I have until Friday morning to finish a 70-foot-long trench for a new propane line. We ordered a new 500-gallon tank to supply our backup generator. Friday the propane people will come with the new tank and a flexible plastic line that they’ll lay in the trench down to the generator, then they’ll hook up both ends and we will have a steady supply of fuel without having to load 25-gallon bottles onto the truck and truck off to the propane dealer and pay double to get them filled. It’s odd—the propane costs half as much when they drive out our awful road to fill a tank than it does when we take a tank to them. Of course, they’ll be selling us 750 gallons at a time (we have another 500-gallon tank) instead of 75, but still.
My job this week has been to dig the last eight feet of trench and deepen all the rest to the specified 18 inches to meet code. Where I can’t go the full 18, they said I could pour concrete on the line to protect it. They’ll bury a copper wire alongside the plastic line so we can find it with a metal detector if need be.
We didn’t know we would have to use so much standby power, especially in the summer. But solar PV panels really poop out when the weather gets hot. Like about a 30% drop in power! And the trees keep getting bigger and thirstier so I have to run the well pump longer. This new tank and line will make life easier for sure.
3 comments:
Was that trench made with "bio-powered" equipment, in July? I hope not.
The “bio-powered” equipment was used mostly during the winter when the ground was more pliant. The addition of water in July made the task possible this late in the season.
You must be fit to be able to dig a trench like that. It's good to hear the installation will make life easier. Don't go getting soft now.
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