hedge hog
ArboristSite Guru
they can burn corn, milo and wheat
the moisture need to be around 9%
burns a little dirtier than wood pellets ,,,, dump more ashes
Glad I burn wood & not pellets
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the moisture need to be around 9%
burns a little dirtier than wood pellets ,,,, dump more ashes
MrWhoopee
ArboristSite Operative
I bought a cord-wood stove because to make pellets they have to:
Haul the wood/waste to the processing plant
Process the wood/waste to make pellets in a factory
Haul the processed pellets to the store
Sell it to you at a profit.
That makes the cost of pellets more closely related to cost of energy/electricity/oil than I like.
Even if I can't cut wood myself, there is always somebody who is hungry with a truck and a chainsaw.
Cordwood is the ONLY source of heat that is truly a free market. Anybody with a truck, chainsaw and work ethic can participate. No processing plants, no large corporations, lots of competition. You will never get your BTUs more realistically priced. Period.
Haul the wood/waste to the processing plant
Process the wood/waste to make pellets in a factory
Haul the processed pellets to the store
Sell it to you at a profit.
That makes the cost of pellets more closely related to cost of energy/electricity/oil than I like.
Even if I can't cut wood myself, there is always somebody who is hungry with a truck and a chainsaw.
Cordwood is the ONLY source of heat that is truly a free market. Anybody with a truck, chainsaw and work ethic can participate. No processing plants, no large corporations, lots of competition. You will never get your BTUs more realistically priced. Period.
jimbojango
ArboristSite Guru
You've fell off the turnip wagon. i'm going to ATTEMPT to make this as not personal as possible...
Why on earth would I burn wood by choice? it takes time, effort, a strong back and weak mind, a chainsaw, a splitter, a truck and that's just to get it. THEN you have to haul the crap into the house after its split and put it in a stove every couple hours all the time even at 4 am and then carry ashes out. The work involved in firewood isn't worth it if you make more than $15 an hour. You can LIKE cutting wood (most of the people on this site do) but going to work and working overtime pays for "alternative heat" (not wood) 9 times out of 10. The reason people burn wood is either a. they have lots of free time and are poor so they put the effort out, or b. they ENJOY cutting wood and not "paying the man" even though they are paying themselves to be "the man"
Why jump on someone for burning pellets? or LP, or natural gas or coal or whatever. You're source isn't better than any one elses if they aren't freezing to death. If you want to jump on someone about how they choose to spend their hard earned money maybe you should take a long look at yourself in the mirror. I'm all about economics (have a finance degree) and i'm here to tell you what i already said above. If i had a job (instead of CHOOSING to be a farmer and staying "poor") i wouldn't burn a stick of wood, i'd even give my stove to someone else and only heat with propane or electric. I choose to burn wood, i like cutting wood, i like having chainsaws that cost more collectively than my wife's car.
BTW you remark about profit digs me pretty deep as well. Do you grow a garden and your own meat? if not I'm sticking it to you every time you go to the store. beating "the man" in 1 aspect of your life isn't such a big deal, beat him in all aspects and we'll talk.
Poindexter
ArboristSite Operative
One advantage of pellet stoves I haven't seen mentioned is the cooler exhaust gasses can use a smaller diameter pipe, and in some jurisdictions you can pop a horizontal chimney out through a wall without having to cut a hole in the roof.
Pellets seem to have about the same BTU value per pound as well seasoned birch, 3000# to the cord, a ton and a half of pellets, 20M BTUS either way. A good volume of green season it yourself birch runs about $200 in spring and summer locally, a kinda skimpy cord of dry birch cordwood can fetch north of $500 in late winter.
So it comes down to your other options. How much is a bag of pellets near you? 75 bags at 40# each is 3000#, if they are $6.81 each it is the same price per BTU as buying #2 heating oil at $3.86/ gallon, but less convenient to use. If pellets are $4 per 40# bag they are cost competitive with buying some green birch and some seasoned birch, but more convenient to use.
Pellets seem to have about the same BTU value per pound as well seasoned birch, 3000# to the cord, a ton and a half of pellets, 20M BTUS either way. A good volume of green season it yourself birch runs about $200 in spring and summer locally, a kinda skimpy cord of dry birch cordwood can fetch north of $500 in late winter.
So it comes down to your other options. How much is a bag of pellets near you? 75 bags at 40# each is 3000#, if they are $6.81 each it is the same price per BTU as buying #2 heating oil at $3.86/ gallon, but less convenient to use. If pellets are $4 per 40# bag they are cost competitive with buying some green birch and some seasoned birch, but more convenient to use.
autoimage
ArboristSite Operative
I thought you weren't going to make that personal...weak of mind really, poor really, youre the only one who put people down
alleyyooper
Addicted to ArboristSite
Was in HD the other day and the fellow wanted to return his stove less than 90 days old cause he couldn't find pellets for it any where in town. Don't know if they took it back or not. Were it me who had a pellet stove I'd buy a couple tons till I figured out what I needed per a normal year then add 10% more for bad years.
Al
Al
philoshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
As a 'weak-minded' individual who heats with wood, kills his own food, and has a small garden, I try not to depend on anyone to take care of those things for me.
Heating my house is a priority for me when it's cold, so I cut wood rather than ordering fuel from someone who may or may not be able to deliver.
Heating my house is a priority for me when it's cold, so I cut wood rather than ordering fuel from someone who may or may not be able to deliver.
