Need tips on how to pre-order pellets for next year

Husky said:

It sounds to me you are shutting down on life. I hope you had a good run. I do this for the enjoyment mostly. I could burn NG cheaper right now than burning pellets but I enjoy the process. I will go through 5+ ton this year and looking forward to the hunt for pellets next season.

Click to expand...

That's pretty harsh Husky! I sort of have the same feelings as Minnow. The process was fun for the first few years but itcan be a PITA at times now. Frankly the major reason I keep the stove going is the ambiance. It makes for romantic evenings during snow storms with the wife, a glass of fine wine. I honestly have better things to do than haul pellets clean it.

There's not much maintenance with my boiler. As far as fuel handling and cost, why mess with any of this stuff if you have cheap(er) natural gas? Although, for ambiance and coziness the wood insert is nice.

It's pretty nice that woodpellets.com gives you a list like that if you're out of their delivery range. Doing searches for 'wood pellets' can be hit or miss.

Husky said:

It sounds to me you are shutting down on life. I hope you had a good run. I do this for the enjoyment mostly. I could burn NG cheaper right now than burning pellets but I enjoy the process. I will go through 5+ ton this year and looking forward to the hunt for pellets next season.

Click to expand...

Shutting down on life ? Hardly - just the opposite. I don't look at heating my home as a hobby but as a necessity to stay alive. Much like eating I suppose. So I don't and never had gotten enjoyment from the "hunt" as you describe it. I've found that for me there's much more productive ways to spend my time then to worry about how I'll heat the house. I no longer have to think about getting next years heating source 9 months or more before I'll actually need it. No longer have to spend time calling all the local local pellet suppliers to see if, much less when, they expect a shipment. No longer have to concern myself the $1000+ plus I'll spend on a brand of pellets in the 50/50 hope that they will be as good as last years stock. Won't have to spend a full day of driving to get the 4 tons(one at a time), dragging them home and stacking them in the garage. Not to even get into the daily and weekly maintenance issues
The 9 years I had the stove, it served it's purpose and I do remember the first several years it was not much of a problem getting the needed supply of pellets which were consistent in quality year in and year out. But the dynamics have changed in the past 4-5 years with shortages, very inconsistent quality and prices shooting up 35% or more. When one has to start making battle plans now for the winter of 2016, I say it's really time to rethink this pellet stove thing.

minnow said:

Shutting down on life ? Hardly - just the opposite. I don't look at heating my home as a hobby but as a necessity to stay alive. Much like eating I suppose. So I don't and never had gotten enjoyment from the "hunt" as you describe it. I've found that for me there's much more productive ways to spend my time then to worry about how I'll heat the house. I no longer have to think about getting next years heating source 9 months or more before I'll actually need it. No longer have to spend time calling all the local local pellet suppliers to see if, much less when, they expect a shipment. No longer have to concern myself the $1000+ plus I'll spend on a brand of pellets in the 50/50 hope that they will be as good as last years stock. Won't have to spend a full day of driving to get the 4 tons(one at a time), dragging them home and stacking them in the garage. Not to even get into the daily and weekly maintenance issues
The 9 years I had the stove, it served it's purpose and I do remember the first several years it was not much of a problem getting the needed supply of pellets which were consistent in quality year in and year out. But the dynamics have changed in the past 4-5 years with shortages, very inconsistent quality and prices shooting up 35% or more. When one has to start making battle plans now for the winter of 2016, I say it's really time to rethink this pellet stove thing.

Click to expand...

Well said

How to pre-order pellets for next year :

1) Find a pellet dealer.
2) Determine how many tons of pellets you need.
3) Call said pellet dealer and order them.
4) Pay the amount of money necessary to secure the order.

See, It's simple!

minnow said:

Shutting down on life ? Hardly - just the opposite. I don't look at heating my home as a hobby but as a necessity to stay alive. Much like eating I suppose. So I don't and never had gotten enjoyment from the "hunt" as you describe it. I've found that for me there's much more productive ways to spend my time then to worry about how I'll heat the house. I no longer have to think about getting next years heating source 9 months or more before I'll actually need it. No longer have to spend time calling all the local local pellet suppliers to see if, much less when, they expect a shipment. No longer have to concern myself the $1000+ plus I'll spend on a brand of pellets in the 50/50 hope that they will be as good as last years stock. Won't have to spend a full day of driving to get the 4 tons(one at a time), dragging them home and stacking them in the garage. Not to even get into the daily and weekly maintenance issues
The 9 years I had the stove, it served it's purpose and I do remember the first several years it was not much of a problem getting the needed supply of pellets which were consistent in quality year in and year out. But the dynamics have changed in the past 4-5 years with shortages, very inconsistent quality and prices shooting up 35% or more. When one has to start making battle plans now for the winter of 2016, I say it's really time to rethink this pellet stove thing.

Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't mean it like that. To early in the morning to be writing. After re-reading that did sound bad, Apology Minnow.

I find it funny that a bunch of people on a pellet burner's forum are complaining about burning pellets. Pretty early in Februay for that to be happening already.

Wilbur Feral said:

I find it funny that a bunch of people on a pellet burner's forum are complaining about burning pellets. Pretty early in Februay for that to be happening already.

Click to expand...

Yeah I got a chuckle too when reading about a bunch of people already looking to buy pellets for the winter of 2016 when we're just now about half way through 2015.

minnow said:

Yeah I got a chuckle too when reading about a bunch of people already looking to buy pellets for the winter of 2016 when we're just now about half way through 2015.

Click to expand...

Still not looking to buy pellets for next year yet - don't know why everyone thinks it was a question of where to get pellets now (for this year or next year). Kind of like when I remodel my bathroom (certainly not yet), I am doing my research now, so this summer, when I'm ready, I can get a fast start instead of farting around.

F4jock said:

How to pre-order pellets for next year :

1) Find a pellet dealer.
2) Determine how many tons of pellets you need.
3) Call said pellet dealer and order them.
4) Pay the amount of money necessary to secure the order.

See, It's simple!

Click to expand...

The post above is the answer to your question. Nothing else needs to be said. For the poster that has better things to do with his time, great. This forum is mostly frequented by folks having some fun with all this stuff or getting needed technical advice or direction, especially do-it-yourselfers. If you think about it, we are all myopic here to the extent that we think the users of this forum are the only folks burning pellets. I'm guessing the number of people burning pellets that don't know this forum exists at all greatly exceeds those that are here, which means we are hobbyists as well as users and are always poking and exploring and such.

minnow said:

Yeah I got a chuckle too when reading about a bunch of people already looking to buy pellets for the winter of 2016 when we're just now about half way through 2015.

Click to expand...

Yes indeed. It sounds kind of funny..
But honestly... we are going to tell our regulars that you'd better
consider getting your stuff in order in May/June.... not September/October..
and there will probably be no delivery orders taken the end of July..

Absolutely... it sounds nutz to be thinking about 2016.. I agree.
But look at what it's like now.. and it's February...