when to start the oil burner again

[Pellet-King]

ordered 100 gal of oil yesterday, i have been at 3/8 for 4 yr's, wife wants backup and a evenly heated home in the cold of winter

 

[briansol]

According to that Spreadsheet, Geothermal is the way to go.

if only it didn't cost 50 grand to retrofit.

I think that should be an additional column to consider.... price of an average system / years to ROI vs other fuel types

 

[jpowell1979]

With a strengthening dollar and worldwide surplus oil prices should be low for a while.

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

According to that Spreadsheet, Geothermal is the way to go.

if only it didn't cost 50 grand to retrofit.

I think that should be an additional column to consider.... price of an average system / years to ROI vs other fuel types

That sounds like it would be a nice feature, but difficult to implement since the cost people pay may be more for aesthetics, rather than functionality, and by rights should not be factored into return on investment. Also with a variable cost of fuel, it can not be forecast as easily, but rather viewed in hindsight as rough ROI based on what fuel type X did in the same time span. I guess it would be possible, but require historical data input.

 

[ian105]

Propane would have to be under 1.5/gal to be approx the same price at a ton of pellets @ 220/ton.
(92% furnace, 78% stove) Don't see that happening anytime soon

 

[daument]

Oil needs to get to less then $2.00 for me based on what I paid for pellets... I've had a wood and coal stove for years to suppliment my heating needs. The best system by far was the passive solar home I had in the 80's. On a sunny 20˚ day with no heat the house would be roughly 64ish in the morning and end up to the mid 70's by days end with no other heat. The trombe walls would radiate that heat for several hours after sundown. I miss those days

 

[Jason845845]

I'm done with oil at any price except for a backup.

 

[TimfromMA]

I really love my pellet stove but it goes out of service as soon as either oil gets cheap enough or pellets get expensive enough.

 

[mass_burner]

I'm intrigued by coal. Are there new high efficiency coal stoves? Does anyone have one?

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

I'm done with oil at any price except for a backup.

Why is that?

 

[Jason845845]

Why is that?

Because my pellet stove has become a nice hobby. I like a constant heat. Ambiance!

 

[TimfromMA]

Because my pellet stove has become a nice hobby. I like a constant heat. Ambiance!

Your willing to a pay a premium for that?

If oil became cheaper, I would heat my house with. I would turn on the pellets once in a while just whenever I want the comfort of a fire but not often.

 

[Kayaker]

According to that Spreadsheet, Geothermal is the way to go.

if only it didn't cost 50 grand to retrofit.

I think that should be an additional column to consider.... price of an average system / years to ROI vs other fuel types

New poster, here (Hi!). We just got our first pellet stove installed last weekend (Harman Accentra) and the ROI thing is depressing me a bit. When I had run some numbers 6 or 8 months ago, when we first started thinking of doing it, the ROI looked pretty good. But I underestimated total stove cost and pellet cost and OVER estimated oil cost. Looks like payback period is going to be close to 10 years... IF we really use it as much as possible. Oh well, at least there is something to be said for not buying oil (arguably... I don't want to get into a politics/ecology black hole).

It DOES seem like a bit of a fun "hobby", too, I have to admit. That'll probably get old quick, though.

 

[Lake Girl]

Welcome to the forum ... pics of your stove or it didn't happen Kayaker! You may find that oil may cycle up in price again shortening that ROI. Besides, you have the ambiance and comfort of extra heat. Enjoy it, read your manual, go to the Harman website and check out the owner resources on how to operate and maintain you investment!

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

New poster, here (Hi!). We just got our first pellet stove installed last weekend (Harman Accentra) and the ROI thing is depressing me a bit. When I had run some numbers 6 or 8 months ago, when we first started thinking of doing it, the ROI looked pretty good. But I underestimated total stove cost and pellet cost and OVER estimated oil cost. Looks like payback period is going to be close to 10 years... IF we really use it as much as possible. Oh well, at least there is something to be said for not buying oil (arguably... I don't want to get into a politics/ecology black hole).

It DOES seem like a bit of a fun "hobby", too, I have to admit. That'll probably get old quick, though.

I've had my Accentra for two years now, and with the cost of oil and the sheer brutality of last winter, the stove basically has paid for itself. Don't get down about the change in timeframe for your ROI. This is a cyclical event, and your stove will treat you handsomely. I love energy stocks, and even with the pullback I won't sell since I know their going to continue producing and return to ungodly profits.

