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Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:06:34 -0400
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Subject: Re: The Physics Behind the Spanish Blackout
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On 6/10/2025 6:55 AM, Don Y wrote:
> On 6/9/2025 9:43 PM, bitrex wrote:
>> On 6/9/2025 3:29 PM, Don Y wrote:
>>> "Damn unreliable fossil fuels!"  <rolls eyes>
>>
>> Yes we've experienced a "propane outage" on at least one occasion as 
>> there had been interpersonal communications issues as to what "running 
>> low" meant precisely, and then the scheduled delivery was delayed for 
>> a couple days, no explanation why.
> 
> Ah, propane instead of heating oil (not anywhere near as messy).  Yes,
> managing your own delivery schedule (or, relying on the vendor-du-jour
> to deliver when the time is right -- and not just when he wants to
> make a sale at the current spot price) is a PITA.
> 
>> Probably just got backed up near the holidays with employees taking 
>> off early.
>>
>> The propane delivery companies always charge for an emergency delivery 
>> and reprime, even if they were delayed. You're free to complain by 
>> finding another company (who does the same thing.)
> 
> The phrase "by the balls" comes to mind.


We used to have oil heat when I was a kid, Dad would put a few gallons 
of diesel in the tank once in a while if they accidentally ran low, this 
was back when diesel was like $1 a gallon or whatever.

But nobody who owns a detached home and can afford the switch to 
something else wants to have oil heat anymore here, and at the very 
least if they can't switch fuels entirely they're sun setting their 
forced-air HVAC in favor of a mini-split setup.

People with gas are installing mini-splits also though I think the 
overall cost/benefit is less clear there, depends more on how many hot 
days you have that require active cooling I think...mini-splits seem 
very effective at spot cooling.

Our condo has a propane-fueled combi boiler with baseboard hot water, no 
central AC just use window units in the office and bedroom when needed, 
we're still relatively young enough and New England isn't yet sweltering 
enough that we feel central cooling is a sine qua non (particularly in a 
ground floor unit) :)

Maybe someday when we're closer to retirement but we're regularly not 
even home during the heat of the day in summer, anyway.