Torn...Oil is to cheap to Burn Pellets

[Phoenix Hatchling]

As it stands, for the pellets I have on hand (some left from last year), and the cost associated with them including delivery costs whether pickup or delivery, oil can jump to 2.80 per gallon and I would still break even. This is BTU for BTU cost, so regardless of "perceived quality of heat", this is heat generated. How it is distributed is up to you. No cleaning of oil furnace. No lugging bags. No noise.

I need to think long and hard about pellets, other than for aesthetic reasons, and further space heating of the room the stove is in. Seems to "currently" be a rich man's luxury, although OPEC may have tried to change that yesterday with their vote to reduce production.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

You have to do what you have to do. To each their own and all that.

I grew up with wood heat. Then dad built a new house with a diesel furnace. When I moved out to an apartment I had electric base board. The next house had diesel, then Natural gas. This house I've been in for about 25 years had old nat gas, then improved new nat gas, now I have pellet heat. I dont care if oil fuel goes to .10 cents and pellets go to 250 or higher. For "THIS HOUSE" it has to be pellet or wood heat. The farm shop has wood heat.
Making firewood and providing space to store it etc., all the cleaning and maintenance that goes with it etc. is just part of my every day life. I enjoy wood, and now pellet heat enough over oil fuel, that I dont even consider cost comparison.

But that that is how "I" do it for "MY" life. I respect others that make other choices. I only ask that they do the same.

I might suggest however that if you do not use your pellets up that you sell them or give them to a neighbor to avoid them collecting too much moisture and becoming unusable.

 

[pete7713]

if using oil is cheaper use the oil save the pellets, if oil gets more expensive use your pellets. i have used pellets saved in bags 3 years old with no problems.

 

[rich2500]

Totally agree with you deezl.I don't care what BTU vs BTU comes too all I know for a fact is that my house is consistently warmer with the pellet stove over the oil burner and if that comes with a price so be it. I will still burn oil during the weekdays when no one is home but it will only be a 1/4 tank for the year.For those that choose to use oil solely that's fine for them just not me.

 

[DneprDave]

I just filled up my oil tank for $1.81/gallon and I bought a ton of pellets for $210/ton.
Using the fuel comparison calculator,

http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparison-calculator.php

For me, oil is a few cents more expensive than pellets per Million BTU

I augment my oil furnace with pellets, last year I burned 238 gallons of oil and 1 3/4 tons of pellets.
I'll carry on, the same as last year

 

[Peterfield]

For me, it comes down to whether or not I want to fire up the stove. I definitely like pellet heat better but sometimes, I just need to get the chill out of the house and if it's going to be a mild day, I reach for the oil thermostat.

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

if using oil is cheaper use the oil save the pellets, if oil gets more expensive use your pellets. i have used pellets saved in bags 3 years old with no problems.

That's the game plan. I have never seen any ill effects of carrying over pellets year to year. The way they are packaged and wrapped in Layers, they see no moisture absorption. I am sure for those who had poorly stored pellets, they had suffered.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

That's the game plan. I have never seen any ill effects of carrying over pellets year to year. The way they are packaged and wrapped in Layers, they see no moisture absorption. I am sure for those who had poorly stored pellets, they had suffered.

Good point. Storage technique and location make a huge difference. However, pellet ingredients can also make a difference. If your pellets have binding agents or other additives that off gas over time, you may end up with crumbly pellets if set too long.

Off to the side a bit, but to go with the off gassing. I have painted wood floors. I wanted to paint them with a porch and patio outdoor paint in the high traffic areas. I called the dealers and could not get any good info. The manufacturers website did not offer any info on using the outdoor paint indoor. So I called the manufacturer and they even had to consult with the engineer and get back to me. The answer was no. The heavy outdoot paint I wanted to use, even after lengthy cure time, will constantly off gas and cause issues inside a closed up house.

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

Good point. Storage technique and location make a huge difference. However, pellet ingredients can also make a difference. If your pellets have binding agents or other additives that off gas over time, you may end up with crumbly pellets if set too long.

