What you need to know this season

At Hocon, we value safety. It’s our mission to be a safe and reliable source of competitively-priced propane for our customers throughout Connecticut. Our family-owned business wants to make sure that your family is safe this winter. Keep reading to familiarize yourself with how to be a safe and responsible propane customer during a winter storm.

Using propane safely during a winter storm

There are a few things you should do before, during, and after every winter storm to help keep your family safe as well as any fuel delivery teams and technicians that may need access to your property this season.

1. Mark your propane tank with a highly visible, brightly-colored flag or pole so it’s easy to find in several feet of snowfall or snowdrift.
2. Always maintain a clear and safe pathway to your tank for delivery and repair crews. When cleaning snow or ice off the tank, never use a shovel. That could put a hole in it. Use a broom instead.
3. Avoid a potentially serious hazard by letting your neighborhood’s snowplow operators know where your tank is. Don’t assume they’ll remember where it is or be able to see it, especially after a big snowfall or in decreased visibility.
4. Always have enough propane on your property to last several days in case roads are closed after a bad storm. (That would be a terrible time to have a runout!) For additional ease and peace of mind, sign up for automatic propane delivery with Hocon, and leave all the calculations and scheduling to us. We’ll make it our business to make sure you always have enough propane.
5. If any of your home’s propane appliances aren’t working optimally, now is the time to have them repaired. Don’t procrastinate on this. A poorly functioning piece of equipment is more likely to be the cause of a carbon monoxide leak. Carbon monoxide exposure can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, and that is a serious (potentially fatal) medical emergency.
6. If you ever shut down your gas (e.g., if you have a run-out), remember that you are legally required to hire a licensed professional to perform a pressure test and restart your system.
7. Now that severe weather events are becoming more common, consider installing a whole house generator. A whole house propane generator can keep all the important appliances and electronics in your home operating like normal, even if the power is out in your neighborhood. You can’t always rely on the electric grid, but you can count on Hocon to make sure that you always have enough propane to power your generator.

Click here for some additional safety information.

Get comfortable with Hocon

Founded in 1952, Hocon has grown to be one of the largest family-owned propane and heating oil distributors in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. Click here to find the branch serving your neighborhood.

Hocon is just the right size to be able to provide our customers with safe, reliable propane delivery at competitive prices. Our tremendous staff also sells, installs, repairs, and services an array of appliances and heating systems.

Contact Hocon today to experience the best service around. You can feel comfortable with us.

Propane pool heaters can extend your swim season by a month or more, to say nothing of the fact that they can keep you swimming comfortably on cool summer evenings and mornings. But how do you choose one for your Connecticut staycation getaway?

Let’s take a look at some of the most important considerations when choosing a propane pool heater.

Size Of Pool Heater

Perhaps the most obvious and important factor in choosing a propane pool heater is its size (or power). Your pool heater should be powerful enough to meet the heating load of the pool without overworking. Heating load is influenced by the unique conditions of your pool, including the surface area of the water, the difference between the pool’s water temperature and average air temperature where you live, how exposed the pool is to wind, and local humidity levels.

Propane pool heaters are sized according to their Btu output, with sizes ranging from 75,000 – 450,000 Btu or more.

To get an idea of the size heater you’ll need for you pool,

• choose a target temperature for your pool water
• find the average temperature for the coldest month in which you’ll use your pool
• subtract the average temperature during the coldest month from the desired pool temperature to get the temperature rise needed
• calculate the pool surface area of your pool in square feet.
• use the following formula to determine the Btu per hour output needed from your heater (based on 1-1.25 degree temperature rise per hour and a 3.5 mph average wind at the surface of the pool):

While this formula will give you some idea of the size of propane pool heater you’ll need, you’ll probably want a pro to give you a more precise estimate. Contact Hocon today for help with choosing the right size pool heater for your home.

Other Factors

Of course, size isn’t the only factor that you should consider when shopping for a propane pool heater. Some other considerations include:

• How efficient it is – Pool heater efficiency measures the amount of usable energy delivered to the water of your pool compared to the amount of energy consumed by the heater. A heater with an 85 percent efficiency rating uses $85 of every $100 in fuel to heat water (the rest is lost as heat). Today’s propane pool heaters can have efficiencies well into the 90s.
• Who installs and maintains it – As with any home comfort equipment, proper installation and maintenance of your propane pool heater is essential to getting the best performance possible. If you want to get the best performance now and for the life of your pool heater, have it installed and maintained by a propane professional.
• Incentives – Sales and incentives can tip the scales in favor or one pool heater and another, especially if they are similarly featured. Keep an eye out for specials from reputable propane pool heater installation experts.

Thinking about installing a propane pool heater? There’s never been a better time! Act now and you’ll not only save $200 on propane pool heater installation, but you’ll also get up to 200 gallons of propane for FREE*. Hocon Gas installs and services more pool heaters than just about anyone in Connecticut, and we have great options for every budget.

Inventory is severely limited – contact us today for a free quote on propane pool heater installation in CT!

* Offer applies only to new Hocon customers with a new supply agreement. Contact us for details.