Are northern warmth supreme Douglas fir with $400 a ton?

Your right . New car was a bad example to use. All though we just bought a brand new Subaru with a slew of safety features for openers that didn't exist on older cars which I would not call fluff. 'We have golden retrievers and it's the only cars that they will drive'..

 

That line doesnt male sense "pellets are exact same [ much lower quality) than 6 yrs ago. Neither price nor quality is same as 6 yrs ago

 

Gonna ask if you can come train my dog, You taught yours to drive and I can't even get mine to not jump on people!!

 

If I lived where you do, I would agree.
If you lived where I do, you would agree it is...

Dan

 

But production cost, and more importantly, freight, has skyrocketed..
Just had another increase.. (freight)

Dan

 

What I meant is, they look exactly as 6, heck 15 years ago. They dont have added btu, fancy bags with handles( Colorado pellet bags had handles!)
But I can probably only think of a handful of brands, our of more than a dozen in ct, that are better than years ago. Most are down in quality, mainly ash.

 

On April 25, 2018, I bought Hammers for either 249 or 255 a ton, posted in this forum. How the heck can a dealer justify 340, today's listed price. $85 a ton increase. It's insane. Way out of rate of inflation.
If something doesn't correct, the industry will implode.

 

ok... got it....

 

Seriously? And burning wood pellets is cheaper?

 

If I lived in Washington State... yes... I would agree that 400 a ton is crazy.
If you lived here, and wanted to burn DF's, you would pay upwards to 400..

Hope that clears up the comment.

Dan

 

How is freight getting so crazy ? Is it insurance, tolls?. I know there are less trucks on the road from a lack of product to move. No secret the industry is consolidating right now. Cummins, peterbilt, Mack, etc, all have big declines in class 8 truck orders.

 

My concern, gripes or plain old b!ching is we are having a very mild winter so far, and prices are booming. Traditional fuels are up a bit, but nothing drastic.

What is going to happen if we get 2-3 rough winters, or a REAL IRAN issue, or fuel oil at 4-4.50 like in 2011 -2013? I'd extrapolate 400-450 with what were seeing.

 

Seems like it always has been standard procedure to bump up prices when actual cold weather start . Nov-dec etc. Suposedley less product to sell by then , get your pellets by fall as prices will go up as supply dwindels. Many bogus reasons right there to gouge buyers. Shouldn't have to raise prices just cuz supply is getting low. When it's gone it's gone

 

Oh, I've been burning for 17 years. I started at 135 a ton. I've seen a lot. Was always a spring buyer. Would run 3-4 tons a season from dealers. Big boxes didn't sell pellets back then.

In the 11-14 window when oil hit 4+ a gallon, pellets were only low 200's a ton. It was very economical for pellets.

Now you cant buy anything decent for under 275 ish. Many are well over 300. But oil is 3.09 ish. Gas is dirt cheap. Warm season so far. Even north Dakota is 20 above normal. So weather isn't factor.

I'm concerned for future. Im passionate about my stoves. I've helped friends with stove installs, moving pellets with my truck, advice. And many have left, some as a fad, some as price. I started pellets for keeping my $$ in the USA, save some green, and carbon neutral. But if something doesn't happen, change soon, might pellets go away? The price explosion is perplexing. At what point do people stop buying? $350-400-450?

Serious question. When would you guys stop buying, at what PRICE?

 

Partly this:
Loaded Up and—Waitin'? | Biomassmagazine.com

And this:
Truck Driver Shortage and Forecasts [2019] - I Am Zeus

Don't know many (in this area) that are "Deadheading" anymore. Every trip is a Headhaul, or a Backhaul. ... Any (partial) Backhaul is built into the Freight cost - for the trip. .. Can't afford to do the trip, otherwise. Fuel, Insurance, Wages, etc., like you mention.

It's not just OTR freight hauling: all segments of the transportation industry are affected by a current shortage of qualified CDL drivers, with endorsement(s).

 

I think I would stop at $300.00/ton (have paid about $200.00/ton for the last few years)...I now have a gas line running down my street, so I would definitely put up the front money to connect... May do it anyway.

 

It seems to me to be a truck driver might not be an industry that many young folks might aspire to.
Long hours, drug testing, arguably lower wages, regulation of the industry by gummint, mundane work to name a few. Everything I read about Millennials tells me that they need to have the feeling they are serving the greater good, must have some sort of job satisfaction....given that, I just don't see many of them wanting to drive truck...with the social media craze, and working at home, isnt is more glamorous to sit in your undies and bunny slippers, watching it snow (rather than getting stuck in the snow), from your warm place being a Social Media Influencer, etc?

 

Unfortunatly your spot on correct about a vast majority of Millennials. Guess what else is down? Milk or derivative of whole milk. BORDENS is fileing bankruptcy. youngins aint drinking reg milk anymore. Prob dont need to build strong bones anymore since they dont exspect to do manual labor much. They also shy away from breakfast cereals. Milk also comes from cows who add there methane gas into the planet so that is a no no and the list goes on in their silly minds.

 

It does. I guess I have only burned a fur blend that was not 100%. DF Everything else has been DF. Seriously it's hard to find anything else. So my question is -- are the other wood pellets that bad? I mean, $150 difference or whatever bad?

 

It's really up to each individual, to decide that.
For me? I will not burn cheaper pellets to save a couple bucks.
Never.
My stove is generally on pretty low setting. Like 1-2 unless it gets really cold.
3 and above, the good softies are pretty good.
On those 1-2 settings.. even "good" stuff, can be fairly dirty.
Glass gets dirty, ash pan fills up fairly quick.
Need to rake off the berm on the plate, 2-3 times a day...
DF's... wow. Even on low, glass is clean,
no ash berm on the plate to speak of.
ash pan gets emptied only a few times a winter.
That said... We just started using 100% white pine.
For my money.. they are very close in performance to the DF's.
Here, they are $299 vs. $379.
That's a substantial difference.
And only 20 bucks more than a good softie.
Pretty sure I have a new favorite..
As a tiny bit of personal background.
I just want people to know,
I am not a pellet snob.. not even close..
When I was young, no doubt, I would have had
to have a different perspective.
But I have been retired a long time, now.. kids are long gone,
1895 house has been paid off for 25 years...
I don't smoke or drink.
My newest vehicle is a 2005.
If I like something today, and can afford it, I go for it.
Not rich, by any stretch... I still live extremely conservatively.
(My siblings think too much so .. so the heck with them).
I did my share of struggling, and saving a lot of years ago..
So I want people to understand...
I'm just giving you my reasons on why "I" use DF's and/or high end softies..
When I'm worm food, that few hundred extra I blew on pellets,
isn't going to make one iota of a difference........
In the meantime... burn whatever works for you, and your budget.
It's all good... better than most other heat alternatives, every day of the week.


Dan