Ok folks, I have seen plenty of griping about the price of pellets as well as oil. Here in Maine where I am at the bottom seemed to have dropped out for the price of oil. It's at $1.88/gal this past Wednesday when I finally had to get some...at that price it will cost me about $17.03 per million btus versus $22.87 per million btus for pellet on an equivalent basis.....about 34% more for oil..with that being said and the current market conditions, it will be a gamble for ANY dealer or producer to try to sell you pellets for more than say $225/ton...I think the market for pellets is going down based on this assumptions:
1. Sure there isn't as much saw dust being produced as a waste product...BUT there is plenty of material sitting in the forests...if they are not using it to make lumber or something else then it will just sit there..I doubt that this will happen...during the peak of oil a woodsman said that he should get $350 per cord for wood since OPEC was getting theirs and he wanted his...I can understand where he is coming from but excessive greed is bad and generally one pays the price for it...
2. People are hurting for cash...we are in the midst of a depression...thats a fact whether those in DC want to acknowledge it or not...give that we are in one, cash flow is very important...only dumb people would spend 34% more for the cost of fuel...I don't believe anyone on this forum will do such a thing unless they have money and a noble cause for whatever reason...again I dont see many people on here willing to pay a premium...to many of you are intelligent enough to do the math to figure it out for yourself...after all that was part of the impetus to go for pellets..
3. I believe in May is when the contracts will begin to open up for oil...if the current trend continues then it may get down to $1.60 to $1.75 a gallon for the short term....people will jump on these prices since it seems "cheap" in relative comparison of the last few years...that being said the pellet dealers/manufacturers will face a market force which they have to compete against...again many people like myself have alternative fuels now...
In closing, I am glad I switched to pellets...The reason being is that I still had to have a heating system down stairs when I finished it off...the cost of installation of hot water base board versus a pellet stove was comparable in initial cost....I still have a piece of mind as well when or if the price of oil goes up for some reason...be it war, greed/price gouging, lack of supply, etc...
It all works for me...
Ossy
1. Sure there isn't as much saw dust being produced as a waste product...BUT there is plenty of material sitting in the forests...if they are not using it to make lumber or something else then it will just sit there..I doubt that this will happen...during the peak of oil a woodsman said that he should get $350 per cord for wood since OPEC was getting theirs and he wanted his...I can understand where he is coming from but excessive greed is bad and generally one pays the price for it...
2. People are hurting for cash...we are in the midst of a depression...thats a fact whether those in DC want to acknowledge it or not...give that we are in one, cash flow is very important...only dumb people would spend 34% more for the cost of fuel...I don't believe anyone on this forum will do such a thing unless they have money and a noble cause for whatever reason...again I dont see many people on here willing to pay a premium...to many of you are intelligent enough to do the math to figure it out for yourself...after all that was part of the impetus to go for pellets..
3. I believe in May is when the contracts will begin to open up for oil...if the current trend continues then it may get down to $1.60 to $1.75 a gallon for the short term....people will jump on these prices since it seems "cheap" in relative comparison of the last few years...that being said the pellet dealers/manufacturers will face a market force which they have to compete against...again many people like myself have alternative fuels now...
In closing, I am glad I switched to pellets...The reason being is that I still had to have a heating system down stairs when I finished it off...the cost of installation of hot water base board versus a pellet stove was comparable in initial cost....I still have a piece of mind as well when or if the price of oil goes up for some reason...be it war, greed/price gouging, lack of supply, etc...
It all works for me...
Ossy
I definitely learned something in the past year. KEEP ALL 3 OPTIONS 
