Buying fire wood issues & solutions??

[bogydave]

I too have bought wood & not got what, what I thought, I should've got. (volume & condition)
Why is this typical?

Most folks here know what to look for & still have trouble being satisfied in the end.
Why?

We typically look for the best price, not for the best wood.
Very few "wood sellers" have the time, space, & motivation to season wood for 2 years & still make a profit.

Here is a good question:
Would you pay $50, or $75 more per cord if it was properly seasoned (tested & proved to be less than 20% moisture)?
So it is usable in the new EPA/Cat stove "now".
We're talking about 1 - 2 years of properly stored C/S wood to be in this condition. (is this process worth $$, How much??)

As for the volume. Should we set up an area that will hold a full cord, & pay after the area is full to our satisfaction?
If bought this way, would the seller come back (to the tough to satisfy customer) or sell to those that accept it year after year?

Without proper storage space for most, it's difficult to buy & store wood for 1 - 2 years on our property before it is burned.

You wood sellers out there::
What do you guys do?
Any suggestions?

I have the space & have been lucky for the past years to be able to scrounge, store & dry wood a year or 2 ahead.
That is becoming more & more difficult, (finding wood to cut, bad lower back, equipment to cut-haul longer distances etc)

My solution/s for future may be:
buy "log length" that way I can cut to the length I like for my stove. (& except that I will get 9 cords from a 10 cord load)
or
buy C/S wood in the Spring (off season for lower prices) & store for next years use (1-1/2 years to season it)
But I have the space to do it this way.
Some folks don't, then what?

DIY seems to be the "best", but not everyone has that ability.

Seems, there may be a market out there for a serious "wood cutter/seller" to market
"good, ready to burn wood".
But will they be able to make it financially, if most still look for the best price, not the best product?
I think a seller, who educates his customers about firewood, sells a quality product & builds a good client base, will succeed & still make a reasonable profit.

I'm old school though, I remember when we bought a ton of coal & typically got a little more than a ton. We bought coal from them again.
If I bought a cord of wood, & got just a little more than a cord, I'd smile & be more likely to "Tip" the seller & pass on verbal references to friends.
But I grew up when & where it was not only about the $$, some pride came with the "eye to eye, firm" handshake.

 

[Flatbedford]

If I had to quit scrounging I guess I would try to buy and store wood for a year before I burned it. It would still be like money in the bank. The hard part is always getting that year ahead, but once you did, buying unseasoned wood would be no different form scrounging and seasoning for a year or more. Just less work and more $$$.

 

[midwestcoast]

I actually have paid more for some properly seasoned wood. It was a face cord of Red Oak that my guy swore had been split & stacked for 3 years. The price was $100. Not very high around here, really about what most folks pay for fireplace wood. And the verdict???? It was great, best stuff I burned last year (1'st season with the insert). If I run short come Feb-March I know who to call & have spread the word.
Along with the quest for bottom dollar prices i think another factor is that not so many FW sellers actually burn in an EPA stove & really think what they're selling is good. After-all it burns fine in their furnace & customers fireplaces & older stoves. I'm hopefull things will slowly change & the good sellers will see the market for true 1 year seasoned wood. Folks like us just need to keep asking for it and not be shy to let them know that with our EPA burners, the stuff they're selling needs another 6-8 months before it's ready to burn.
I do feel for the sellers a little bit. Lots of us on here struggling to get 1 or 2 years ahead & here they'd have to do that for hundresd of cords...

 

[PJF1313]

'dave -

Your sig has it right there - "life is"

Now, it's all about the Benjamans - a buck in my pocket is a buck outa yours...
If "I" can sell 7/8'ths a cord for a full, than in 8 sales, I'm a cord ahead..

We (you/us) are a RARE bread - Play fair; be fair. Most are out to scr$w you as much as possible. What's a handshake agreement?

I'm old skool Kraut - Your order a 1/2 lbs of ham, you get about 3/4; you want a 1lbs of potato salad, you get 1-1/4; you want a cord, you get 1 + a face to be sure.

You're lucky that you have that big wood shed of yours - you can get at least a 1/2 year ahead if not better; with or w/out the roof ;-) !
Keep on scroungin/ cuttin dead; you'll be 2 years ahead in no time! - I'm still a year or so behind the curve

 

[RSNovi]

I just paid $55 for a face cord where I drove an hour to get it since this is my first season with a stove. I was not able to find any local that I felt was truly seasoned. The supplier I bought it from was recommended by the stove dealer and before I even bought the stove he said I should get my would there if I didn't have any. It was cut nice in size and has a nice crack when you bang it together. It seems to be burning great and clean.

I plan to stock up on some local stuff for next year. I can get it for as low as $35 and up for a face cord. I was told the $35 stuff was mostly ash. The stuff I drove an hour for was all oak and I got some maple.

Chris

 

[krex1010]

Most firewood guys do Firewood on the side, most don't short you on purpose, they have a big pile of wood and start chucking it into a truck until they think they have a cord. I truly don't believe they intentionally shortchange people. I am by no means making excuses for them, if they advertise a cord of wood then they should deliver a cord of wood. I have said the before, actually earlier today in another thread, but when ordering wood try to order in late winter or early spring, that way you have at least the summer for additional seasoning. Also it kind of gives the guy time to split some wood if he is short, alot of times people order wood in October or November and these guys have already sold the "seasoned" wood they split in the spring and summer. If you order wood now alot of these guys may only have two third of a cord split and they give you what they have. It's not right but it is the reality. So be an educated consumer and realize the reality of the firewood bussines. When buying from someone for the first time respectfully let the guy know that you are an educated customer, and you know how much wood is in a cord and that is what you expect. Let them know you have been shorted in the past and you are looking for a trustworthy and dependable wood source, let him know that you buy wood every year and if you are happy with his service then he can count on your business. I know that a good businessman would realize that if he gives good service he can expect repeat business but the reality is that alot of tree/firewood guys would not be mistaken for a bill gates or Donald trump when it comes to running a business ( no offense lol) so spell it out to them that you could be a regular source of money to them.

 

[midwestcoast]

I just paid $55 for a face cord where I drove an hour to get it since this is my first season with a stove. I was not able to find any local that I felt was truly seasoned. The supplier I bought it from was recommended by the stove dealer and before I even bought the stove he said I should get my would there if I didn't have any. It was cut nice in size and has a nice crack when you bang it together. It seems to be burning great and clean.

I plan to stock up on some local stuff for next year. I can get it for as low as $35 and up for a face cord. I was told the $35 stuff was mostly ash. The stuff I drove an hour for was all oak and I got some maple.Chris

Sounds like you've got a good stove dealer who knows to prevent complaints by ensuring customers are burning dry wood. I'd stock-up on that ash if I were you. It'll dry fast. Dry ash will heat your house, wet Oak will just pi$$ you off.

 

[Needshave]

When I run low on firewood I plan to give the truckload of log length a try.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Buying fire wood issues & solutions??

I must admit, I have never purchased firewood, so I am no authority on the subject, however it seems that the reason it is such an uncertian affair is because of the lack of any rigidly held standards of both quality and volume. Most other types of heating fuels such as oil, propane, electric, etc,,, all come in precisely measured increments. Each may cost more or less in different places and at different times, but the exact volume and quality stays pretty much the same, and there is no such thing as getting a tank full of propane that needs to season for another year before it's good to burn.
I'm guessing that the reason these fuels come with such standardized prices and quality is the same reason they often cost so much, and that's because the government is involved through taxation and regulation.
If that is true then it stands to reason that the only way you will ever see firewood prices and quality become standardized is through government taxation and regulation, and when that happens of course the prices will go up considerably.
Maybe you should look at this existing Wild West frontier situation we have with firewood sales as blessing in disguise, and my advice to all you tenderfoots is to try not to get all fired up, keep looking for your ace in the hole, but just watch you don't get bushwacked by some low down, no good snake-oil firewood salesman. Eventually you'll get a fair shake and be able to fill your wagons and your bunk house with some fine firewood swag.

