Wood Pellet HEAT to Offset Ski Trip Fuel Costs

[catskills]

Who is burning or thinking about burning wood pellets to offset the gas transportation costs of skiing next year?

I collected the following information. I am thinking I could cut my $3000 fuel oil heating bill in half with a Harman PB 105 wood pellet boiler.

Here is a handy calculator for all fuels. From this and everything I have read it looks like Pellet stoves can cut your fuel costs in half and maybe as high as a 60 percent savings in some cases.

http://www.pelletheat.org/3/residential/compareFuel.cfm

The Harman PB 105 is an first/maybe better pellet boiler made in the USA http://www.harmanstoves.com/features.asp?id=48

Here is a nice way to get your wood pellets delivered to the house. http://www.pellergy.com/Vermont.pdf

The wood Guru has a lot of great information.
http://woodpelletguru.blogspot.com/2008/01/pellet-forced-hot-air-and-boiler.html

Enjoy,

 

[deadheadskier]

I have a friend who has a wood pellet furnace and it saves him a ton of dough. Obviously it's a fair bit more work, but the savings are very good.

I'd imagine that as wood pellet systems increase in popularity, the cost of the pellets themselves will rise.

 

[skidbump]

i have 2 pellet stoves..Was told by my pellet supplier in new hampshire that due to shortage at mills "no houses, no wood, no saw dust" prices are goin to spike again.Savings are not real great.Between stove and oil i spend about 1200/1300 for yr 500/600 for oil 600/700 + for pellets.in a cold winter i would burn about 3 tons.Over 2.5 tons were on main stove,rest on stove in basement used when i was down there for over an hour"would turn up thermistat before i went down and turn off when i left.

 

[Hawkshot99]

We have one in our house. It is not our main heat source, just suplemenatal in the family room, that also sends heat a bit further.

It is real nice in that it is quick starting and can produce alot of heat.

Supply of pellets is the problem. This year was fine, but last year was crazy. We would call all of the different places that sold them and more often then not the incoming shipment would be sold before arival, or we would have to be there right when they put them out or they would be gone within the hour.

 

[bigbob]

Not pellet related but have heated with a wood stove to supplement my oil for years. Now installing a wood boiler that was given to me for the cost of removing it from the guys basement. Tasso cast iron, but not smoke free. Vents thru 2 story chimney, indoor installation. Was supposed to finish splitting wood today, but it rained. Three of us bought two grapple loads of hardwood. Lots of logs!
Bought a 4 cylinder/5 speed 4wd Escape last year to cut the gas usage down from the Expedition. 27.5 MPG.

 

[mishka]

another alternative is coal. Always available, price very stable...in last three years went up only $15. imho if you can find coal stoker stove this is the way to go.

 

[mondeo]

If I had a house, I'd get a wood stove. It's another significant jump in savings. Also, there are ways of getting firewood for free, or cheaper than market value. Just a little more work than pellets.