Cost of pellets over propane = 30% more this year!!

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Clay H

Clay H

Feeling the Heat
Sep 9, 2009
306
Central Oklahoma
Give it a month or so, propane will catch up once the heating season starts. I think I read an artical the other day about NG going up in price. There are a few pellet deals in the North East that people have been posting on here in the $200 at ton range.
 
BJN644 said:
Give it a month or so, propane will catch up once the heating season starts. I think I read an artical the other day about NG going up in price. There are a few pellet deals in the North East that people have been posting on here in the $200 at ton range.
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I agree propane will go up a bit this winter - it always is higher in winter than summer. But i can buy it right now for 1.30 and 250 gallons of propane may last me a while...i actually don't remember how long a tank of LP last since i haven't used it to heat with in the last 5 years...lol
According to this calculator, pellets would have to be 195 /ton to MATCH the heating cost of LP at 1.30/gal and theres no way that will happen.

Looks like i'll spend my money on a tank of gas rather than 3 tons of over priced pellets.
 
$1.30 a gallon for propane!! I know prices in upstate NY are over $2 a gallon. My low was the beginning of the summer @ $1.95/gal. Also if anyone was been watching Crude...it is on its way up with no sign of stopping. I would expect prices to continue to rise.. I suppose time will tell.
 
yep, 1.30/gal......i just called an hour ago to check and i was a bit suprised to say the least.
 
Wow, that is dirt cheap...I would use more propane at that cost. Although it is nice to have that constant wood pellet heat. I suppose that would change ones heating stratgie for the short term.
 
amick780 said:
$1.30 a gallon for propane!! I know prices in upstate NY are over $2 a gallon. My low was the beginning of the summer @ $1.95/gal. Also if anyone was been watching Crude...it is on its way up with no sign of stopping. I would expect prices to continue to rise.. I suppose time will tell.
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I don't think LP is effected really by the cost of crude. LP is a product of NG as i understand it and in OK we have ALOT of NG so LP stays lower than other states.
Last year NG was up quite a bit and propane followed it.
 
Propane is made from both natural gas processing and petroleum refining. So in your area where their is an abundance of NG you LP is much less expensive. Where other ares of the country are supplied LP from petroleum. So you are one of the lucky ones!
 
MountainStoveGuy said:
I still believe that zone heaters are more efficient then furnaces.
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Yes, i'm pondering that idea also. but still if i have to buy 2.5 tons of pellets (my typical use from Oct. to March) at a cost of 700 - 750 bucks versus filling my 250 gal. propane tank for 260 bucks (can only get 200 gal in a 250 gal tank) and i "think" IIRC i can heat my house all winter on 2 tanks I'll save a couple hundred bucks.

On the other hand, i can't NOT use my St Croix... i look forward to using it each fall so what i think i will do is buy one ton pellets and only use the St. Croix when i'm in the house rather than 24/7. And i still have a pellet stove in the shop to feed.
 
amick780 said:
Propane is made from both natural gas processing and petroleum refining. So in your area where their is an abundance of NG you LP is much less expensive. Where other ares of the country are supplied LP from petroleum. So you are one of the lucky ones!
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Oh, okay. Make sense.
 
Just a bit of info from EIA
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices – Although propane is produced from both crude oil refining and natural gas processing, its price is influenced mainly by the cost of crude oil. This is because propane competes mostly with crude oil-based fuels (Figure 2).
Unfortunately oil drives most prices.
 

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What I love is..... if I depended solely on oil like I use to.... then when you have a need for oil in the dead of winter you just dont know where oil prices will be at that time. Whereas...with pellets....you can buy your whole winters supply....which i paid approx. 240 a ton with 3 tons for 720.00 . Thats more than my winter. I know one could lock in a price.....but my pellets I buy in a couple trips so easier on the wallet as opposed to dropping alot all at once with an oil company for locked in prices. Also.....some companies are getting away from the lock in prices.
 
Both caculators say that pellets are my best deal.

Beside the pellet stove warms the house so much better than the jury rigged vents in this old farmhouse.
 
travlnusa said:
Both caculators say that pellets are my best deal.

Beside the pellet stove warms the house so much better than the jury rigged vents in this old farmhouse.
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don't get me wrong, I love my stove but this thread is about my fuel cost in Oklahoma and today propane is cheapest. That may not be the case come Jan. But that's 3 months out. I will likely use pellets when I am here to enjoy it and turn the furnace on at bedtime untill propane goes up and pellets drop. 5.50 a bag is rediculous and 1.30/gal propane is unheard of so I must take advantage unless someone can give me an argument otherwise.
 
Clay H said:
travlnusa said:
Both caculators say that pellets are my best deal.

Beside the pellet stove warms the house so much better than the jury rigged vents in this old farmhouse.
Click to expand...
don't get me wrong, I love my stove but this thread is about my fuel cost in Oklahoma and today propane is cheapest. That may not be the case come Jan. But that's 3 months out. I will likely use pellets when I am here to enjoy it and turn the furnace on at bedtime untill propane goes up and pellets drop. 5.50 a bag is rediculous and 1.30/gal propane is unheard of so I must take advantage unless someone can give me an argument otherwise.
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I think we are all just envious of your low propane price. Heck, I looked at pellet stoves for a good 3 or 4 years before taking the leap. I couldn't justify the expense and ROI given the cost of propane at that time. But propane prices then, while not terribly steady, did not have the big swings they do now.

We're just one misplaced bomb, hurricane, or over zealous dictator (or cap & trade) away from really high fuel prices. I think we all have resolved that our pellet stove are a hedge against the deep fluctuation in propane prices, despite the variability of pellet prices.
 
It is 1.69 here, and I have already filled the tank, I locked that price in for the season. I think I am going to just put the pellet stove on the lowest setting this winter and let the furnace run more. Mainly because the propane is so cheap this year. But I sure do like the heat from the pellet insert it just feels warmer. But for saving money I don't think at anytime you will save much at all burning pellets, unless they become a lot cheaper. But I do enjoy watching the fire burn so that is worth something.

Just my 2 cents worth: I think pellet stoves are kind of like solar power, you invest a lot at first and it will take years to break even. But it sure does make you feel a little more independent and it does give you more choices where to put you hard earned money.
 
Jakethepup said:
It is 1.69 here, and I have already filled the tank, I locked that price in for the season. I think I am going to just put the pellet stove on the lowest setting this winter and let the furnace run more. Mainly because the propane is so cheap this year. But I sure do like the heat from the pellet insert it just feels warmer. But for saving money I don't think at anytime you will save much at all burning pellets, unless they become a lot cheaper. But I do enjoy watching the fire burn so that is worth something.
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I remember the good old days when Pellets were 185/ton and price increases only came at the rate of about 2% per year... and Propane was still 1.10 a gal...it made pellet use alot more ecinomical.
 
amick780 said:
.....Also if anyone was been watching Crude...it is on its way up with no sign of stopping........
Click to expand...

And for no apparent good reason. The oil inventory in the US is overflowing with crude, with tankers just sitting offshore with millions more barrels. No hurricanes to disrupt refineries or oil platforms in the gulf, and no real unrest anywhere in the middle east, africa, or south america (well, nothing more than usual).

Hmmm...... >:-(
 
Clay H said:
According to this calculator, its going to be cheaper by 30% to use propane this year.
http://www.travisproducts.com/CostOfHeating_WkSht.asp

Is this right?

Propane today is 1.30 /gal and pellets are around 280-300 /ton including tax.
Click to expand...

I don't like this calculator as it is assuming certain efficiencies. Pick a calculator that allows you to input your efficiencies or at least take a wag.
 
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