CRISIS Dark Winter Looms For Pennsylvanians As Power Bills Set To Soar
- Thread starter CaryC
- Start date
West
Senior
Firewood musings....
A cord is 4 feet x 4 feet x 8 feet long I know. But here in Oklahoma the wood guys don't see it that way. They do only RICKs of wood. Now I'm from the west and never heard of such a thing, but I'm not the woodman.
Most of the ricks I've bought over the years is only a average 16 inches wide but is 4 feet tall and 8 feet long.
This wood I just got at only $60 bucks a rick is at least and on average 20"+ long.
Still a good deal. And I learned not to argue with the local firewood guys, and tip em.
Thinking I should of tipped him more.
A cord is 4 feet x 4 feet x 8 feet long I know. But here in Oklahoma the wood guys don't see it that way. They do only RICKs of wood. Now I'm from the west and never heard of such a thing, but I'm not the woodman.
Most of the ricks I've bought over the years is only a average 16 inches wide but is 4 feet tall and 8 feet long.
This wood I just got at only $60 bucks a rick is at least and on average 20"+ long.
Still a good deal. And I learned not to argue with the local firewood guys, and tip em.
Thinking I should of tipped him more.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Like Cary said up stream, when propane got too pricy for us to afford all winter, we re-installed our wood heater. We've been very fortunate in that all our firewood has been free for the past several years. We have enough storms come through our area that there are always downed trees around for us to get just for the taking. Good old oaks. We've got enough stored right now to last about 3 years of normal winters. Spring storms blowing through are when Cary mostly starts cutting, splitting, and stacking again.
Toosh
Veteran Member
Yep, about $30 a ton - delivered. The great thing about coal is that you can store it outside. Weather doesn't hurt it. Coal produces 12,000 BTU per lb. Looking to fill in a small gulley next to the driveway? Use coal. Coal makes a wonderful underlayment under the deck, instead of gravel and also works as a bottom layer in raised garden beds for good drainage. Wish to build a pathway? Make it from coal and sprinkle some dark colored pea gravel throughout. Neither the postman nor the HOA will know what it is. Ask me how I know. When it get's cold, dig up a 5-gallon bucket for a week's worth of fireplace heat. Just make sure your fireplace is in good shape to handle the high temp.
Eastern Ohio, as a kid...remember the smell of the coal stoves and furnaces. That’s how you did it. Ohio has lots of coal still. Takes a special set up, but a coal stove would be worth its weight in gold given what’s coming.
WanderLore
Veteran Member
We have the large size Hitzer coal stove in the kitchen and it's been there since 2007. There is also the wood/coal cook stove next to it.
We get 40lb bags of anthrocite nut coal from the Amish for $5.54 a bag.
Use about a bag a day until it get in the 0s.
Don't use the other stove unless it's bitter.
Heats the whole house and that's what I've been using in my cabin a few times.
Wood is pretty expensive here, though we used to buy, cut down trees, go to the wood lot etc.
Have a propane wall heater in living room too.
I much prefer the coal. We can burn wood in that stove too but will not give the btu coal does.
Stove gets tended in morning, that's it for the day. We can go away for the day and not worry.
There is a small bit of dust. But not bad, just regular dusting. I often will boil pot of water on electric stove to cut that down and always have a big pot of water on stove too.
Problem is if you can't stock a lot, you have to drive to get it. Load it, unload etc.
Hell if you run out
We get 40lb bags of anthrocite nut coal from the Amish for $5.54 a bag.
Use about a bag a day until it get in the 0s.
Don't use the other stove unless it's bitter.
Heats the whole house and that's what I've been using in my cabin a few times.
Wood is pretty expensive here, though we used to buy, cut down trees, go to the wood lot etc.
Have a propane wall heater in living room too.
I much prefer the coal. We can burn wood in that stove too but will not give the btu coal does.
Stove gets tended in morning, that's it for the day. We can go away for the day and not worry.
There is a small bit of dust. But not bad, just regular dusting. I often will boil pot of water on electric stove to cut that down and always have a big pot of water on stove too.
Problem is if you can't stock a lot, you have to drive to get it. Load it, unload etc.
Hell if you run out
WanderLore
Veteran Member
Ps: coal stove pipe no different than wood stove pipe. But it doesn't make creosote, which is nice
Jeff B.
