Home heating oil at $4 a gallon

[control1]

If this continues we will have a run on pellet stove just like in 2007.I have read that New England is the biggest user of home heating oil with approx 6 million users.Avg home uses between 800 and 1200 gals thats close to $5000 for 1 season.So if someone buys a stove for $2500
Install cost $500
Pellets 3 ton $750
Total cost $3750
By doing the math you would save $1250 the 1st year
The second year you would save $4250.And every year on.I do not understand why people in New England do not convert.

 

[peakbagger]

One thing to point out is that pellet prices are bound to increase significantly as Diesel Fuel prices are going up in lockstep with heating oil. Once there is a increased demand for pellets the producers will start rasing the rpices to recoup the diesel cost. A lot of the low grade wood used for pellets is not being hauled out of the woods currently as the cost to haul is is more than anyone can afford to buy it.

 

[smwilliamson]

One thing to point out is that pellet prices are bound to increase significantly as Diesel Fuel prices are going up in lockstep with heating oil. Once there is a increased demand for pellets the producers will start rasing the rpices to recoup the diesel cost. A lot of the low grade wood used for pellets is not being hauled out of the woods currently as the cost to haul is is more than anyone can afford to buy it.

True and not true. While there is a diesel cost involved for delivery of wood, there is a diesel cost involved to deliver the oil too, but you can store as much wood pellet as you want on your property so you can take advantage of deals. You cannot store 10,000 gallons of #2 oil.

Something like that

 

[Don2222]

Hello


You are right about saving money switching from oil to wood pellets!

This past winter oil went up $1.00 per gallon and wood pellets went Down $1.00 PER BAG. Who knew

However since the government was so kind to give us up to $1500.00 to buy a pellet stove, I took every penny!!

Here are my figures, in the past I used 1,000 gallons of oil.

$3,500 for pellet stove
- 350 Less 10% when I bought it on a very slow late spring day!
- 400 sold my Vermont Castings Consolidated DuchWest Federal Airtight Extra Large Wood/Coal stove FA288CCL
-1,500 Federal Tax Credit

$1,250 Sub Total
+ 250 Pellet Pipe
+ 600 Electrically Heated and Rope Lighted raised hearth. (Keeps my feet warm when cleaning the stove. LOL)
00 Installation done myself. Saved money there!
$2,100 Sub Total

+ 600 3 Ton Wood pellets @ $300 per ton

$2,700 Grand Total

$4,000 for Oil for 1,000 Gallons

$1,300 Savings 1st year. Wood Pellet Stove - NO BRAINER for me

I already finished my second year!!

 

[smwilliamson]

looks like you paid $3250 for the stove and pipe, since you put in the stove yourself, (no paid labor), how did you arrive at the $1500 tax credit? Your credit should be $1020, 30% of the total cost. The raised, lit and heated hearth seems to be consuming too much energy to be considered for an energy tax credit.

tsk tsk tsk... :red:

 

[Don2222]

Hi Scott

If you want to get picky let's go over every penny here!! LOL

3,500 Pellet Stove
- 350 less 10%
3,150 sub total
250 Pellet pipe
3,400 subtotal
600 Hearth
4,000 Sub Total
500 Installation. However I did buy $500 Fiberglass Insulation in case Labor was not part of the tax credit just to be safe
4,500 Total
- 30%

$1500 Federal Tax Credit

As far as the Hearth goes, LED Rope light does not use very much electricity! I can also use candles on the Mantel instead of room light to really save money!!

The Electric Heater is backup use. There is no other form of heat in this basement!
The kickspace heater is very efficient 220 volts 900 watt with a convection fan and it is on a Line Voltage Digital Thermostat

 

[Fsappo]

Don, your the best.

Really, I'm kinda shocked that with oil at the prices they are at more folks arent calling about coal/pellets/wood stoves. Part of the issue I think is the press. All they want to talk about is gas prices, because its topical. Everyone drives, but not everyone needs to rely on oil or propane. In the Syracuse area, most folks have natural gas.

