What Are YOUR Savings Shaping up to Be?

SWEET VICTORY ! Just had a propane delivery - first one since November 4th, 2008. The scoundrels topped off my tank then to squeeze another hit at $ 2.869. Todays price was $ 2.619 - but only 50.6 gallons! That includes stove/oven, holiday cooking and boiler use when the Vigi can't handle the single digit nights effectively. I have an 1800 sq ft Colonial, using a Vigilante II coal stove, and just burned my last bag of the first ton for the season. Fired the stove up November 22nd.

Would have used at least 400 gal of propane by now, figuring average of $ 2.70 gal. , I have saved $ 730 so far! Thank you to the coal miners.

Oil tank was filled back in late November with about 80 gallons. I think it is just over 3/4 filled. It hasn't been on since we lit the stoker in the beginning of December.

Someone gave us about 1 1/2 tons of rice coal of which we've burned 3/4s of it thus far. So, my fuel thus far has been free.

I've never heated exclusively with conventional fuel in the house since there was a stove here when we bought the home in May '07. Last year we used about 300 gallons of oil at 2.91/gal - most of which was used before I figured out how to burn the coal which happened around the new year.

I'm guessing we are saving about $400/mo? But really, I have no clue because there is no way in carnation that I could keep the temp in the house at 78 if we were burning oil without having a financial meltdown.

Comfort from coal = priceless.

Pricless = heating to 75* with coal for less money than freezing at 55* with gas!

I've used 0 oil and about two tons of coal in my EFM. My house has not been this warm in 15 years. We started off with the Tstats set at 74. That got to hot for us. We're down to 71 in the day/evening and 69 at night. One unexpected benefit is that my basement is DRY. My table saw and planer aren't getting surface rust like before. I should've done this 15 years ago when we moved back to Northeast PA.

billw wrote:I've used 0 oil and about two tons of coal in my EFM. My house has not been this warm in 15 years. We started off with the Tstats set at 74. That got to hot for us. We're down to 71 in the day/evening and 69 at night. One unexpected benefit is that my basement is DRY. My table saw and planer aren't getting surface rust like before. I should've done this 15 years ago when we moved back to Northeast PA.

Told you only 3 to 3.5 tons for the winter Good thing these EFM are so inefficient. you need to get a water coil in the spring then you will have all of the hot water you can handel spring & summer you will use a 1/2 to 3/4 tons for your water

I have yet to turn on our heat pump, the Gibraltar is keeping the house nice and warm. I am only paying for the electric that I use, no more budgets for us. My budget plan was at 250 a month, my last two electric bills are only 125.00. Nice very nice. I figure the stove will be paid off in 10 months!

First time coal user, late start, already burned some #2 oil while waiting for stove. (200gal)

Based on past averages for oil consumption I stand to save burning 650 gallons this winter.

coal berner wrote: Told you only 3 to 3.5 tons for the winter Good thing these EFM are so inefficient. you need to get a water coil in the spring then you will have all of the hot water you can handel spring & summer you will use a 1/2 to 3/4 tons for your water

Yeah JC, These EFM's run like crap. My coal use should have been quite a bit less up to now. I won't tell you the bone headed mistake I made with my baro damper. Took me until the end of November to figure out I screwed up and was heating half of Northeast PA. Let's just say I should learn to read the instructions before I pick up a tool.
I'm definitely putting in a DHW coil this spring when I shut it down for maintenance.

Try checking out this site, it's from Blaschaks website. It gives you a comparison between anthracite and other types of fuel. To heat my house using No. 2 oil it would cost me over 400.00!!! Coal is definaly a better value. Considering I have a 3 mile Round Trip to pick-up coal

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we just bought our house in february, almost a year ago. did work to it and moved into it in may. never really heated it a lot, so we didnt know what to expect with the propane fireplace insert that heats the 1000 sq ft ranch. make a long story short, NOCO came to fill the 100 gallon tank in october and said that he filled it every 3 weeks and it was either almost empty or was empty and had to make an emergency delivery. do the math; 100 gallons, multiplied by $3 a gallon = 400 a month. roughly 2400 to 2500 a year! nope, don't think so. my guesstimation is that I will use, at tops, 4 ton of coal, which will be only a grand for the year. oh, wait. silly me. I got 2 ton free out of a guys basement! aint it sweet

Oil company quoted me $370 a month on the budget plan for 08-09 starting in April.

Oil would have cost me $3700 so far.

Coal has cost me $1130 so far. Or if you break down per month - $94.00

and the house hasn't been this warm in over 4 years.

I will save my usual $500 this winter.

Well, I went on budget with the propane company before I knew that I was getting the coal stove......got an invoice from them the other day and they say that I have a credit of close to $1100! So, guess I'll be saving a bunch. And, that's with the boiler still kicking on a bunch as I was trying to climb the learning curve of coal burning. But, today I am sitting in an 80+* house with the windows open. Never did that with propane! LOL

I've been burning coal and wood since 1970. With all the money I've
saved, you'd think that I would be rich by now. I'm just less poor.

TSB

Our projected usage from the Natural Gas Company this year was $1500. Our projected coal cost - $700 and that includes driving 40 miles 4 times to pick the coal up. We will be saving over 50% on our heating bill again this year. As a note we had planned to be able to recoup the stove and chimney installation in 5 years. It’s only taken us 3 and I’ve never been so warm. Lisa