Comparatively speaking a seasoned true cord of wood here sells for $225 to $240 and you pick it up and throw it in for that price. That is three full sized truck loads heaped up. Now you can add in at least $15 bucks for fuel and your "free" time to do it. So in all reality a cord is really $255 and some time to load and unload.
A ton of pellets was $224 last fall and the time to unload a ton of 40 lb. bags is a one trip per ton deal and quicker to load and unload than wood that takes 3 trips in the truck.
Pellets are much easier to deal with and pay for than cord wood there really is no comparison when it is all said and done. What the OP stated was a tractor trailer load of logs delivered and that is cheaper than processed c/s/s cord wood. and they are tired of all of the c/s/s work. If I bought my wood every year cheap in bulk it would still not be worth it to me.
If you figure they are paying $67 or $70 bucks average per cord then add in chains, 2 cycle, bar oil, etc; the wood is likely costing them another $20 per cord so they are saving about half of the cost per cord or so. What everyone loves to overlook is all of their "free" time it takes to do 6 cords of wood. The OP, myself, and others have figured out all of the time and hardcore labor involved just is not worth it.
I look at it this way. Let's say you can hump all day long for 7 to 10 days to process 6 - 10 cords of wood to save $600 to $1,000 in heating costs. Is all of your time really worth that much all said and done? Not to mention that time is just one step in the entire heating season process. Then you have to stack the stuff and become a faithful slave to it all winter carrying it around and throwing it in the stove all hours of the day and NIGHT.
With equipment (tractor with front loader, skid steer, splitter, dump truck, barn for dry storage, and a wood processor available if wanted that cuts and splits logs in one shot) it is still a huge amount of work and time handling and heating with wood. It boils down to how broke you are and what your time is worth if you have all of that "free" time.
I have stated this here over and over. There is no such thing as "free wood" nor a "free" puppy dog. That "free" pup costs several hundred dollars minimum for shots, a vet visit, toys, leash, etc; Not to mention the food and chewed up stuff. So how free is that "free" puppy or "free" wood? Not trying to be Debbie Downer here. More like Realistic Randy.
A ton of pellets was $224 last fall and the time to unload a ton of 40 lb. bags is a one trip per ton deal and quicker to load and unload than wood that takes 3 trips in the truck.
Pellets are much easier to deal with and pay for than cord wood there really is no comparison when it is all said and done. What the OP stated was a tractor trailer load of logs delivered and that is cheaper than processed c/s/s cord wood. and they are tired of all of the c/s/s work. If I bought my wood every year cheap in bulk it would still not be worth it to me.
If you figure they are paying $67 or $70 bucks average per cord then add in chains, 2 cycle, bar oil, etc; the wood is likely costing them another $20 per cord so they are saving about half of the cost per cord or so. What everyone loves to overlook is all of their "free" time it takes to do 6 cords of wood. The OP, myself, and others have figured out all of the time and hardcore labor involved just is not worth it.
I look at it this way. Let's say you can hump all day long for 7 to 10 days to process 6 - 10 cords of wood to save $600 to $1,000 in heating costs. Is all of your time really worth that much all said and done? Not to mention that time is just one step in the entire heating season process. Then you have to stack the stuff and become a faithful slave to it all winter carrying it around and throwing it in the stove all hours of the day and NIGHT.
With equipment (tractor with front loader, skid steer, splitter, dump truck, barn for dry storage, and a wood processor available if wanted that cuts and splits logs in one shot) it is still a huge amount of work and time handling and heating with wood. It boils down to how broke you are and what your time is worth if you have all of that "free" time.
I have stated this here over and over. There is no such thing as "free wood" nor a "free" puppy dog. That "free" pup costs several hundred dollars minimum for shots, a vet visit, toys, leash, etc; Not to mention the food and chewed up stuff. So how free is that "free" puppy or "free" wood? Not trying to be Debbie Downer here. More like Realistic Randy.
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