Now they're rationing LP keep those stoves going!

[WiscWoody]

just called 3.68 glad I bought a stove this December

Good timing on your part! It's funny how my neighbors aren't laughing about my 2-3 year wood stockpiles any more and asking if I'd like to maybe sell some of it. I'm trying to thing of an apology, the The Rabbit and the Heir?

 

[TmbrCrk]

Weatherman says we have not had a day above freezing here since Dec 5! Usually we have a few warm-ups but not this year. I am so glad I have the montecito.

 

[MishMouse]

I heard that propane prices are starting to fall in MN below $4, maybe it could be the that Gov, declared a non-wartime state of emergency.
Maybe it could be that they also stated that price gouging will be investigated.
Do not know but that is very good news for people who live on a fixed limited income during a winter where the temps are running 20 below average.

 

[bag of hammers]

When I built this house I and my best friend who is a electrician wires it and one point he made was to never use the outlet plug ins to connect the wires, always connect with the screws and make the tight. Also when using wire nuts alway pull on the wires to make sure there secure and to never reuse a wire nut since they are sprung. This house is wired good but I can't speak for others on here.

When the inspector was looking at my work, he also asked if I used any of these quick connect plugins in any of the circuits (I didn't) and he strongly advised against doing so. I also had a couple connections either pull out or break off with the wire nut "pull test" (not many, but even one is one too many) - I think that's a great sanity check.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

a little off topic , but I remember one summer several years ago there was some kind of incident which prompted gasoline prices to possibly suddenly jump was not a "national" incident, but was enough to make the gas prices suddenly almost double , wife and I were getting ready to drive to myrtle beach that day and the gas station on the corner was so loaded up with traffic they had police out directing traffic in and out. People were trying to buy gas before the prices doubled. then as we were driving along I remember hearing on the radio that POTUS came out to the press room at the WH and stated that if there was any "price gouging" from this event that the US justice department would bring its full weight to bear on those who did so. prices dropped back to normal within an hour

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Yes, I checked and they are saying up to $7 a gallon in Wisconsin if you can get it. It's been below zero up here every night for most of the winter. We need a break from it soon!

ID be getting a wood or pellet stove installed before i would pay that kind of ransom. Folks using 12-15 gallons a day are paying what $100 a day for heat. $3000 a MONTH

 

[Doug MacIVER]

Weatherman says we have not had a day above freezing here since Dec 5! Usually we have a few warm-ups but not this year. I am so glad I have the montecito.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Brazialian meteogram in Chicago has no above freezing till after March 1 <a href="http://t.co/0xMSWLj6qt">pic.twitter.com/0xMSWLj6qt</a></p>&mdash; Joe Bastardi (@BigJoeBastardi) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/statuses/431153661033467904">February 5, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> THIS IS AS SAYS! starting to get hints March is going to bust the cold

 

[WiscWoody]

ID be getting a wood or pellet stove installed before i would pay that kind of ransom. Folks using 12-15 gallons a day are paying what $100 a day for heat. $3000 a MONTH

Well, I think the price is coming down finally. I talked to a propane delivery driver the other day while he was filling his small truck from a big tank and he said their price has dropped to $4 a gallon from $5 the day before. It's still a lot of cash for a fill though. I told him I was burning wood and he said that's what they want us to do, For anybody that can burn wood to do so. I think the price of gas will ensure of that!

 

[WiscWoody]

So even if you "only" paid $3.50 a gallon a 400 gallon fill would run you $1400 if my math is right. That's still a budget buster especially since I make less than ten grand a year since losing my career to the Great Recession in my mid fifties.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

So even if you "only" paid $3.50 a gallon a 400 gallon fill would run you $1400 if my math is right. That's still a budget buster especially since I make less than ten grand a year since losing my career to the Great Recession in my mid fifties.

What was your career if i may ask?

 

[WiscWoody]

What was your career if i may ask?

Facilities maintenance for a large school district. I mainly worked on large steam boilers and large water chillers, both steam absorption and electric centrifugal. And all of the many, many air handlers, plumbing and pumps to distribute the heating and cooling in large High Schools. I have left the cities and came up to what was my weekend home to live in now. There is very little work up here unless your a logger for the paper industry but I can live quite reasonably especially since I built this house myself and I never mortgaged it. Oh, and the wood is free for the asking! Lol. I'm plodding along until I can get my pension in a few years. I'll be fine.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Facilities maintenance for a large school district.for the asking! Lol. I'm plodding along until I can get my pension in a few years. I'll be fine.

Let me guess ,they kept the $150000 a year Principal and the 2 $100,000 a year asst principals and the other 15 $100,000 +administrators and laid off the people who actually work there, like they are did in my small town(end of rant)

 

[WiscWoody]

Let me guess ,they kept the $150000 a year Principal and the 2 $100,000 a year asst principals and the other 15 $100,000 +administrators and laid off the people who actually work there, like they are did in my small town(end of rant)

Pretty much, they changed the names of some Ass't Principals to "teacher on special assignment" so not to be counted as a administrator so they could say they cut back in that department. In my close to 30 years working in a school district I can say that they're very political. But the one I worked in was very good at what they did and many students were taking college courses while in high school for the free credits.