Happy trails to ya.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

A very comman-sense approach, Liberator. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that wherever there is a buck to be made - someone is going to try to make it -FAST! First time wood-burners /buyers have no idea what to be looking out for (MC,quantity) and trust that theyre going to get the product that was advertised. Ohh, how I wish the society we live in could raise the bar on honor and personal responsibility. It should be a no-brainer. I was raised to tell the truth- work hard- look people in the eye when you speak to them- and to treat people how you would like to be treated, and try to raise my son the same way. Every time I hear another story about someone getting ripped off buying firewood(everyday), I feel like the Indian in the old commercial about pollution-standing by the digusting,garbage riddled,roadside on what USED to be his ancestors pristine,sacred grounds. I'm personally embaressed by the amoral behavior of others. Is NOTHING sacred anymmore? Am I really that off here?

 

[btuser]

Wood shrinks a lot. I think that's where a lot of the missed expectations come from. A dry cord of wood is a lot more wood and a lot less water. If a firewood dealer cuts a cord of wood that's a cord of wood, and when he sells it, in his mind its still a cord, only smaller. I know that wrong but I can see how they think that way.

 

[fishingpol]

I recall back in the 1980's my neighbor would get a cord delivered every fall. The guy hand stacked the wood in the truck and you got your moneys worth. Now it is scooped and dumped with a bobcat into the truck along with dirt and crap. Last summer I bought a cord of hardwood, dry, but uneven in lengths. Did a lot of re-cutting of the splits on the bandsaw. Real pita but it burned real nice. I just had a cord delivered yesterday and the m/c was 25-35% on the meter. I was hoping for a little drier but the pieces were pretty uniform. There is just no happy medium. If the wood was 20% m.c. and cut to 16" and fell a little short of a cord, I would be ok with it. But you pay for a cord, you should get a cord. You don't buy a pizza delivered with a slice missing. Or God forbid, a 5 pack of cold ones. :sick:

 

[wood-fan-atic]

EXCELLENT analogy, fishingpol.

 

[billb3]

I blame Walmart.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Well I've only bought 4 face cords in my life. But its a lot of work to cut and split wood. And I can see where it would be hard to C/S/S then wait a full year or two to get your money out of it. Its going to save the cutter a lot of time and work to split it through it in a pile then load it in a truck with a bobcat. And while buying a face cord for $55 may be a lot to spend on the other hand its not a lot to make for all the work involved. I know I wouldn't want to do it for a living. Yes when you do more of it you get better and bigger equ to work with but then you have to take fuel costs out of what you make. If one needs to buy it would be best to buy early in the year and have it stacked to dry yourself. After many years of burning and getting wood where and when I could its nice to be finally getting ahead of the game. I don't have a splitter at the farm yet and I hated to do it but I cut and stacked over two full cords of wood last week. But after the mess I had this year with all my rounds dumped in a pile and not drying good. If I can't split it right away it gets stacked.

Billy

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Everybody keeps talking about getting a full cord, but one of the obvious reasons for the lack of standard cord measurement being delivered is that, more often than not, firewood is getting delivered in the back of pickup trucks. The average pickup cant hold a full cord (especially if it's unseasoned hardwood), so you are only going to get what the dealer feels he can comfortably carry in his truck. This amount can vary greatly depending on what size the truck is, does it have side rails, and is the wood tightly stacked or just piled. Even then you have to concider what type of wood it is, and what sort of condition it's in. Which would you rather have, a heaping full cord of cottonwood, or a pick-upload of Oak? Oak, you say, but what if you needed wood to burn right away and the cord of cottonwood was nice and dry, but the oak was just freshly cut?
There are just too many variables involved, first time wood buyers do well to ask seasoned wood burners advice on where and how they get their wood. Just calling some number they find in the paper and ordering a "cord" of firewood is almost certain to end in disappointment, and yet that is exactly what most people do.
And then even when a firewood dealer does come through with a full cord as promised it doesn`t garantee there won`t be confrontation, just read okotoks guy`s experiance in this other thread.

Man it sure makes me glad I cut my own firewood. :cheese:

 

[gibson]

I have bought exclusively from craigslist. This year I saw an ad for 18 month seasoned red oak. 2 cords for $300. I inspect it before they dump it and it was pretty damn dry. Nice red oak. When stacked it came pretty close to 2 cords, if not more. If I'm buying at a good price and the wood is good, I'm not going to break balls about being a little bit short. These guys are doing work that none of us would want to do.