About had it!

Well I have been heating with coal since the fall of 06,I could buy a pallet(2500lbs) for 290$,then when the fuel prices went up...I started paying 420$ for the same amount,fuel dropped but the coal didnt.
I work 12hr shifts,an hour away from home,I have to get up @ 3am to start tending the stove,then come home around 7pm and do it all over again...plus empty ashes all the damn time!
Making the switch to pellets...I can get them for 200$ per ton,give or take,I know that coal yields more heat per ton but i will still save money.
Dont get me wrong...i love the heat it gives...alot less hassle than wood..
Would be different if I lived closer to Nepa,but i dont...i have called around for cheaper prices but after i figure in my gas and time...isnt worth it!
I cant run my stove till around thanksgiving,shutting it down in march cause it gets too hot in the house,so i have to run oil...with a pellet...i can heat with it all the time...saving more money!
I will keep my stove and use it when it gets real cold to heat the cellar and make my floors warmer,days off from time to time,and power outages,but it's gonna be mostly pellets for me!
Anyone else feel this way?

NO! I got rid of my pellet stove a few years ago, I was having to handle 5 tons of pellets and now I only handle 2 tons of coal for the same amount of heat.

Another problem was pellets varied greatly in price and quality and sometimes I could not find anyone that had them at all, your situation may be different.

Pellets do have much less ash, but its no problem for me.

You might consider trying a used stoker, hooked to a coal trol, they idle down to nothing and you dont have to get up so early to tend it, switch the ash pan, load the hopper and go.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Bk

I feel your pain. $420 for 2500lbs is a rip off! I live at the top of the state and I get it for $265 a ton ($331.25 for 2500lbs). Your paying $71 more per ton than I am. I just called my dealer and the price has not gone up because of the fuel prices. I bought 6.25 tons in September and have burned a little over 3 tons since October 11. Pellets around here range anywhere from $210-$240 a ton. Since you work 12 hour shifts, a stoker would be the way to go. That's why I went with the K6. I work different shifts so I'm never home at the same times. It's easier for me this way. Check out craigslist. I seem to remember a few stokers for sale not long ago that were fairly cheap. If you already have a pellet stove you'll definately save some money. #2 oil is $3.30 here. With that current price, I'll save about $1300 this winter. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bob

If power failures are not an issue in Oakland, I also recommend trying a used radiant heat stoker stove. You are limited in BTU output with the pellet stoves and if you have a Mark 111 already, you must require a big heat generator. Keystoker,LL, Alaska, Harman all have very good ones.....especially with the coaltrol option.
Uncle Henry's or craigslist seem to have a steady supply available. The fuel usage will end up being more economical than a pellet stove, however the 400/ton price is not fair. Look around, perhaps someone will chime in about more affordable coal.

If you have a hydronic system anyway, consider a stoker boiler like 'sterlingman', if not there are other options.
Either way, don't jump ship yet........

Not that I want to rub salt in a sore cut, but I pick up at the breaker bulk for $150/ton. Do you know of others in your area burning, try a truck load and share the cost. If you were really ambitious, have a RR box car delivered, that would last a LOOONG time.

I dont know why its so cheap upstate??? been like that for awhile...i have checked around with in a reasonable distance,figure time and gas...it wouldnt really pay to drive to Knights in Augusta...all i have now is a ford ranger so i would need to make 2-3 trips per ton!
I will still keep and use my stove here and there...but primary will be pellets...looking to get a harman insert for my fireplace!
I been thinking about this since 08-09....just now throwing in the towel...feel like i been held hostage the past couple years cause i heat with coal,in fact my supplier( aubuchon) just went up to 7.69 per bag,up from 7.49.

bugize wrote:I started paying 420$ for the same amount,?

If it's 2500 lbs of coal the wood pellets would need to be about $200 per ton or $4 per 40lb bag to compete with the coal.

I think it is only about $329 a ton down here in Washington Co. I am still burning off the half a TT load I bought 3 years ago, or 11.5 ton. Will have to but some this year and not sure where it will come from. No way I'm going to pellets, they are destroying our state with this "eco" friendly crap.

Kevin
Good luck, that eco comment wasn't meant to start an arguement but it probably will.

