowner decided to do the gas piping himself. He used fittings that are not allowed to be used in a propane system, there were no drip legs on appliances and the shutoff valves were closed up inside of the drywall. We red tagged the system because we couldn’t safely hook it up. If the customer had hired a licensed plumber to install the gas piping, he wouldn’t have found himself in this predicament.
Speaking of plumbers, that’s who you should call when you need a water heater installed. If you install a propane water heater to replace an old fuel oil, electric or gas water heater, or if you are installing one in a new house, you may be eligible for a $200 rebate from the Propane Education and Research Council. Contact your local Premier energy location and they can provide you with more details.
We are still accepting propane contracts but it may not be at the original price. If you haven’t sent your contract in yet, call your local energy office to find out what the current contract price is.
I just hit a milestone on my pickup truck. I have now saved over $8,000 on fuel costs since I put my propane conversion on my truck. If you factor in the Alternative Fuels Tax Rebate, I’m paying about $1 per gallon for propane. If you’d like to learn more, call one of our energy offices and they’ll put you in touch with our salesperson. There are incentives available for converting your vehicle to run on propane. It’s a dual fuel system so if you go on a trip somewhere but you can’t find a propane dispenser, you can always run your vehicle on gasoline.
I hope you are enjoying your summer and we’ll visit again next month. Thank you for your business.
