craigslist follies

[86turbodsl]

I've come to the conclusion that nobody selling on craigslist has clue #1 about what the heck dry wood is.

I'm 0 for 3 on getting nice dry stuff for my BIS ultima.

Everyone seems to think that cutting wood down and splitting it 3 weeks before you sell it is good practice.
Doesn't anyone read?

I try to screen my wood, but it's very tough to do a moisture test on a significant amount of wood, and these
slicksters all put the driest stuff on the top of the pile!

 

[azsteven]

I had a craigslist vendor tell me he had ready to burn wood, and he brings 2/3 of a cord stacked in his truck. First I measure it, and we agree it's 2/3 cord. Then, I take a piece and split it open and pull out the moisture meter. It measured 35%. I explain to him politely that I can't burn it unless it's less than 20%, that the wood he brought I can't use until next year.

I shuffle my feet a bit... Then I offered him $10 in gas money and to compensate him for his time, or that I could give him $100 for what was in his truck. He took the $100, and I stacked it up to dry for next year. At least it was a decent price -- around here it's $200+/cord for green.

 

[86turbodsl]

Around here, it's $50-60 a face cord, everyone's the same price, and they are all cutting down standing dead, and letting it sit for 3-4 weeks before sale.
Sorry guys, that's not cutting it. The first guy I bought from, was splitting off a huge pile when I got there. He bucks it in the woods, brings it back dumps in a pile
and splits and stacks it. The second guy, after I screened him on dryness, brought over 2 face cords, I asked him if this was the driest stuff he had, and he said
yep. When did he split it? 3 weeks ago. He also mentioned he loved the outdoor woodburner guys. Well, you don't say....

 

[tickbitty]

I haven't bought any yet but I might need to.
There is a guy on CL here who differentiates in his ad prices between stuff that is "seasoned" 3-6 months and a year. That seemed kind of promising, that he is acknowledging the value difference makes me think it might actually be seasoned - but who knows. Here's cut and pasted:

$160 FULL CORD SEASONED 3-5 MONTHS

$210 FULL CORD SEASONED 1*YRS

$440 FULL DUMP TRUCK - 3 CORDS SEASONED 3-5 MONTHS

$590 FULL DUMP TRUCK- 3 CORDS SEASONED 1*YRS

 

[86turbodsl]

If it's oak, 1 year doesn't even cut it. We've got oak and cherry here mainly. Some of my stuff is so wet, it bubbles hisses and runs out when burning.

 

[azsteven]

I haven't bought any yet but I might need to.
There is a guy on CL here who differentiates in his ad prices between stuff that is "seasoned" 3-6 months and a year. That seemed kind of promising, that he is acknowledging the value difference makes me think it might actually be seasoned - but who knows. Here's cut and pasted:

$160 FULL CORD SEASONED 3-5 MONTHS

$210 FULL CORD SEASONED 1*YRS

$440 FULL DUMP TRUCK - 3 CORDS SEASONED 3-5 MONTHS

$590 FULL DUMP TRUCK- 3 CORDS SEASONED 1*YRS

Be sure to ask him how he guarantees that it's a full cord / full 3 cords. Correct answers are "I stack it out in the truck and we measure it before I dump it" and "I'll dump it, you pay me 1/2, stack it out and then pay me the rest after you measure it." If the guys says "I know how much a cord is" or "I have a fill line on my truck"... or if he's using a bucket loader, beware. A "loose filled" truck will hold about 40% less wood than if it's tightly stacked in.