# OIL CHEAPER TO RUN THAN PELLETS



## relxn88 (Mar 31, 2015)

Oil company price for heating oil is $2.43 a gallon. Calculations show $285 a ton for Pellets as my break even point.  I paid $299 a ton last fall. $14 difference isn't a make or break thing when it comes to heating the home,  it's just that the constant increase in Pellet price irks me.


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## acammer (Apr 1, 2015)

I hear you.  Pellets have been oh so hard to find this spring, and the prices have been outrageous.  A few weeks back I found a place that finally had some, they wanted $7.27 a bag.  CRAZY!  It takes ~6.75 gallons of propane a day to heat my home on a 20*F day, so $15.16 @ $2.24/gallon.  In pellets it requires 90lbs/day, so at $7.27 a bag that would cost $16.36/day.  When propane goes back up to $2.50/gallon then it's about a break even proposition, and the propane requires zero work on my part.

Now, I was able to score pellets this week for $5.58/bag, so that's only $12.55/day running costs - that makes it worth it!


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## john193 (Apr 1, 2015)

Got some timber heats at lowes for $4 a bag after coupon. Never burned them before but the price was right.


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## bogieb (Apr 1, 2015)

acammer said:


> I hear you.  Pellets have been oh so hard to find this spring, and the prices have been outrageous.  A few weeks back I found a place that finally had some, they wanted $7.27 a bag.  CRAZY!  It takes ~6.75 gallons of propane a day to heat my home on a 20*F day, so $15.16 @ $2.24/gallon.  In pellets it requires 90lbs/day, so at $7.27 a bag that would cost $16.36/day.  When propane goes back up to $2.50/gallon then it's about a break even proposition, and the propane requires zero work on my part.
> 
> Now, I was able to score pellets this week for $5.58/bag, so that's only $12.55/day running costs - that makes it worth it!



Holy cow - at 20F days, it takes about 1.5 bags (or less) to heat my place. Must be a size difference there. Propane is at 3.17 here, and oil just under $3, so pellets are still economical for me (most pellets bought from HD at <$5/bag).


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## Pelletluvr (Apr 1, 2015)

No kidding. I just did the fuel comparison exercise here. Pellets would cost me a thousand bucks more than oil. It's not really gonna be that much, but for comparison sakes I get the idea. I just filled my two 275s for $2.15 a gallon because I get more than 400 gallons delivered. It'll probably be lower by summer, but I needed it now. With pellet prices pushing 300 bucks, the stove will be an ornament next winter. I love pellets, but I love money more


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## velvetfoot (Apr 1, 2015)

Oil is 2.83 here.  I just ordered 5 tons of pellets at 272. At that oil price, breakeven is about 340.  Nice spreadsheet:  http://www.eia.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls


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## moey (Apr 1, 2015)

Its been around $2.25  +/- $.05 all winter. I hope folks arent just realizing it may have been cheaper to run their boiler.


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## acammer (Apr 1, 2015)

bogieb said:


> Holy cow - at 20F days, it takes about 1.5 bags (or less) to heat my place. Must be a size difference there. Propane is at 3.17 here, and oil just under $3, so pellets are still economical for me (most pellets bought from HD at <$5/bag).



2,100 sq ft.  <600,000 BTU/day @ 20*F ambient, it's not too bad.  Yea, when propane is over $2.50/gallon for me I start thinking pellets.  When it's as cheap as it is now, might as well burn the gas and save the work.


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## acammer (Apr 1, 2015)

moey said:


> Its been around $2.25  +/- $.05 all winter. I hope folks arent just realizing it may have been cheaper to run their boiler.



It didn't drop under $2.50/gallon here until recently.  When I bought my 4 tons it was $3/gallon, so it was a no brainer - if only I could have seen the future I wouldn't have been cleaning and feeding the stove all winter.


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## velvetfoot (Apr 1, 2015)

acammer said:


> Yea, when propane is over $2.50/gallon for me I start thinking pellets.


Now, I could be doing something wrong, but using that spreadsheet above, at 2.50/gal propane I come up with about $450/ton pellet breakeven, with efficiencies set at 83%.