 

[xSpecBx]

Keep in mind, your house will be more comfortable most likely. The area where my stove is is usually around 70 which is something I would never have with oil.

Oil prices will go back up. They always do.

 

[mrjohneel]

I've been heating my house with pellets for 2.5 years, but heating my hot water with oil. I did a detailed calculation last year -- detailed enough; I didn't do degree day calculations and I added some storm windows which improved efficiency -- but I think I saved $550 by using pellets over oil to heat my house. This past summer (2014), I took advantage of some O% interest and rebates to convert from oil to gas. I turned on the pellet stove once this year (for the ambience and I like it) but I'm going to try to go all through November with gas just so I can get a sense of the economics of it. So far I like the fact that heating with gas is more comfortable -- meaning the radiators in the rooms heat evenly instead of me having to push hot air around. But I miss the coolness of my upstairs bedroom so I have to figure that out. And it hasn't been very cold overall in Massachusetts yet.

 

[xSpecBx]

I've been heating my house with pellets for 2.5 years, but heating my hot water with oil. I did a detailed calculation last year -- detailed enough; I didn't do degree day calculations and I added some storm windows which improved efficiency -- but I think I saved $550 by using pellets over oil to heat my house. This past summer (2014), I took advantage of some O% interest and rebates to convert from oil to gas. I turned on the pellet stove once this year (for the ambience and I like it) but I'm going to try to go all through November with gas just so I can get a sense of the economics of it. So far I like the fact that heating with gas is more comfortable -- meaning the radiators in the rooms heat evenly instead of me having to push hot air around. But I miss the coolness of my upstairs bedroom so I have to figure that out. And it hasn't been very cold overall in Massachusetts yet.

You should have no trouble testing out the new HVAC system this weekend...

 

[Big papa]

New poster, here (Hi!). We just got our first pellet stove installed last weekend (Harman Accentra) and the ROI thing is depressing me a bit. When I had run some numbers 6 or 8 months ago, when we first started thinking of doing it, the ROI looked pretty good. But I underestimated total stove cost and pellet cost and OVER estimated oil cost. Looks like payback period is going to be close to 10 years... IF we really use it as much as possible. Oh well, at least there is something to be said for not buying oil (arguably... I don't want to get into a politics/ecology black hole).

It DOES seem like a bit of a fun "hobby", too, I have to admit. That'll probably get old quick, though.

10 years to recoupe $5000 seems a little too long of a time to me.i figured 3 1/2 to 4 years max.

 

[CBL]

New poster, here (Hi!). We just got our first pellet stove installed last weekend (Harman Accentra) and the ROI thing is depressing me a bit. When I had run some numbers 6 or 8 months ago, when we first started thinking of doing it, the ROI looked pretty good. But I underestimated total stove cost and pellet cost and OVER estimated oil cost. Looks like payback period is going to be close to 10 years... IF we really use it as much as possible. Oh well, at least there is something to be said for not buying oil (arguably... I don't want to get into a politics/ecology black hole).

It DOES seem like a bit of a fun "hobby", too, I have to

New poster, here (Hi!). We just got our first pellet stove installed last weekend (Harman Accentra) and the ROI thing is depressing me a bit. When I had run some numbers 6 or 8 months ago, when we first started thinking of doing it, the ROI looked pretty good. But I underestimated total stove cost and pellet cost and OVER estimated oil cost. Looks like payback period is going to be close to 10 years... IF we really use it as much as possible. Oh well, at least there is something to be said for not buying oil (arguably... I don't want to get into a politics/ecology black hole).

It DOES seem like a bit of a fun "hobby", too, I have to admit. That'll probably get old quick, though.

How are you running your numbers? If you're using one of those calculators online, they aren't worth a damn in my opinion as they are way too broad and don't acount for heat loss, home size and layout, etc...

In my experience, if the stove placement is right and correctly sized you can save roughly half of what you'd normally spend for oil for a seasons worth of pellets.

 

[briansol]

Don't worry, oil will be $5 again next summer. And your ROI will be back in 2 years.

And, you're supporting american/canadian workers instead of [the middle east]

 

[Ashful]

And, you're supporting american/canadian workers instead of [the middle east]

Easy there... we haven't gotten the majority of our oil from the Middle East since the oil embargo's of the early 1970's. Most of the oil you buy is supporting American workers, and many more so than the stove you bought. 75% percent of our oil comes directly from North America, with only 13% from the Middle East.

Here's a simple pie chart of the sources for oil used in America: