Anyone still needing pellets?

[webbie]

Pellets are green mostly in relation to how close to the plant you live......

Even if trees were grown from scratch, it is still basically solar energy converted to stored fuel - MINUS the energy used to make them. But most pellet plants use the same wood to burn and dry the pellets. Some are planning to install wood or pellet burning electric generators at the plants for the massive amounts of electric required to run the pellet presses, the coolers, the hammermills, etc....

Still, consider electricity from your normal grid - it is estimated that 50% of the energy is lost in transmission. More is lost in generation and transportation of coal and other fuels to the plant.....

There is no perfect fuel, but wood from any renewable and sustainable source which is located close to the end user - is one pretty good way to supplement our energy needs.

 

[banjorene]

Heating oil last winter at this time was around 2.50 to 2.75 a gallon and pellets were selling for 250.0 to 285 a ton
At this time heating oil is going for 2.06 to 2.24 a gallon and IF YOUR ABLE TO FIND PELLETS
your paying 300 a ton up to 345 a ton ( Move over and Bend over )
It should be a crime to cram it to the people like that.
I have used 100% pellets last year and so far this winter but needing a couple more ton it would be crazy to pay 300 a ton for pellets I hope the one or 2 stores that have them for that price choke on them.
I had purchased 4 ton this summer when heating oil was over 3 dollars a gallon for 210 a ton and the 4th ton I purchased was 275 a ton still cheeper then oil but now were getting low on pellets ( DOwn to my last ton ) so got to try to find more or buy oil which I would hate to do . Got to love NE CT
Rene

 

[webbie]

The price of oil crashed. You cannot expect the price of pellets to react as quickly. Oil is often pumped out of the ground for next to nothing......by the millions of gallons. Pellets are difficult to make, ship, etc.

I agree that pellets are too expensive. But a lot of factors have contributed to that. The existing inventory is made from wood that cost a lot, and from oil (energy) that was expensive also. It is not like gasoline where you will see the price come down the very next day......

Pellets have already started to come down in some areas. I think the quotes from Pelletsales have fallen about 10% from earlier this year. Demand has exceeded supply, and that means that each person in the chain wants to make a healthy profit. A good profit DOES NOT mean you are getting ripped off. It may mean that they cost too much to be economical for use by some people, but it does not mean someone is shafting the customer.

In fact, bulk items like pellets are generally low profit. Folks who start pellet operations are generally not the kind of people looking to make a quick buck. Too much hassle and weight....and market ups and downs.

That all said, there is a very simple curve - the more expensive pellets are, the less people tend to use them...and sales of the stoves suffer also.

In the end, the customer has been MUCH more fickle than the producers of stoves and pellets....the customer (me and you) would not buy a single pellet stove a year+ ago, and then 6 months ago wanted 10x as many as could be produced. Same, to some extent, with pellet fuel.

We are so used to instant gratification and just turning up the spigot that we sometime fail to realize all that it takes to get these products to market.

We have never yet had a stable pellet fuel or pellet stove market in the East. Out west it may have happened...due to all the large lumber operations, etc.

 

[banjorene]

I understand what your saying and I know more people bought pellet stoves so the demand for pellets was higher then last season BUT I still argue that around here in CT. there are a couple places that have pellets for 300 to 350 dollars a ton.
WAY TOO MUCH .
And what kills me is some places like LOwes and Home Depot when they had pellets they only had maybe 6 to 12 tons to sell ( INSANE THAT AN Outfit THAT SIZE was only able to get a few tons. So sometimes I get the feeling that some of the shortage was created to help drive up the price.ANd of course now that were in Jan. places like that are stocking selves with lime,and grass seed and probably could care less about pellets or the consumer of pellets. When a place like Home Depot or Lowes can't get pellets there is a problem and now were halfway thru winter and there is still a shortage and the price is outrageous.

 

[webbie]

I don't think there is plot.
Home Dept, Lowes, etc.....they could care less about pellets. They often plan these things far in advance, and then switch "seasons" about Dec 1 - I would never tell anyone to rely on big box stores except way off-season.

As to the price, consider that the price of a truckload went up to over $250 a ton...sometimes MORE with trucking.

If the dealer or distributor has paid $5 a bag....then selling them individually for 6 or 7 is not gouging. It is too expensive, I agree. But no one is getting rich.

The price has been pretty high for many months now.....looking at our fuel price guide, I see them at $300 and over in the Northeast since at least October....even before...sample report below:
Reported by: nailed_nailer on 09/27/2008 at 09:03 PM
Price: 314 per ton at Abuchon Hardware Cotuit Rd -Sandwich, MA 02644 United States
Comments: Pellet order list in store. Placed order 3 weeks ago. Came in today. FT load into pickup truc

So in Sept there was a LIST of backorders.......