 

[Ehouse]

Let me guess ,they kept the $150000 a year Principal and the 2 $100,000 a year asst principals and the other 15 $100,000 +administrators and laid off the people who actually work there, like they are did in my small town(end of rant)

1 superintendent, 2 assistant principals and a partridge in a pear tree for 700 students K-12 in the one school in the district and all they can do is lay off teachers and others who do the work.

 

[bag of hammers]

Facilities maintenance for a large school district. I mainly worked on large steam boilers and large water chillers, both steam absorption and electric centrifugal. And all of the many, many air handlers, plumbing and pumps to distribute the heating and cooling in large High Schools. I have left the cities and came up to what was my weekend home to live in now. There is very little work up here unless your a logger for the paper industry but I can live quite reasonably especially since I built this house myself and I never mortgaged it. Oh, and the wood is free for the asking! Lol. I'm plodding along until I can get my pension in a few years. I'll be fine

Pretty much, they changed the names of some Ass't Principals to "teacher on special assignment" so not to be counted as a administrator so they could say they cut back in that department. In my close to 30 years working in a school district I can say that they're very political. But the one I worked in was very good at what they did and many students were taking college courses while in high school for the free credits.

+1

There are some very good people working at some schools (a couple teachers I've met I would say were exceptional), but "political" is an understatement (based on experience bringing a kid with disabilities through "the system"). Sometimes I think the maintenance guys could have swapped places with the "suits" and done a better job, being more grounded to reality and all that.

Building your own place and being self sufficient - good on you. FWIW I'm also going down that path. It's a crazy amount of work and I will end up with pretty humble accommodations if I ever get it done (no McMansion for me) - but I don't want to be chained to any bank or dependent on any charity if and when I can finally retire.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just swapped some LP tanks for full ones .Price is the same high rate they always charge on those 20 Lbers i use for space heating on the job. About $5 a gallon. IF i just get em filled its about $4 a gallon.

 

[WiscWoody]

+1

There are some very good people working at some schools (a couple teachers I've met I would say were exceptional), but "political" is an understatement (based on experience bringing a kid with disabilities through "the system"). Sometimes I think the maintenance guys could have swapped places with the "suits" and done a better job, being more grounded to reality and all that.

Building your own place and being self sufficient - good on you. FWIW I'm also going down that path. It's a crazy amount of work and I will end up with pretty humble accommodations if I ever get it done (no McMansion for me) - but I don't want to be chained to any bank or dependent on any charity if and when I can finally retire.

I shouldn't say I built the whole place myself, I hired out the excavation, masonry, I had a helper for the framing and I have friends who hang drywall so I hired them to do that heavy work. And my best friend is a electrician but back in the cities, he got me going on the wiring and I bugged the hell out of him on the phone while I wired it. I grew tired of working on the place no doubt and it still needs flooring and a banister but the budget won't allow for that now so I have mats all over the OSB flooring. Someday maybe.

 

[bag of hammers]

I shouldn't say I built the whole place myself, I hired out the excavation, masonry, I had a helper for the framing and I have friends who hang drywall so I hired them to do that heavy work. And my best friend is a electrician but back in the cities, he got me going on the wiring and I bugged the hell out of him on the phone while I wired it. I grew tired of working on the place no doubt and it still needs flooring and a banister but the budget won't allow for that now so I have mats all over the OSB flooring. Someday maybe.View attachment 126707

very nice - good to have some friends to help out (especially drywall - what a job that is for a DIY). My kitchen (the original cabin) is still a plywood floor almost 16 years later and I'm just getting to the renovations there now. One back room isn't even mudded yet, I got tiling, trim, deck work, couple mroe doors, etc. - things that will probably be ongoing projects forever. As long as you got a warm dry safe place to lay your head, you got 'er beat.

Sorry for kinda going off topic from your original thread - thanks for the pic

 

[MishMouse]

In my area some of the banks are doing short term 1% loans to help people pay for their propane.
With temps still running around -20 below average, this is a very good thing.

Have you hugged your stove lately?

 

[WiscWoody]

I just talked to retired neighbor down the road. I don't think he knew what was going on with the propane shortage but he said he got a 200 gallon ration then got the bill and he hit the roof and went out and bought a pellet stove and has it going already. He put it in himself too. You can call all of us Flex Fuelers eh?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I just talked to retired neighbor down the road. I don't think he knew what was going on with the propane shortage but he said he got a 200 gallon ration then got the bill and he hit the roof and went out and bought a pellet stove and has it going already. He put it in himself too. You can call all of us Flex Fuelers eh?

I think we in the wood and wood pellet world are going to get a lot of converts this year.

 

[woodgeek]

I think we in the wood and wood pellet world are going to get a lot of converts this year.

And 90% of them will forget within 30 days.

 

[WiscWoody]

And 90% of them will forget within 30 days.

I'm not so sure about them forgetting so fast when some will be paying the heat bills for some time to come. The cold continues on up here. I have -8F static at 8pm and it's going down to -17f stat tonight just like every night this winter.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

gotta get through this winter. let's see, propain short, nat gas as high as it's been in several years, oil not as bad but same ole expensive stuff, towns and cities out of salt. next i'll bet we can add electricity to mix, a year from now. really thinking I need a bigger stove? will definitely lay in extra cordwood and fire brick over the summer.

 

[bag of hammers]

will definitely lay in extra cordwood and fire brick over the summer.

amen to that brother...