Posted on 06/22/2008 7:15:57 PM PDT by Kevin J waldroup
arty Farnum can't keep pellet stoves in his Northern Lights Hearth Sports store on Wilton Road in Farmington.
Nor can Mack Curtis, who owns Wayne's Stove & Canoe Shop in Madison. Ditto for The Stove Barn on China Road in Winslow, owned by Wade Bullard.
Heating-oil prices that could flirt with $5 a gallon this winter have more people ready to switch away from oil. For an investment of roughly $3,000 plus the cost of pellets, a pellet stove might pay for itself in a year or two, shop owners say.
Mainers appear to be believers, and they're scooping up the burners as well as stocking up on pellets, in some cases buying a truckload of pellets at a time, Curtis said.
"We're pretty much sold out of what we have," Farnum said. "I've got 150 on order."
Northern Lights has sold more than 100 pellet stoves this year.
"There's no need to panic," Farnum said of the rush to such stoves. "But if I'm interested in a stove, I would get into a shop and put my name in, and maybe even put a deposit down."
Farnum said that the cost of pellets is increasing slightly, due to transportation costs. He has been selling them for $285 a ton, but expects that price to increase.
Northern Lights sells one-ton pallets in 40-pound bags and 22-pound bags.
(Excerpt) Read more at morningsentinel.mainetoday.com ...
I'm glad mine are grown and gone.
/johnny
I was a consultant for a small city that recieved a grant to pelletize waste paper that could be used in their small coal fired power plant. The paper pellets had to be about one inch in diameter and looked like cigars that were broken into chunks. They had to be that size so the pellets would travel through the auger system. I don’t recall what their projected costs were, or projected savings. But the amount of paper removed from the solid waste stream was significant.
The paper pellets had an average BTU rating of about 8000 BTU per pound. Coal is about 12,000 to 16,000 BTU per pound depending on the type. Cord wood is about 8500 BTU per pound, but if the wood is not well seasoned the actual BTU output is about 5000 BTU because of the energy used to convert the moisture content to steam and release the moisture from the wood. Also because pine wood is less density than oak or hickory, it takes more volume to make , for example, 30,000 BTU, than the same energy released by the more dense woods.
Many areas are considering pelletizing paper from the waste stream for conversion to energy. But there is intense competition from the paper recycling industry for the same paper to be reprocessed into green copy paper etc. The end result is determined by how much the expense ratio to the added value ratio compares, and where the market is most efficient..
The (San Fran) Bay Area Air Quality Management District says that fireplaces contribute the vast majority of particulate pollution to our air in winter. Thus, they are going to ban fireplace burning on “Spare the Air” nights, currently about 20 nights during the fall, winter and spring seasons. I’ve no doubt that, within a couple years, they’ll be back for a complete ban of all wood burning here. Liberal regulators just can’t help themselves and want to control every miniscule aspect of your life.
I think it has something to do with the chemical treatment in paper pulp being degraded after one cycle.
The processed paper we used in the pellets had cardboard and even christmas wrappers in it. I used to have a sample that was multicolored.
The paper with wax does contain more energy. But because of food contamination, waxed paper products like drink cups are a biohazard and not considered safe for post consumer recycling without considerable refining.
I think there have been a lot of advances in pellet stove technology, although you may not want to spend the money if you already have two stoves.
The new ones are very efficient, and they have thermostats—with a lower temperature at night if you like—so too much heat might not be a problem. Also probably more efficient than the earlier ones, and use less electric power for the augurs.
Yep - our Lopi Answer stove is compact, but it burns w/o smoke and everything we put in it goes right down to fine ash. Keeps the mail living area nice and comfortable.
We spend more money in winter heating the horses’ water buckets than we do on our own heating needs.
One thing we have lots of here is wood. All I have to do is cut it and split it.
They did the same thing in Denver 20 yrs ago. But people got past the ban by using EPA certified stoves.
The regulators even suggested banning outdoor BBQ grills during the brown cloud days.
but it was proven that automobile emissions were the real culprit for air pollution and smog by a substantial margin, and wood heating appliances were insignificant. But banning wood burning was the easy way out as opposed to banning automobiles and trucks. Just look for the smoking chimney.
Not to be pedantic, djf, but that’s only 200 Btu/h averaged over an 8 hour nighttime. You must have an extraordinarily air tight house with foot-thick well insulated walls for that puny heat output to keep you warm.
I wonder if there were a way the bio-hazardous papers could be "scrubbed" as part of the pelletizing process. Perhaps preheating the materials in the auger to kill any remaining biotics. Then doped with an antibacterial to prevent later growth.
It goes between the sheets...
I wonder why they don't make them with a wind-up back up system.
I burn 5-6 cords a winter in my wood stove. Only turn on the gas furnace to help circulate the heat evenly during real cold snaps (below 0)
Yeah, I was going to say it might keep my bird cage warm for a an hour or two if I insulated around the cage.
Keeping the product dry is essential in reducing bio hazards post production. A small amount of heat is required, as well as steam for the process to bind. then it goes through a curing process.
The real hazards are with the people who sort the paper prior to processing. There is no mechanical way of sorting paper so it either has to be bundled or placed seperately for collection. Anything with food contact is generally discarded if there is a sorting process.
Some are available with a battery back up. Add several hundred bucks to the cost.
My wood furnace heated the house even without power. The heat still came through the vents. Let the heat from the furnace room heat the family room down stairs.
My house is all electric. but even the gas furnaces require power to ignite the gas, so they are worthless as well.
Trust me, wood heat is the only way to go.
All we get to do is sweat here in the SE. At least you have a “dry heat”!(I’m just kidding!) I have dealt with dry heat and would rather have 92F and 80% humidity any day.
Like ol Ben Franklin said: "Wood warms you twice" My wife and I finally broke down and bought a splitter. It makes it sooo much easier to put up the wood supply. I'll be putting the grandkids to work this summer. They love stacking wood.
bump
We generate our own heat between the sheets. ;-)
Not meaning to sound mundane or anything, but my wife passed a few years back.
And I have yet to find anything hot, young, or fast enough to replace her.
Life goes on.
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