This winter will be cold at my place.

[wjmst]

Originally Posted by ByronBob

Well the propane dealer hit me hard. $3.17 a gallon this coming year. Looking for wood pellets tomorrow.

Good luck. I ordered my pellet stove in May (Harman). Dealer said he'll have it in a week. I waited and waited. At the end of July I called him and he said they are backordered until the end of September, but I am first on the list!

[kenmac]

Originally Posted by ToadHill

I just got a notice from the company I get propane from that I can lock in the new price for this coming year at only $2.70 per gal. Thats up 72 cents from last year or about 35% more.
For the last few years I've set the heat at the farm at 50 when I'm not there to keep the pipes from freezing, and it has still cost me over $1200 to heat the place over the winter. It looks like this winter I may not heat it at all, just drain the pipes, put RV antifreeze in the drains and toilets and not go out there again until spring.

Why at set the temp at say 40 deg instead of 50 ?? 32 deg is freezing.

[kenmac]

Originally Posted by Highbeam

Boo. Electric is not the most expensive to heat with everywhere. Especially if you step into modern times and use electric to run a heat pump and extract energy from the air or ground for your heat.

Or better yet, get your axe. My heat is earned....

But , when the H.P. can't keep & those elect. elements come on ... get ready to spend some $$ .... If you can't install a groung source yourself. Get some $ ready... If you have gas & like gas . A 90+ furnace is the way to go

[Kays Supply]

I'm glad I didn't run out and convert my work trucks to propane when I saw the news piece about the Swan delivery trucks running on propane. When they researched the article they were paying $2.30 for propane including road taxes.

[deere755]

We contracted for $1.68 last year, this year $2.29 and they would only let me contract 500 gallons.

[sarti]

I live in central Illinois and my lock in price for propane is $2.40 a gallon
Do you think you can save alot with pellets or corn stove.
I hate cutting wood.. I would have to install a stove,,,whats the pros and cons of corn or pellets

[charlz]

Originally Posted by sarti

I live in central Illinois and my lock in price for propane is $2.40 a gallon
Do you think you can save alot with pellets or corn stove.
I hate cutting wood.. I would have to install a stove,,,whats the pros and cons of corn or pellets

I installed a pellet stove about 4 years ago (3 winters). I have a propane central furnace (81% efficient) and a 2900 sq ft 2-story house. I have found pellets to be about 45% of the cost of propane on a BTU to BTU basis. I haven't had a propane fill in those 4 years, I was getting them monthly in the winter before that. Stove is in the living room which is open to both floors.

Downside to pellets or corn is:
1) work, you have to store the stuff, haul the stuff in to the house, fill the hopper regularly etc etc.
2) initial cost, I bought top of the line that can burn corn or pellets and spent $4,500 on my stove.
3) circulation, The first floor corner rooms are colder and we run fans all winter to move warm air into them.

Big pro to pellets or corn is the stove can run on a thermostat just like propane. Some people have mentioned that the newer ones can even regulate, when the room is warm they just turn way down and when lots of heat is called for they fire up to full. Mine is on/off from the thermostat and the level, low/med/high, is controlled by a switch in the stove.

Pellets and propane have gone up every year, so far the difference is still about 45% even though total costs have gone up. My stove will be done paying for itself this halfway into this next winter.

Being in the central states both corn and propane are cheaper where you are at. There are fuel calculators out there that can help you determine which is the cheapest heating source... at least for the fuel, installing a system could be quite expensive.

One of the calculators:
compare wood pellets natural gas propane and electricity

[Wayne County Hose]

Charlz, the only problem with the chart you post is the variables of burner efficiency. They list the propane furnace at 80% efficiency. The unit I just had installed is 93% efficient.

[charlz]

Originally Posted by Wayne County Hose

Charlz, the only problem with the chart you post is the variables of burner efficiency. They list the propane furnace at 80% efficiency. The unit I just had installed is 93% efficient.

Here is another that lets you set the efficiencies:

Fuel Cost Comparison Calculator

There are several out there.

[Highbeam]

Oooh, and be sure to consider duct losses. As much as 15% of the btus that those fancy 95% efficient furnaces make can be lost getting from the furnace to the rooms. A stove burning propane, wood, pellets, or whatever converts these losses to zero.

If I needed completely automatic heating then a propane freestanding stove could be vented through an existing chimney. Would be slick. They only get in the 80s for efficiency but they have no duct losses and most operate fully in a power outage.