Pellet Stove versus Propane Room Heater

[bcarton]

I have friends and relatives who have either the Rinnai or the Monitor heaters. Everyone says they work very well, require little maintenance, and throw a lot of heat. From everything I've heard, the heaters are superior quality products. Whether the fuel is affordable is a different question. But the hardware product quality sounds really respectable.

 

[SKOAL MAN]

I have one of these in one of my living rooms. It will suck through a 100 gallon tank in three weeks. At 3.12 a gallon I burn a ton of pellets a month in two stoves heating 3000 sq. ft. for less than heating half my house for three weeks with the propane heater.

But at $1.70 average what most people in the north east are paying is only $200 a month! I don't know what you are paying for a ton of pellets but I doubt its less than $200.

 

[fevest]

Here in maryland, where propane is priced stupid. The price is based on how much you use and what you use it for. I have a propane stove, which I don't use. they just topped off my propane. 5.80 a gallon. Which is why I don't use the stove. Propane also runs my generac and outdoor grill or I would get rid of it.

 

[hyfire]

Here in maryland, where propane is priced stupid. The price is based on how much you use and what you use it for. I have a propane stove, which I don't use. they just topped off my propane. 5.80 a gallon. Which is why I don't use the stove. Propane also runs my generac and outdoor grill or I would get rid of it.

Wow you got to find a better heating source...........

 

[jss227]

But at $1.70 average what most people in the north east are paying is only $200 a month! I don't know what you are paying for a ton of pellets but I doubt its less than $200.

I'm about as northeast as you can get, so I don't know where you are getting your pricing. I pay $240 a ton for pellets, so even at your price for propane it would still be cheaper for me to heat with pellets. $240 to heat whole house per month or $200 for half of house with propane.

 

[UpStateNY]

Here in maryland, where propane is priced stupid. The price is based on how much you use and what you use it for. I have a propane stove, which I don't use. they just topped off my propane. 5.80 a gallon. Which is why I don't use the stove. Propane also runs my generac and outdoor grill or I would get rid of it.

Interesting marketing strategy. The less propane you use the more they charge per gallon. The more propane you use the less they charge for propane. This is probably because they own the propane tank. If you owned the propane tank I bet you could buy propane for around $2 a gallon.

 

[SKOAL MAN]

50 cents a liter here right now, that works out to $1.62 US /gal. Its a space heater!

 

[woodmakesheat]

50 cents a liter here right now, that works out to $1.62 US /gal. Its a space heater!

I'm happy for you. It's not all that hard to look up prices in the Northeastern United States. http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_wfr_dcus_R1X_w.htm Average seems around $3/gallon through 12/22/14. Here's a survey of Massachusetts from 12/30/14: http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-util...to-fuel-price-info/propane-price-surveys.html - the average is $3.04 though some are LUCKY enough to get it for as low as $1.97, which makes $250/ton pellets still 10% less expensive (assumed 92% efficient for propane, 75% for pellets.)

 

[SKOAL MAN]

I'm happy for you. It's not all that hard to look up prices in the Northeastern United States. http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_wfr_dcus_R1X_w.htm Average seems around $3/gallon through 12/22/14. Here's a survey of Massachusetts from 12/30/14: http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-util...to-fuel-price-info/propane-price-surveys.html - the average is $3.04 though some are LUCKY enough to get it for as low as $1.97, which makes $250/ton pellets still 10% less expensive (assumed 92% efficient for propane, 75% for pellets.)

Who cares the post is about a room heater!

 

[woodmakesheat]

Who cares the post is about a room heater!

My pellet stove is a room heater. It heats the entire house.

I'm a room heater too - I put out about 100 kcal/hour sitting here, or about 115 BTU/hr.

 

[hyfire]

Getting back on track the OP was trying to compare what is cheaper to run..........I still say the heat pump will help you cut costs, but you still need another source of heat....and that will be what ever costs the cheapest to buy in your area.