Firewood ethics:

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Lapeer20m

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Oct 17, 2013
94
Michigan
My father is in his 70's and on a fixed income. We thought he had enough wood piled up near the house for the season, but the abnormally cold temps means that he burned more wood than expected.

The record snowfall has kept him from accessing next years firewood.

He called a firewood guy who delivered 1/3 cord of oak. The problem is that the oak is too wet to burn and has not been properly seasoned. It will be awesome firewood next year.

Part of me feels as if my father was taken advantage of. This guy sold a person who he knows is out of firewood a load of oak that he knows is not ready to burn.

The other side of me realizes we live in a buyer beware world and the guy did deliver 1/3 cord of oak for the agreed upon price.

It's not like I think he should refund any money or deliver more wood but I hate to see people spend their hard earned money on a solution that doesn't solve the current problem.

I'm giving my father some of my firewood to get him through the season. I have a tracked atv so accessing firewood in the snow is not an issue for me.
 
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First of all, top job for helping your old man out with dry wood to keep him warm.....

Secondly, I've never bought wood, but I know people who have and it has never been properly seasoned.....Only problem I see here is if they told your dad the wood was dry and ready to burn..
 
I haven't bought firewood in years, but what you describe sounds par for the course. I actually think firewood sellers that deliver dry wood is in the minority. I don't get the impression that its out of maliciousness though.
I understand the frustration though. Thankfully he has you to help.
 
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This late in the season, it's entirely possible that the guy delivered the best wood he had.
 
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Lots of people think that wood split a few months ago is well seasoned, or wood that site around in log form is seasoned. It is possible that the firewood dealer thinks the wood was OK. That seems to be a big problem with buying 'seasoned' wood; 'seasoned' means different things to different people.
 
I dont think its on purpose..i think most people that sell firewood actually believe the wood is "seasoned" due to the fact tge tree has been down for "x" number of years....soo its gotta be seasoned rite??..lol..most ofvthem dont even know what a moisture meter is...you cant blame them people contunie to buy from tgem year in and year out and burn the "seasoned" wood and have nothing but problems from their "stove"..JMHO..
 
I agree with splitoak. I have purchased wood recently from 3 different sellers and each one has had a different view of what "Seasoned" is. There are very few sellers who are going to know what they are doing, and those are usually the ones asking top dollar for their wood.
 
ryjen said:
I agree with splitoak. I have purchased wood recently from 3 different sellers and each one has had a different view of what "Seasoned" is. There are very few sellers who are going to know what they are doing, and those are usually the ones asking top dollar for their wood.
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I agree exactly - Lapeer20m, your a good son - keep it up!
 
Good job helping your dad out! A good rule is to assume any wood you buy will not be ready to burn for at least a year, and to have much more than necessary on hand. I agree with the others, this is probably the best this seller has, and 90% of wood burners burn wood this green and don't know the difference.
 
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Lapeer20m said:
My father is in his 70's and on a fixed income. We thought he had enough wood piled up near the house for the season, but the abnormally cold temps means that he burned more wood than expected.

The record snowfall has kept him from accessing next years firewood.

He called a firewood guy who delivered 1/3 cord of oak. The problem is that the oak is too wet to burn and has not been properly seasoned. It will be awesome firewood next year.

Part of me feels as if my father was taken advantage of. This guy sold a person who he knows is out of firewood a load of oak that he knows is not ready to burn.

The other side of me realizes we live in a buyer beware world and the guy did deliver 1/3 cord of oak for the agreed upon price.

It's not like I think he should refund any money or deliver more wood but I hate to see people spend their hard earned money on a solution that doesn't solve the current problem.

I'm giving my father some of my firewood to get him through the season. I have a tracked atv so accessing firewood in the snow is not an issue for me.
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For any agreement you need to come to a meeting of the minds. Problem is the term seasoned is not defined. You assume its one thing the seller assumes its another. Your father should have asked how the seller defines his wood as seasoned. In a fireplace the wood would probably burn fine. I and most on this forum are way past expecting truly season wood (<25% mc) to be delivered. You probably will be one of us now.
 
Sorry to hear about your dad's experience.
I would at least tell the seller that it was too wet. Let him know that wood needs to be around (or under) 20% moisture to burn properly in the wood stove. With oak that means minimum 2 years drying after splitting & stacking (properly). Most other woods needs about a year.
He probably won't listen. It's not convenient for him to operate that way. Even if he wants to he's competing with others who will sell wetter wood & charge less.
No sense pushing him for drier wood. As others have said, he likely doesn't have any.
 
Lapeer20m said:
My father is in his 70's and on a fixed income. We thought he had enough wood piled up near the house for the season, but the abnormally cold temps means that he burned more wood than expected.The record snowfall has kept him from accessing next years firewood.

