Too much wood for sale around here!

Captain Hornet said:

I have cut, split, stacked wood for several years and now I am probably six or seven years ahead. I thought I might be able to sell some of it before it rots. It's all seasoned several years and I thought someone would love to have my extra. Well I got to looking and there must be 50 ads with people trying to sell wood. Typical in that it's all fresh split and they well deliver a big pickup load for $75.00. I guess with the tough times everyone is trying to make some grocery money. So for that price, I'll just keep what I have because I know I have good wood. I would rather just give it away to someone who really needs it. David

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Same here... I love to cut wood, I just can't stop doing it. It's a great way for me to unwind on the weekends. Right now I have about a 5 year supply. I considered selling some for a little extra cash money, but I just can't justify selling wood for $75 for a heaped truckload.

At least 70% of my wood is rot-resistant varieties (hedge and locust). I think I'll just hold on to them for as long as I need to.

You would really hate it here. Church friend just picked up 3 cords at $30 a rick, picked up. The same place sells for $40 delivered.

And here I am with 2 cords I just bought at $200 each, supposedly seasoned but so fresh cut you can smell the sap. I burned my first cord of actual seasoned wood and am now going through my last bit of actual seasoned wood. Don't know how I'm going to keep my family warm, since nobody sells seasoned wood even though they claim it to be.

Too bad you all are so far away. right now in this area it is going for 225-250 a cord, picked up.

sent you a pm

Captain Hornet said:

I have cut, split, stacked wood for several years and now I am probably six or seven years ahead. I thought I might be able to sell some of it before it rots. It's all seasoned several years and I thought someone would love to have my extra. Well I got to looking and there must be 50 ads with people trying to sell wood. Typical in that it's all fresh split and they well deliver a big pickup load for $75.00. I guess with the tough times everyone is trying to make some grocery money. So for that price, I'll just keep what I have because I know I have good wood. I would rather just give it away to someone who really needs it. David

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David you wrote about wood rotting. 6-7 years ahead on wood is normal at our place. We never worry about wood rotting. We just make sure it is stacked so it does not touch the ground (well sometimes we do stack right on the ground but that is not normal). It will keep a long, long time.

Captain Hornet said:

I have cut, split, stacked wood for several years and now I am probably six or seven years ahead. I thought I might be able to sell some of it before it rots.

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Myself, and many others have wood far older than that, and rot free.
Curious why you think yours is going to rot?
My Dad is now burning the stuff he cut and split about 15 years ago. yes he is about 15 years ahead on his wood.
My goal is to get up to about thatarea myself oneday, to be say 15 years ahead.
Currently only about 6 or 7 years ahead.

Rot is only a problem if water pools in the pile and can't dry out.

If it's dry and gets air it won't rot.

I wouldn't cover any that I wasn't going to use within 6 months.

gerry100 said:

Rot is only a problem if water pools in the pile and can't dry out.

If it's dry and gets air it won't rot.

I wouldn't cover any that I wasn't going to use within 6 months.

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I would amend this to say I wouldn't bother covering any wood unless I was looking to have it outdoors for longer than a couple of years . . . only been burning for three years now, but I've got some wood piled outside uncovered for the past 1 1/2 years and it is fine . . . it should be going into the woodshed this late Spring/Summer.

Heem said:

And here I am with 2 cords I just bought at $200 each, supposedly seasoned but so fresh cut you can smell the sap. I burned my first cord of actual seasoned wood and am now going through my last bit of actual seasoned wood. Don't know how I'm going to keep my family warm, since nobody sells seasoned wood even though they claim it to be.

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Look around and see if there's a lumber mill in your area that's selling bulk kiln-dried firewood. The home construction biz has just about collapsed, so some of them are getting into firewood sales. My local lumber mill sells really nice 20 percent moisture stuff for $250 a cord plus a modest delivery charge. Median rate for green firewood around here is about $200, and $250 for wood rural folks consider "seasoned," but we EPA burners don't.

Other suggestions that will help-- get yourself a maul if you don't have one, or a small electric splitter (just got one for $224 from Northlineexpress.com myself) and get to work splitting that wood you have down as far as you can. It will burn, if it's small (I'm really talking small, 1 or 2 inches), especially the pieces from the outsides of the splits. It will dry out lickety-split, too, if it's stacked loosely outside, and even faster if you can pile it near the stove (or the radiator or baseboard if you have to go back to that).

Get yourself some pallets if you can find them and take them apart for super-duper kindling that will get your other stuff hot enough to burn. You can also buy bags of kindling at many hardware stores, or a few bags of kiln-dried firewood at the supermarket. Expensive, but used judiciously, you can get by. If you get the plastic-wrapped firewood bundles, you'll need to split that down to make the best use of it in lighting off your other wood.

If you do this, also be sure to check your chimney or have a sweep check it for creosote build-up after about a month. You'll probably be fine, but better safe than sorry.

Or you could just bow to the realities and quit burning for the season and you'll have some nice stuff to burn next year.

The only time I've seen wood rot in a pile was a pile under trees that got covered with pine needles twice a year and leaves every Fall. and acorn chewings from the darned squirrels. ans who knows what else.
But it was a rather abandoned and neglected pile in the woods with no cover on the top.
The heavy coating of rotting leaves and stuff kept everything rather moist.