D
Deleted member 83629
Guest
why not make pellets from coal. it would give more BTU'S than wood and last a little longer
A pellet stove has to have power. I've had a couple of them. The blower and auger need to operate. I guess you can add them to your generator list, or attach a battery. If you live where firewood is hard to come by, and your electricity doesn't go out, they are good and do throw out the heat. You must clean out the ash pan once a week if using good quality pellets, or twice if using pinier stuff. Both places I had the pellet stoves had local pellet mills so if you bought them in the fall, by the ton, it worked out. They can be stored in the garage and are cleaner and pile nicer than firewood.
I now live where firewood is easy for me to get. I don't have to have the noise of a fan going, so would not consider anything else.
I now live where firewood is easy for me to get. I don't have to have the noise of a fan going, so would not consider anything else.
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've heated with pellets before I got my old wood furnace . I was burning 3 bags a day to keep an average house barely in the 60s which was no savings at all and we froze .. I sold it quick . A friend has one and went through 5 tons and likely another ton by the time it warms up around here. . 230$ a ton x6 =1,380$
Natural gas is cheaper and requires you to do nothing but set your thermostat . Even an efficient pellet burner in a well insulated house will use 2 bags a day so at 5$ bucks a bag that's ten. $ a day or. 300$ a month no special savings to be found certainly no savings compared to firewood. Even if you bought wood at 150$ a cord you'd be paying half what the pellet guys pay . You have 3 motors in a pellet burner and a power board .thats going to use more electric to increase your utility bill .and When the power goes out your family is going to freeze . The only time I see it bring a savings in cost I'd if you heated with fuel oil which is the worst most expensive way go heat a house or an old style heat pump
Natural gas is cheaper and requires you to do nothing but set your thermostat . Even an efficient pellet burner in a well insulated house will use 2 bags a day so at 5$ bucks a bag that's ten. $ a day or. 300$ a month no special savings to be found certainly no savings compared to firewood. Even if you bought wood at 150$ a cord you'd be paying half what the pellet guys pay . You have 3 motors in a pellet burner and a power board .thats going to use more electric to increase your utility bill .and When the power goes out your family is going to freeze . The only time I see it bring a savings in cost I'd if you heated with fuel oil which is the worst most expensive way go heat a house or an old style heat pump
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
Doesn't your nat gas furnace have a fan in it too? That also requires power, even when the power goes out? Then your family is going to freeze too...
SR
johncinco
Addicted to ArboristSite
All sold out around here. Stores get a truck load and lines form. Limits set on how many you can get, one place was 2 bags max per customer.
Corn is $260 a ton, pellets $215. You get more BTUs out of a ton of corn, so it is like diesel vs gas.
Corn is $260 a ton, pellets $215. You get more BTUs out of a ton of corn, so it is like diesel vs gas.
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Dry wood is hard to come by now too. Pellets are not for me now, but they have there place just like everything. What works for one may not work for another. I don't think a $10,000 investment is for the poor. You can be frugal, economical and not be poor.
jimbojango
ArboristSite Guru
I didn't say you had to be weak minded to burn wood, i said either you were weak minded OR you CHOOSE the lifestyle of burning wood and that it was a hobby.
jgoodhart
ArboristSite Member
I live in central Pa. and pellets are hard to find. I have a outside wood burner and use a pellets stove when it's like 15F and below to help heat the house because my work days are 12 hours long and coming home to out of wood boiler isn't my kind of fun. If I didn't have my own trees for firewood I would be burning pellets full time. A lot less trouble and time invested. In my area of 10 houses 3 burn wood, 1 propane, 1 oil and 5 burn wood pellets.
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
Pellets are scarce around here also. Couple weeks ago, everyone was out. Then some places were able to get some but prices went up about $2 a bag from what they were. Nothing unique about a pellet shortage. Heck, there's also a firewood shortage around here. Mostly for folks who buy their wood. Buddy of mine has a decent size house. 2 woodstoves upstairs, plus a pellet stove in his man cave in the garage. We go on pellet runs of 10-20 bags at a time, mostly so we can ride around and hit some breakfast joints in the morning. (Or a pub if an afternoon run ) So he got a bit nervous when he was down to 3 bags and the local stops were all out.
Don't think pellets should be thought of in terms of either good or bad. Just like anything else, they have their positives and negatives. The independence of firewood lies in the fact most of us have the ability to do the work and many of us get the wood for free. Not everyone can do that, and age may change that reality for some of us down the road. If I had to buy split wood, then buying pellets is an option that I would consider. Certainly would be better for me than buying oil. Move closer to urban areas, and naturally the abilty to procure firewood becomes more problematic, especially for the do-it-yourselfer. So, given different parameters, pellets can be more attractive to some folks.
) So he got a bit nervous when he was down to 3 bags and the local stops were all out. Don't think pellets should be thought of in terms of either good or bad. Just like anything else, they have their positives and negatives. The independence of firewood lies in the fact most of us have the ability to do the work and many of us get the wood for free. Not everyone can do that, and age may change that reality for some of us down the road. If I had to buy split wood, then buying pellets is an option that I would consider. Certainly would be better for me than buying oil. Move closer to urban areas, and naturally the abilty to procure firewood becomes more problematic, especially for the do-it-yourselfer. So, given different parameters, pellets can be more attractive to some folks.
Oliver1655
Addicted to ArboristSite
We plan to build a house this year. It will have a ground source heat pump but we will have a pellet stove for a backup - especially if the power is out. I have a generator we use to power the lights, fans/blower, well & a couple of space heaters for bathrooms.
I will continue to use wood to heat the shop. Wife has allergies & by eliminating using a wood stove in the house, we are eliminating a potential source of discomfort for her plust the rest of the list mentioned earlier.
I will continue to use wood to heat the shop. Wife has allergies & by eliminating using a wood stove in the house, we are eliminating a potential source of discomfort for her plust the rest of the list mentioned earlier.
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