Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: bbqchef on March 15, 2013, 02:21:29 PM
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Have any of the great folks here ever done a cost comparison for fuel costs?
Propane, pellets, briquettes, hardwood... how much does it cost per hour to operate various cookers?
Just a question that popped up in my aging brain during the night <lol>!
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I average a pound an hour on my MAK & Traeger pellet grills. Roughly 70-75 cents/lb for the pellets.
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My fuel costs have definitely gone up since switching from Charcoal to pellets...won't know until the end of the year the exact amount but the added cost is worth not hearing the family complain anymore.....................
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I can burn 3 pounds of lump for a good six hours at 250 deg f. That would be about 50¢/hour.
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Propane and pellets are only being used when cooking. Charcoal may burn for 6 hours, but your cook may be done in 4 hours. So that needs to be factored in to the cost.
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I shut my vents when done cooking and the lump coal goes out and I use it next time. Primos have a pretty tight seal and extinguish the lump quickly.
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Talk about a loaded question. This varies so much by cooker and temp it is near impossible to judge by pounds per hour. The only true way to judge would be by BTU per pound of fuel. I'll look into it.
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Fuel costs are such a small part of outdoor cooking costs that it probably doesn't matter.
But
Cheapest to costliest all things being equal
Electric< natural gas < propane < briquittes < lump < pellets
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Fuel costs are such a small part of outdoor cooking costs that it probably doesn't matter.
But
Cheapest to costliest all things being equal
Electric< natural gas < propane < briquittes < lump < pellets
Ahhhh but things are not equal. If we are looking at high temp grilling that is an apple. If we are talking about smoking that is an orange. No amount of electric, natural gas , propane or briquittes will give you smoke. You must add other fuels and loads to burn those fuels to reach the same effect. Both which reduce efficiency. In my opinion if you want to grill pick one of the first four. If you want to smoke pick one of the last two. If you want a combo of both pick the pellets.
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LA and Rick - both good points.
For me, pellet cookers are "the ultimate compromise". They can do so many things good enough - that they are my first choice, due to convenience. Without doing anything other than chance the temperature - I can smoke, grill or sear.
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Yeah, I think we might be comparing Apples to Orangutans... ;)
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About four years ago I started to keep some records on pellets and charcoal with the intent to crunch some numbers and write an article on this exact subject! After I got enough data to analyze, my idea fell apart trying to get what you'd call "apples to apples" scenarios. There are too many variables: Cook time, type, ambient temperature, cooker variances, and even recipe differences make comparisons that are almost meaningless because you have to cite too many assumptions and state too many caveats. The article I drafted looked like government gibberish. Underwriters Laboratories or Consumer Reports might have the laboratories, measuring equipment, and scientific study structure to create it, but I couldn't.
So, I gave up on the idea. I cook the way I want to on the machine that suits me, using the fuel I like for the recipe and approach. Like T, I gravitate to pellets due to versatility, but not always. Across all this time and work I can state that for my cookers, at least, there is no significant fuel cost difference unless I'm using the Traeger in very cold weather.
Hub
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I was just curious and didn't know if anyone had actually run the numbers...
I have a bevy of cookers...
A couple of propane gassers (Heatwave IR and Broilmaster P-3), a Charbroil Big Easy, a Cobb, a Grill Dome Infinity, a couple of WSMs, a Lodge Hibachi and a YS680 that are the most often used. (Most recently I've been cooking on the Yoder as it's my new toy.)
I've just cleared an area in the back of my side yard the might become home for a real pig pit but I think SHMBO might not go for that idea.
Fuel costs are definately the least costly item in backyard cooking.
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I kind of think of the variety of cookers we all use as another "flavor ingredient". You know, the PBC make awesome chicken ( and other stuff to!) But if I want a real "wood grilled steak" - I use one of the pellet grills. And - if I am in a hurry to sear, I can have the Weber gasser hot and ready for whatever - I can sear on the Yoder, or the MAK - but, for speed...gas is HOT
But, I never have considered the cost of fuel much. It is just a small part of the equation that I had not thought too much about I suppose.
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My Treager 070 does not use much at all in the NorCal climate. It is in a wind protected covered area. Pellet grills are like a giant heat sync.