Now oil prices have dropped in the past couple of weeks. Our price for oil is "only" $3.49 per gallon. I also think the sheeple are already conditioned from the last surge in energy prices. Do you know how many people come in to our office, complain that they can afford 900 gallons of oil at $4 a gallon for $3600 a year. I'll tell them spend $3500-$4000 to get a good wood/pellet/coal stove and they can see a return on the investment in a few years. You get that deer in the headlights look

"Oh, I cant spend $3500 on a stove" You spend that in one year on oil "I dont want to do all that work" Then dont complain about the oil prices! Drives me nuts.

Being in the Oil, Propane and Alternative energy business really opens your eyes to how the public thinks.

 

[Shortstuff]

We can only hope that fuel prices continue to drop albeit at their usual slow pace. We still use our oil boiler to heat half our house and have already had 3 good years of trouble-free pellet stove usage that has already saved us a lot.

I use this website to see what the current fuel oil prices are and it has almost always been very up-to-date. I've just purchased 4 tons of pellets for next year at the same price I paid a year ago and will wait until the end of summer to fill my oil tank in the hopes that the prices will have dropped lower than they are now.

 

[Pellet-King]

Most would be better off buying for $3000 a super effiecient oil furnace of if NG is available switch over to Gas furnace
Alot of us here were once wood burners and dealt with all the work, once we had pellet stoves it was like heaven, compared to the work and hauling of wood.
Oil is dropping daily, under $100 a barrel and appears the great 2011 oil ripoff is coming to a end.

 

[Fsappo]

I hope your right Pellet-King. Still doesnt hurt to be prepared for the next one though. I have nat gas, thank goodness. If I didnt, I'd have a coal stoker. I would use coal any time it would save me say 20% or more over oil/propane. Oil or propane get cheap, I use that. Crude spikes because we need to fill the coffers of big oil and wall street, I'm ready.

 

[mascoma]

Panic hasn't hit around here because none of the oil companies have started talking about prebuys for next winter yet. As soon as they send out the letter saying $3.49 - $4 gallon the stove shops will be overrun.

We ran out of gallons on our prebuy at work this year. The day after they delivered the first time for $3.89 the boss told us to wear sweaters because the therastat was staying at 50 the rest of the year

 

[smwilliamson]

I did buy $500 Fiberglass Insulation in case Labor was not part of the tax credit just to be safe

too funny!

 

[summit]

I'm starting to see the panic a little already... some of the overstock units from a couple yrs back, that have been languishing in the warehouse, have been dissappearing lately.. cash strapped economy + high fuel = people looking for deals. We've been doing a couple stoves a day, and thats damn excellent for may.

 

[iceman]

The one thing and probably the biggest thing about us in the northeast.....
We also have natural gas available to many of us. Most with oil that can get natural gas will go that way... honestly its a no brainer. People don't want to kick out 3-5000k for a space heater, many have believed the promises of eager pellet store stories of " yes it will heat your entire house" and "its simple to clean" and " it only needs cleaning every now and then"
Many pellet stoves were on sale after the last oil crisis as people weren't happy with their stoves due to the promises that weren't always true, or the work they didn't know they had to do.

Now us pellet guys know better, and while they aren't incredibly difficult most people say over 60 don't wanna lug bags around and lift and clean stoves,
At the price of stoves and pellets for a new burner, you are much better off and smarter to upgrade your furnace (vs oil furnace).

Another thing in the northeast- new England area many are prone to ice storms or power outages that can last days or weeks, those people tend to head towards wood stoves..


