My pellet stove was *finally* installed today - woo whoo!!

[jpak]

Been waiting on a part for nearly 2 weeks. They installed it at 8 AM and the *whole* house is now above 60 degrees F!!!

Beats the shit out of living at 52 degrees...

:bounce:

It's a Harman Accentura-2, 40,000 BTU of carbon-neutral warmth and comfort...

:thumbsup:

[Dr.Phool]

1. And just in time for summer!!!

Congrats!

[jpak]

2. There's 8 feet of snow in front of my porch and 4 level feet on the ground right now

I'll have "winter" in my yard until June...(seriously)...

:evilgrin:

Spring in Maine doesn't arrive until Memorial Day - and I will save at least $1000 in heating costs between now and "summer"...

:)

[Iwasthere]

3. Good for you

I love my pellet stove. We have an old Whitfield (early 90s), Our house is over 2700 sq feet, built in 1960 and it heats all rooms, even in the bitter cold. Now if pellets would come down to $3.00 a bag again. Better than the electric heat bill though.

[phantom power]

5. jpak just made your pellets a bit more expensive.

:evilgrin:

[jpak]

9. I have a wood furnace and a wood stove - this will keep the oil burner at bay when I'm out of town

during the day or away overnight.

I'm getting the battery back-up system next fall ($484 installed) - peace of mind when the power goes out...

[phantom power]

11. So you have an oil furnace, a wood furnace and a wood stove?

[jpak]

13. Yes - the wood furnace provides heat and hot water - but I have to be here during the day

to feed it (same with the wood stove). When it's cold and windy and I'm not around, the (early) morning fire(s) die(s) down and the oil burner kicks on. When I'm gone overnight - I burn oil...lots of it...

(the oil burner backs-up the wood furnace)

At $3.45 a gallon, that oil bill adds up *real* quick...even with the wood furnace...

The pellet stove is on a thermostat and will kick on automatically to keep the place above 50 degrees when I'm not around. I changed out the old thermostats this fall (their minimum settings were 60 degrees). I keep them set on 48 when I home and 55 when I'm out.

With all three systems, there's no reason why I should burn any oil at all - and I have the wood stove in the kitchen when the power is out. Next heating season the battery back-up for the pellet stove should give me 24 hours of pellet heat to augment the wood stove during that massive ice storm they're predicting....

[madokie]

7. when we bought our first pellet stove back in '92 pellets were 145 bucks a ton

and that includes the taxes, this year we are paying 210 bucks including tax. Still a bargain anyway you look at it.

[jpak]

8. I got 2 tons @ $239/ton delivered - far cheaper than heating oil @ $3.20 a gallon

:hi:

[applegrove]

4. I know someone who has one. It is a great thing. Enjoy.

[madokie]

6. we have been heating since the winter of '92 with wood pellets

that is a good looking stove.


our first one was an England which our son still uses, we have a whitfield now.

[midnight armadillo]

10. Don't celebrate yet - sawdust is thru the roof

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120451039119406735.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_page_one

Sawdust Shock: A Shortage Looms As Economy Slows
BY JOEL MILLMAN
Word Count: 1,206
Ernie Johnson figured $100-a-barrel oil was bound to happen someday. But the 58-year-old businessman Missoula, Mont., never thought he'd see sawdust at $100 a ton.

The price of sawdust has soared since 2006, up from about $25 a ton to more than $100 in some markets. Blame the housing slump: Fewer new homes mean fewer trees cut for use in construction, which leads to less sawdust and other wood waste, driving up the price.

"I've never seen sawdust so hard to find. We're having to go 400 miles to get it," says Mr. Johnson, the president of Johnson Brothers Contracting, ...

It's an interesting article. Pellets are made from sawdust...

[jpak]

12. Heating oil in Maine is now $3.45 a gallon - and will go to >$4 a gallon by next year

Right now wood pellets are the equivalent of heating oil at $2.10 a gallon.

If I locked in my oil for next year at current prices, I would be paying over $800 a month to prepay it this summer...

There will be three large pellet mills operating in Maine by next year with a combined capacity of over 100,000 tons per year - finding pellets at reasonable prices this summer shouldn't be a problem (and I intend to have 5 tons of pellets and 3 extra cords of wood on hand for next year).

(and if there was a biodeisel dealer nearby, I'd top off my oil tank with that too)...

[CRH]

14. You are lucky enough to have a large dry outbuilding?

If you purchase large quanities at once, at a time of year when the market is polite, it helps to keep the annual price down. But wet pellets can be a problem and any savings, suddenly gone. Weather proof your out building if high humidity or leaks might be a problem. Good luck.

[Dead_Parrot]

15. Now, you know I'd never needle you for the sake of it...

...but do you have to heat the whole house to 60? You could always heat just two rooms, buy a sweater, and burn less trees...

:evilgrin: & :thumbsup:

[jpak]

16. Sheesh - I've lived in my kitchen since the first week in December (gotta couch in it)

When it's been below zero - I've slept in it. The rest of the house was between 50 and 55 degrees - and believe me it gets old.

I've burned ~3 cords of wood this winter (which ain't bad for heat and hot water). At least now I don't burn @#$%^& oil...