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I don't blame you one bit. If I had that option I'd be doing the same even as much as I like my fires. They would be occasional and more for enjoyment purposes.
Bag's I've burned maybe 2 Bag's and that was in Oct, Oil is dropping weekly, around $1.40 here, my back is enjoying it as it always needed to be filled in the morning before work, no more dust in the house either
Nothing remotely great about those prices! Hell, I can't even justify paying the $260 per ton that Home Depot and Lowes are charging, given how inexpensive propane is. I'm going to have a very quiet pellet stove this Winter!
You are probably stuck with Amerigas, like we are, at something stupid like $3 and some odd change. SE Ma., for what ever reason, is possibly the highest in the country on propane. Fortunately we don't heat with that though, just hot water and cooking.
I'm not sure it has much to do with which part of the country you're in, as you and I are in the same part of the country, and my last propane delivery was $1.52 per gallon. I would imagine that in most parts of the country, the cost of propane simply depends upon how much propane you use. Because most pellet burners use almost no propane, most of us are going to pay the absolute top price. The only reason I get to avoid that is because of the neighborhood I'm in. We're all tied into the same company and get "neighborhood pricing", meaning we all pay the same price, regardless of how much propane each individual house is using. That tempts me to never move
I am still running the P68 on the low and slow mode. Feed rate choked down as much as possible just to keep the inside temp at 72 - 74*. I went and bought an oil option yesterday at Lowe's. I grabbed a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater to run a bit while I am at home in another area of my house. It did very well and it ran 16 hrs. on one 1.9 gal. tank. So the 16 hrs. cost me just under $6 bucks and the heat was very warm and nice. No smells, CO, or other issues. I remember these as a kid and they were a lot dirtier burning and annoying. This unit is supposed to be 99.9% efficient and safe for indoor use.
Not planning on using it a whole lot but when I want to or need to. Kerosene costs 40 cents more on the gallon than diesel here currently. I paid just under $3 per gallon yesterday. This kerosene oil cost is just about in line with the pellet costs here too. Maybe barely cheaper. I hope it stays cheaper. Home heating oil is currently $1.91 a gal. here for 150 gallons or less. Above 150 gal. the price goes down. So kerosene costs about a buck more a gallon. I do know people burn this same cheaper Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel in these kerosene heaters but it is dirtier but that can be remedied a couple of ways with different additives. Might be worth playing around with. At my own risk of course.
I bought this as more of an emergency back up heat than anything. The heater is a Dyna-Glow RMC-95C6B and sells for $144. I picked it up for $110 with discounts. Pretty happy with it so far but I've only used it from 4 PM yesterday. We had a colder snap here and it will remain until tomorrow afternoon. High of 35 today and lows have been in the 20's the last few nights. Not super cold but the only freezing and below thus far this season along with a couple of similar temps in Oct a few times.
I am glad almost everyone is getting a break on pellet use this season and / or using much less. I just now broke into my second ton by a few bags. Maybe 6. I don't really count by bags. I go by tons. However, this time last year I know I was into ton #3 already instead of the beginning of my 2nd ton. I am still going to stay with pellets as my primary heat source. I may fire my OWB once the temps can justify it since I am not out of town working this year which will reduce my pellet use even further.
Lastly, I am hoping for a gentle or more typical winter here and to find some good deals on pellets this spring or the middle to end of Feb. If we get thru Jan & Feb without the insane cold taking over I feel there will be some serious deals to be had as every BBS and most pellet suppliers are sitting on a BUNCH of unsold tonnage. I think this might help to keep pellet prices in line for next fall too.
Oil here is $1.62 now. Kerosene last I checked was around $3.50 a gallon ( that was at the end of last season) but this state banned indoor Kerosene heaters anyway, you can't buy them here and places like Amazon won't ship them in either. I wanted that for my basement work shop, it would have been ideal and it's also plenty airy down there to not worry about low sulfur diesel vs Kerosene though I guess I would use the latter as long as it was available..