Your first winter season in a home with propane gas can be intimidating, especially if your area gets a large amount of snowfall every year. The accumulation of snow around your propane system can potentially cause serious damage. The best thing you can do is to be proactive about your propane system care, especially before the next big storm comes in. Here are some things you should do to keep your propane system safe this winter.
Understand The System
Before the winter weather comes in, take time to familiarize yourself with all of the pieces and core components of your propane system. You need to know where each component is located so that you can access it in the event of an emergency. There are several things that you should identify.
- The tank
- The regulator
- The piping
- The meter
- The supply valves
- The appliance vents
Once you have located each of these, mark them with long wooden stakes that feature brightly colored flags or something similar. Choose stakes tall enough to stick out above any projected snowfall, then clear snow away from the stakes and the propane system components when the storm is over. The stakes and markers are important not only for you to find the components, but also for emergency services and your propane company. While you're clearing snow away, do the same for your appliance vents along the walls of the house. Those vents need to be able to flow in order to keep carbon monoxide out of your house.
Call For A Fill
If there's snowfall in the weather forecast, you'll want to be sure that you have a full propane tank. Since the severity of storms can vary so widely, you never know for sure when a snowstorm is going to leave the roads impassable. That is not the time to find out that you were due for a delivery that day and are now out of propane. Call your propane company ahead of time about deliveries and have your tank filled before the storm comes in.
Notify Your Snow Removal Company
If you hire a snow removal service, make sure you notify them in advance about where your propane components are. Have them clear pathways directly to the tank, the meter and any shutoff valves. It's equally important that they know where each component is to avoid damaging anything while plowing.
Propane gas is a great way to keep your home comfortable all winter long, but it does require some careful attention before, during and after severe storms. With these tips and the help of an experienced propane supplier, you can weather your first winter season with propane easily.
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