He called a firewood guy who delivered 1/3 cord of oak. The problem is that the oak is too wet to burn and has not been properly seasoned. It will be awesome firewood next year. Part of me feels as if my father was taken advantage of. This guy sold a person who he knows is out of firewood a load of oak that he knows is not ready to burn.The other side of me realizes we live in a buyer beware world and the guy did deliver 1/3 cord of oak for the agreed upon price.

It's not like I think he should refund any money or deliver more wood but I hate to see people spend their hard earned money on a solution that doesn't solve the current problem.I'm giving my father some of my firewood to get him through the season. I have a tracked atv so accessing firewood in the snow is not an issue for me.
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Lapeer, may we assume you are near that city? If not, what is your location?

One thing you might consider is putting word out and perhaps making a trade with someone who does have some extra dry wood.

On other thing that does worry me though is your statement about that being good wood for next year. Sorry, oak will not be ready to burn even next winter. Best in MI to give it 3 years after being split and stacked.
 
Bigg_Redd said:
Agreed. It was probably a choice between that or nothing. I can't imagine the guy is sitting on a hoard of perfectly dry firewood and decided to hose your old man.

Lesson: Have more firewood ready than you could possibly burn.
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One thing for sure, toilet paper and dry firewood have something in common. You can never have too much.:)
 
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Wood Duck said:
Lots of people think that wood split a few months ago is well seasoned, or wood that site around in log form is seasoned. It is possible that the firewood dealer thinks the wood was OK. That seems to be a big problem with buying 'seasoned' wood; 'seasoned' means different things to different people.
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It is "seasoned."

It's just not "dry" or ready to "burn."
 
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There are 2 large firewood processors near me , usually you'll see a huge pile of split wood , 30 ft high by 90ft wide . The logs come in on huge trucks and look like they were recently cut. The pile is always gone by fall and the wood is sold as seasoned . These processors don't take the time to stack it and let it dry for a year or do they have the room to store it. Obviously its not seasoned , but the buyer is told it is . Year after year the wood is sold , so the repeat buyers think that this is , what seasoned wood is supposed to be.
 
Paulywalnut said:
One thing for sure, toilet paper and dry firewood have something in common. You can never have too much.:)
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But only when you run out of TP are you truly wiped out.
 
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Make a cover for Dad's next year wood and help him get to it.
 
I recently purchased 2 loads of wood. The first was 2 cord of Oak that were professed to be seasoned 2 years. Lets just say the oak smoldered a lot.

The second load from a different source told me the wood had been seasoned at least 2 years and is mixed hardwood. I informed the seller that I would want to use my MM on a few freshly split pieces before he dumped the wood. He welcomed it. I spit and checked 5 pieces randomly selected from the truck. All measured in the 17-18% range.

The wood burns great and no problems getting going, smoldering etc.

There are some honest firewood sellers out there. Buyer beware.

I'm saving the rest of the oak for 2016.
 
Dishonest firewood seller: A month ago I was desperate and found a CL seller advertising seasoned oak. Price denoted quality, he talked the talk... He was an hour trip from me and was going to charge a $50 delivery fee. I stressed to him I needed SEASONED wood I could burn immediately. He said that was what he had. I told him that I was going to split some and MM the insides before he dumped and if they were over 18% or so I wouldn't take the wood. So to not even bother coming if you're not confident in what you've got and are advertising. Prick showed up and everything measured at 30%. Sent him packing and now I'm burning my last seasoned maple and some of next year's oak.
 
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I think its an economic impossibility for wood suppliers to properly stack and season firewood. If the average supplier sells 100+ cords per year that means he would need enough room to stack 300+ cords if the wood is to be truly sold as seasoned. The lesson here is that you should always start the winter with a minimum of double the amount that you usually require for the season. If you dont burn it all and have enough space you will eventually be several years ahead.
 
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Scols said:
I think its an economic impossibility for wood suppliers to properly stack and season firewood. If the average supplier sells 100+ cords per year that means he would need enough room to stack 300+ cords if the wood is to be truly sold as seasoned. The lesson here is that you should always start the winter with a minimum of double the amount that you usually require for the season. If you dont burn it all and have enough space you will eventually be several years ahead.[/quote

+1. My thoughts exactly!
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I live on 60 mostly wooded acres and have a nearly unlimited supply of dead standing (and some not so standing) firewood so i can keep myself and my father supplied. I also have a tracked ATV that is able to haul firewood year round.

This winter is an anomaly as there is likely more snow on the ground than at any point in my lifetime. it's this snow that keeps my father from accessing his firewood pile with his F250. He and I do not live all that close to each other.
 
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