Just had Oil tank filled up?!...

sammypoodle said:

I havent filled my tank since October, it took 132 gallons of oil in January. Same time last year without the pellet stove, it took 303 gallons. 56% less oil consumed this year so far. OPEC eat your heart out......

Click to expand...

nice!

out of curiosity, do you know how many pellets have you burned in place of those 171 gallons?

Around one and one hlaf tons to one and five eights tons.

I too just got my tank filled up- seems to be using about 200 gallons less per month from last year...

since last year I had my R3 original 60's house attic insulation added to total R50. I installed a Jotul Rockland for supplementary heat mainly in the evening on weekdays and all day on weekends. At this rate and at heating oil at $2.50 or so that makes about $500 per month saved during the heating season. So, at this rate I am looking at about 3-4 years until I break even on my insulation and Jotul insert. However- if oil goes back up which I think it will within a year, break-even can happen that much sooner.

I just had 100 gallons delivered a few minutes ago and it was a lot cheaper than the last time I got oil. it cost me $194.90.

Hoverfly said:

Around one and one hlaf tons to one and five eights tons.

Click to expand...

So if you're also paying roughly $2.50/gal for oil that's a savings of around $427.

How much did you pay for your pellets?


$427 / 1.5 = $284.67


If you paid any more that $284 per ton for your pellets, you're loosing money using the pellet stove. I hope you like the idea of being "green" because there's not a lot of $green$ to be saved this year.

Just filled up today too. $303.00 for 133 gallons.
Using it for hot water and to keep pipes warm in master bed/bath on
the far end of the house which is on it's own zone.

$$ Didn't come out of my pocket so I can't complain much.

TboneMan said:

Hoverfly said:

Around one and one hlaf tons to one and five eights tons.

Click to expand...

So if you're also paying roughly $2.50/gal for oil that's a savings of around $427.

How much did you pay for your pellets?


$427 / 1.5 = $284.67


If you paid any more that $284 per ton for your pellets, you're loosing money using the pellet stove. I hope you like the idea of being "green" because there's not a lot of $green$ to be saved this year.

Click to expand...

Well buying US made pellets helps the trade deficit... and it's greener... and I'd sooner buy pellets from us than oil from them...

GUess its time to check my tank. If I can remember where it is. Since We haven't had to fill since August.

why do so many people feel it necessary to do price comparison, go do a butt comparison.....put your butt on the baseboard, then go put it in front of the stove and tell us which feels better. I don't care who you are or how you heat. Your not keeping your house as warm using gas or oil heat vs wood or pellet.

humpin iron said:

why do so many people feel it necessary to do price comparison, go do a butt comparison.....put your butt on the baseboard, then go put it in front of the stove and tell us which feels better. I don't care who you are or how you heat. Your not keeping your house as warm using gas or oil heat vs wood or pellet.

Click to expand...

Can't agree more. we have to fill our oil tank soon, were at 1/4 tank now, last filled it up on august 16th i think it was. we had our stove off and disconnected the last couple days so i could tile behind it, as i finish off the basement. my wife complained the night we ran oil about how she was cold and thought i had the tstat way down. nope, it was at 70 but it just doesnt feel the same. i love my p68

Since my pellet stove is new this past fall, I am comparing my oil usage in 2007 vs. 2008, which included 3 months of pellet stove use for the fall of 2008. My 2008 oil usage is down 250 gallons, so at a cost of around $2.50/gal it's a savings of $625. I've used 1.5 tons of pellets at $270/ton for a cost of $405, so I've saved $220. Based on this I expect to use around 500 gallons less each year from prior to the pellet stove. It all depends on the cost of oil and pellets as to how much I really save, but I feel there will always be a savings. As for how long it will take to recoup the cost of the stove, that too depends on the cost of oil and pellets. If oil returns to $4.70/gallon and pellets run around $325/ton it would take 3-4 years. If oil stays low like it is now it will take 6-8 years.

JB

I also had my tank filled today. I was watching the prices go down and now the are going up twice as fast. Anyway paid $2.14 a gallon today, with it taking 162 gallons. My last fill up was around May 15. Oil is used for hot water. I would say I burned about a cord and a half or so. The house is MUCH more comfortable this season.



KC

Gonna snag 100 gallons while prices are low then look for pellets in the spring as I am now a sub par pellet pig.

100 gallons delivered last April ($3.26ish a gallon at the time) and still have about an eighth of a tank left. I'll probably get another 100 gallons next week while prices are low.

Called yesterday for cash price. $2.17
100 gal delivered today....$2.20
I guess oil prices may be inching up.
Last July....$4.50 100 gal
Last Sept...$3.50 100 gal
Today.......$2.20 100 gal
Avg..........$3.40!
$1020 for 300 gals. (Hot water and very little heat use)

Thanks OPEC and to show my appreciation, I will dump another bag into the hopper!

We spent $1200 for 4 tons. Hope to finish Winter with it.
We have 3/4 tank of oil. Should get us through Spring.

