Are remote propane tank monitors worth installing for a second home or cabin?
Downtown Black Mountain largely sits on the natural-gas main, so many homes here have no tank to monitor. But head up into Montreat's wooded lots and the cove cabins, where propane is the fuel and houses sit shaded, cool, and often empty — there a remote monitor earns its keep, because the Swannanoa Valley's cold-air pooling means those pockets hit freezing well before downtown does.
Cold air pools where the cabins are
Mornings in the Swannanoa Valley run 10 to 15 degrees colder than Asheville, and cold air settles hardest in the shaded, wooded hollows around Montreat and Ridgecrest — exactly where the propane second homes and conference cottages sit. An empty tank at one of those places freezes pipes before a downtown home would ever notice a chill.
That's the real argument for a monitor here. It's less about convenience and more about catching a low tank before a cold pocket turns an unattended house into a burst-pipe claim.
In town, the main covers you
If your Black Mountain home draws natural gas by pipe, there's nothing to monitor — the line doesn't run dry. The device only applies to propane, so the tank in the yard is what tells you whether this is your question.
Where there is a tank, the monitor clips to its gauge and reports the level to your phone and your propane supplier over a cell signal. They provide it and can put you on automatic delivery.
Our side of the job
We handle the fireplace, the venting, and the gas line — permitted and pressure-tested with Buncombe County, fifteen minutes from our Emma Road shop — and we set the burner so a monitored tank sips fuel. Get the appliance right and a shaded Montreat cabin can largely mind its own heat between visits. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Black Mountain
We install and service fireplaces throughout Black Mountain and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- How do I check how much propane is left in my tank?
- At what tank percentage should I schedule a propane refill?
- Should I set up automatic propane delivery or stay on will-call if I use my fireplace a lot?
- Should I shut off the propane at the tank when I close up my cabin for the season?
- What size propane tank do I need to run a gas fireplace?