How Does a Newbie Find Firewood on Long Island, NY?

There is a guy in Speonk selling green cords for $100. Rent a uhaul make the trip out and load up. Put in sunny spot for the rest of the year. Unfortunatley he does not deliver.

At this point in the season, I would suggest asking various dealers about what they have and take a look at it before buying. Split a piece and test the moisture level with a meter if you have any doubts about how seasoned it is. As a rule on LI (from my experience), I consider all firewood to be less than fully seasoned no matter when or where it is purchased. Season it yourself if you want to be sure!

I'd check Craigs list. There is a guy in Kings Park with very reasonable prices, even if half of it's dry, you still have 6 months to December. I'd try it if I were closer. A few extra cords will get you through. There is also someone on Craigs list who sells split pine and his prices are really decent. He doesn't post all of the time, how ever.

Envi bricks, while alittle more expensive, are a good back up. I'm going to get a ton this year, just incase. Last year taught me a lesson.

Just stay away from oak if you want to burn this year, oak will take two years at least to season, try and get some maple, ash stuff like that. The envi brick is a good idea that was mentioned, still cheaper than oil/gas and they put out some heat, I always get some fire logs a local dealer sells, they burn for 10-12 hours and put out great heat, I mix a couple of those in on the frigid nights. I think here they're called hearthwise logs.

http://www.hearthwise.com/page/page/506662.htm

First off welcome to the site. I am in PA so I can not help you with finding wood in LI but, if there is ever a place that you may be able to find one, it is here. If I were you I would also suggest when you do find a dealer that you are going to use, look into buying 8 cords or so. If you have the storage space of course. Then you will be set for this and next heating season. So that you know almost every problem , well a vas t majority of the problems are due to bad fuel. It is all about the fuel and having it properly seasoned.

Shawn

welcome to the site. We used to live on LI and couldnt take it anymore. Having said that you should be able to scrouge up quite a bit. Believe me I know its at the curb all over your area.

If you get stuck for really dry wood this year you should have no trouble finding pallets. We all have done this and it will get you thru. Dont burn the green stuff it will give you more problems than you want.

How about contacting some of the local tree services? They might be able to hook you up with some rounds. You may not be able to split right away, but it will give you something to get started on at least.
Also, put the word out there to friends and coworkers. You'd be surprised how word gets around about your need for wood. One of the best methods I have for scrounging is simply driving around. I've come across numerous scores just because I happen to be driving by, many of which have been real close to home.

I know you are looking for wood to purchase now and my advice may not be helping you with that, but its good idea to start thinking about next year, the year after, and so on. Good luck!

cc said:

Hello,
I am new to this site and a new owner of a VC Montpelier that I hope will put a big dent in my oil bill. I am looking for fair and honest sellers of wood. Eventually the plan is to split my own but for the next few years I will be purchasing. I see alot of ads on Craigslist but from what I read there are too many scammers there. I am hoping someone out there can guide me to a reputable and reasonable wood seller. I live in Stony Brook.
Thanks,
Chris

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Welcome to the forum Chris.


One of the first lessons you will learn when starting to burn wood is that many wood sellers will tell you the wood is seasoned and ready to burn. It does not seem to matter what condition the wood is but they will tell you the same thing.

Another lesson is learning how much a cord of wood is. Wood sellers say they know but usually come up short. Also, some sell by face cord (a terrible way to sell) and call it a cord while others do sell true cords.....but usually short you a bit. That is about 99% of the time too.

One more lesson is to learn the various types of wood. This may take a few years but one has to start so try to learn a couple, like maples and oaks. Or even to be able to tell the difference between white and red oak. Or the difference between hard and soft maple. The biggest reason you need to learn this is to know how long to dry the wood. Another is to know what you are buying. For example, why would you pay the same amount for soft maple as you would for white oak? You can look up a btu chart real easy by using a google (or some other) search. Also, never count drying time until the wood has been cut to length and split.

You also need to know how to stack the wood. Get the wood off the ground. You can do that by using something like landscape timbers, rail road ties, poles or, (gasp!) pallets. Stack the wood no more than 4-4 1/2' high (otherwise becomes a bit unstable). Stack it where it will get the most wind. Sun is good too but wind is more important. We do not cover the wood stacks the first summer and fall but do cover the top of the stack before snow flies.

Good luck.

lots of times when im searching for wood on c l. long island comes up with tons of free wood offers. start scrounging for the years to come now. theres plenty of free wood out there if your willing to do the work.

hey Chris,

Congrats on the stove! I'm sure you're going to love wood burning. I see I'm a little late to the show here, but I found a guy who sells cords of hardwood for $100/cord split and delivered. PM me and I'll shoot you the info. The only issue of course is that it is green. I bought two cords off of him, and he seems to be a good guy.

Also keep up with Craig's list. I scored about 3/4 cord of seasoned and split oak last year. Sometimes you'll find people getting rid of their wood supply.

