Burning oil just feels wrong

mass_burner said:

Well, aren't you not saving on pellets then either, heat from the pellet stove escapes too.

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I really don't know anymore...
I stopped calculating what It costs for oil vrs pellets couple yrs ago when we got a pellet stove and knew we wouldn't go back to using an oil funace exclusivly..
might be more for pellets this year than oil..I do know the difference isn't outrageous either way..
burned 4 tons last winter at around 1,000 dollars vrs 4 oil drops per season that we would have to get. Plus close to 200.00 per year to have the oil furnace professionally cleaned/serviced.
pretty thrifty here anyways,, don't eat out a lot, don't have car payments, don't buy exspensive designer coffees 5 days a week so always extra money for pellets plus we just like the fire every day and I don't mind cleaning the stove regularly which I have found out that
when u spend a little more for the really good pellets, the cleaning is lot less often.
I do it half as many times per season now that we use better grades.

BrotherBart said:

The 88% of the country that doesn't have oil or propane burners have to be looking at these threads and saying "yawn".

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Probably..

BrotherBart said:

The 88% of the country that doesn't have oil or propane burners have to be looking at these threads and saying "yawn".

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No oil, propane, or pellet burners at this house but who knows what I might do someday. Need ducts or hot water system too I suppose.

Tonyray said:

I really don't know anymore...
I stopped calculating what It costs for oil vrs pellets couple yrs ago when we got a pellet stove and knew we wouldn't go back to using an oil funace exclusivly..
might be more for pellets this year than oil..I do know the difference isn't outrageous either way..
burned 4 tons last winter at around 1,000 dollars vrs 4 oil drops per season that we would have to get. Plus close to 200.00 per year to have the oil furnace professionally cleaned/serviced.
pretty thrifty here anyways,, don't eat out a lot, don't have car payments, don't buy exspensive designer coffees 5 days a week so always extra money for pellets plus we just like the fire every day and I don't mind cleaning the stove regularly which I have found out that
when u spend a little more for the really good pellets, the cleaning is lot less often.
I do it half as many times per season now that we use better grades.

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Tony, I can only speak for my own circumstance but I know from private PM's over the last year or more it's not so different from yours. We have been burning alternative fueled stoves in this house for nearly 40 years. Consistently the best heated house here, most comfortable and works out usually in favor of the budget ( especially in the mid winter freezes) without getting into super number crunching, is combined heat between the oil burner and the stove, both systems make easy work of it that way and don't stress either supply of fuel.. When prices get really loppy that's another matter. But even then we have learned to just lean more on the lower priced fuel and work that component harder. But we have had one form or another of stove on this hearth for nearly 40 years now and use it in various ways according to our need at a given time.. This fall up till right now when we lit the stove off, for us the sensible thing to do was burn oil alone, due to prices being in line and a health condition that required attention and still does but healing, thankfully that has worked in our favor this year.. But it felt good to get back to tried and true and see a fire on the hearth as well. I will say that regardless of the stove we have had on the hearth running and to combine oil heat, it's amazing how little the latter runs. Of course the P61 alone has the capability to heat the house right through the winter if need be, that obviously won't be the case this winter but may very well be next winter, who knows.

I've always kept at least two heat sources because it's nice to have options.

alternativeheat said:

Tony, I can only speak for my own circumstance but I know from private PM's over the last year or more it's not so different from yours. We have been burning alternative fueled stoves in this house for nearly 40 years. Consistently the best heated house here, most comfortable and works out usually in favor of the budget ( especially in the mid winter freezes) without getting into super number crunching, is combined heat between the oil burner and the stove, both systems make easy work of it that way and don't stress either supply of fuel.. When prices get really loppy that's another matter. But even then we have learned to just lean more on the lower priced fuel and work that component harder. But we have had one form or another of stove on this hearth for nearly 40 years now and use it in various ways according to our need at a given time.. This fall up till right now when we lit the stove off, for us the sensible thing to do was burn oil alone, due to prices being in line and a health condition that required attention and still does but healing, thankfully that has worked in our favor this year.. But it felt good to get back to tried and true and see a fire on the hearth as well. I will say that regardless of the stove we have had on the hearth running and to combine oil heat, it's amazing how little the latter runs. Of course the P61 alone has the capability to heat the house right through the winter if need be, that obviously won't be the case this winter but may very well be next winter, who knows.

I've always kept at least two heat sources because it's nice to have options.

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Oh yeah... agree 100%..
I'd be ascared to rely on 1 source... I'm far from a Jerimiah Johnson type..lol
I just may run the oil furnace a bit over night when temps get rediculously low...
heck.. the oil has been paid for since spring.

Tonyray said:

I really don't know anymore...
I stopped calculating what It costs for oil vrs pellets couple yrs ago when we got a pellet stove and knew we wouldn't go back to using an oil funace exclusivly..
might be more for pellets this year than oil..I do know the difference isn't outrageous either way..
burned 4 tons last winter at around 1,000 dollars vrs 4 oil drops per season that we would have to get. Plus close to 200.00 per year to have the oil furnace professionally cleaned/serviced.
pretty thrifty here anyways,, don't eat out a lot, don't have car payments, don't buy exspensive designer coffees 5 days a week so always extra money for pellets plus we just like the fire every day and I don't mind cleaning the stove regularly which I have found out that
when u spend a little more for the really good pellets, the cleaning is lot less often.
I do it half as many times per season now that we use better grades.

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I guess my point was not oil vs pellet, rather bad insulation vs better insulation.

Tonyray said:

Probably..

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It does say oil in the title. Probably same yawn non pellet burners make at all the auger, burn pot, cleaning posts.

mass_burner said:

It does say oil in the title. Probably same yawn non pellet burners make at all the auger, burn pot, cleaning posts.

