Just a thought..

[Tonyray]

With pellets being in short supply in many areas of the country this year,
I;m wondering how many Pellet stoves will be for sale next spring from new owners
who because of the shortage, Had to buy whatever ever was available at [but not limited to] Big box stores for example, Not being too well Informed thru sites like this one, and Maybe Found themselves with a few tons of crappy pellets which causes a chain reaction of extra cleaning, clinkers, flameouts, clogged burn pots and what not thereby blaming the Stove and thinking maybe Twas not a good idea to invest in one.
Fill it/set it/ forget it/ didn't quite work out that way...
I say this because prob not even 5% of all pellet stove owners in the Country even use Very Informative web sites like this one which to me as a Newbie Last Winter has been a Godsend of Information and good tips allowing me to go into Season 2 with head held high and 'Evac' Tools at the ready...
Might not have done it right without you guys here..

 

[TimfromMA]

Ripping out the pellet stove because pellet prices went up a bit is like ripping out the oil furnace because oil went up.

I believe this drop in oil prices is only temporary. Switch back to oil if it's more economical for you but leave the pellet stove in because oil won't be cheaper for very long.

 

[Tonyray]

Ripping out the pellet stove because pellet prices went up a bit is like ripping out the oil furnace because oil went up.

I believe this drop in oil prices is only temporary. Switch back to oil if it's more economical for you but leave the pellet stove in because oil won't be cheaper for very long.

yes...
along with un-knowingley getting bad pellets, Oil prices staying low is always just a temp sitiuation.
either way, I'm sure spring we'll see many 1 yr old stoves for sale..

 

[Johnny_Fiv3]

Maybe then I can get a fancy stove like you guys!

 

[Jman87]

Even if pellets are more expensive I'd still rather heat my home with something that's made somewhat domestically when comparing to oil. I think what we'll see here over the next few months is an increase in pellets followed by a decrease and in oil the opposite, a small decrease in prices followed by an increase.

I think the best place to invest anybody's money is in your homes R value, then any heating expenses will begin to pay themselves off dramatically whether it be oil coal propane pellets..

My two cents.

 

[stmar]

Anyone have any experience with those pellet hammer mills to make your own pellets from biomass? A friend of mine had me looking at them. Just wondering if they really worked and what quality of pellet they produced, I realize it would depend somewhat on the raw material used.

 

[Tonyray]

I agree with both of you but my post concerning 'ditching the pellets stove"
was more about 1st time owners not having a good expirience this year and In-correctly blaming the New Stove And not knowing it was the fuel used. [and prob user errors]...
Even my dealer quoted," fill it/ set it/ forget it/....but he knew he was selling me Good fuel and I ask 10 million questions on big purchases anyway...

 

[Johnny_Fiv3]

I would probably be in the "WTF This thing sucks" boat if not for this forum.

 

[Tonyray]

I would probably be in the "WTF This thing sucks" boat if not for this forum.

Exactly my point......
Jesus H Johnny,
you summed up my whole post in 1 sentence.... High 5's..

 

[Jman87]

I'm hoping allot because that means more pellets for me lol

I'm sorry, I did go off topic. I see your point. I think if people aren't patient then definitely, I can see allot of people just sticking with another fuel.

 

[Tonyray]

Your right Jman,
Patience is key and help Forums like this.
see lot of newbies here with problems easily solved but main thing is they are HERE ASKING..

 

[Jman87]

So true! I'm a newbie here and also with my pellet stove. Last year we heated with wood in our Lopi and we enjoyed it but with our old farmhouse we really needed something that could be more constant. We both work during the day so it's nice to know it will be running while we're gone We are making small improvements to our R value yearly.

This place has helped me out incredibly, I'm eager to learn and to help in any which way I can.

 

[bags]

Your right Jman,
Patience is key and help Forums like this.
see lot of newbies here with problems easily solved but main thing is they are HERE ASKING..

BINGO!
This my friend, is an understatement. I can not elaborate enough about how great this forum is. Nor can I sing enough praise to everyone no matter what stove or type of pellets you run. I was pretty much so diving into the pellet world semi-blind before I found this place and so glad I did. That's why I bought a ________! <<<< Only JOKING! E-Z Killers! Had to sling some poo and heat up the brand circus bandwagon. That woke everyone up. Hee Hee! Bottom line if I would have bought another brand I'd still be a poo slinging monkey. After that I'd head to the finger painting studio.

