We have heated with pellets for years. Works well for us in our climate, the design of our house, etc. Price per ton has gone over the top and am thinking about shitcanning the stove down the road.
What are you paying and willing to pay for a ton of pellets. $300+ dollars is a no go for me. You?

We have a propane Rinnai wall furnace that is surprisingly efficient. It is going to get more use this winter. I have a little over a ton of pellets on hand from last winter. I will use them when it gets really cold otherwise it will be the propane Rinnai furnace.

I burn wood in my shop and have access to firewood but our house it not really designed for a wood stove and I do not wish to install one that does not look right or will be a real pita to maintain. I have thought about those units that are outside and you pipe the heat into the house which would be ideal but not going to speed $8-10k for one of the them.

I was renting a place around 15 years ago that had a pellet stove. I don't remember exactly, but as I recall, pellets were going for about $250/ton back then. Given inflation on everything nowadays, $300 doesn't seem too bad.

I buy a pallet or two of pressed logs (basically large pellets) to supplement my firewood each year. They run around $300/pallet (ton). Seems fairly reasonable to me.

If you don't cut your own, good firewood (larch) is going for $250/cord nowadays, so...

Winter can get expensive. One year I went with just the propane furnace to see what it would cost. It came out about the same as pellets/logs/wood (roughly $1000).

They have been $200 a ton for a long time. Last year they jumped to about $240. This year $300.
That is getting to be a bit to rich for me.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
They have been $200 a ton for a long time. Last year they jumped to about $240. This year $300.
That is getting to be a bit to rich for me.

How long does a ton last?

5-6 weeks for a ton in mid winter. Normally 3+ tons a winter.

I had a pellet stove in my previous home. I loved it. On a cold winter day, I could come in after work and raise the house temperature 10° in about an hour. Heck, I often wore shorts in the winter, because that stove put out such great heat. Back then, pellets were about $175/ton. We'd need a ton and a half, maybe two, to get through the winter.

I'd love to have a pellet stove in the current house, but I can't really make the economics work out.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
We have heated with pellets for years. Works well for us in our climate, the design of our house.....

I burn wood in my shop and have access to firewood but our house it not really designed for a wood stove and I do not wish to install one that does not look right or will be a real pita to maintain....

I'd think a wood stove would look as right in a house as a pellet stove? Is not having access to, or being able to install a chimney the problem?

In PA we run a high efficiency (if there is such a thing) heat pump, a pellet stove (centrally located), and a small wood stove at one end of the house. Last couple years pellets have been running about $6 for a 40# bag, but we have found them at Tractor Supply and other places for $5, no tax in PA. It has been years since I saw them for $200 a ton.

Any local sources of bulk dried feed corn or cherry pits?

Obviously cherry pits make the most sense.

I might have to look into alternatives. Thanks for that suggestion Ag.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gustofer:

I buy a pallet or two of pressed logs (basically large pellets) to supplement my firewood each year. They run around $300/pallet (ton). Seems fairly reasonable to me.

These pressed logs must be a local thing, can't find anything in Ohio.

quote:

Originally posted by Genorogers:
These pressed logs must be a local thing, can't find anything in Ohio.

Oh, they're wonderful. They burn hot and they burn long. I can toss a couple on at night, turn the stove down, and there's still coals enough when I get home from work the next day to get some wood going. They make them locally at an old mill.
I think they still sell them commercially as Pres-To-Logs.

We out one in our last house. Pellets started out at $75 a ton. That was then. Now we heat with natural gas.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Genorogers:
These pressed logs must be a local thing, can't find anything in Ohio.

Oh, they're wonderful. They burn hot and they burn long. I can toss a couple on at night, turn the stove down, and there's still coals enough when I get home from work the next day to get some wood going. They make them locally at an old mill.
I think they still sell them commercially as Pres-To-Logs.

Tractor Supply and Lowes has them on their web sites but not available in any store near me. I'm going to stop in TSC and see if they will ship to store.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
5-6 weeks for a ton in mid winter. Normally 3+ tons a winter.

$900 to heat your home the entire winter sounds pretty reasonable to me.

We paid just over 900 dollars for 3 tons this year.
I have a pellet stove in the living room and in my woodshop. We also have a heat pump that we use early fall and late spring. If all else fails we have an oil fired boiler for back up and hot water.
It is actually cheaper right now to burn the oil. But I love the look and feel of the pellets!