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## St_Earl (Apr 1, 2015)

just called the local supplier.  HHO is $252.9. my pellets i just bought were $229 per ton.

there are different figures for the equivalencies, some say 120 gallons oil for 1 ton pellets. but even if it were 110 gallons, i'm still well ahead by burning pellets.
especially since our oil furnace is forced air. i'm pretty sure that fact would cause us to burn more oil in ratio to pellets to stay warm when it's below zero out.
because it's forced air, i'm fairly sure we'd burn *more* than 120 gallons of oil to stay *even close* to as warm as a ton of pellets keeps us.
my den/tv room where i spend most of my time doesn't even have a register in it.
so yeah, oil is going to have to be a good bit below $2 for me to even think of filling the tank.


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## velvetfoot (Apr 1, 2015)

You guys in Maine have great prices on pellets!

Edit:  On the other hand, it might be a good idea, for me, to top up the oil tank.


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## JRHAWK9 (Apr 1, 2015)

wow...propane is $1.29/gal here right now.    

http://www.hohlspropane.com/


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## xSpecBx (Apr 1, 2015)

velvetfoot said:


> Now, I could be doing something wrong, but using that spreadsheet above, at 2.50/gal propane I come up with about $450/ton pellet breakeven, with efficiencies set at 83%.


Your propane boiler is most likely more than 83% efficient.  I would take a look at the manufacturer literature.  I would suspect its somewhere in the 90s.

Oil here in CT this morning was $2.26/gal.  I didn't burn much in way of pellets this season with oil prices low.  Luckily enough they haven't shot up and have actually come down a bit over the last month or so


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## Pellet-King (Apr 1, 2015)

OIL DOWN TO $2.09 HERE IN CT/MASS


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## bogieb (Apr 1, 2015)

St_Earl said:


> just called the local supplier.  HHO is $252.9. my pellets i just bought were $229 per ton.
> 
> there are different figures for the equivalencies, some say 120 gallons oil for 1 ton pellets. but even if it were 110 gallons, i'm still well ahead by burning pellets.
> especially since our oil furnace is forced air. i'm pretty sure that fact would cause us to burn more oil in ratio to pellets to stay warm when it's below zero out.
> ...



Yeah, my boiler says it is from 1980 - I'm guessing not too efficient - so even if I ever did actually see cheaper propane prices, it still doesn't mean it would be very economical for me to run the gas. I figure last winter was warmer than this winter and I burned >3k in propane before I got the stoves. Now I'm down to zero (for heating) unless I go out of town (rare). Locked in propane at $3.11/gal over the summer since I had been hit with >$5/gal last winter, so never would have seen the really cheap prices - even if they had found their way here.


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## NHcpa (Apr 1, 2015)

Burning wood - no spreadsheets for me.


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## Arti (Apr 1, 2015)

$2.44 for fuel oil in my area, 1.90 for Propane. 
Early buy on pellets is in the 220 ton plus $50 delivery for any amount, I can't really haul 2 ton for that amount. These are Hartland or White Lightning pellets which work well in my stoves.
Menards selling Indeks for about the same amount however they produce a lot of ash in my furnace.
Located in South West Wisconsin. Next to the Scenic Bluffs of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers


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## Pete Zahria (Apr 1, 2015)

As of March 30, 2015. In New Hampster.
Average costs of fuel, and cost per million btu

Fuel oil----- $2.76 - $19.92
Propane---- $3.07 - $33.62
Pellets------ $245 - $14.89
Cordwood--$325 - $16.25
Electricity-- $0.19 - $58.07

Dan


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## chken (Apr 2, 2015)

velvetfoot said:


> You guys in Maine have great prices on pellets!
> 
> Edit:  On the other hand, it might be a good idea, for me, to top up the oil tank.


He's in northern Maine, much closer to the pellet sources. On the other hand, oil is more expensive up there. The further south you go, the cheaper it gets. I'm in central maine and I paid $2.07 a gal back in November, and $2.06 a couple weeks ago.


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## velvetfoot (Apr 2, 2015)

I feel, with nothing to back it up, that a lot of time firms charge what they think they can get.


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## Pellet-King (Apr 3, 2015)

late yesterday oil was $1.99, but this morning it was back up to $2.15, what a scam


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## NHcpa (Apr 3, 2015)

Pete Zahria said:


> As of March 30, 2015. In New Hampster.
> Average costs of fuel, and cost per million btu
> 
> Fuel oil----- $2.76 - $19.92
> ...


Cordwood $325???  I've paid $175/cord for years.


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## Peterfield (Apr 3, 2015)

NHcpa said:


> Cordwood $325???  I've paid $175/cord for years.



 I used to buy semi-dry cordwood for $180, then $200, now from the same supplier it's $300.  Right around the corner from you.