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I don't think there is a non pellet burner in the forum LOL. Some are using oil presently but they joined here because they are pellet burners.

65 outside here right, now who cares about heat!!...Enjoy!!
I do love the equal whole home heating Oil has been so far.
Still have not cleaned my pellet stove from last year

alternativeheat said:

I don't think there is a non pellet burner in the forum LOL. Some are using oil presently but they joined here because they are pellet burners.

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I meant on the hearth.com as a whole. Some folks like me have a feed where they see all subforums.

mass_burner said:

I meant on the hearth.com as a whole. Some folks like me have a feed where they see all subforums.

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Yeah then I'd say you're probably right. I know that coming from a totally hand fired coal stove that all the mechanics and automation was a concern with pellets. And that lead me to the relatively safe choice of a P61a even though it was a bit more than I wanted to pay.. Third season this year, so far so good.

BrotherBart said:

The 88% of the country that doesn't have oil or propane burners have to be looking at these threads and saying "yawn".

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Heating oil coming into the port in NY is 1.23 a gallon spot price (wholesale).

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EER_EPD2F_PF4_Y35NY_DPG&f=D

I am not a pellet burner but at current oil prices there is no way its cheaper.

Home Depot and Lowes around here still want $259 a ton. 175 gallons of heating oil at the same price as a ton produces way more heat with zero work. A gallon of heating oil has a ton of btus in it.

I'm a wood burner and have the stove going right now but I am cutting back huge on the burning with these oil prices. Sadly its easier and cheaper to just turn up the t-stat.

Brian26 said:

Heating oil coming into the port in NY is 1.23 a gallon spot price (wholesale).

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EER_EPD2F_PF4_Y35NY_DPG&f=D

I am not a pellet burner but at current oil prices there is no way its cheaper.

Home Depot and Lowes around here still want $259 a ton. 175 gallons of heating oil at the same price as a ton produces way more heat with zero work. A gallon of heating oil has a ton of btus in it.

I'm a wood burner and have the stove going right now but I am cutting back huge on the burning with these oil prices. Sadly its easier and cheaper to just turn up the t-stat.

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that's a great price and prob all us would use oil at 1.23 but most of us are in the 2.00 gal range give/take.

It's 2.19 here.

velvetfoot said:

It's 2.19 here.

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Our low thus far was $1.88, it's gone up to $1.95 right now or last time I drove past the place.

Local with their own propane tank filled for 79 cents a gallon. I picked up a ton of pellets on sale for 155 after $25 early bird card.
Temps here up to a balmy 32

Long range winter weather outlook came out this morning. Warmer than normal in the northern part of the country and cooler than normal in the southern part of the country. This is attributed to the strongest El Niño currents in twenty years and this winter so far has followed the expectations of how the El Niño conditions will shape our winter weather. Not so good news for pellet scalpers but good for us users in terms of supply. Went by a local Agway today and they must of got another shipment as there are stacks of pellets all over the place in their storage area. It didn't look like much was sold out of the first shipment.

Tonyray said:

my house is poorly insulated so I know that regardless of low oil cost, my furnace will drink oil like a drunken sailor so I will need to fill the tank often. No real savings there.
rather burn pellets as the cost will be similar or less and I like the constant heat as opposed to warm up then cool down all the time.

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This was the driving factor for my going to pellet heat. The cycling gas or other fossil fuel heater, was causing very high humidity in my 3 times added on to, 1930s, 40s, 915 sq/ft, only attic insulation house. Going with the constant heat of the pellet stoves, has solved all the issues. I have access to lots of wind fall trees each year for free, so I could have went to a wood burning stove, but the smoke is now under fire from the local authorities. Wood burning is being regulated to certain hours in some city limits, and is being considered to go county wide soon.

Peterfield said:

Long range winter weather outlook came out this morning. Warmer than normal in the northern part of the country and cooler than normal in the southern part of the country. This is attributed to the strongest El Niño currents in twenty years and this winter so far has followed the expectations of how the El Niño conditions will shape our winter weather. Not so good news for pellet scalpers but good for us users in terms of supply. Went by a local Agway today and they must of got another shipment as there are stacks of pellets all over the place in their storage area. It didn't look like much was sold out of the first shipment.

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Hey, maybe this will be a fully open winter for fly fishing !! I haven't seen one of those in a while around here but when it happens you can get some big Brown Trout on Wooly Buggers and or nymphs fished on full sink line. Fine with me, beats snow blowing all to hell !

alternativeheat said:

Hey, maybe this will be a fully open winter for fly fishing !! I haven't seen one of those in a while around here but when it happens you can get some big Brown Trout on Wooly Buggers and or nymphs fished on full sink line. Fine with me, beats snow blowing all to hell !

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All for that!! I'm heading down to our club's fly fishing pond shortly to "check" it to make sure all is OK. I remember a winter where we were catching trout right before Christmas. Here's hoping.

Peterfield said:

All for that!! I'm heading down to our club's fly fishing pond shortly to "check" it to make sure all is OK. I remember a winter where we were catching trout right before Christmas. Here's hoping.

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Believe it or not we have had years where in Feb we can go to some of the best trout ponds and fish open water. It takes sinking line, the fish are not up top and it takes good neoprene waders because the water is very cold and it takes a strong will and finger less wool gloves and you probably only going to fish for an hour. But point is , you can go vs blowing snow. Or it could be like last year, same ponds had 16" of ice ! One year though I was catching rainbows in the shallows, they come in over the warmer ground and over springs, fished in a march snow storm too. Then the stupid pond froze over till mid April, was open all winter till then and it was just enough ice you couldn't fish at all, ice or open. Like a 2" skim.

Burning coal in those days, not pellets. And it felt good to come home by the stove ! One reason I wanted the p61 is memories of radiant stove heat.