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[coolidge]

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/business/2015/10/09/idaho-manufacturer-buys-strong-pellet-plant/1797702

[intensedrive]

I wonder how this will effect wood pellet pricing as the larger guys buyout other manufactures. I know currently prices for pellets are crazy, and some markets you might as well burn propane.  4 years back I was scoring a ton of pellets for $150, and even less 129.00.  It has more than doubled in many markets.  Back 4 years ago I was running a Pellet Furnace connected in the basement to the plenum.  I ran the unit at about 7.5 - 8 lbs per hour.  Never really adjusted the feed because it would not keep up well during the coldest months and if I tried bumping of the feed I would end up with snuffed out fire or over filled burn pot.  It really was a pain in the butt.  Top feed was 16lbs per hour never really could understand how to burn at the rate tried everything.  If my house required 16lbs per hour which is probably did during the coldest months.  So if you do the math correctly that would be 5.5ish tons per month. 5.5 Tons x 275 current rate equals 1,500 per month to heat with pellets at the current market rate.  In reality you could not afford this so you would run lower rate lets take on the math for 8lbs per hours.  In this case you are burning close to 3 tons.  Lets run the math again, you are spending 825 on the coldest months, and if you have a drafty house your lucky to reach 60-62 on the coldest days.  This is only my experience with a pellet type furnace.... values will differ, I believe many pellets customers with large farm houses are in a world of hurt with current pricing, and switching back to propane.

I welcome other experiences heating large farm house with a pellet type furnace it would be interesting to compare.

[Pointblank]

Its too bad pellet prices have gotten so high. A few years back they were a nice alternative to propane or fuel oil. Many were able to heat with pellets for around the same money as natural gas.  Hard to believe, but this year propane and fuel oil are gonna be cheaper in many parts of the country.

[intensedrive]

Sad Day in America.... Pellets are no longer a viable option in my opinion.  Yes great for maybe a smaller stove in your living room, yet at these prices I think most pellet stoves will go cold if its their only source of heat.  Yes, Great to burn when company is over, burn off that chill in the house during the colder months, I can't imagine burning over 2 tons if that to be even worth it.


 

[coolidge]

Anyone know the ratio of a ton of pellets to cordwood?

[hondaracer2oo4]

I think Pellets usually come in around 17 million btus per ton. I believe this number can vary wildly based on quality of pellets. Cord wood as you know varys as well. Somewhere around 20-23 million btus per cord is probably safe for good seasoned hardwood. The efficiency on most pellet boilers are pretty good, somewhere in the 80% range. Compare that to a conventional wood boiler in the range of 30-50% efficient. That means you get around 13 million btus per ton out of a ton of pellets or 11.5 million btus per cord out of a 50% efficient conventional wood boiler.