Sitting back and contemplating what pellets will sell for this year...

Inflation just hit us right in the wallet. We got a 50 dollar per quarter increase on out Federal Employees retirement helthcare premium in the mail today...wowzer. It's good insurance and we use it but 200 bucks a year increase is quite substantial when on a fixed income.

 

I burned some cherry pits years back. Think I paid $4 for a 40 pound bag. Had to try them, and I’m in Michigan so I figured if they worked out I could help a local company make a few bucks.

You’re spot on with the ash - it looked like a snow globe inside the stove. I ended up mixing them half and half with pellets.

After that, I told myself that the only way I’d burn cherry pits again was if pellets became unobtanium, corn wasn’t available and I ran out of firewood. That house had an oil furnace and I refused to pay $3/gallon for oil, which by todays standards doesn’t seem too bad.

 

They can keep all the cherry pits up in Petoskey for all I care....lol It's a might nippy down here presently so the bio burner is cooking. Still cheaper than burning propane. Speaking of propane, the price is climbing and not unexpectedly. Glad I pre bought 500 gallons.

Running straight pellets presently, won't run corn until it gets really cold out. I have a couple tons to pick up yet, just have not got around to driving the tractor down the road and fetch it.

Farm and Fleet is advertising pits for 6 bucks a bag. They can keep them as they are the pits.

 

Drove through the Wallingford Home Depot early yesterday morning and they had about 6-8 tons in the back lot.

 

Local TSC is still at $299 for a skid of Michigan Hardwood pellets as of yesterday.

 

See one of of the large pellet houses increase another $10 a ton this week.
Matras now 385. 14 brands of pellets, but only 6 below the $400 threshold.

 

A coworker was telling me he only burns one Brand of Douglas fir pellets I don’t remember what one. Called all over New England to find some and payed 500$ a pallet for them.

 

HHO and propane are climbing in lockstep with wood pellets so they are still a better alternative to conventional fuels.

 

Yes, and gasoline is dropping, along with crude. Showes how worried people are, heating and trucks delivery isn't optional, but gasoline use, extra driving os optional.

Eversource and UI just released their new electric rates for January 1. The per kilowatt-hour will effectively double, delivery charge stays the same. Another burden on stressed budgets.

Lots of cracks in the economy.

 

IMO you need to have your head examined paying that for a pellet....but that's just me

 

If the dude can afford it why not? I wouldn't but then my fuel (off grade seed corn) is free... or at least 50% of the fuel is as I usually mix it with pellets anyway.

 

Up here in lower Michigan, DTE has been slowly jacking the per KWH rates up all along or at least since August. Just told us they want to retire the Monroe power plant which is one of the largest coal fired plants in the country and go with wind and solar and it will only increase our overall bill by 40 cents a month. Sounds like hogwash to me. The whole renewable power thing is hogwash to me actually.

 

I don’t know much about pellets but that seems rather expensive to me. This guy is a clown. His goal is to be millions of dollars in debt when he dies so he “made out”.

 

Problem is, on road diesel isn't dropping and bottom line is, everything you use (including those pellets) is delivered by a diesel powered truck.

 

A million bucks would buy a lot of pellets, better yet, for a mil, you could buy a commercial extruder and 'roll your own'.

 

Plenty of news reports about communities promised low green energy rates, that never live up, and are more expensive than fossil fuel.
Google GE lying off wind energy workers. Crazy inflation driving up costs.

Analysis | GE Is Likely to Keep Getting Windburned on Renewables

In Ct, we citizens are getting raped by a project to build a new state pier, to entice and support ocean based wind farm. Project is way over budget, and no end in site. This is just for the support of the turbines, doesn't include a single mill.

Snag with State Pier project could cost Connecticut another $7 million

 

I should add, we do need green energy. But we still need fossil fuels too for reliability sake.

We are getting that less on the northeast. Green energy can't keep up with all the loss of coal, oil, and nuclear in the last 2 decades.

Heck, if evyone in America charges one cell phone and iPad each night, ( assuming 250 milion people, using 50 watt hours to charge both) it takes several nuclear plants to provide all that energy.

 

Well, let's see. Say he uses a ton per month - that is $500/month. I assume that would translate to about half tank of oil (125 gallons). At $5.84/gallon (around here - what my pet sitter paid last week), that is $730/month. Times the $230 difference by 4 months and that is $920 cheaper. And if otherwise he has non-heat pump electric heat, then the savings are even more dramatic.

Meanwhile, every time I go to the grocery store I watch tons of people idling their vehicles while inside the store. Yesterday during my 15 minute visit, I counted 5 vehicles (only 1 with a person in it) idling away. Heck, it isn't even that cold out. I don't know of anyone who hasn't complained about gas prices (including myself) , but yet, there they are wasting it - which is insane to me.

I would say if he chooses to spend extra money for heat is the worst of his "problems", then I for one won't make fun.

 

Is that just for CT? I didn't think the next action date was coming up until December - maybe that is only for nH.

 

Yes, all over the news, prices reset January 1, then again for summer. I know NH got hit earlier. The campgrounds in NH where going nuts over the hikes. It wasn't in their budget or price structure to absorb the increases.

Eversource, UI submit doubled kWh rate to Connecticut regulators | fox61.com