Possum

You're not kidding there. I was talking with some guys from one of the local companies up here and they were stating that they have nearly 35% of their customers that are either behind in the budget payments, or unable to have their tanks filled anymore.

Unreal. It's the end of the line for us in this vein, as it won't retreat as long as we make ourselves dependent on Middle Eastern Oil.

Combine all this with projections that we'll actually run out of oil bearing wells, world wide, within the next 35-50 years, and things look rather dismal. I had my house estimated for a complete solar panel electricity replacement, including furnace, and it came out to just shy of $25K, and I live in a small ranch. Granted, it would pay for itself in 6-10 years, but who's got $25K laying around for it? Not me.

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stormy c

Listen up. There are programs in place to assist with the costs of installing solar power units on residential buildings. Also there are tax rebate programs with the federal government that are pretty good incentives. Try solarpowerrocks.com or Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. There is some good info there. Good Luck

AlloyToy

Too funny!!!!! I love these stories!!!! "The way it was" My kids are spoiled brats

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"First The Bite Then The Fight"

JackC

Great discussion. I'm mighty happy about the fact that I traded down for the 20 Maritime with the 115 eTech. I've seen this coming and got rid of my pickup back in 2006 and now drive 4 cylinder car/truck that get in the high 20's.

Just need to get a good wood stove back in the house. The wife bitches about them because of the mess but I may need to spend some bucks and put it in a room she does not hang out in.

We have had NO leadership in the USA in decades, when the real election starts it will be interesting to see what both parties have to say. My gut is that neither one will offer solutions but the time to "set" the oil industry on end is here. When I was little we actually heated the house with coal and it was fairly common (I turned 51 this year). I don't see why the feds could not start a "get off oil program" in the northeast. I don't know the economics of pellet heat but it seems like a great solution for central heating. (The price of pellets follows the oil market but I think that could be changed if pellets where produced under special agreements.) If you think about all the wood that gets disposed of that could go to energy use its mind boggling.

As pointed out the entire thing is driven by intense greed - and it sickens me. The current housing crisis was driven by the same type of greed driving prices to crazy levels, unfortunately it appears as the "greed markets" disappear the investment community is destroying the middle class in the oil market. I believe in free markets but this is out of control.


Jack

Scup

Right now, hardwood is going for about $200 per cord. Firewood is going to track the price of oil. Considering the efficiency of your oil burner as compared to say a fireplace insert, you just might not be saving much with wood at that price unless you have a free source of it. Firewood is becoming scarce and those with wood lots know the value of it. I have been heating with it for more than thirty years, and had a wood furnace tied into my hot air heating system during the oil crisis in the seventies. Wood is only going to be a stop gap measure for a short time. You would need at least 10 acres to sustain 10 cords per year which is what the average house would required during the heating season. Something better has to be found and quick as the population has exploded to the point where our forests cannot tolerate the stress of becoming a major source of home heating fuel. There has been much opposition to our generation of wind power by environmentalists at the western end of Long Island Sound. I believe that the roar for help from the crisis we are now in, will likely muffle their objections.

grief

I put a wood ''pellet'' stove in my house 3 years ago at a cost of $3,000 soup to nuts. This year I broke even ,and my house has never been more comfortable . I burn 3 tons a year for heat , The first year it was $200 a ton. The last two years $250 a ton, vs. 600 gals of oil per season for heat. Now if I could figure out how to get the Yahmaha to run on pellets I'd be all set .

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Grief
Long Island
New York

AlloyToy

I have a pellet stove which now sits in the garage. When I started heating with it pellets were $82/ton. They now have reached $249/ton in this area if you can get them. The heat produced was marginal at best, and a good source of axillary heat. Unfortunately the cost no longer justifies use of the stove. Some I guess burn corn, and other products too.......

I've sense installed a Lopi NG stove which produces more heat at less $$$ than the pellet stove.

Watched an interesting show on Ethanol............IMHO the farmers will become the next "Oil" companies....... They would rather sell the corn for Ethanol rather than use it for feed for beef. Watch what happens with the cost of beef next.......... Farming is a tough life and they need to make "hay when the sun shines", but I just see Ethanol as being a waste of time. It will be priced as "what the market will bear" not at any cost savings to Americans.

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"First The Bite Then The Fight"

Bob & Mag

Jack, you're going to fish with a bigger smile this year when you gas up.
We've got one wood stove upstairs that heats the entire floor. Thinking of putting another stove down in the family room(basement), where the other stove should have been installed. Guess no one told the previous owner that heat rises.
Scup, One way to get cheaper wood is to buy green wood a year in advance. Green is going for between $100 and $130 here. Not to mention how warm you get splitting and stacking it. In the last "energy crisis" in the 70s, my brother and I were lucky to have access to free red oak. There was approx 15 acres of standing dead wood. Everytime there was a strong wind storm, about a dozen trees would fall and we'd go cut them into 8' lengths and cart them home to cut up, split and stack. We heated two homes for free during a 3 year period. Of course that's with a good back. Today I'll have to have the kids/grandkids come to grandpa's rescue.
Nothing like the smell of woodsmoke outside on a cold night and NOT hearing the furnace running.
Every little bit helps.

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Smoke free 9+ Months!

Special K

back in '03 i thought i was wise in replacing my "fleet" with a diesel silverado and a diesel jetta.......DOH!
$4.15 9/10 per gallon diesel yesterday WTF!!!!!!!
glad my boat is gas.

with no work pending today i'll be out back splitting some firewood for next season. with a gasoline powered splitter!

Bob & Mag

It was always my understanding that diesel and fuel oil took less to produce than gasoline, so I can't understand why both are costing more than gas today. Somebody's getting rich and it ain't me.

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Smoke free 9+ Months!