I feel sorry for people with oil heat this winter...

[Manedwolf]

August heating oil climbed by 12.8 cents to close at $4.0715 a gallon

Ow! Crude's over $144 in ET right now, too. That's going to be thousands to heat a home for the winter. Over $1200 to fill up a 275-gallon tank once at the retail pricing level. What are some people going to do?

Annoying thing is that natural gas is following in ratchets up in general, though there's really no reason for it to be.

[ilbob]

Maybe there is a partial answer. There is about 100,000 BTUs in a gallon of oil. most oil fired furnaces are in the 80% efficient range.

80,000 btus is about 23 kw-hrs. At 4 bucks a gallon, you are paying about 17 cents for a kw-hr worth of heat.

Few people are paying that much for electricity. Buy a few electric heaters and save money.

[Manedwolf]

The problem with electric heaters showed itself last winter, though. Many people bought the cheapest sort of space heaters from walmart.

There were LOTS of fires. 

[K Frame]

I'm trying to convince my Mother that it's time to get a coal-fired stoker stove for her Victorian. She doesn't want any part of it. I'm going to be doing a LOT more to help tighten up the house for this winter. I did a lot last year, and it really helped reduce her oil consumption and it also made the house a lot more comfortable.

[Desertdog]

My daughter is trying to sell their house in MN and move back to CA. 

[French G.]

I'm on geothermal, when the electric element backup kicks in I'm looking at about $200 a month for the coldest months. Not terrible. I've got gas logs too, we don't use much gas, got a 1000 gallon propane tank buried. Last time we got it filled the company charged us about $4 a gallon. I check spot price and it is $2.20. My wife calls for a WTF and the guy actually tells her that they charge more because we don't use enough. Bill got reduced, but   Insulation is cheaper than fuel oil too. I'll be cutting wood for the basement stove too.

[Balog]

Leaving MN I get. Going to CA tho?

[Scout26]

The city forestery department dumps bucked trees in my driveway.  I just split them and the kids stack them.   I've got four face cords from last year and probably have another three face cords from over the winter waiting to be split.

[Mabs2]

Maybe there is a partial answer. There is about 100,000 BTUs in a gallon of oil. most oil fired furnaces are in the 80% efficient range.

80,000 btus is about 23 kw-hrs. At 4 bucks a gallon, you are paying about 17 cents for a kw-hr worth of heat.

Few people are paying that much for electricity. Buy a few electric heaters and save money.

They're rated for 80%.
Good luck finding one that ran that efficient.

[charby]

I'm trying to convince my Mother that it's time to get a coal-fired stoker stove for her Victorian. She doesn't want any part of it. I'm going to be doing a LOT more to help tighten up the house for this winter. I did a lot last year, and it really helped reduce her oil consumption and it also made the house a lot more comfortable.

Hasn't wholesale coal gone up? Like $30 a ton to $37 a ton?

[K Frame]

Yes, coal has gone up considerably.

But, it's still not even close to matching the cost of oil, and Mom lives smack in the middle of anthracite central, aka Pennsylvania.

If I lived close to her, I'd be installing a dual fuel coal/oil boiler and would be building a coal shed out back for the coal. That way I could tend the boiler for her on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I'm 180 miles away.

[Desertdog]

Going to CA tho?

There is a whole lot of family here. 

[Manedwolf]

Yes, coal has gone up considerably.

But, it's still not even close to matching the cost of oil, and Mom lives smack in the middle of anthracite central, aka Pennsylvania.

If I lived close to her, I'd be installing a dual fuel coal/oil boiler and would be building a coal shed out back for the coal. That way I could tend the boiler for her on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I'm 180 miles away.

The little pellets of anthracite are the kind the modern automatic stokers use, yes. Packaged moist so they don't make a huge mess when you dump the bag.

It also burns very cleanly, so it's not the type of coal that would bring your neighbors over in an angry soot-covered mob as some softer sulfurous coals would.

[coppertales]

I live in Texas.  When I moved back here, I used the insulation lessons learned when I lived in the UP of MI.  When I tell people I have 24 inches of insulation in my attic with a foil overlay, they look at me like I am an idiot, and reply "it doesn't get that cold here".  I simply ask them have they never used an ice chest?  Then the light bulb goes off.  To this day I have never had an electric bill near 200 bucks, and I have an all electric house.  The bummer is, now they give you rebates for doing this.  I did this house 15 years ago.....chris3

[Desertdog]

When I tell people I have 24 inches of insulation in my attic with a foil overlay,

You need to check your insulation under the foil.  There is a reason the vapor barrier is put on he warm side of the insulation.  Vapor barrier on the cold side can condense moisture under it.

You did better insulation than I did.  I only have 12 inches of fiberglass on my ceiling, with 6 inches in the wall.

[Firethorn]

You need to check your insulation under the foil.  There is a reason the vapor barrier is put on he warm side of the insulation.  Vapor barrier on the cold side can condense moisture under it.

But, in general down in Texas you're going to be using the AC more during the year than heating, so on average the top WOULD be the warm side?

I need to tighten my house up a bit(IE burn it down and build a new one), but my primary heat loss is the windows - I've been putting plastic up on both sides.  It helps a lot.

[Larry Ashcraft]

We have hot water radiant heat in the floor of our 1933 (uninsulated, except the attic) Arts and Crafts bungalow.  We supplement that with a Vermont Castings catalytic wood stove.  Actually, the wood stove would almost heat the house if I were here all day to keep it going.

Since we have about 25 acres of cottonwood trees, a pellet or corn stove would be silly.

A couple of years ago I bought one of those electric radiant heaters.  Ours is a Sun Heat, but I've seen a different brand advertised in magazines.  They run about $500.  That little heater puts out an amazing amount of heat for very little cost (1500w).  They're safe enough around children and pets too (our cat sleeps on top of it when it's running).

[Ssg Ken]

In 1989 I switched my heating oil furnace with a cracked fire pot for a modern one of 86%. The previous owner had removed the siding and installed rolled insulation and then tongue in groove 1 inch Styrofoam.  There are really 116,000 BTU/gal of oil. I was considering LP but its 92,000 BTU/gal. 

The Bayfield Electric co-op loaned its needy 66 gal water heaters. A little pipe work went to a few rooms and new radiators to keep them warm.  The units had timers and turned on at night and got a1/3 price electric charge.  Wow. It was 2.5 cents compared to 7.8 for usual.

[HK-91-762MM]

I live in Buffalo NY .
  I cant look at a tree for it beauty ---All I see is its BTU Value !

[Manedwolf]

I live in Buffalo NY .
  I cant look at a tree for it beauty ---All I see is its BTU Value !

There's a local firewood company with amusing trucks. The doors have lettering in 19th century style ornate font that says "It'll all BURN!"