Looks Like WE HAVE A PELLET GLUT on our hands this year !!
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Pellet-King said:
LMAO....even with pellet prices at 5.40 a bag (295.00 a ton) I will save alot of money over propane which is my only other option.
I use 2.5 tons to heat the house entirely for a season...thats 737 bucks. If i was using propane at the current price (which always goes up around Dec.) i would spend 350-400 a month - around 1500-1600 for the season.
I don't think i'm a fool.
Clay H said:
Clay H,
I agree with you, my option to pellet heat is Propane, to heat my home to the same temp as pellets would cost me almost twice the amout of pellets. Even with a brand spanking new Rheem 2 stage 95% effecient furance I am looking at $2000 + a year for propane vs. my $1100 for 4.5 tons of pellets. 3 year old well insulated house.
ineclipse said:
One post called me liar, other insinuated the same. That's OK, I know the truth. I ran my pellet stove October , November and up to 12-12 when it got too cold up stairs. Then ran my oil fired furnace with a .65 nozzle which I think is still to large, but furnace is not rated any lower. On the coldest day, I think -15 F it still would shut down on thermostat. I chuckle at what you guys are paying to heat your homes, as everyone in the know, knows, winterizing is the best bang for the buck.
Clay H said:
6 inch walls 19 R, 12 inch ceiling 38 R, all doors and windows insulated. All doors and windows also have storm windows and storm doors, old habit. This is also running 70 deg F 24-7, turning down to me has no value, you just need to heat it up again.
When I moved into the house many years ago I could tell the temp outside from inside, not anymore, have to look at the outdoor thermometer.
"12 inch ceiling 38 r"
does that mean the ceiling above the living space has 12" of fiberglass? single floor living space?
I have 6" walls and double-pane glass (no storms on the windows). attic insulation isn't that thick, though.
seems it takes quite a bit more to heat mine, and its not that much bigger. 2 stories, + attic and basement. only heating the 2 living space floors.
does that mean the ceiling above the living space has 12" of fiberglass? single floor living space?
I have 6" walls and double-pane glass (no storms on the windows). attic insulation isn't that thick, though.
seems it takes quite a bit more to heat mine, and its not that much bigger. 2 stories, + attic and basement. only heating the 2 living space floors.
slls said:
Nice. Well i can't change the thickness of my walls (4") but i do need to double up on the attic insulation. Got good windows but no storm windows.
And what you said about cooling down is spot on...does no good IMO.
Teddy1971 said:
I have to call bull on the conversions here. 1000 gallons of oil would equal 8-10 ton of pellets. $1155 would only buy you 4-5ish tons. Something is amiss in your figures on one side or the other.
I went from 700 gal of oil and 3 cord wood in 2007-8, to 7 ton pellets and 100 gal oil 2008-2009. Didnt end up saving the money I planned on at $4.5gal oil but still very happy I switched and will burn pellets again this year savings or no.
I copied this from a earlier post that I wrote last year.
"The previous owner of my house went through 1,250 gallons of oil/year.
The first year we lived there I bought a programable thermostat.....950 gallons
Second year we used............. 880 gallons
Third year Installed new water boiler(Buderus)................820 gallons
Fourth year installed Harman insert.... 4 tons pellets and 400 gallons
Fifth year....................4 1/2 Tons and 380 gallons
Sixth year...................5 tons and 390 gallons
Seventh year..............5 1/2 tons and 360 gallons"
Now each winter is different with temp and wind. My house was built in 1840's. Two story brick we heat the main room and since using the pellet stove we have a hot room and some colder rooms that we do not use as much (ie. laundry room). The best "bang" for the buck was installing the programable thermostat. Paid $60 for it and saved 300 gallon compared to the previous owner. Then an additional 70 gallons the following year. That was when we paid 95 cents and $1.15 for oil. Hope this helps for comparisons of the same house year to year.
"The previous owner of my house went through 1,250 gallons of oil/year.
The first year we lived there I bought a programable thermostat.....950 gallons
Second year we used............. 880 gallons
Third year Installed new water boiler(Buderus)................820 gallons
Fourth year installed Harman insert.... 4 tons pellets and 400 gallons
Fifth year....................4 1/2 Tons and 380 gallons
Sixth year...................5 tons and 390 gallons
Seventh year..............5 1/2 tons and 360 gallons"
Now each winter is different with temp and wind. My house was built in 1840's. Two story brick we heat the main room and since using the pellet stove we have a hot room and some colder rooms that we do not use as much (ie. laundry room). The best "bang" for the buck was installing the programable thermostat. Paid $60 for it and saved 300 gallon compared to the previous owner. Then an additional 70 gallons the following year. That was when we paid 95 cents and $1.15 for oil. Hope this helps for comparisons of the same house year to year.