Don’t let the Piss Ants get you down…
And whatever they call the fees and taxes that they add onto your bill for those who can’t or won’t pay for their energy.
Jeff B.
summerkitchen
Contributing Member
Bud in Fla
Veteran Member
Just a small reminder of who's actually running the show -
MidAmerican Energy announced in October or November that we (Iowa) should EXPECT our winter heating bills to increase from 46% to 96%. Mine had already gone up $20 before this announcement. I'm on an annual budget plan, keep my heat set at 65º and a/c at 80º in the summer. Actually, I seldom run the a/c because after being shut inside for 9 months of cold weather I enjoy the heat. Of course, 90º weather with 90% humidity will get the a/c turned on! I have natural gas and I understand from what I've heard in the community that propane has gone up drastically. This is not unique to Pennsylvania by any means.
Mary Contrary
Inactive
I was told that it's not good to burn pine as it makes too much creosote. Is that true?
Mary Contrary
Inactive
You got me beat. I leave my oil furnace on 58 most winter,but it's.been warm so I have it on 55 now. ONLY cuz I cant shovel to get the gate open to get another filling in winter. I suppliment with electric heaters and my bill is high in winter, but I'm on the budget plan. Right now I have a full tank of oil. Need it to last the next 4 months.
I have lots of wood outside, but most is 15 yrs old and too light. Got a woodstove, but since I lost the house insurance I'm afraid of a fire so dont want to use it unless I HAVE to.
The problem is, they are all switching to a high percentage of so-called "green energy" sources, which are stupid expensive and ridiculously inefficient. Whether mandated, for "woke" purposes or both, we are all getting burned in the wallet, certainly through no choice of mine.
I'm all for nuke myself. Also clean coal, natural gas, wood fiber and hydro. Solar and windmills are a tragic joke.
CaryC
Has No Life - Lives on TB
True, but for green wood.
If you let it dry out, which would take a year or more, then it would be Ok, BUT it would burn like fire paper, meaning fast.
That kind of wood that burns fast and burns up fast would be good for open fire cooking, for frying and stir frying. To burn it green not only builds up creosote, and makes from some heavy smoke. Was probably used for smoke signals by Indians.
On another point:
For those burning coal, getting it cheap is a very big plus, and I say go for it. Just remember if you have to rely on someone else (buying it, driver, etc) then there is a dependency there. So having a backup for wood, which is about all there is one can do for themselves, is a good idea.
Just saying consider your options.
CaryC
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Energy Experts Dismiss Liz Warren's Complaints: "It's Econ 101, Not Rocket Science"
By Chris Woodward of Delaware Valley Journal
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s latest attempt to “turn up the heat” on the energy sector sparked a backlash from industry leaders who say the real problem comes from policies the Massachusetts’ Democrat has endorsed.
In recent letters to natural gas producers, Warren blasted what she called their “corporate greed” and demanded an explanation for the record exports of natural gas at the same time prices are rising in the U.S.
Warren wants the industry to respond to questions about “the extent to which these price increases are being driven by energy companies’ corporate greed and profiteering as they moved record amounts of U.S. gas out of the country,” she wrote.
She got a response, but not the one she demanded.
Leaders in the natural gas sector responded with a letter of their own, dismissing Warren’s comments as a diversion, one intended to distract consumers from the impact of the energy policies she’s championed.
“Number one, her region has very high energy costs, and her region is severely capacity-constrained when it comes to pipeline infrastructure,” Callahan said. “A Carnegie Mellon study from within the year pointed out that due to those pipeline constraints, customers in the New England region paid upwards of $1.8 billion in excess energy costs during just one month in 2014.”
“They play a critical role in spurring long-term investment in U.S. natural gas supplies as well as expanded pipeline capacity to deliver the energy America and the world needs while driving down emissions,” says Macchiarola. “Rising natural gas costs reflect an imbalance between supply and demand that is exacerbated in regions like the northeast due to added state-level policy restrictions on building much-needed gas infrastructure that has made the region more reliant on foreign imports.”
Callahan believes Warren should “support infrastructure expansion” to get product where it is needed, domestically and globally.
“We felt the need to set the record straight, that the rhetoric is dangerous,” said Callahan.
