lol..I actually would have shoveled but I just took the shovels, spreader and plow off my truck before I went there. They made a bigger deal of it than it was.
Just checked pricing at a few HD stores around here. CT stores are now at $199. About time too. It's gonna take $4/bag for this piggy to pounce. MA and RI remain at $259, bet that won't last long. IHP, I took a spin through Oxford HD tonight. They are loaded with Chows, FSU, and Big Heats.
If they went to $199 I would spend a whole day going back and forth loading the Jeep up with a mix of FSU and Chows until I had enough for next year.
Have not seen the big decrease here yet - but - I expect it will happen soon as the spring stuff is coming. With that said .. I will not jump in because I believe lower pellet prices will be the new norm with other home heating options priced as low as they are, at least until those other fuels ramp up their prices which is unlikely for the 2016/17 season. Most people, myself included, use pellets based on cost. I just ordered a new oil unit yesterday with two 225 gallon horizontal oil tanks that I will stack. We are replacing our LP gas unit and although the payback period will be lengthy the convenience and operating cost offsets the payback period for us. I doubt pellets will, in my lifetime, ever again be far cheaper than oil. My only concern is that situations like this almost always lead to shakeouts ... Smaller operations going belly up or being absorbed by larger operations. In the long run such consolidations eventually lead to less competition, higher prices, and less concern for end users. It also leads to centralized production which will be another cost pressure due to the cost of shipping pellets. I am guessing that going forward the cost per BTU of pellets will not be alot cheaper than than the cost per BTU of oil. Shale oil has a break even production cost of between 37 and 40 dollars per barrel. The USA has tremendous reserves of shale oil. I doubt oil will exceed 55 to 60 per barrel in the foreseeable future. Generally a rule of thumb says that a refinery gets 7 gallons of HHO from a barrel of oil. That is about 18% of the barrel, or 4.50 at 50 bucks a barrel. So it is unlikely HHO will be more than 2.25 - 2.50 -at the home tank at that price. That is about 6.50 - 7.00 be bag of pellets based on equivalent BTU's if my math is correct. The time, effort, cost of fuel to get pellets home, storage use, and ongoing weekly maintenance will mean pellets would need to be under 200 a ton for GOOD quality pellets for me to use the stove for more than occasional ambiance once the new dino burner is running.
I'll always be burning pellets , my other option is electric base board and electric never gets cheaper.
I started with cordwood for cost savings, now it's a lifestyle. Also the independence from the outside world, and the carbon neutral aspect keep me hooked.
Absolutely --- It is a dollar, cents, and effort equation for most. If I had to input electric heat I would no question burn pellets as primary heat. My brother is in the HVAC business, mostly commercial, BUT ---- The discounts and free "help" with installation (I will be the helper serving pasta dinner) lessens my cost of equipment significantly for the dino burner. I toyed with the idea of a pellet boiler but the cost was greater than I would recoup in my lifetime and we have no intention of selling so market value increase is not a consideration. If I had to stick with propane the equation would change. I burned wood since the first disruption in the mid 70's. Still would be if not for the wear and tear on my aging body. We have a 167 acres with about half being heavily wooded and it costs me less than 10 bucks a cord to process wood off it. I switched to pellets because it was to labor intensive to continue wood burning. Oil will lessen my effort even more without disrupting the monthly budget at current and what I feel will be future oil prices. For me there is no hobby value to pellets or for that matter heat. I understand that some here do have a pleasure value in the pellet equation and respect that.