There are many pros and cons to pellet stoves. What I don't like is the swing in pellets, and maintenance/repair fees...
I clean my own stove, rather often but still have had to replace gaskets, esp sensors, comb. Motors/fan on a 2004 stove, not bad... however my furnace has never broken down and its a 2002.
For me, I would need a pellet boiler or another stove to completely heat my house, which would double my pellet purchase at least.
So, I do plan to take out my oil burner and replace with Nat gas burner at about 83-86% eff witch will run about 12-1500.
But that will be for back up to my wood stove and pellet stove

Another reason is resale , most people buying a house would rather a new furnace than old one with a stove.

If the price of pellet stoves came down there would be a lot more sales than what there is now . But right now many of the nice stoves are very close to the price of furnaces.
(this is oil vs pellets with Nat gas availability)

 

[Lousyweather]

good points, Ice! I am in MA too, and we dont have natural gas availability...only gas we have is propane (NOT such a good deal!)........so, its electricity (ugh), oil (not as bad, but is subject to wild fluctuations, and when you need it, you need it), wood (lots of time which I just dont have), coal (good), or pellets......Im pellets....works for me if you just plan ahead.....those wont dont or cant plan ahead, well, I can see the problem. Been here almost 49 years, and only seen the electricity our for 3 days at the longest.

 

[Pellet-King]

$3.149 today at fuellist.com

 

[iceman]

good points, Ice! I am in MA too, and we dont have natural gas availability...only gas we have is propane (NOT such a good deal!)........so, its electricity (ugh), oil (not as bad, but is subject to wild fluctuations, and when you need it, you need it), wood (lots of time which I just dont have), coal (good), or pellets......Im pellets....works for me if you just plan ahead.....those wont dont or cant plan ahead, well, I can see the problem. Been here almost 49 years, and only seen the electricity our for 3 days at the longest.

Lol you are close to me! I meant west western mass, n. Adams, blandford, the little guys out west lol

 

[Fsappo]

I'm starting to see the panic a little already... some of the overstock units from a couple yrs back, that have been languishing in the warehouse, have been dissappearing lately.. cash strapped economy + high fuel = people looking for deals. We've been doing a couple stoves a day, and thats damn excellent for may.

A couple of stoves a day is GREAT. We've been at about 3-5 per week. Keeps the bills paid, but just barely.

 

[WoodPorn]

One thing to point out is that pellet prices are bound to increase significantly as Diesel Fuel prices are going up in lockstep with heating oil. Once there is a increased demand for pellets the producers will start rasing the rpices to recoup the diesel cost. A lot of the low grade wood used for pellets is not being hauled out of the woods currently as the cost to haul is is more than anyone can afford to buy it.

True and not true. While there is a diesel cost involved for delivery of wood, there is a diesel cost involved to deliver the oil too, but you can store as much wood pellet as you want on your property so you can take advantage of deals. You cannot store 10,000 gallons of #2 oil.

Something like that

I can store that 10k of #2 if anybody wants to rent some tank space!!
...sorry 20k

 

[GenghisJon]

many have believed the promises of eager pellet store stories of " yes it will heat your entire house"

Your stove doesn't heat your entire house?

Mine does. 1715 sq ft. Upstairs and downstairs with no vents.

Haven't used a drop of oil to heat with in over two years.

 

[Bigjim13]

You guys are all forgetting one huge point, 2012 is a presidential election year. If I was a betting man, and I'm not, I'd almost be willing to bet a ton of pellets that oil prices will drop considerably in the coming months. We have already seen a $.15 drop in gas and a $.20 drop in HHO prices here in VT. Never underestimate how bad politicians want to get elected!

 

[Fsappo]

We're at 3.45 a gallon now.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

We're at 3.45 a gallon now.

Currently about 3.31 on average around these parts.

 

[mascoma]

Got my first prebuy oil offer in the mail.

$3.89

 

[Don2222]

Got my first prebuy oil offer in the mail.

$3.89

Hello mascoma

That is not a good deal for me. I can buy a tank of oil for $3.49 per gallon right now and that is all I need for the whole winter now that I use wood pellets!!

So a buy is better than a pre-buy any day!!