Fall 2015 Price Point for Fuel Oil
-
- New Member
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 04, 2013 10:39 am
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer Anthracite Hopper/Wood
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: Fuel Oil, Heat Pumps 2 (Mitisubishi, Unico)
Hello,
At the current time (Sept. 2015) what does the price point for fuel oil need to be to determine if it is worth burning anthrocite vs. Fuel oil, if a person has the option for either. (This would be a separate boiler used to specifically heat with fuel oil and not an inefficient dual fuel coal to fuel oil boiler)
At the current time (Sept. 2015) what does the price point for fuel oil need to be to determine if it is worth burning anthrocite vs. Fuel oil, if a person has the option for either. (This would be a separate boiler used to specifically heat with fuel oil and not an inefficient dual fuel coal to fuel oil boiler)
- davidmcbeth3
- Member
- Posts: 8505
- Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra
For me its about $1.75/gal I figure ($300/ton coal price)Lightning wrote:There is a fuel price comparison calculator at the top of the page.
Try it out
For me the bulk rate is $170 per ton. From what the calculator says it has to be under $1.00 a gallon. The calculator won't let you put in less than 1.00. I doubt very seriously if I'll ever see fuel oil for less than a buck ever again in my lifetime.
- davidmcbeth3
- Member
- Posts: 8505
- Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra
Tip: just multiply everything by 10 ... so $1=10/gal and 170/ton becomes 1700/ton ... then you can compareblrman07 wrote:For me the bulk rate is $170 per ton. From what the calculator says it has to be under $1.00 a gallon. The calculator won't let you put in less than 1.00. I doubt very seriously if I'll ever see fuel oil for less than a buck ever again in my lifetime.
- davidmcbeth3
- Member
- Posts: 8505
- Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra
Hey its math...the only thing I'm good at. Don't believe me? Ask my wife!blrman07 wrote:Thanks for that information. At my available price of $170 a ton for bulk, fuel oil would have to be at $.86 a gallon to be comparable.
-
- New Member
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 15, 2013 11:22 am
I can get propane for $1.19 gal . Coal is 180.00 per ton would I be better of using propane . Tried using fuel calculator but not sure if I did it properly . Thanks
- Lightning
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 14669
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
- Location: Olean, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
- Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite
Coal Ton(2000 Lbs.) $9.38 per million BTUFlyerfan64 wrote:I can get propane for $1.19 gal . Coal is 180.00 per ton would I be better of using propane . Tried using fuel calculator but not sure if I did it properly . Thanks
Propane Gallon $16.29 per million BTU
Coal beats propane by almost a factor of 2.
- Richard S.
- Mayor
- Posts: 15243
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 01, 2004 8:35 pm
- Location: NEPA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Van Wert VA1200
- Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat/Anthracite
No, if the coal is is $180/ton and the propane is $1.19 per gallon and assuming 80% efficiency for both the cost per million BTU is:Flyerfan64 wrote:I can get propane for $1.19 gal . Coal is 180.00 per ton would I be better of using propane . Tried using fuel calculator but not sure if I did it properly . Thanks
Coal: $09.38
Propane: $16.29
The propane would need to be about 70 cents per gallon.
- davidmcbeth3
- Member
- Posts: 8505
- Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra
I think that its the efficiency of coal stoves that is the biggest unknown, hence making any comparisons very difficult.Richard S. wrote:No, if the coal is is $180/ton and the propane is $1.19 per gallon and assuming 80% efficiency for both the cost per million BTU is:Flyerfan64 wrote:I can get propane for $1.19 gal . Coal is 180.00 per ton would I be better of using propane . Tried using fuel calculator but not sure if I did it properly . Thanks
Coal: $09.38
Propane: $16.29
The propane would need to be about 70 cents per gallon.
I did not a company claiming 65% efficiency of a coal stove that they were selling. I contacted them and asked "how did you arrive at that value?" The company said that they would check and get back to me. never did.
Contacted my stove (a 503) manufacturer, Hitzer, and made an inquiry. Here, no % efficiency could be provided.
So the calculator is a great calculator - its just that the factors needed are not available regarding many stoves.
So if you contact or notice a % efficiency rating for your appliance , contact the company and ask how they determined this. You may get a response like "err, uuhhhh, duh... we don't know". Food for thought. Not bashing the stove manufacturers - its just that there are no std test procedures for coming to any measurable and reproducible value of efficiency.
- Lightning
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 14669
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
- Location: Olean, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
- Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite
Right right... BUT there are some givens (based on usage compared to a previous usage of oil or propane) that point to somewhat of a "close guess" that is reasonable. IN my opinion It's reasonable that the normal "run of the mill" stove can get 70-80% at moderate burn rate and the base burners probably get 10-15% better than that. ... and I'm sure those figures could be optimistic and are negotiable as well as controversial.
Awwww dam, not the efficiency debate again..
Awwww dam, not the efficiency debate again..
- davidmcbeth3
- Member
- Posts: 8505
- Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra
I just hope that the discussion is not a WASTE of time ....Lightning wrote:<snip>
Awwww dam, not the efficiency debate again..
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
All I know is, burning coal in my hand fired cut my heating bill by 1/3rd ... AND we had the house an average of TWELVE degrees WARMER!!
Saving even more now with the stoker boiler.
Last time I did the figuring, oil would have to be $1.20 a gallon or less in order for me to shut down the stoker. It's close, but not quite - .80 cents a gallon to go ... and it's headed the wrong way the past couple weeks!
Saving even more now with the stoker boiler.
Last time I did the figuring, oil would have to be $1.20 a gallon or less in order for me to shut down the stoker. It's close, but not quite - .80 cents a gallon to go ... and it's headed the wrong way the past couple weeks!