 

[hossthehermit]

I think the best place to invest anybody's money is in your homes R value, then any heating expenses will begin to pay themselves off dramatically whether it be oil coal propane pellets..

My two cents.

Way more than 2 cents worth ...............................

 

[Jman87]

You've got that right

 

[The Grintch]

With oil slinking like a stone and If I can heat my house with home heating oil for $300 a month, I won't be burning that many pellets this year!

I'll burn the cheapest fuel year to year!

 

[SKOAL MAN]

Pellet shortage?? Are the farmers down there using wood pellets to dry there crops now?? That must be why we don't have a propane shortage up here like last year! LOL

 

[Tonyray]

Regardless of low Oil prices, if I keep my house on 73-74 degrees, I'm gonna go thru Oil Like Grant took Richmond..Alwys kept it in the higher 60's so as not to go thru it so fast..
Pellet stove will keep us at same temp for cheaper in the long run..

 

[Wilbur Feral]

I am very much hoping for some folks wanting to unload a nice stove for little money because it's too much trouble for them, they didn't clean it properly, they don't like carrying pellets in from the cold, etc. C'mon, lazy folks... Uncle Wilbur wants a new (to me) Harman...

 

[LGTWhit]

Nothing like a nice flame on a cold, snowy winter night. Not sure that oil could produce this same result or at least they are not too popular. Whatever happens to fuel prices, I'll never sell my quad e2, pure beauty!!

 

[Ranger72]

I have natural gas in my house and I still use my pellet stove. My natural gas bill each month would roughly be only $200.00 in the dead of winter running only had burner, but I still enjoy the pellet stove enough to lug pellets around, clean the damn thing etc. For reference, my natural gas bill in the summer is 80 to 100 a month. That is with a water heater and gas oven. So I get the best of all worlds, I lite the stove in the early AM and shut it down around 11 to midnight abd let the regular heat turn on if the temp drops in the house.

 

[VTrider]

The industry should just etch the link "Hearth.com" underneath every hopper lid!

 

[dlehneman]

Tony, that is exactly how I picked up my second stove this year. A retired couple bought it midway through last winter to save money, then between the pellet shortage of the spring and cleaning/storage, he decided it was too much trouble. Fine by me, as I got a hell of a deal on it and all it needed was a good cleaning
Not sure where I'd put a 3rd stove so I don't know if I'll benefit from it this time...although there is always the garage! It's already heated, but electric and that's going up again.

 

[Tonyray]

Nothing like a nice flame on a cold, snowy winter night. Not sure that oil could produce this same result or at least they are not too popular. Whatever happens to fuel prices, I'll never sell my quad e2, pure beauty!!

Oil and Gas prices have dropped for sure, but you can bet the house that in time, they will slowly rise back up again.
This is just a blip on the energy radar..

The industry should just etch the link "Hearth.com" underneath every hopper lid!

That is one of the smartests Ideas I have read here... Bravo
I'm pretty smart.. why the hell didn't I think of that..

 

[rona]

Anyone have any experience with those pellet hammer mills to make your own pellets from biomass? A friend of mine had me looking at them. Just wondering if they really worked and what quality of pellet they produced, I realize it would depend somewhat on the raw material used.

A few years ago a local stove dealer got involved with the make your own pellets idea. He got a very cheap grinder and then a very cheap pellet machine both made in China. His thought was grind soybean stubble and corn stalks plus dry grass then make pellets out of it. He worked quite a while on it and finally announced a "open house and demonstration. After sitting and watching how much work was involved and the resulting pellets would not hold together without a special "binder" it didn't impress me. The older gentleman sitting next to me pretty well summed it up when he said he could feed all the ingredients to his sheep and let the" pellets" dry. Then burn them a lot easier and cheaper.
We had a company near here try to sell pellets made of corn stalks and soybean stubble for about 3 years but even though they paid minimum for the raw materials their price for the finished product was very high priced plus there was a lot of ash to contend with.
I suspect if you were looking for a new hobby that would take up a lot of your time it may be worth considering.