I see that in Southeastern NH, that Home Depot is selling wood pellets for $300/ton. And heating oil is about $3.00/gallon. The prices are almost equal which makes an interesting decision of whether to burn 50/50 next winter. I have not seen a lot of Spring buys on wood pellets. It looks like the price of heating oil is dropping somewhat, perhaps even faster.
OPEC is pumping at record levels right now, so heating oil dropping makes sense. I was surprised by the average price on the NH.gov site for HHO as I know that even around here it is just under $3.00/gal. That price is a guy that does not have tanks for storage, just picks it up somewhere and delivers - I don't know what the price is for local companies that carry inventory here are charging)
Orson_Yancey I use similar as above just realize that they always overpriced on HHO which is the same as off road diesel, Ultra low sulfur. Here HHO IS 2,89 with big discount for large drops
Locally it's about $2.50/gallon and $330/ton for pellets. More for pellet house brands($380+). Probably purchase roughly half the needs between pellets and oil.
I'm pretty sure we're done with our firewood stove for the season. I'd like to bring down the oil level in our tank. To able to refill it with low cost oil. It's been 5-6yrs since we took a delivery. Hoping HHO drops lower.
I keep track of HHO prices here: New England Heating Oil Prices It's as current as the retailers maintain it. HHO prices were down to $2.50 6 to 8 weeks ago and then Saudi Arabia announced they were going to start pumping a lot more (sometimes they actually do and sometimes it is just talk) and then things heated up in the mideast which drove local prices to above 3 bucks. Prices are coming back down again. I like this site for crude trends and news: Crude Oil Prices Today | OilPrice.com you can also find HHO wholesale prices there. The wholesale price may be at the end of the pipe in NJ/NY. I'm not sure. It['s not what your local retailer is paying.
Current price is $2.85 for HHO. With pellets at $320+ per ton. I'll be buying more oil than pellets with my case seeing that 100 gallons of oil is pretty much on par with a ton of pellets. I have 2 tons in the stash already, So maybe 2 extra tons of pellets and a tank(275 gallons) of oil is the norm for the average winter.
I've not much been around Oil heat. Natgas and propane dominate here. I have a question... Can the oil be stored indefinately? Just wondering if filling a couple of totes or the like while prices are low is a viable strategy?
From what I understand, It has a shelf life. From what I've read, "Under perfect conditions". 18 to 24 months is what is recommended. Not a lot of info on the "perfect condition" But I guess its similar to gasoline.
It may have a shelf life BUT I have collected it from basement tanks (275) put it through filter and used it no problem. If it smells like diesel you’re good. This generally happens because house switches from oil to Gas and then sells house insurance makes take tank out. Generally over 5 years later. gas by line is cheaper propane is more $ for less BTU and your are tied to 1 supplier so you have to use that 1 company regardless of price not like gas station go to cheapest.
Problems would come from Nozzle spraying right pattern or clogging, imo from tank or bacteria Petroleum burns!
Good storage conditions: For diesel/home heating oil: cool, air tight, no moisture exposure. I would add preservative prior to filling and the fill will mix. For Gasoline: tougher because the "front end" (butane) will weather off, again cool, air tight, no moisture, and add a preservative. Bacteria prefer diesel/home heating oil more than gasoline since gasoline is more HIGHLY refined. Petroleum products are "hydroscopic" (absorbs moisture since VERY dry out of the refinery gate). Oil has "spoiled" DEEP underground from infection with bacteria and so oil products can spoil in your tank.
So, HHO has gone up and now back down some since May. Used to be, you could try to time HHO purchases to have near empty tank in August as that was when HHO prices were traditionally 'down' due to low demand. Doesn't seem like you can count on that any more. I couldn't squeeze 100 gallons into mine right now anyway. I had to replace a tank because it started to leak. Seems water and any sh!t in the oil tends to settle to the bottom of the tank. I wouldn't think there was enough air there to facilitate the oxidizing process but apparently there is. Last time I talked to my HVAC guy he said all the biodiesel being added to HHO is throwing a bit of $$$ his way for the same reason that ethanol in gasoline is sending $$$ mechanic's way. If you're in a state that is mandating HHO biodiesel blends, storing fuel may be less of an idea than it used to be.
