Heating Oil
 

Mass energy $3.05/gallon today

#@!% me it's going to be cheaper to just burn plugs this winter in the fireplace :smash:

Whats everyone paying for propane ???
Last year my (former) company was screwing me for over $4.00 a gal

yea we have town electric so it's cheaper to buy space heaters and keep the stove on broil :jester::jester:

just paid 307 for 100 gallons. :wall:

Yea I come from Hudson who had their own power plant...something like the 2nd lowest power rate in the state I think. Just wait though that will catch up real quick. None of these guys can afford to keep running these plants on bunker oil at what even they are paying...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d5a8517a-8...0779fd2ac.html

$250/barrel in 2 years?

it don't look good.

no good i say.

not me
 

i cut lots of wood for heat

and i try and use my oil for just heating my hot water

i wear sweaters or sweatshirts if needed

plus, as i told a friend of mine........

i dumped in a full bottle of additive
into the top of my fuel tank thats making
a world of difference and the gauge has barely moved
maybe a 16th of and inch ...compared to an inch without it.

but i have to highly recommend the small electric oil filled
thermostat controlled heaters (similar to a radiator)
that cost ....like $25 bucks. they are the balls..trust me.

plus you can put them on a timer so when you get up
that cold area has been warmed several hours earlier
and when they shut off.....
the oil inside stays warm for a long time :btu:

but the best feature is that there's no exposed heating element
and very little risk of a fire hazard compared to most other
types of small heaters.... and i haven't even started using it yet.

the house i bought is just full of the old steam radiators
which heat up quickly and can dry wet clothing when it rains
long after you shut off the thermostat.

but the best feature is that the house is positioned correctly
to take advantage of the sunshine in the morning and in
the afternoon as well. I looked for this feature for 1 and 1/2
years before i finally found it....
then i jumped on it faster than white on rice :rollem:

If you want to save yourself some $ on heating bills and you have a south facing wall you can build a sunroom and take advantage of solar gain. If it is sunny out, even on the coldest days of winter, I can heat my whole house just on the sun. I have a little fan and 2 openings entering the house, French doors, to circulate the heat. Really unbelievable how much heat you can get from passive solar and could never imagine going without it. It also saves me from my seasonal light deprivation I go thru each year about this time. Nothing better than sitting out there on a 20 degree Jan. day and have it close to 90 in the sun room. Anyone with some common sense can build it too. This structure is 20 plus years old and there is much better materials and science out there now to make it even more efficient. I have a donated pellet stove for the days of no sun. P.

Fuel oil additive
 

Raven whats the additive you use?

solar sun- room waiting for spring
 

i've been collecting windows ,door glass and have got some great deals off of craigs list for free and traded for a couple here at S-B.
hey Paul,JPI, & biteme
here's the winter view
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...eandBarn-1.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6.../doors2jpg.jpg

Looks very promising Craig. You are smart to incorporate that into your home. Free solar gain is well worth the effort. Look forward to seeing your project. Hit the library and the internet as I am sure you already know. Only one thing I don't like about the pictures. SNOW, although good insulation on the roof:). Ours is all but gone right now. God I hate winter.
http://www.passivesolarenergy.info/?...FQSOFQoddl0UWQ

Here are a few more
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/heckeroth63.html
http://www.nesea.org/buildings/info/passivesolar3.html
I really like this design with the stone beds under the floor, 2' deep, for storage of heat during the day and heat rises backup after the sun goes down.
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...SolarRooms.htm

heat source coming
 

this year i'll find a good wood stove and install a water heater in an insulated room in the barn to heat a baseboard heater for the flat's house pictured above... to bring heat to the barn...

maybe even one of those outdoor stove deals but the regulations are changing on smoke emissions ect. by the epa so i'll wait for the "newest units" (cost 5 k) to come out in the summer of 08 .....then i'd be in automatic compliance... the shorter stacks on those units allow smoke to drift through the neighborhood...see

i'll begin building my heat retention stone wall in spring as i have tons on stone to play with....and can't wait to have a pile of sand and a pallet of cement again... makes my mouth water just thinkin about it.... then i'll build like a 60 or 80 foot long hoop house
off the south corner of the barn across the lower field.:drool:

oh and thankyou kindly for those LINKS

->
 

i sent you a pm with a link

its also in my profile

They say we get more oil from Canada then any other country?
How come this is so quite?

$100.00 a barrel for crude today!!!:(

Take off you hoser

saw that
 

and why do you think i bought a farm to grow food....

because its almost two bucks for a tomato NOW ! :bsod:

you ain't kidden SALTY
 

lemme know when ( IF ) you ever have some kindlin dude...

as i'm hurtin...

but on good note the snowblower is workin like a charm !! :btu:

actually
 

i couldn't afford the pricey louvered panels as they were beyond my budget... and the six mill plastic was half off because the box it came in was dirty and ripped... so i had to pounce on it.:heybaby:

that isn't my house but the old cow barn that burned and was rebuilt out of salvaged materials in 1971.

i have a full solar room planned as an addition to the house.

kindling is all spoken for Craig. There's 3 boxes there right now and was already promised to someone else. Hasn't been much this year not alot of blowouts as things are running so good etc.

That snowblower will run forever if you treat it right. Those tecumseh snow king motors are the best ever on the market. I wish I still had that and never bought the big one. Nice to have the electric start etc but it sucks when a 8.5hp unit throws less snow than the old Toro. :kewl:

no problem
 

on the kindling man...maybe this summer :huh:

went to grab some pallets and another guy beat me to the pile by 5 minutes doh!!! :conf:

yeah man on the first storm here.... i had that sucker all ready and i noticed the snow was as deep as the toro snow blower was tall
at the hopper...and it worked ever so sweetly....

so , thanks again man. I was never so happy with an investment
and after spending 5 hours driving in the gridlock (for a 1 hour commute)
so.... .....it was
very very satisfying to work so effortlessly to remove that snow.

Rav, you are moving ahead nicely. Have you tried knocking on some doors to clear some of your neighbors trees?

um no Dave,,,,

there are no houses where i am seeing a huge amount of dead wood,

grey oaks, ....barkless but still perfect for cutting and burning...

Lets see here at work just got done added up the Oil for the month of Dec. 170,000 of that black stuff at off the rack prices the college decieded not to sign any oil contracts for this year. ThomT

$702 delivery last week I just got the statement. WTF you can't make money this freakin fast. Add that to $600 at the shop a month right now and $550 for gas in 2 vehicles per month and I feel like I'm working for nothing.

I'm gonna start burning plugs next month. GOT to be cheaper. WTF

I feel your pain Scott just got a $800.00 gas bill.:mad::rocketem::af::splat:

$3.39 a gal today.....wtf :crying:

and yet
 

i haven't heard one presidential candidate
even mention the price of oil or gasoline. :hs: