Question for natural gas furnace users

[Rebel SS]

I like the fact they also yap about keeping electrical usage down during this time....so let's all hand out space heaters !  

[Tom7227]

Rebel SS - the cold weather rule is that they can't disconnect you for non-payment of the bill during certain times of the year.  I'm pretty sure there isn't anything about what can/can't be done in instances of an emergency.

The explanation in the article makes a bit of sense to me.  The idea that most areas are part of a loop rather than a branch part anyway.  My very rudimentary idea of this type of thing tells me that the problem with the branch was that there was more demand than the branch could support.  Pressure fell and problems were possible.  I guess that the loop thing somehow requires that I accept that for some reason the demand on the loop is less than the demand on a branch.  Since Xcel was pushing the lowering the thermostat thing even down in Hugo my guess is that it has more to do with the fact that a lot more customers and thus demand has occurred in some areas than the system had been designed for.  The solution my be setting up the feeder lines to run at higher pressure and then stepping it down.

On This Old House last night there was actually a segment on how the system and regulators work.  It was interesting.

[Tom7227]

Dotch - too late to be of any use to you but I wonder whether something short of replacing your furnace would have worked.  In the 50s and 60s my father in law traveled around the country modifying equipment when natural gas was being made available.  As I understand the process involved changing the orifice to one that works for natural gas.  There may have been much more to it but he's not around any more to ask. 

[Dotch]

Tom - No question about it, if we had been able to switch it over we sure would have. The furnace was about 30 years old and alas, while it was still working great, there was no changeover kit available for it anymore. I had changed our gas stove over from LP when we moved to the place. I did salvage the blower out of the old furnace tho. It made an excellent fan for the sheep when it's hot. 

I've worked with the gas company on agronomy related issues in different areas when they put pipelines in or done some replacement. Those people were/are decent to deal with and seemed honestly concerned to be fair with the landowners or their renters. There is a Northern Natural Gas turbine plant to the north of us about 3 miles. Be interesting to talk to those cats sometime to get their take on the Xcel situation.   

[Boar]

yup.todays furnaces are an easy switch orafice tha comes with the furnace or stove or hot water heater u by.

[Rebel SS]