I think you will be able to get good prices again this spring and summer - but not right now. There is not a surplus - many people with new stoves probably figure things this way "Gosh, I paid $4000 for a stove, so I am gonna buy some pellets even if they are expensive and run this thing"......and as long as they pay more, everyone will be paying more!

Also, as I said before, many dealers and distributors locked in at higher prices and are selling those higher priced pellets.

 

[Odiep]

just logged in after being away for...about a year.

Pellets in WV are at about $350 a ton, if you can find them. Although, you could buy them buy the bag from Wal-mart for $6 per bag!

Have to say...my stove was performing terribly last year and one of the guys from Englander on here helped me out. Now mine is burning a bag every 24 hours. that was up from 8 - 10 hours last year. At least I'm able to stretch them. I've got about 20 more bags before it's going to get pretty cold.

 

[mark d fellows]

just logged in after being away for...about a year.

Pellets in WV are at about $350 a ton, if you can find them. Although, you could buy them buy the bag from Wal-mart for $6 per bag!

Have to say...my stove was performing terribly last year and one of the guys from Englander on here helped me out. Now mine is burning a bag every 24 hours. that was up from 8 - 10 hours last year. At least I'm able to stretch them. I've got about 20 more bags before it's going to get pretty cold.

at 6 dollars a bag that is 300 dollars a ton. From what you say there would be no reason to buy it by the ton. Other than gas to transport.

 

[Dr_Drum]

The price of oil crashed. You cannot expect the price of pellets to react as quickly. Oil is often pumped out of the ground for next to nothing......by the millions of gallons. Pellets are difficult to make, ship, etc.

I hate to disagree with an administrator, but oil goes through a pretty extensive process to get to your tank. Something has got to be wrong when I can get a gallon of oil, perhaps shipped from Saudi Arabia or somewhere far away, then processed from crude oil to No. 2 fuel oil in NC or TX, then trucked or shipped to Maine, then to a dealer and trucked to my home for less than twice the price of a bag of wood pellets from a mill less than 100 miles away in a state with three mills and covered 80% by trees? We are talking about wood here, it's everywhere. Maine has been harvesting trees in Maine for generations, we are not beginners at this. Maine was once the largest producer of paper in the world. Pellet mills should be able to harvest the trees themselves, shred'em, grind'em and produce pellets for less than oil. I don't know, apparently it's not possible?

There hasn't been a oil refinery built in America since 1976? Just doesn't add up to me, but that's just my opinion.
Mike -

 

[Burnvictim]

Yeah ,I have a shortage. Eight bags left. I bought oil at 1.99 a gallon and I am running that now.I also have a $1200.00 shortage because of NEP llc. So I have no pellets and no money,and three children under age 6 that have to be warm!! I flat out refuse to pay over $260 a ton,and I will never pay more than that. I have a shop that is 3000sqft that I work at 46 hrs a week and I keep it 55deg constant.It still cost me over $400 last month to heat it with NG.Well guess what!!The plastic went up and the Kerosene heater came out.I heat only the work area now.1000sqft I burn about a gallon and a half a day and my area is 65 deg.
I truly believe the pellet industry has shot themselves in the foot and will be a dying biz in the next few years. As for the other not to be named distributers,buyers beware.Where do you think some of these undelivered tons from NEPllc went.Thats right!! They sold our pellets to other distributers at a higher price than us suckers payed for them Unless you are a dist. that is selling pellets at less than $260 a ton, pound sand I will turn my stats down to 60 and dress my kids in thermals,get the wood stoves out of my basement and go back to the good old days of hard work and NO BAILOUTS!!
PS if any one is interested,I have a Prescot EX used that I bought for a second stove.I will sell it for a reasonable offer.

 

[jamobi]

All of my pellets have come from craigslist and classiffied ads for less then $250/ton. My last ton I actually bought 55 bags for $250 from a person that never got his stove delivered. That was last week. It not easy but if you're willing to drive a bit then you can still find pellets from private parties here in CT for around $250/ton. Just my $0.02.
Steve

 

[itcjoe]

I live in Western PA and pellets have been hit and miss here for about two months now.

Oddly enough, the only place that had them in any quantity was Wal-Mart@ $6 per bag. They have been out now for about three weeks.

Lowe's, Agway, and Tractor Supply had them in October, but those dried up fairly quickly. (TS had about a half a pallet this week @ 5.99 a bag)

If the supply doesn't pick up soon, I may have to go back to running the furnace.

 

[springer]

The only reason I am burning pellets at the moment is I have them. I pre ordered 4 tons from Tractor supply in the summer @ 2.35$ a ton. I hate using fuel oil so next year I will pull out the old wood/coal stove and use it . I have an endless supply of free wood I just got tired of cutting and splitting it. But really storing wood or coal is far easier than pellets. And I will be able to put my truck back in the garage where I normally store the pellets. I have had this stove for 2 years now and with the glut of used pellet stoves that will be for sale in the spring I'll just end putting it in the shed and wait it out.