DaFattKidd said:

hey Chris,

Congrats on the stove! I'm sure you're going to love wood burning. I see I'm a little late to the show here, but I found a guy who sells cords of hardwood for $100/cord split and delivered. PM me and I'll shoot you the info. The only issue of course is that it is green. I bought two cords off of him, and he seems to be a good guy.

Also keep up with Craig's list. I scored about 3/4 cord of seasoned and split oak last year. Sometimes you'll find people getting rid of their wood supply.

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100 bucks crap after he delivered it i throw him an extra 50 bucks. thats crazy low price.

ecocavalier02 said:

DaFattKidd said:

hey Chris,

Congrats on the stove! I'm sure you're going to love wood burning. I see I'm a little late to the show here, but I found a guy who sells cords of hardwood for $100/cord split and delivered. PM me and I'll shoot you the info. The only issue of course is that it is green. I bought two cords off of him, and he seems to be a good guy.

Also keep up with Craig's list. I scored about 3/4 cord of seasoned and split oak last year. Sometimes you'll find people getting rid of their wood supply.

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100 bucks crap after he delivered it i throw him an extra 50 bucks. thats crazy low price.

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I know. And to be honest before he delivered it and even after I was very suspicious. So I asked a bunch of questions. I even made a deal with him that if it stacks to under 2 cords he'd come back and make sure it was 2 full cords.

But the delivery came and I resplit a lot of it just because I have to burn most of it 6 months from now and that's not really enough time for seasoning. Then stacked it. Once stacked I measured everything out and it came to almost exactly 2 cords. All hardwood.

DaFattKidd said:

ecocavalier02 said:

DaFattKidd said:

hey Chris,

Congrats on the stove! I'm sure you're going to love wood burning. I see I'm a little late to the show here, but I found a guy who sells cords of hardwood for $100/cord split and delivered. PM me and I'll shoot you the info. The only issue of course is that it is green. I bought two cords off of him, and he seems to be a good guy.

Also keep up with Craig's list. I scored about 3/4 cord of seasoned and split oak last year. Sometimes you'll find people getting rid of their wood supply.

Click to expand...

100 bucks crap after he delivered it i throw him an extra 50 bucks. thats crazy low price.

Click to expand...

I know. And to be honest before he delivered it and even after I was very suspicious. So I asked a bunch of questions. I even made a deal with him that if it stacks to under 2 cords he'd come back and make sure it was 2 full cords.

But the delivery came and I resplit a lot of it just because I have to burn most of it 6 months from now and that's not really enough time for seasoning. Then stacked it. Once stacked I measured everything out and it came to almost exactly 2 cords. All hardwood.

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So much for PM'ing you another question "-P

As you can see, BUYING seasoned wood here on L.I. is NEARLY impossible. I Saw an ad on CL 2 days ago about a guy in Huntington selling his 2 cord supply he's had for 2 years for $75 a cord. Those are few and far between. The ENVI blocks ar OK, but expensive. If I were in your position again(I was several years ago), I would make darned sure that I knew what dry wood looked,felt, and sounded like. Then I would call around to wood sellers, letting them know that you KNOW the difference between green and dry wood. When they came to deliver, I would confirm that the wood was at least NEAR dry, and then stack it in the open. Its so damned hot this summer, you have a good shot of getting the wood pretty close to dry. Its also a good idea to buy now (cheaper in summer) for NEXT winter, this way you wont be in this position again.

I would consider mixing firewood and Envi Blocks. The envi blocks cost more than firewood but you get what you pay for. Long Island Firewood is terrible. I usually get both. The envi blocks make up for the loss of btus in the firewood. If your comparing price per btu generated and don’t want to fill your stove up every hour, the envi block are cheaper. If you want good firewood, split your own. Warning!! Make sure you have time. It’s a lot of work.

True that. Alot of work indeed. But, like anything else, you get better,faster,and more efficient with time. After you have a good gameplan, it is well worth the work. Like I said, the several hours I invest each week over a few months (mostly in the fall, for 2 winters ahead) saves me roughly $4000 a winter in heating oil.

yea im in the same boat man. just bought a pretty nice trailer and im ready to start looking. sucks im starting late but its better than never. hopefully i find enough dry wood to get me through half the winter.

udt89 said:

yea im in the same boat man. just bought a pretty nice trailer and im ready to start looking. sucks im starting late but its better than never. hopefully i find enough dry wood to get me through half the winter.

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Hey,

I had some less than seasoned wood at the end of the season last year and the whole season my first year burning. I had pretty good success burning construction debris mixed with the unseasoned cord wood. I think you said you live in smithtown. My first year burning (2 winters ago) I used to go to the recycling center in Kings Park (for smithtown residents only) and pick up free construction materials. I cut them to stove size and mixed it in with my cordwood. It helped to add dry wood to the firebox. Hope that helps.


I've never tried envi blocks, but I may buy a few this year just for fun.