Off to the side a bit, but to go with the off gassing. I have painted wood floors. I wanted to paint them with a porch and patio outdoor paint in the high traffic areas. I called the dealers and could not get any good info. The manufacturers website did not offer any info on using the outdoor paint indoor. So I called the manufacturer and they even had to consult with the engineer and get back to me. The answer was no. The heavy outdoot paint I wanted to use, even after lengthy cure time, will constantly off gas and cause issues inside a closed up house.

They say the worst possible air is in a house with the windows shut. Everything from furniture to floor coatings to carpeting continues to off gas in varying degrees. My friend is facilities director for a major coatings manufacturer, and constantly keeps me versed in the toxicity of its components. I keep my pellets in a third garage, and I have always wondered if they are off gassing to the point the it creeps to the bedroom upstairs. As far as I know, the pellets I have purchased this far do not have any binding agents in them, except for maybe vegetable oil used on the dies.

 

[alternativeheat]

When the colder weather comes I'll be augmenting as the other Dave said ( unless oil goes crazy, that's a different matter) . I've found my happy medium settings where it doesn't kill either heat type. We used to heat that way with the coal stove because the coal stove had it's little heat curve where by late afternoon and in the very early morning it would be approaching time to the tend it, so output dropped and then the oil kicked in. Well I can set the P61 in Stove Temp mode (constant burn) and assure myself how many pellets I will burn in 24 hours and if that isn't enough due to weather then the oil kicks in. Oil right now around here is $1.92ish, depending on just oil at around $2 a gallon isn't so much a winner in this house. I like the fixed odds of adding in the stove.

A lot of people get this idea to lower their thermostat to the central heat and run the stove. I do the opposite when mixing dual fuel, or the oil won't ever kick on and the outer rooms will get cold. No I boost the thermostat up, not down. Then the oil will cycle on just about 4 times in 24 hours for a single cycle each. Not bad, very affordable and it's warm around here. Course with the P61 and if I want to chew up a bunch of expensive pellets I can just crank it on.

And shoulder season doesn't count incidentally, use what ever it isn't cold enough to matter yet.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have an oil backup boiler and i I filled up at $1.59 a gallon. Was $1.49 the week before. At these prices its cheaper than a lot of fuels, at $11.53c for 1 Million BTUs. You would have to get the pellets for around $200 a ton to match it.

 

[Tonyray]

Totally agree with you deezl.I don't care what BTU vs BTU comes too all I know for a fact is that my house is consistently warmer with the pellet stove over the oil burner and if that comes with a price so be it. I will still burn oil during the weekdays when no one is home but it will only be a 1/4 tank for the year.For those that choose to use oil solely that's fine for them just not me.

AGREE..
My wife sez the house has never been warmer these past 3 seasons of burning wood pellets.
Constant blowing of heat from the stove in a not well insulated house was the ticket..
as opposed to the heat up/cool down baseboard heat..

 

[Deezl Smoke]

AGREE..
My wife sez the house has never been warmer these past 3 seasons of burning wood pellets.
Constant blowing of heat from the stove in a not well insulated house was the ticket..
as opposed to the heat up/cool down baseboard heat..

That sounds quite familiar. My house has only attic insulation and the cycling heat of the nat gas furnace caused a lot of moisture issues. The pellet heat being constant has completely stopped all of that. That,....and I sleep better with that whirring fan white noise in the background for some reason.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

They say the worst possible air is in a house with the windows shut. Everything from furniture to floor coatings to carpeting continues to off gas in varying degrees. My friend is facilities director for a major coatings manufacturer, and constantly keeps me versed in the toxicity of its components. I keep my pellets in a third garage, and I have always wondered if they are off gassing to the point the it creeps to the bedroom upstairs. As far as I know, the pellets I have purchased this far do not have any binding agents in them, except for maybe vegetable oil used on the dies.

That sounds right. I think I recall many years ago the car manufacturers were under fire for some of the products they were using as with the modern cars, no one runs with the windows down anymore.