Deffy said:

cut the top off your oil tank, dry it up and use it as a huge pellet storage container. take a photo and mail it to your favorite oilman.....

Click to expand...

Deffy, that would be too funny....I would love to see the look on the oil guys face when he saw the pic.... :lol:

This is the first year in my house with the pellet stove. I have a 1400 sq. foot split level ranch. I had 3 tons ready for the winter at $299 per ton. I've gone through about 1.5 tons. My oil has YET to kick on. THe hous is usually around 68-70 degrees with the upstairs around 65 degrees (perfect for sleeping). The furnace kicked on once because I wasn't home and the pellets ran out in the hopper, otherwise, no oil for me! Which is a good thing since I got locked in at $4.99 a gallon! They haven't delivered once

humpin iron said:

why do so many people feel it necessary to do price comparison, go do a butt comparison.....put your butt on the baseboard, then go put it in front of the stove and tell us which feels better. I don't care who you are or how you heat. Your not keeping your house as warm using gas or oil heat vs wood or pellet.

Click to expand...

Actually, it is quite important to analyze one's cash outlay, it is called a budget. I would advocate analyzing fuel usage for your vehicles and electrical usage. Equally important is to keep track of things like your homeowner's and car insurance rates. It is pretty amazing how things creep up and all of a sudden you're wondering where the heck all your money is going.

It is generally a problem with our current society, people don't keep track of their spending. It is one of the reason why we are in the current economic situation (too many people buying houses they could not afford).

Analyze Away. Knowledge is a good thing.

It took 303 gallons? How big is your tank? Most tanks hold a max of 275 gallons bone dry.

We kicked OPEC to the curb last November.

I switched to NG and have been running that since Dec 1 with supplemental heat from my pellet stove.

I donated the left over oil to Citizens Energy ( it's a write off too ) and had the tank removed.

They had to get a permit to remove the tank and the inspection is meant to ensure the outside nozzle/spigot is removed as well, so what you mentioned ( pumping oil directly onto the basement floor ) cannot happen.

So far we're using about 1-2 therms of NG per day for heat and DHW with the pellet stove using an average of 3/4 bag per day.

One therm of NG costs $1.82 and a 3/4 bag of pellets cost me $4.50. It's still too early to tell but so far we've only spent ~$7.23 per day for heat and HW.

Last year in January alone we used 206 gallons of oil and even at ~$2.20 per gallon ( today's prices ) that's $453 for just January.

$453.00 is $14.61 per day for heat and HW using oil at $2.20 per gallon. Imagine at $4.40 per gallon of oil? Then you're talking over 29 bucks every day for heat and HW.

This past December we spent an average of $2.73 per day for NG and $4.50 for pellets for a total of ~$7.23 for each of the 31 days.

It'll take a while but we'll make our money back.

And don't forget NG heat and HW makes the house more attractive to potential buyers!

FG.

Deffy said:

cut the top off your oil tank, dry it up and use it as a huge pellet storage container. take a photo and mail it to your favorite oilman. just be sure to plug the fill pipe outside, you dont want him pumping 275 gallons of oil onto your basement floor.

Click to expand...

TboneMan said:

humpin iron said:

why do so many people feel it necessary to do price comparison, go do a butt comparison.....put your butt on the baseboard, then go put it in front of the stove and tell us which feels better. I don't care who you are or how you heat. Your not keeping your house as warm using gas or oil heat vs wood or pellet.

Click to expand...

Actually, it is quite important to analyze one's cash outlay, it is called a budget. I would advocate analyzing fuel usage for your vehicles and electrical usage. Equally important is to keep track of things like your homeowner's and car insurance rates. It is pretty amazing how things creep up and all of a sudden you're wondering where the heck all your money is going.

It is generally a problem with our current society, people don't keep track of their spending. It is one of the reason why we are in the current economic situation (too many people buying houses they could not afford).

Analyze Away. Knowledge is a good thing.

Click to expand...

Budgets are important. There's no better way to keep your family financially secure than to make one and stick to it. However, cash isn't the only thing in the world. I have written the following in one form or another on at least three separate threads, the reasons for buying and using pellet heat or other renewable resource heat can be broken down into three easy points...

1: Economical. Your heating dollars employ your neighbors in the harvesting, processing and transportation of that heat, not people from other regions of the world. This helps to stabilize your local economy, and increases your local tax base.
2: Environmental. You make use of a natural, renewable resource. You don't have to be a hippie to understand the value of using resources that will grow again due to simple natural processes.
3: National security. You don’t contribute to a run-up in the worlds total use of oil, allowing speculators to drive up the cost of oil. Iran and other countries that don’t care for the U.S raked in cash due to the unreasonably high prices we saw over the last 5 years. The less use of oil there is, the lower the price for crude will stay. and yes, EVERY BIT HELPS.

It's a very big picture view, but as the world continues to get smaller, so does that picture. Keep an eye on your families finances, but don't forget about the world around them, too.