On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:42:03 -0800, James Sweet
wrote:

Steve Barker DLT wrote:
i hope you're trying to be funny. You could run a pilot light for a year on
about a dime. You're certainly not going over the gas companies minimum
with one.

s



I've seen quotes of 5-15 therms per month, I don't know if this has been
reduced significantly on modern equipment but at $1.30 or so per therm
that I pay that works out to at least $78 per year, which is
considerably more than "about a dime"! Is this accurate? I don't know,
I'd love to see some solid modern data, but there's a reason standing
pilots were banned on most gas fired appliances, water heaters being the
exception given that the pilot heat is not really wasted as it goes
towards keeping the water hot, but we're talking about shutting down a
dormant water heater in which case the water doesn't need to be kept hot.

I use an old gas range in my cottage that has FOUR standing piots.
During the summer months with no other gas being used, these pilots
didn't increase my gas bill over the minimum customer service charge.

Doug