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## NHcpa (Apr 3, 2015)

Peterfield said:


> I used to buy semi-dry cordwood for $180, then $200, now from the same supplier it's $300.  Right around the corner from you.


Ouch.

Don't know around the corner from me, but I use Browns in Weare. I also buy between 4-6 cord at a time. Decent people and have used for years.


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## Pete Zahria (Apr 3, 2015)

NHcpa said:


> Cordwood $325???  I've paid $175/cord for years.


Based on prices for dry wood last week. IF you can find it... Green in the spring may be 200, but you can't burn that now..... price was for NH average.... now.


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## bke7 (Apr 4, 2015)

Why is it that pellet prices vary by 100 per ton or more for the same product depending on location in New England?
This makes no sense.


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## moey (Apr 4, 2015)

bke7 said:


> Why is it that pellet prices vary by 100 per ton or more for the same product depending on location in New England?
> This makes no sense.



A better question would be why is everything expensive in CT.


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## TonyVideo (Apr 5, 2015)

Supply and demand.


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## Pellet-King (Apr 5, 2015)

$1.99 a gallon for oil , www.paylessforoil.com


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## BrotherBart (Apr 5, 2015)

Next Fall is going to be interesting. In the Northeast at least since around 98% of heating oil is used there. Folks fill the tanks with cheap oil this summer and next Fall the pellets start piling up in the yards. If the heating oil price stays low, which it will until at least November, there is gonna be a pellet glut in that region. The downside is that the situation will make it more economic to export more pellets. Viscous market circle on the horizon.


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## devilsbullet (Apr 5, 2015)

200-240 a ton around here For pellets. Saw some for 179 last week, shoulda jumped on em


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## 3650 (Apr 5, 2015)

Wow $179?  yeh I would have stockpiled them if they are good stuff.


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## woodmakesheat (Apr 7, 2015)

Pellet-King said:


> $1.99 a gallon for oil , www.paylessforoil.com



I clicked and saw $2.199. Big increase in 2 days.


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## Pete Zahria (Apr 7, 2015)

$2.49 today


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## Pellet-King (Apr 8, 2015)

woodmakesheat said:


> I clicked and saw $2.199. Big increase in 2 days.


Was going to buy 100 gallons Sunday when It was $1.99, thought what if it's $1.79 next week, price of crude is up to $53 a barrel, speculators are trying real hard


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## bogieb (Apr 8, 2015)

Pete Zahria said:


> $2.49 today



Hmm, I saw $2.19 today. Perhaps it is going by location of computer?

On another note, saw gas rise from $2.13 yesterday 5AM to $2.20 about 4:30PM at one gas station.


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## Pete Zahria (Apr 8, 2015)

bogieb said:


> Hmm, I saw $2.19 today. Perhaps it is going by location of computer?



Well... we also don't live in the same town.....  

The Office of Energy and Planning in the state is listing, as of March 30, "average" $2.76

Dan


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## bogieb (Apr 8, 2015)

Pete Zahria said:


> Well... we also don't live in the same town.....
> 
> The Office of Energy and Planning in the state is listing, as of March 30, "average" $2.76
> 
> Dan



Oh, I should have been more clear - that price was according to the website that was posted (paylessforoil) - and what I thought you were referring to. I haven't seen any price lower than 2.89 in my town/area for years (and the computer I am using is in Manch, so quite a distance from my home town).


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## Pellet-King (Apr 8, 2015)

50.96
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





-3.02 (-5.59%) YES!! Crude is DOWN Today, with this week's big warmup into next week almost 70 daily they can sit on it!


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## DMKNLD (Apr 8, 2015)

Pellet-King said:


> Was going to buy 100 gallons Sunday when It was $1.99, thought what if it's $1.79 next week, price of crude is up to $53 a barrel, speculators are trying real hard



"Oil futures settled nearly 7 percent lower on Wednesday after government data showed the largest weekly increase in U.S. crude inventories since 2001 and a day after Saudi Arabia reported record production in March", according to a Reuters report out today. http://www.cnbc.com/id/102567899

With crude oil comprising the single largest component of global trade, if it was taken off the Commodities Futures listings we would see an end to the whipsaw swings in speculative petroleum market pricing gouging. Make the K-street hedge funders make their millions speculating on coffee or pork belly futures - commodities that aren't strategic international interests, and that don't hold our world economy hostage as a result of their pricing volatility.


