Newbie needs Fast advice

did I read this right - this dude is gonna drive 90 min with 2 cords of wood? I smell a rat

dyerkutn said:

Is he Pellets Are Us--just saw this on CL

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Yes thats it, havent checked prices this year but I think it used to come out to $300/cord last I checked

dyerkutn said:

Could there be any tricks here--anything I should watch out for?

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3 ways to get screwed:

1. Not actually dry.
2. Not the species (and therefore BTU value) described.
3. Not actually the quantity paid for.

#3 is especially challenging because it's difficult to measure quantities of firewood that are not neatly stacked in rectangular piles, which takes time and effort. If the wood is just tossed or dumped in a big pile, you won't know how much you've got until the seller is long gone with your money, unless you pay extra to have them stack it before they leave. Many firewood sellers never stack their firewood before it gets to you; it's tossed in heaps off the splitter, and the quantity is guessed at as it's tossed loosely into the delivery truck. The imprecision inherent in that process makes it easy for a less then perfectly scrupulous seller to estimate the volume optimistically, and convince themselves they've delivered more than they have. On top of that, it's surprising how many sellers misunderstand or misrepresent the definition of a cord. This is not just a once-in-a-while occurrence, it's extremely common. Unfortunately a lot of their customers are also ignorant or trusting, and regularly accept short loads without complaint, which cements the sellers' bad habits.

I bought my first load of firewood last September. I paid for 2.25 cords of dry high-BTU hardwoods supposedly CSS at least a year earlier, but what I actually received was 1.33 cords of very wet, mostly low-BTU woods that had been cut and split within a week or two, and I didn't realize it until my money was gone. I have learned so much in the last several month that that will never happen to me again unless dementia sets in, but it really hurt that it happened even once.

dyerkutn said:

Look like he is advertising $200 for 1/2 cord on CL

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Figured they would go up on price, dry wood is hard to get. Best bet is to buy some of the quicker drying hardwoods and dry them yourself, get some oak or hickory and if you have room let that season 2-3 years and you can start using that in the future, I save the oak/hickory for midwinter and burn maple/ash/cherry the other times.

Am I missing something? Don't you get into heavy wood burning to save money? $400 a cord sounds like a lot of money to me. Can't you scrounge up a couple trees like a Silver Maple. Those dry very fast. I would get some of that CSS and leave where it gets sun and air, it will be ready next fall. Cover the top in Sept. Then get started on building a supply of better woods for subsequent years. I know it's hard work processing the wood yourself but I swear, it's great exercise and I think it's keeping me being able to do things that otherwise I would probably lose.

dyerkutn said:

My backyard is plenty big for storing wood--I am sure I could put many cords back there--just need to get it set up for stacking and covering


Weather guyActon is great only about 20 minutes from me--I would appreciate the contact info


I am keeping my eye open--haven't seen any dealers with that--they all like hardwood (oak, ash, etc.) but will keep looking in CL.

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Stay away from oak but get all that ash you can get!

dyerkutn said:

It has been quite an education on this forum. Thank you everyone--I think I have the idea of what I need to do. Happy spring (does Alaska get spring? )

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About a weeks worth. In May usually.

If you don't want to get into c/s/s, you could check with a local tree service and see if there is an employee who would be interested in working for you one weekend, c/s/s/some wood that they would otherwise have yo get rid of? Someone could c/s/ a lot of wood in one day, if the wood was readily available to them. You might get the wood for free, and just have to pay for their labor cutting and splitting it. Then you could stack it yourself. Probably be a lot cheaper than buying the wood from a dealer. -