Energy Experts Dismiss Liz Warren's Complaints: "It's Econ 101, Not Rocket Science" | ZeroHedge
(Remember Pennsylvanians in the next election don't vote for the Senator from Mass. because she is the one causing all of your problems [/sarc)
By Chris Woodward of Delaware Valley Journal
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s latest attempt to “turn up the heat” on the energy sector sparked a backlash from industry leaders who say the real problem comes from policies the Massachusetts’ Democrat has endorsed.
In recent letters to natural gas producers, Warren blasted what she called their “corporate greed” and demanded an explanation for the record exports of natural gas at the same time prices are rising in the U.S.
Warren wants the industry to respond to questions about “the extent to which these price increases are being driven by energy companies’ corporate greed and profiteering as they moved record amounts of U.S. gas out of the country,” she wrote.
She got a response, but not the one she demanded.
Leaders in the natural gas sector responded with a letter of their own, dismissing Warren’s comments as a diversion, one intended to distract consumers from the impact of the energy policies she’s championed.
Warren is an aggressive supporter of the Green New Deal, which would drastically restrict the production of oil and natural gas. In her state of Massachusetts, policies blocking the expansion of natural gas pipelines have resulted in Russian LNG tankers in Boston Harbor bringing fuel to the Bay State.
And those constituents are paying the price, according to Callahan.
“Number one, her region has very high energy costs, and her region is severely capacity-constrained when it comes to pipeline infrastructure,” Callahan said. “A Carnegie Mellon study from within the year pointed out that due to those pipeline constraints, customers in the New England region paid upwards of $1.8 billion in excess energy costs during just one month in 2014.”
Republican National Committee spokesperson Allie Carroll said Warren’s latest attempt to blame energy companies for the results of Biden and Democrats’ war on energy is an insult to hardworking Pennsylvanians.
Pennsylvania is the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas, and attacks on the industry have an impact on the state’s economy.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz also pushed back on Warren’s approach.
Meanwhile, Europe is facing fuel scarcity as winter approaches and some of the nations are turning back to coal to meet immediate demands. American exports are vital, experts say.
Frank Macchiarola, American Petroleum Institute (API) Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs, also has a message for U.S. policymakers.
“They play a critical role in spurring long-term investment in U.S. natural gas supplies as well as expanded pipeline capacity to deliver the energy America and the world needs while driving down emissions,” says Macchiarola. “Rising natural gas costs reflect an imbalance between supply and demand that is exacerbated in regions like the northeast due to added state-level policy restrictions on building much-needed gas infrastructure that has made the region more reliant on foreign imports.”
Callahan believes Warren should “support infrastructure expansion” to get product where it is needed, domestically and globally.
“We felt the need to set the record straight, that the rhetoric is dangerous,” said Callahan.
Energy Experts Dismiss Liz Warren's Complaints: "It's Econ 101, Not Rocket Science" | ZeroHedge
(Remember Pennsylvanians in the next election don't vote for the Senator from Mass. because she is the one causing all of your problems [/sarc)
Last edited:
No, she walked that statement back last week. I posted a thread about it.
Everyone but the elites of course. They “need it.”
As I’ve repeatedly said, that’s not going to happen.
Mprepared
Veteran Member
I have heard it but we have burned a lot of pine and when my husband was alive he would go on the roof and clean the pipe and now my son does. Really, I don't think we have seen a difference in any wood other than if the wood is green.
We heat our small house in very rural West Virginia mainly with electric wall heaters to minimize our fuel consumption. Two 4000 watt wall heaters from lowes were installed by a registered electrician. The kitchen also has a wall-mounted ventless propane heater in case the power goes out when we are away at Christmas to keep the pipes from bursting. And we have a large wood stove in the living room if the power would go out for an extended period. Since WV has many power outages, we have a Honda 12Kw propane backup generator. Our 500 gallon propane tank feeds the cooking stove, the generator, and if necessary, the kitchen wall heater. The kitchen electric wall heater can only maintain a temperature differential of 45 degrees above the outside, so if it gets below 25 degrees outside the propane wall heater makes up the difference to keep the kitchen at 70. Last year we used $4072 for the years' electric power (WV only reads the meter here once a year as required by law). So we use $340/month in electricity and $300/year in propane. Wood for the moment is used just for romantic wood stove burning, though it gives me peace of mind in case of a crash. We have 40 acres of woodland here to feed it.