Post by: Manedwolf on July 02, 2008, 12:11:15 PM
Quote
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.
Post by: ilbob on July 02, 2008, 12:40:07 PM
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.
Post by: Manedwolf on July 02, 2008, 12:41:44 PM
There were LOTS of fires.
Post by: K Frame on July 02, 2008, 03:24:07 PM
Post by: Desertdog on July 02, 2008, 03:38:16 PM
Post by: French G. on July 02, 2008, 03:47:34 PM
Insulation is cheaper than fuel oil too. I'll be cutting wood for the basement stove too.
Post by: Balog on July 02, 2008, 03:55:47 PM
Post by: Scout26 on July 02, 2008, 04:01:17 PM
Post by: Mabs2 on July 02, 2008, 06:00:02 PM
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%.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.
Good luck finding one that ran that efficient.
Post by: charby on July 02, 2008, 07:01:19 PM
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?
Post by: K Frame on July 02, 2008, 09:07:34 PM
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.
Post by: Desertdog on July 03, 2008, 12:41:12 AM
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Going to CA tho?
There is a whole lot of family here.
Post by: Manedwolf on July 03, 2008, 12:42:29 AM
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.
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.
Post by: coppertales on July 03, 2008, 06:00:12 AM
Post by: Desertdog on July 03, 2008, 06:30:43 AM
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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.
Post by: Firethorn on July 03, 2008, 10:04:02 AM
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.
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on July 03, 2008, 11:11:16 AM
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).
Post by: Ssg Ken on July 03, 2008, 11:26:11 AM
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.
Post by: HK-91-762MM on July 03, 2008, 11:41:12 AM
I cant look at a tree for it beauty ---All I see is its BTU Value !
Post by: Manedwolf on July 03, 2008, 11:46:07 AM
I live in Buffalo NY .
I cant look at a tree for it beauty ---All I see is its BTU Value !
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!"