They are about 200$ per ton( pellets)...yes,if i could get coal for 300 a ton within a 20 mile radius i would stay with coal....but i cant!
I agree with the " eco " comment...LOL....i agree!
You see..here are my figures...3 ton or alittle more at the price i pay..1200$ per season, about 200 gallons of oil for the start and end of heating season...about 600$..sometimes more!
1800$ minimum...that equals 9 tons of pellets...i figure i will use 4...5 at the most,a friend of mine with a similar home and heating requirments uses 3 tons of pellets,so i think 4 will cover it!
Like i said...i love the heat it belts out...but the cost and the hassle...aint worth it...i just emptied my ash can ( 25gallon metal trash can) for the 6th time this year,with pellets...prolly only once!
I wont stay away from this forum though...alot of good folks and advice in here...about anything from coal heating to pulling motors to hunting....you're all a bunch of great people!

The deal Bob gets down east could be replicated by those same truckers, IF someone would step-up and bite the bullet.
Those truckers are going right by on the I-95 corridor anyway. Safe, secure, level drop zone, with a reliable fork lift.......

It sure would make the gouging stop. When someone puts prices in their post, could you please specify whether it is a 40 lb or 50lb bag. Pallet price or ton price. Some folks freak out when they see pallet prices for 2500 lbs and think that is the ton price.

By the way, bagged Kimmels or Reading Pea or Nut are 8.39 for a 50 lb bag, or ton price is 305.00 in this part of the state. Rice is a little more......

bugize wrote:They are about 200$ per ton( pellets)...yes,if i could get coal for 300 a ton within a 20 mile radius i would stay with coal....but i cant!
I agree with the " eco " comment...LOL....i agree!
You see..here are my figures...3 ton or alittle more at the price i pay..1200$ per season, about 200 gallons of oil for the start and end of heating season...about 600$..sometimes more!
1800$ minimum...that equals 9 tons of pellets...i figure i will use 4...5 at the most,a friend of mine with a similar home and heating requirments uses 3 tons of pellets,so i think 4 will cover it!
Like i said...i love the heat it belts out...but the cost and the hassle...aint worth it...i just emptied my ash can ( 25gallon metal trash can) for the 6th time this year,with pellets...prolly only once!
I wont stay away from this forum though...alot of good folks and advice in here...about anything from coal heating to pulling motors to hunting....you're all a bunch of great people!

On BTUs alone.... You'll need 12 ton of hardwood pellets, or 11 ton softwood pellets to equal the 3 ton Anthracite plus 200 gal fuel oil.

If you use one of the truckers on this forum, they can deliver a TT load of anthracite for alot less than any local supplier in your area. Call and talk to some of them, or post a new topic asking for prices.

Don't forget you have to shutdown the pellet stove at least once a week to clean it out.
Last I checked, theres no pellet stove on the market that can match the BTU output of a MARK III. Around 92,000 BTUs.

Do your own homework... don't jump on the pellet bandwagon because a neighbor did.

Hardwood is a higher Btu as firewood, I think the numbers would be switched in the last post. Just the same, lots of tons.

[quote][/quote]You'll need 12 ton of hardwood pellets, or 11 ton softwood pellets to equal the 3 ton Anthracite plus 200 gal fuel oil.

Kevin

The insert would go in my livingroom,the mark3 is in the basement,i wouldnt want a coal burner in my living room because of the mess,so i wont need as much heat output.

KLook wrote:Hardwood is a higher Btu as firewood, I think the numbers would be switched in the last post. Just the same, lots of tons.

Not true Kevin, read this.....

Q: What is better Hardwood Pellets or Softwood Pellets?

A: Most people jump to the conclusion that "we have always burned hardwood in our woodstove so hardwood must be better" - Not true with pellets.

The first and most important thing to remember is that you are buying pellets by weight NOT volume. A cord of dry hardwood vs. dry softwood weighs about 2-3 times as much. However, a pound of dry hardwood weighs the same as a pound of dry softwood.
So what counts is the heat output of each. This is where softwood wins. Below is information from a study done by the wood industry.

White Oak 8810 BTU/pound
Yellow Pine 9610 BTU/pound

A softwood pellet will produce 10-20% more BTU's per pound than hardwood depending on the species and create a lighter ash.

http://www.pelletking.com/wood-pellet-information.aspx

But??? is the softwood pellet a faster burner? fast hot burn compared to lomger more controled as in wood stove useage??