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## crizpynutz (Apr 10, 2015)

moey said:


> A better question would be why is everything expensive in CT.



I'm in Enfield, CT and picked up 2 tons of pellets from Hawthorne's Agway which are Hamer's Hot Ones for $280/ton.  That seems like a pretty good price.  Then again, I am barely in CT and could walk to MA so....


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## St_Earl (Apr 10, 2015)

propane down here from $3.49 on our last delivery (hot water and range) to $2.99 today.
sure am glad i'm not using it for heat.


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## Dmitry (Apr 10, 2015)

Paid  today  $ 2.04 for oil in New Haven county , CT


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## bogieb (Apr 11, 2015)

bogieb said:


> Oh, I should have been more clear - that price was according to the website that was posted (paylessforoil) - and what I thought you were referring to. I haven't seen any price lower than 2.89 in my town/area for years (and the computer I am using is in Manch, so quite a distance from my home town).



I stand corrected - just saw oil advertised for $2.59/gal today in my town. Not that it matters to me since I don't have n oil burner.


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## digitys (Apr 11, 2015)

I feel like depending on the price of oil and what to anticipate for your heating bill is idiotic compared to burning pellets.

Prices for pellets may vary 10-20 percent depending on when you buy them through out the year.  Oil has literally swung 50% in a matter of months, numerous times in the last 6-7 years.


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## xSpecBx (Apr 12, 2015)

digitys said:


> I feel like depending on the price of oil and what to anticipate for your heating bill is idiotic compared to burning pellets.
> 
> Prices for pellets may vary 10-20 percent depending on when you buy them through out the year.  Oil has literally swung 50% in a matter of months, numerous times in the last 6-7 years.


Comes down to what is going to be cheaper. I agree the recent price swings make it a bit risky, but i dont see oil prices going so high in the near future that pellets make more sense unless you can find them for $250ish/ton. I will most likely take my chances. I have a little over a ton that i didnt use this past season so i wont be totally caught with my pants down if oil shoots back up, but again i dont see oil shooting back up anytime soon.


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## Don2222 (Apr 12, 2015)

Hello

One of my customer's said even if the cost of oil is the same as pellets that pellets are cheaper for her. She only heats the living room and kitchen with a very efficient Quad Santa Fe not the whole entire house with oil!


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## chken (Apr 12, 2015)

Don2222 said:


> Hello
> 
> One of my customer's said even if the cost of oil is the same as pellets that pellets are cheaper for her. She only heats the living room and kitchen with a very efficient Quad Santa Fe not the whole entire house with oil!


If she had zones, she wouldn't have to heat the whole house with oil either!


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## Don2222 (Apr 12, 2015)

chken said:


> If she had zones, she wouldn't have to heat the whole house with oil either!



FHA no zones


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## moey (Apr 13, 2015)

Don2222 said:


> FHA no zones



FHA systems can be zoned its not rocket science.


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## Pete Zahria (Apr 13, 2015)

moey said:


> FHA systems can be zoned its not rocket science.


But if she's happy, that's what really matters....


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## lagger (Apr 14, 2015)

john193 said:


> Got some timber heats at lowes for $4 a bag after coupon. Never burned them before but the price was right.


got 2 tons of those preseason this year .. they were decent for the price paid 235 a ton + 65 delivery at lowes minus 5% credit card discount


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## St_Earl (Apr 14, 2015)

*OIL* *PELLETS CHEAPER TO RUN THAN **PELLETS **OIL* 
sorry to sp(oil) the party, but it's (still) true by a  wide margin in my case.


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## moey (Apr 14, 2015)

Buy a oil stove. Youll get the best of both worlds cheaper then pellets to run. Dont need electricity either. 

http://www.rural-energy.net/catalog/products/products.php?subcat_id=53


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## Backstreets75 (Apr 17, 2015)

Propane at $1.60 a gallon blows away good pellets at $329.00 a ton.  Screw the greedy pellet supply chain.  Looks like propane next year. Maybe buy a ton of pellets just in case.


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## St_Earl (Apr 17, 2015)

Backstreets75 said:


> Propane at $1.60 a gallon blows away good pellets at $329.00 a ton.  Screw the greedy pellet supply chain.  Looks like propane next year. Maybe buy a ton of pellets just in case.


wow. you are relatively close geographically, but a world away from me with those prices.
we just hit the lowest propane price here in the (at least) four years i've been here, $2.99. and my pellets are $229, up $5 from last year.


