RE: Ordered some oil . . . egads!

[firefighterjake]

Ordered 100 gallons of oil to have on hand for those times when we leave the house unattended . . . haven't ordered any since 2007 or 2008 and my oil tank was finally low enough that I figured I should buy some. Sadly the 100 gallons only brought it to between the half and three quarter mark and it cost me close to $350.

I am so glad I switched over to heating with wood . . . I don't know how other folks do it to be honest. My house does pretty well and we averaged something like 600 gallons a year which isn't bad . . . but in today's oil prices that would be over $2,000 each year.

 

[drewmo]

I hear you. We've only had one winter in our house and between the wood insert and the pellet stove, we burned through 4 cord and 2.5 ton respectively. During that time, we used about 30 gallons of oil. I can't imagine the expense of relying on oil only - it would be waaaaaay more than 600 gallons, that's for sure. Next project in the works is to foam insulate the basement including box sills. An airtight basement should keep it in the 50s year round.

 

[Xikar]

Im about to drop 150 gallons in the tank for my hot water, but other than that I am hoping my new stove will help me keep my oil consumption to a minimum. I average about 800 gallons a year give or take. Last year cost me around $3k in oil. Invested in the stove with the hopes that I will see that money back in a couple seasons Fingers crossed! LOL

 

[blades]

R50+ attic, get leaks sealed up, insulate at least the sills in the basement. make sure your dampers ( baths, kitchen, dryer are closing when not in use. Dryer is a sneaky one as its action gets jammed up by lint. Kitchen is another due to accumulated grease and such. Pull down stairs to attic are also notorious for leaks. Getting ready to do attic. I am at about R30 now

 

[DevilsBrew]

Grrrr...Over the last year the companies in my region have been bought up. Now there is no competition, a set price, poor customer service, and minimum purchases. I rent so I have no choice with heating options. I can't wait for the day when I can get my own place. I will have a wood & solar heating set up, even if I can only get away with passive solar.

 

[mepellet]

My house does pretty well and we averaged something like 600 gallons a year which isn't bad . . . but in today's oil prices that would be over $2,000 each year.

And I bet now you are a LOT warmer than when you were using 600 gallons a year. Gotta take into account how many gallons of oil you WOULD have used if you kept your thermostat at the temperature that the wood stove keeps it now.

I know our yearly oil consumption went from about 400 gallons for heat and 200 gallons for hot water to less than 50 gallons for heat (just to cycle the boiler on the colder mornings and the couple weekends away from home) and 200 gallons for hot water. We are MUCH more comfortable now using less than 3 tons of pellets per year. Installing a wood eater right now so prob will be roasting out of the house with 2 cords of wood and 2 tons of pellets.

 

[Stihlmike]

I hear you on the oil, and is why i am converting to wood. At least with burning wood, i get exercise, time in the woods, and get to know my hard work is why my house will be warm, not just giving an oil company my money.

 

[SteveKG]

My brother-in-law and I were chatting about this a couple weeks back. He lives in Boston and heats with oil. He called his oil co. and they said it was in the upper $3/gal range. I just filled my 500 gal. propane tank, two weeks ago, for the first time in ten years. The co. quoted me $1.75/gal, lowest I'd heard of in a very long time, and said they would "lock" that in for me but all oil and gases were on their way up. When they filled my tank, they charged $1.91, took me all this two weeks calling them to get credited the difference with what I was quoted as "locked." But I did. Fingers crossed it will be another ten years til I need more.

I'll go give a pat to my three wood stoves. And my three chainsaws.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ordered 100 gallons of oil to have on hand for those times when we leave the house unattended . . . haven't ordered any since 2007 or 2008 and my oil tank was finally low enough that I figured I should buy some. Sadly the 100 gallons only brought it to between the half and three quarter mark and it cost me close to $350.

I am so glad I switched over to heating with wood . . . I don't know how other folks do it to be honest. My house does pretty well and we averaged something like 600 gallons a year which isn't bad . . . but in today's oil prices that would be over $2,000 each year.

