[quickdraw]

Last winter I stated I was waiting until election day to buy my oil. A few months ago, I also predicted gas would be 3 bucks a gallon by election day-I still wouldn't be surprised if this was close.

So today I call Trono and Patterson fuels-they're at 3.99 a gallon. But I call Robinsons and they are $3.69. We're going down. I'm hanging in there to see what happens.

[mustmove]

Gas is going down. Demand is way down and there is plenty of the stuff. Market always seems fast to go up slow to go down. If not by election day gas prices will tank after T-day(last big driving day of the year). That's my guess, and of course the poor bastards who are long in oil will take a beating, so it goes.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by mustmove

Gas is going down. Demand is way down and there is plenty of the stuff. Market always seems fast to go up slow to go down. If not by election day gas prices will tank after T-day(last big driving day of the year). That's my guess, and of course the poor bastards who are long in oil will take a beating, so it goes.

\\I don't believe this happened last year. Oil kept going up and up and after fall. It happened the year before with the mid term elections. I suspect it will happen this year because of the presidential election. India, China, hurricanes...blah blah blah. It's all BS. Oil companies are like teenagers...an excuse for everything. They can manipulate the prices even with futures speculators, and they sure don't want a democrat in office.

[mustmove]

Folks are driving less to the tune of a million barrels a day. We don't notice this in VT because we all drive crappy old cars but the turnover rate for new cars is a couple of years and there is now a significant number of more efficient cars on the road compared to a year or two ago. It all adds up to less demand. OPEC is talking about reducing output but those countries always cheat on each other so we will have plenty of go juice for whoever wants it. I don't think the oil companies care who is elected president and Palin was <gasp> windfall taxing them in AK.

[NYLIER]

We have a woodstove so we never have to turn the heat on in the winter. This year we have been shuting off our water heater. I cannot believe how much propane we are saving. They came to top off the tank today and we used 97 gallons since May 22nd. I don't think that was to bad. The price was still almost $320.00 though. We paid 3.29 a gallon.
The company wanted us to pay $200.00 a month. My husband called and told them we could only afford to pay them $100. monthly and they were fine with that. I guess it pays to ask. We should be fine if we cut enough wood before the snow starts falling!!

[vter]

Our furnace runs on propane, but we also have a woodstove that we use, especially on the coldest days/nights. We locked in our propane rate at either $2.60ish or $2.80ish. I don't feel like digging out the paperwork LOL.

[NYLIER]

Originally Posted by vter

Our furnace runs on propane, but we also have a woodstove that we use, especially on the coldest days/nights. We locked in our propane rate at either $2.60ish or $2.80ish. I don't feel like digging out the paperwork LOL.

That's a really good price. I'm jealous!!

[square peg]

Last year we burned 6.5 cords of wood and used a hundred gallons of oil. Back in May I bought my usual 7 cords for this winter, but when things started getting crazy with gas/oil prices I got another 7 cords of wood for the winter of 09/10. I also scrounge for wood and keep a chainsaw in my truck.

[tkln]

As someone who doesn't have a fireplace or woodstove right now, but plan on it when we move, how big/heavy is a cord of wood exactly?? How much does a cord cost? Anything in particular you should look out for when purchasing (ie, old wood vs new wood or anything like that)?

[square peg]

Well a cord of wood is 128 cubic feet. (supposedly) It weighs a lot more when it's green; unseasoned. Maybe a ton? I really don't know. The cost of wood next year, or even now is higher than it was back in the spring. I paid $150 for cut/split/delivered/green in May. That's in the NEK. Prices outside of here tend to run higher. Seasoned firewood (ready to burn) will cost more. Maybe $50 - $75 a cord more.

You can also buy log length for around $100. But there's a lot of additional work left to be done - by you and yours. A good way to tell if wood is green or seasoned is to clunk two pieces together. If it's green, the sound will be a dull thud. If it's seasoned, the sound will be more of a clacking like baseball bats.

Hope this helps!