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## bogieb (Apr 17, 2015)

St_Earl said:


> wow. you are relatively close geographically, but a world away from me with those prices.
> we just hit the lowest propane price here in the (at least) four years i've been here, $2.99. and my pellets are $229, up $5 from last year.



Last I checked, it was 3.17 in these parts - NH energy office showed $3.07 for March average in NH. Pellets, per BTU,  were second only to natural gas (which is not available to 90% of NH) for lowest price per BTU. Surprisingly, even cheaper than cord wood, according to their chart.


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## moey (Apr 17, 2015)

Yea folks in NH and Maine get borked on propane prices.


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## boo boo (Apr 21, 2015)

just filled up Thursday fuel oil 2.49 a gallon if paid within 10 days
I will get my pellets for next year but time will tell witch will be cheaper to heat


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## TimfromMA (Apr 21, 2015)

Just scored 3 tons of DF at $318 each.


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## Tonyray (Apr 21, 2015)

TimfromMA said:


> Just scored 3 tons of DF at $318 each.


Deff a SCORE!!


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## md2002 (Sep 20, 2017)

I did a search and found this post, I was looking because oil is down to $1.90 a gallon in my area. I found a "calculator" on line and put it some numbers and I think here in Mass. I'm finally at the point where pellets cost more to burn than oil. 

The lowest price on a ton of pellets I could find was $240 and it's not a good quality pellet. I ended buying 4 Tons Lignetics ($263 a ton) Vermont HW ($295 a ton (2)) and 1 Comfort Pellets ($252 a ton). If I compare that to oil which is $1.90 a gallon it's about $400.00 less expensive to burn oil this year. This may change but it looks like Pellets are more expensive at this time. I'm still going to use my stove but I think I'm turning to oil a little more and only burn pellets to get the chill out of the air. Pellets also come with a $70 delivery charge in Mass.

When I bought my stove 6 years ago oil prices were about $4.00 a gallon, the price is now cut in half.


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## Bioburner (Sep 20, 2017)

Surprised this old thread got opened. Been a lot of conversations of oil getting cheaper and propane in many areas being at or below pellet cost without the elbow grease.
I got my stove installation the Harman with crosslink paid off when propain hit $4. My average cost for wood pellets last heating season was under $200/T including getting them home. I burn some corn as well that lowered my average down also as it converts to $2.32 per bag


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## Tonyray (Sep 20, 2017)

I truthfully have never checked to compare what my oil vrs pellets would be..
just know I love the constant heat coming from the distribution blower and to have my oil furnace set at 74 like my stove,
the furnace would drink oil like a drunken sailor in my not well insulated house..
always had t keep thermostat in the high 60's just to conserve oil.


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## jackhammer (Sep 21, 2017)

Tonyray said:


> I truthfully have never checked to compare what my oil vrs pellets would be..
> just know I love the constant heat coming from the distribution blower and to have my oil furnace set at 74 like my stove,
> the furnace would drink oil like a drunken sailor in my not well insulated house..
> always had t keep thermostat in the high 60's just to conserve oil.


We're in the same boat!  We love the constant heat from the stove, the oil warms up the house in the morning, that's about it!


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## P51mustang (Sep 24, 2017)

Same boat here in the North Country of upstate, NY....Oil may be relatively cheaper at present, but to keep my house at the constant temperature my Harman P61A can easily maintain, my oil boiler would be constantly running and still I'd have cold pockets in many more areas of my house.  In other words, for the comfort level I've grown used to, oil is NOT cheaper for me.


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## Tonyray (Sep 24, 2017)

P51mustang said:


> Same boat here in the North Country of upstate, NY....Oil may be relatively cheaper at present, but to keep my house at the constant temperature my Harman P61A can easily maintain, my oil boiler would be constantly running and still I'd have cold pockets in many more areas of my house.  In other words, for the comfort level I've grown used to, oil is NOT cheaper for me.


yep..
many here don't factor that in..
it's Not always about price for some..
it's why some pay 20K for an Auto and others buy the same brand but pay 25K for the fully loaded model..
Everyone has the're reasons so, to each his own....


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## tlc1976 (Oct 17, 2017)

Another thing to figure (as one posted) is what's being heated.  For example I figured that it costs about half as much to heat the house with pellets vs LP.  But due to the fact that the pellet stove only heats the upstairs living area, and the LP boiler is in the (same size) basement and therefore heats twice as much square footage at twice the fuel cost, pellets are really costing me about 1/4 as much as LP.


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