I fear some inaccuracy's in slls statement also. I have a newer (built myself) 1200sq ft home, very well insulated with r 21 walls, r 45 in ceilings, r 30 under floor all new windows and doors and propane would be out of the world (~1600-1700$) to heat to 72 degrees in the winter. I used 4 tons last year of pellets 24/7 and in the past 2-3 years my pellet stove has paid it self off with the money saved from not using propane. Total pellet cost was 925.00$ plus electricity...
woodsman23 said:
100% Agree, for us propane users pellet stoves pay for themselves in a very short time. My furance set to 69 degrees will use at least 200 gals of propane a month....over $2000 a heating season. Just $1100 for pellets. I am 100% convienced.
Those strict "btu to btu" conversions don't tell the whole story. Its only accurate if you're comparing both the fuel, AND the delivery method. furnace to furnace....stove to stove.
Furnace to stove--changes everything. there are inefficiencies in the delivery of the furnace's heat to the living space. Big ones.
I replaced 600 gallons of oil with 3 tons of pellets. btu to btu calculations say it would take 4.5 tons to replace 600g of oil.
The trick to these magic pellets is that I was not heating my basement with the heat radiating and leaking from my forced hot air ductwork. (or the stud cavities in the living space, through which the ducts also travel).
Furnace to stove--changes everything. there are inefficiencies in the delivery of the furnace's heat to the living space. Big ones.
I replaced 600 gallons of oil with 3 tons of pellets. btu to btu calculations say it would take 4.5 tons to replace 600g of oil.
The trick to these magic pellets is that I was not heating my basement with the heat radiating and leaking from my forced hot air ductwork. (or the stud cavities in the living space, through which the ducts also travel).
mascoma said:
mascoma
I am using real world example. Prior to using pellets I would only use 700 gallons of oil a season to heat 3300sqft (2500 sqft upstairs and 800sqft finished basement) and for Hot Water. But I would keep the house at 68 degrees from 4am to 9am and from 2PM to 10PM. All other times I would drop the temp down to 58 degrees. So when no one was home or when we were sleeping it was cold in the house. Last year when oil prices skyrocketed we decided to purchase a pellet stove with 5 tons of pellets. We started heating in mid October and kept the downstairs 72-75 degrees and with heat naturally rising (and some fans in reverse) the upstairs was comfortably 67-69 degrees 24-7. By April we used just over 4.5 tons and 300 Gallons of oil (for Hot Water and to heat our basement). My house is only 6 years old and very well insulated. I have no reason to lie about my experience to make myself right. I am just stating the facts.
Daves said:
My local HD Just lowered the fireside ultras to 249 a ton .If you buy 2 tons take $50.00 off !$225 a ton for fireside ultras is a deal from last years 300 a ton.Also they have stove chow for 249.
investor7952 said:
Be careful. I used fireside ultras last year and was not happy with them at all (Alot of Ash and just ok heat output).
Went to my local Agway -- they had 20 bags of Barefoots on the floor. I asked how many tons they had (planning for when I was going to buy) -- they said they had 40 tons. I said I'd take 2 tons of the Barefoots. They said all we have is those 20 bags at $8/bag, but we have Bayou pellets for $279. Anyway, I bought a couple of bags of the Barefoots just to try them out in case they happened to get more in. Boy, the barefoots are nice! Very little fines, nice heat output. I have Hamer Hot Ones left over from last year, and I definitely like the Barefoots better.
Anyway, he made a comment that the pellet sales guys are all over Agway to take more pellets even though they don't need them... so maybe the prices will come down in the Northeast since oil/gas is more affordable this year.
Also stopped by my Home Depot -- They were selling single bags of Fireside Ultra's for $5 -- and Nature Best? for $299/ton. Their pricing didn't make sense since the individual bag rate was less than the full ton.
Anyway, he made a comment that the pellet sales guys are all over Agway to take more pellets even though they don't need them... so maybe the prices will come down in the Northeast since oil/gas is more affordable this year.
Also stopped by my Home Depot -- They were selling single bags of Fireside Ultra's for $5 -- and Nature Best? for $299/ton. Their pricing didn't make sense since the individual bag rate was less than the full ton.
If your willing to travel to waterbury, blazing hot stoves has barefoots for i think 290/tonDaves said:
HEMI_1500 said:
The following place has Barefoot:
Cochecton Mills
Cochecton , NY
845-932-8282
Barefoot Pellets
$285.00 Delivered (Depending on Location)
$260.00 Pickup
For those of you in central NY (Albany area), Agway in Johnstown NY (518) 762-9323 has Barefoot pellets for $279/ton or New England for $259/ton. Lady said she had more then enough in stock. Prices good thru the end of the month.
The Ace Hardware store in Milford, MA has Maine's Choice for $269/ton.
I bought from pelletsales (woodpellets).com last year and they have emailed me and called me over the last week offering $20.00 off.
I still haven't bought. Had the stove on the other night for first time.
I bought from pelletsales (woodpellets).com last year and they have emailed me and called me over the last week offering $20.00 off.
I still haven't bought. Had the stove on the other night for first time.
had 5 ton delivered this spring at $240/ton with tax. still think it's a good deal versus propane. it will go up just when i start heating again
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