Same here , the cellar dwellar , has been cycling on / off every few hours as the Man Cave will cool down into the 60's , walking around in shorts and Flip Flops .
Went outside at 7:15 this morning and it was 62 degrees. Peep toads were peeping. On the way home it was 69, stopped and filled up my tank for $1.96/gal. Oil is $1.50/gal, enjoy it while it lasts folks. Happy holidays! Edit:
47 F at 3 pm. it will be dark by 4 pm, no sunshine today. Dull, overcast, fog. wet. It will be better after dark and the Christmas lights will shine. Mush better then.
The going rate for pellets is down to right around $199.50/ton. The parking lot is still pretty full at the store where I get my stash. The box stores are still hovering between $225-250 from what I've seen. I've burned 12 bags since November 1. Temps are fairly warm and oil is either slightly cheaper or break even when compared to pellets.
You will never see prices for quality softwood pellets retail @ $200.00 per ton. ( I know never is a long time but......) Just as lousyweather knows what the costs are, i do also. This is a quick 1 day flush to see what it will take to sell some pellets. As a pellet house it can be frustrating, especially this year do go day after day and not see any movement. This dealer isn't offering delivery of tons at that price, it's intended to catch some attention. This is a fantastic opportunity to get quality pellets at a "Merry Christmas" price. take advantage of it while you can. just my 2 cents worth!
+1 - for me, it's not just the unusually warm weather but also the record low price of HHO. It's like a double-whammy this year. 69 degrees the day before Xmas and oil is $1.50/gal. This is crazy, who could have predicted such a thing? They say a bag of pellets has roughly the same heating value as 2.5 gallons of oil, right? That puts the break-even point for pellets at $3.75/bag. Needless to say, there isn't a single bag of pellets in my stash that costs so little. The temps are supposed to start getting back down to normal next week. As for oil price, who knows what that's going to do, but everywhere I look, I keep hearing it's going to stay down for a while to come. I do not envy pellet suppliers, distributors, or store fronts in a time like this, and I sincerely hope everyone is able to "weather the storm" so to speak.
Unfortunately we will see some casualties. If not in companies, then pellet brands available. Oil companies have been around for years and can handle cyclical markets. Only a few pellet mills can. The costs of raw materials is not going down, the costs of insurance ( after several explosions at pellet and sawmills) is skyrocketing, and the demand for labor means it's hard to find someone for minimum wage ( which is a good thing, no one can live on minimum wage.) And the big one, transportation to market market. We are competing for truck with other commodities that can pay more. I am still paying 12-20% fuel charges as truckers cost have risen dramatically. There is actually a national shortage of truck drivers and companies are having to give more pay and benefit s to attract drivers which keeps costs high.Being in business is hard.Once again, I still believe supply and demand in the bagged U.S. market is equal. But we have these situations where extraneous events distort the market. We will come through this but be on the look out for bargains as dealer, BBS look to liquidate. You are likely to see prices that have no relationship to the cost of the product. And when it's over, we'll be back to more normal pricing. And the flush may not happen if we get 6 weeks of seasonal cold weather. That will take care of the situation. So pounce on good deals if they come, but don't expect them to be around next year.
Looks like in about 2 weeks or so the cold will come. Not super cold but cold enough for the stoves to be in full time use.
I think ive got you all beat. I have set the thermostat to dehumidifier control and the central air has been cycling on and off since 3pm. Cooking lobster and shrimp and the heat in the house is intense. Stove has been off for over 24 hours. What a wierd christmas this year
Not that i needed another ton of pellets, but for $200 why not. Orford softwoods. Strong smell. Will start burning once the hopper is empty.
They are. Sale was slow. I was 20 minutes late and i was 5th inline. By the tine i left there was only 1 other vehicle there. Even at $4 a bag things were slower than usual on a saturday than a few years ago.
Have to wonder if, it's warm temps and cheap oil and the day after Xmas folks don't care even at $ 4 / bag .