Sorry Jake but I can't help but think back to when we bought fuel oil. We had bought a house before we got married and all it has was a space heater for heat. This was our first time for either of us with fuel oil burning. It hurt a bit when we filled our tank too because it cost us $.12 per gallon at the time. Oh how time does change things....

 

[firefighterjake]

And I bet now you are a LOT warmer than when you were using 600 gallons a year. Gotta take into account how many gallons of oil you WOULD have used if you kept your thermostat at the temperature that the wood stove keeps it now.

I know our yearly oil consumption went from about 400 gallons for heat and 200 gallons for hot water to less than 50 gallons for heat (just to cycle the boiler on the colder mornings and the couple weekends away from home) and 200 gallons for hot water. We are MUCH more comfortable now using less than 3 tons of pellets per year. Installing a wood eater right now so prob will be roasting out of the house with 2 cords of wood and 2 tons of pellets.

Actually we have baseboard heat so I would honestly say I was pretty warm before as well . . . just now I am warm AND saving money and I didn't even have to switch to Geico.

 

[mepellet]

Actually we have baseboard heat so I would honestly say I was pretty warm before as well . . . just now I am warm AND saving money and I didn't even have to switch to Geico.

I have baseboard oil as well.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Great story. Tough wallet buster just putting 100 gallons in. We use gas here and it's nice to know its always here, just in case. Wood heat has been great to say the least. I enjoy the monthly gas invoices that say $38.00, just what was used for hot water.

 

[Tom Wallace]

I'm in the same boat. I bought my house almost 2 years ago and it has an oil furnace. My first oil bill came in February '12, and it was just over $1,000. I think it was near $4/gallon at the time. That's what convinced me I need to invest in energy efficiency. I've since replaced all of the single pane aluminum frame windows with double pane argon filled vinyl frame windows. None of my exterior walls are insulated. I was quoted over $8,000 to have insulation blown in. My house exterior is brick, so they'd have to blow it in through the drywall and I'd have to repaint and seal the holes myself (that was part of the quote). I just got my Pacific Energy Super insert a couple weeks ago. I installed the liner and stove myself. In the past, I'd always kept the thermostat just barely warm. I was always cold in winter, but didn't want to pay more for oil to be completely warm. I won't have that problem this winter. I've got nearly 4 cords of wood split and stacked now.

 

[blades]

Tom , After reading many studies most say side wall insulation never pays back. more importantly is sealing and insulating the attic to R50+ , non flammable boxes of some type over light fixtures if of the recessed or can types, Then insulation over that, sealing around all vent pipes /chimney anything else that makes a penetration into attic. making sure that eve vents remain open. Sill plate in basement insulated and sealed off from rest of space. Windows You said you replaced them that's great but did you insulate/seal behind the moldings? Another area that is often overlooked (same for doors) Just some tips from one who has been at it for multiple dewllings over the years.

 

[maverick06]

my neighborhood was built in the 50's. Depending on the house specifics, personal preferences, and winter temperatures, the average bill is around $3500-$4500 for the oil, no natgas service. Thats just an insane amount of money. The houses arent insulated that well and are about 1800ft^2 to probably a bit over 2000ft^2 depending on editions. I used somewhere around 3-3.5 cords of wood last year, 30 gallons of oil, and probably $150 worth of power in the air source heat pump.

Some people live paycheck to paycheck... I am lucky not to, but I am very happy I dont have to shoulder that extra burdon, that would change the finances a lot!

my 250gal oil tank is down to just slightly below 1/4. probably will put 100 gallons in it next year. we will see what this winter brings.

 

[clemsonfor]

I have a heat pump and very little insulation r19 in attic and r13 in stove room walls is all. So i bought a used insert to save money. Some of you notice that i live in the south so my bills even with the heatpump and our crazy energy costs here i still save money. WE use to keep the temp 65F in the winter. Now the bedroom is in upper 60s at night and the rest of the home rarely is below 70F and the stove room is 85f where we sits and watch tv. Oh and i save close to $150month on the coldest months and maybe $100 the other months.