What in the world is a BTU?

BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. 

A BTU is defined as the amount of energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.  

Facts:

A gallon of liquid propane contains 91,502 btu's.

A pound of liquid propane contains 21,591 btu's.   

How is this information helpful?

Use of this info is similar to calculating how may miles per gallon you get in your vehicle.  But with propane you want to know how long will your propane supply last.

1.  You first need to know how many gallons of propane are in your  propane tank .

2)  Second you have to determine what is the total btu demand of your gas burning appliances.  If you know the combined total BTU demand of each appliance, then you can determine the approximate length of time that your propane inventory will last.  (Don't forget to factor in the length of time each appliance may burn on any given day)

Example:  If you only have one appliance and it consumes 45,000 btu's per hour, then divide 45,000 into 91,502 (the number of btu's per gallon of propane). Your answer is:  2 hours of appliance use per gallon of propane.  

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