Since the winter of 2013/2014, wood pellet markets have been wild. Pellets have at times been scarce, and expensive. Last year I was thankful to find decent (not good, just decent) pellets at H*me Dep*t for $259/ton. Other decent pellets were going for upwards of $300/ton while the really good stuff could get up to $400/ton. But, with high oil and propane prices, I couldn't complain and still saved huge compared to propane prices. And I was thankfull too that last year, although some places had pellet shortages, I was always able to find what I needed (being able to store a couple ton in the basement helped too).
The pellet makers responded to the last two hard winters by making sure we had an abundance of pellets, and the Big Box Stores (BBS) likewise brought in huge stores of inventory, which is good in a sense. However, they are at the same prices as last year and with the mild winter, and cheaper oil, pellets were sitting and few were buying (those few were people like me who still save money over propane by using pellets). I started off the season with 5+ tons; four I bought in the fall and I had a bit over a ton left from last season. I have bought 5-10 bags of pellets here and there when I could find a good deal on something I hadn't tried and I have about 2.5 tons in the house/garage to get me thru the rest of this season (unless the weather gets really wacky, I should have plenty left).
A couple of weeks ago L*we's lowered their decent pellets to $199/ton, with free delivery if you bought at least 2 tons. I had 2 tons delivered about 10 days ago
Monday is the last day of the sale, and HD hasn't lowered their price any, so I decided to order another couple of tons. Those will be delivered in the middle of the week. If HD lowers their price, I will probably get some of theirs too.If I get the chance to get some of the really good pellets at around the $259/ton mark, I will try to grab some of those as well. I may have to store a lot outside, but I need to take advantage of both the supply and the prices.
See, all the talk on the pellet forums is on what will happen next year. Several pellet plants have been shut down for the last month or so because they aren't selling their stock. Some of them may never reopen. Those that do, will probably not produce as many pellets next year to reduce their chances of being burned on the market again. The BBS will probably not order the inventory as they did this year, for the same reason. If those ideologies hold true and we have a tough winter next year, there may be pellet shortages and/or outrageous prices.
It will be interesting to see what happens next winter. It will also be interesting to see how big a lean-to or storage tent I need to set up.
Kinda funny. The HDs here had their pellets down to $199 a ton back at the end of January and now everyone's basically sold out. The regional differences (and its not like you're THAT far from me) are very interesting!
Posted by: Ruth | February 28, 2016 at 09:02 AM
I didn't realize that the pellets would be stable enough that one could stockpile them for a year or so. You are thinking ahead!
Posted by: Cop Car | February 28, 2016 at 09:54 AM
Ruth - Yep, the forums have been showing that CT, NY and other states had lowered their prices. NH and northern MA and VT haven't, except L*we's.
Posted by: bogie | February 28, 2016 at 11:40 AM
CC - Pellets don't go bad. They are compressed wood, which is more stable than wood (ie - do't get attacked by bugs, disease, rodents etc). People store firewood for years. Unless they get wet, pellets can stay good for a long, long time.
Posted by: bogie | February 28, 2016 at 11:42 AM
Yup, as long as you can keep them dry enough pellets will keep for a good long time. The problem we had here was that one particular manufacturer apparently skimped bad on the bags. Bags were popping their seams just from moving the pallets. And of course, once that seam starts to let go, even if its just a little bit, moisture gets in.
Posted by: Ruth | February 29, 2016 at 10:20 AM
There is much to be said for hermetically sealing a product. I had not considered that, of course!
When I was a kid (no jokes, please) we used to joke around about hiding something in a hermetically sealed container, under the back porch. Of course the "hermetically sealed container" was a sealed Mason or Ball jar.
Posted by: Cop Car | March 04, 2016 at 12:35 PM
Most pellets are not hermetically sealed. They have small holes in the bags to let out moisture from the drying process (or something, I'm not really sure). Other pellets are in non-perforated bags.
Posted by: bogie | March 06, 2016 at 08:05 AM