What's cheaper: brewing with propane or natural gas?

I'm thinking about moving from using propane to using natural gas in order to save money in my brewing. One propane cylinder ($20) lasts me for 2 10 gal batches. If I started using natural gas, will this be cheaper and if so, then how much cheaper?

yes. NG is much cheaper. I currently use propane but eventually will be moving to gas...i'm not sure how much cheaper but in the ballpark of 1/4 the cost.

I believe Natural Gas is inherently cheaper than propane. Though you could probably do the math on BTUs and compare the two, then factor in the cost for each.

Homercidal said:

I believe Natural Gas is inherently cheaper than propane. Though you could probably do the math on BTUs and compare the two, then factor in the cost for each.

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You are right you need to compare BTU's of each. There are more BTU's in a gallon of propane than nat gas and where I live that equates to propane being cheaper to run. They just brought in nat gas to the area where I live and the company was fooling everyone by comparing the cost per gallon. Every area will be a little different due to regional pricing.

It depends on the price of Natural Gas in your area, but usually it is cheaper to run (after you get over the cost of converting). The nice part is never running out of fuel!

BrewNinja1 said:

It depends on the price of Natural Gas in your area, but usually it is cheaper to run (after you get over the cost of converting). The nice part is never running out of fuel!

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Thats the main thing for me. It is cheaper for my area plus I just plug into the line and I have fuel every time.

ask someone who heats their house with propane - then compare!
along a more Socratic tangent ...

propane: buy a tank, and go.
nat gas: hire a plumber.

propane: brew anywhere you want.
nat gas: point to where the plumber should run lines.

propane: get a burner
nat gas: get a burner

propane: first batch costs you 120 bucks.
nat gas: first batch costs you 350 bucks.

propane: get yer ass back in the car, AGAIN.
nat gas: go make beer. for almost nothing.

propane: my rig still looks all rusty and ghetto-ass.
nat gas: Oh, my! I have a varnished, modded, brewery in my basement.

propane: I have beer.
nat gas: I have beer.

propane: yeah? well I can fry a turkey!
nat gas: Um, well I get that GRILL over there to do that for me!

propane: I hate you.
nat gas: Have a good time in the shed this winter.


how much is your time and gasoline worth to you, getting a tank or two filled? monthly?
p.s. my grill is hooked into my house, too. i use it 100 evenings a year, and didnt see ANY blip in my bill ("um, DUH, because when you use the grill, your stove stays OFF!")

Propane v Nat Gas would be a bit different for me.

propane: buy a tank and go.

nat gas: Not available in your area. You could pay MichCon to run the pipe to service your house from the state highway, 3 miles away. Your great grandchildren would be reaping the savings at that time.

With Natural Gas you don't have portability, if that's a desire for you. I personally enjoy having the option to brew wherever I want. I have 3 propane tanks around the house. I'm not scared of running out. Either one of the 2 tanks on the camper will have gas, or the gas grill will.

Yeah, it probably costs more, but I only brew once a month on average.

I have NO DESIRE to haul my rig and gear ANYWHERE. Where I want to brew is at my own home.

I am a convert to Nat Gas and it was worth every penny. I have actually seen quicker boil to times than with Propane. Likely because I am no longer afraid to crank it open worrying about the flow device locking up the works. Or, possibly because I no longer have a grossly under rated regulator to restrict the flowput of the gas supply which greatly affects the BTU output.

Remember people, just cause propane produces more btu's than gas doesn;t mean your regulated system takes full advantage of that.

However much I do like nat gas, even propane lets you make beer at 1/4 the price of the big politico-boilerz.

Go make BEER!

I'm able to make my propane tanks last for several batches by heating mash and sparge water on the stove and only moving outside for the boil.

Keeping two tanks around is also a must for me. When the tank is running low I can't sustain a great boil, so I'll switch it and use the low tank to heat mash/sparge water on the next batch.

All of this money saving will change when I eventually have enough space to set up a rack and stationary system. My back hurts and I'm wiped after my current brew days.

Using the electric stove in the house would be outrageous for making beer. I saw the meter on the side of the house go nuts when we turned it on once. We use propane tanks here and they've lasted a very long time. My dad even uses the double burners as a patio heater in the winter and it still lasts a long time.

I think we have a natural gas line or used to have one. Hmm maybe I should check on that. The BTU output is a downer though. I think that's just the particular burner we have though. That thing is older than the 17 year old dog we had. I don't have $30-$50 to get a upgraded version. But It still works so it's not a huge deal.

can you convert a current propane setup (read burner) to a natural gas one or would you need to replace the burner? That will be the deciding factor for me. I have a gas line very close to where I brew so i could easily just tap into that.

Natural gas is not an option for me. I would be using it if it were, not only for my brewing but for everything else, since it's priced so much cheaper than propane. If and when I make the move from propane, it'll be strictly 240V brewing.....electric all the way.