Friends with Traegers and GMG's have reported much higher consumption than mine when cooking in light wind conditions as well as more temp swings.
Some will say that an insulation cover or a welding blanket is not needed for temps 50 degrees and above. When a large chunk of steel gets blown in a cool breeze it's just gonna make things work harder. Yeah, we could all buy insulated Memphis pits in our dreams, but I am not in that league financially.
Bottom line is, that wind more than cold is your enemy. It will cost more per hour no matter what the outside temp is.
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Charcoal versus pellet cost.
When I got my first pellet grill I was worried that my fuel cost would go up, especially using premium pellets, versus charcoal.
After several cooks and keeping track of the pellet consumption and cost, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my pellet cost is just about tit for tat with what I was spending on charcoal (I use Royal oak lump or the Wal-Mart Briquettes - which are made by Royal Oak).
Even counting the extras:
With charcoal I also have the small additional cost of wood chunks.
With the pellet grill there's the small additional cost of electricity. The MAK's power usage while running is <62 watts. My Stoven uses even less electricity.
A good example: The old-school picnic hams we did this past holiday season took about 5 1/2 hours to hot smoke.
To keep the grill at 225° - 250° I used 2 chimneys full of briquettes - (approx. half a bag). Cost: approx. $3.50
At those same time & temps on the pellet grills, I would have used approx. 3.5 - 4 lbs pellets (0.66 - 0.75 lbs per hour at 225° - 250°).
Pellet cost = $1 per lb. 5 1/2 hours @ an average of .66 - .75 lb/hr My Estimated cost: $3.63 - $4.12
Factor in the wood chunk cost vs. electricity used and the cost really is within pennies of each other.
My yearly cost for the past two years has confirmed that I am spending no more on pellets than I was on charcoal. In fact if anything buying the pellets in bulk this past year saved me about 20%. I am actually paying $.80 - .85 per pound, not $1.00.
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Thanks Tent for the charcoal/pellet figures. I have been wigging out from time to time when refilling the hopper and I think my next pellet order I will talk to Eric about a bulk buy...a pallet of pellets ;D to help keep my costs down.
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That's our Cliff!
Great job Cliff. Granted there are some variables that have been pointed out by Hub and others - that is a nice guideline.
I truly believe that though we all love charcoal - it will continue to rise in price due to "regulatory issues"
And - conversely - we will see the pellet use grow, creating more demand, and thus following the "economy of scale" principle of economics - prices will decline for pellets. This is because they are seen from the regulatory side of the equation as a "recovery" product - something that is made from or can be made from a material that formerly was sent to the landfill. Namely - sawdust. ( Tho many pellet manufacturers are now milling their own sawdust directly from logs or boards. )
Pellets are much more energy efficient to manufacture as well. So - they have a bright future.
PS - don't forget about corn as a possible fuel to try either. Corn was used in pellet soves - which use the same auger and hot-rod technology ( in fact, pellet stoves are where the techology used in pellt cookers came from ) Just check with your pellet cooker manufacturer first. I do know that the BTU's from corn are high....possibly higher than pure oak pellets!
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Here is a pooper that runs on corn
http://cornglo.com/corn-grill-pellet-grill-corn-glo.htm
Interesting, this pit does not have a hot rod, you light the pellets in the fire pot like we would have to if our heat rod went out.....
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especially using premium pellets, versus charcoal.
I don't think this has specifically been called out in this thread. I'm below $.50 a lb for pellets. That's retail one bag at a time at Cash n Carry Bear Mountain 20 or 33 lb bags are available. Putting pellets at the highest cost on the spectrum I think assumes premium pellets.
DK117
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Here in the Carolinas we have a slightly different use for corn. Seems a waste to burn it. You can't make whiskey out of hickory or oak, so burning those is okay. But, corn needs careful coservation ::)
Hub
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Here in the Carolinas we have a slightly different use for corn. Seems a waste to burn it. You can't make whiskey out of hickory or oak, so burning those is okay. But, corn needs careful coservation ::)
Hub
WHAT was I thinking, Hub???? :D :D :D
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I'm with Hub, corn is meant for better things, now corn cobs are another thing.