Pellet costs

[mass_burner]

~80 efficiency sounds about right. The several hundred pounds of cast iron I am referring to is the baseboards themselves.

http://www.usboiler.net/product/baseray-baseboard-radiator.html

 

[mass_burner]

So for those of you with oil/pellet option, are you still burning overnight with pellets? Lower temp required, couldn't you save wear and tear on your burners?

 

[Bioburner]

Probably the opposite. Day time temps are higher with some sun so able to shutdown. Burning corn that is still cheaper than propain(93 cent/g) though.

 

[Hat City Hauler]

I haven't even fired the stove up yet this season. I bought the stove as a lower cost option to the oil. Right now, oil is cheaper, so that's what I'll burn. If the price of oil goes up, or the price of pellets come down, I'll re-evaluate my options. That's the nice thing about having an option. Everyone has their own thresholds, and must weigh all of the impacts on them individually. I only have room to stockpile roughly a ton at a time, so I have to factor in the time I would spend going to the retailer, loading a ton into my truck, than unloading it at the house, that increases the pellet cost even more for me.

So for those of you with oil/pellet option, are you still burning overnight with pellets? Lower temp required, couldn't you save wear and tear on your burners?

 

[CleanFire]

So for those of you with oil/pellet option, are you still burning overnight with pellets? Lower temp required, couldn't you save wear and tear on your burners?

Not here, not yet - we like it cool overnight (wife is genetically linked to Polar Bear) so not needed.

FHA furnace kicks on in the AM to heat up the living space, still enough solar to keep comfortable until early/late afternoon.

We are burning during afternoon -> up to 10/11 pm as needed though: conserving oil as needed.

It sounds counter-intuitive with oil prices being low, but you are correct w/ saving wear and tear on the furnace: this furnace pre-season cleaning was the easiest, fastest yet - everything looked really good: the nozzle looked so good, I didn't replace it - flame spread looks like it did in Sept. '14 when installed new. (Got the spare on-hand, and will be checking the furnace regularly.)

Our Mechanicals are downstairs, a half basement -> to crawl-space with 'moderate' insulation, so we'll need to run the furnace as needed to keep that space > 38 degrees to prevent any pipe freezing.

* I actually want the furnace to run now, as little as possible, to keep fresh oil flowing through the lines -> and pump: oil gel in the lines & pump, due to lack of use, has been an issue here, in prior years. Like training, for the upcoming winter marathon..

 

[the3dprinterman]

This is the best calculator out there because it's the only one that takes heat losses of ductwork into consideration.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm

As far as the discussion goes, you're comparing a SPACE HEATER to a whole house heating system. Sure some say that they only have a few degrees difference from room to room with their pellet stove but at what expense? Having blowers moving the air around, listening to the 'boss' gripe because her room is cold, or THINKING it's only 2 degrees difference. You're not comparing apples and apples here. With oil prices low, pellets are going to be an after thought except for the 'green heads', who will burn pellets at any cost because they will save the planet. That is until the States realize it's an ideal time to put a hefty Green Energy Tax on oil just as they have done to gasoline in California and now Vermont (possibly).

 

[Peterfield]

This is the best calculator out there because it's the only one that takes heat losses of ductwork into consideration.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm

As far as the discussion goes, you're comparing a SPACE HEATER to a whole house heating system. Sure some say that they only have a few degrees difference from room to room with their pellet stove but at what expense? Having blowers moving the air around, listening to the 'boss' gripe because her room is cold, or THINKING it's only 2 degrees difference. You're not comparing apples and apples here. With oil prices low, pellets are going to be an after thought except for the 'green heads', who will burn pellets at any cost because they will save the planet. That is until the States realize it's an ideal time to put a hefty Green Energy Tax on oil just as they have done to gasoline in California and now Vermont (possibly).

An interesting dilemma you know is coming is how do you tax the sun. The solar panel and home battery technologies are finally advancing in spite of previous roadblocks by competing energy interests and as folks start to leave the grid and the tax revenue starts to drop and the utility companies (political contributors) start losing income, watch the fun begin. Let's say you DIY an installation and cancel your electric account. Will the government be able to enter your home without a warrant to see how you are powering your home so you can be "taxed" for energy usage? Utilities are already lobbying local and state government agencies for "different" usage rates when having to credit power generated from solar panels in private homes.

 

[Bioburner]

British property tax assessors count how many TV's one has so the Assessors here could tax your panels even easier.

 

[the3dprinterman]

In Germany, people were collecting rain water since water rates were so high so..................... Germany now taxes you on the square footage of your property that can collect rain water. Rain water collection systems were big blow molding tanks and big business there.

 

[Pete Zahria]

So for those of you with oil/pellet option, are you still burning overnight with pellets? Lower temp required, couldn't you save wear and tear on your burners?

It's just not cold enough yet to start the stove... for me.

Dan

 

[Peterfield]

It's just not cold enough yet to start the stove... for me.

Dan

I will wait for Dan's BOGO sale. Should be any time now.

 

[mass_burner]

On a side note, is it me or do folks working at big box stores take joy at telling people they are out of pellets?

 

[olmec]

On a side note, is it me or do folks working at big box stores take joy at telling people they are out of pellets?

Haha I think they do. Always have a look about them when they say it.

 

[Eastporter]

We live in a 140 year old house with a decent energy star furnace and a cheap big King stove that I bought at Tractor Supply 2 winters ago. My furnace heats the house, keeps the chill away, and at 2.09 a gallon, we will probably use a little more oil this year. The pellet stove makes us warm, or even hot when we want, and even though pellets are 20% more than they were in 2013, the reason we pay for heat is not survival, it's comfort, and if I tell the family that we are not burning pellets because oil is cheaper, I will be sleeping in the chicken coop.

 

[Lake Girl]

In Germany, people were collecting rain water since water rates were so high so..................... Germany now taxes you on the square footage of your property that can collect rain water. Rain water collection systems were big blow molding tanks and big business there.

Actually, you are a bit off ... if you don't collect rainwater, you are taxed!

(broken link removed to http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/policy/legislation_international.htm)
Rain taxes are collected for the amount of impervious surface cover on a property that generates runoff directed to the local storm sewer. So, more the rainwater is caught and conserved, less is the runoff added to the storm drains. Less runoff allows smaller storm sewers, which, in turn, saves construction and maintenance costs at the site. Thus people get rain tax reductions by converting their impervious pavement/roof into a porous one

 

[the3dprinterman]

Actually, you are a bit off ... if you don't collect rainwater, you are taxed!

(broken link removed to http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/policy/legislation_international.htm)
Rain taxes are collected for the amount of impervious surface cover on a property that generates runoff directed to the local storm sewer. So, more the rainwater is caught and conserved, less is the runoff added to the storm drains. Less runoff allows smaller storm sewers, which, in turn, saves construction and maintenance costs at the site. Thus people get rain tax reductions by converting their impervious pavement/roof into a porous one

I guess my German wasn't as good as I thought it was when they were telling me about it! hahaha. One of our licensees makes the huge storage tanks in Germany and in Spain. I've been retired 8 years so the memory MAY not be as good as it used to be.

 

[Pete Zahria]

I will wait for Dan's BOGO sale. Should be any time now.

Probly not soon.
We are down to a handful of pellets. Have had orders in to "keep them coming' for three weeks.
One brand for around 6 weeks.... Nothing...
"supposedly" Tuesday....
We'll see.......

Dan