I'm noticing a trend in NY.

[ChrisNJ]

Although not from NY, I like to scrounge just to stick it a little more to the LP dealer for his 1000% markup, which made me get the furnace in the first place.

 

[glenng]

As an arborist I never have to scrounge. I get paid to take firewood home. On occasion I have given a low bid for a nice locust or osage orange tree and a high bid for for a crap tree. But I get my wood as a by product of my business. Its expensive to cut , haul and process "free wood" . Luckily I get paid to haul it away. On occasion I have "snatched " a prime storm tree that was felled or cut by the township , but it helped them out more than me and resulted in more work or a bottle of spirits at Christmas. Its nice to heat with wood but if you add up all the costs its actually very time and $ consuming. If you like to heat with wood it may be cheaper to purchase wood than cut it yourself considering all the equipment and time required to take it from tree to seasoned split firewood. I can think of only 2 reasons people heat with wood. Necessity or comfort. Wood heat feels good no matter the cost.

 

[JotulOwner]

On Long Island, NY we have a mixture of opportunities to acquire firewood.

I buy some when I see a good price or quality available on Craigslist, and I "scrounge" when the opportunity arises (most of the time from Cragslist). I generally try to avoid retailers around here because, the quality falls short of my expectations most of the time.

The funny thing is that you can pay top dollar for junk at times and also have an opportunity to have a tree removal company/landscaper deliver logs to your door for free (to avoid disposal costs when the don't deal in firewood and aren't connected to a company that does take the logs at no cost).

Those that know their business don't waste time processing firewood since labor and storage costs are high and the profit is relatively poor. It is more sensible to dump their byproduct free of charge and move on to the next removal job that will make thousands of dollars in a single day.

 

[Flatbedford]

I scrounge because my 1/4 acre can't produce a sustainable fuel supply, and because the rich folk want fallen debris removed from their sight. Works for me. I brought home nearly 10 cords of "scrounged" wood in '09.

 

[glenng]

On Long Island, NY we have a mixture of opportunities to acquire firewood.

I buy some when I see a good price or quality available on Craigslist, and I "scrounge" when the opportunity arises (most of the time from Cragslist). I generally try to avoid retailers around here because, the quality falls short of my expectations most of the time.

The funny thing is that you can pay top dollar for junk at times and also have an opportunity to have a tree removal company/landscaper deliver logs to your door for free (to avoid disposal costs when the don't deal in firewood and aren't connected to a company that does take the logs at no cost).

Those that know their business don't waste time processing firewood since labor and storage costs are high and the profit is relatively poor. It is more sensible to dump their byproduct free of charge and move on to the next removal job that will make thousands of dollars in a single day.

J.O. you have it figured out to the tee. I keep a list of "Scroungers" that will haul away wood so I can move on to the next job. Though the scroungers rarely get great wood. I keep the good stuff.

 

[Battenkiller]

Of course many peeps who are not from NY think New York is a city, not a state. So I'm guessing those peeps thing when NYr's scrounge they do it in Central Park. :lol:

So true!

I get that all the time, especially from my Canadian friends, even after they've been to my place. All I can say is, it sure ain't Toronto. :lol:

Yeah, we're taxed to hell and can't afford to heat our homes. Right.

I live out in the country, and I could cut ("scrounge") all I want for free, but like others have noted, free wood can be very expensive. As in, "I sure wouldn't want to do this for a living for what these guys get." I used to cut a lot, but it gets old after many years. Dangerous, too. It's not a hobby for me, heating with wood. If I had natural gas at my place, you wouldn't see me on this board. Electric baseboards, so burning is a fact of life.

I'm very happy that others like to cut the stuff. They can't be making much more than $10/hr when all is said and done. If you're in the tree service industry, burning some means you don't have to pay to haul it away.I 've got several rock hard standing dead around my place, good cherry and locust as well. I like to think they'll be there for some time when I can't possibly afford to buy it. Hope that day never comes.

 

[JotulOwner]

On Long Island, NY we have a mixture of opportunities to acquire firewood.

I buy some when I see a good price or quality available on Craigslist, and I "scrounge" when the opportunity arises (most of the time from Cragslist). I generally try to avoid retailers around here because, the quality falls short of my expectations most of the time.

The funny thing is that you can pay top dollar for junk at times and also have an opportunity to have a tree removal company/landscaper deliver logs to your door for free (to avoid disposal costs when the don't deal in firewood and aren't connected to a company that does take the logs at no cost).

Those that know their business don't waste time processing firewood since labor and storage costs are high and the profit is relatively poor. It is more sensible to dump their byproduct free of charge and move on to the next removal job that will make thousands of dollars in a single day.

J.O. you have it figured out to the tee. I keep a list of "Scroungers" that will haul away wood so I can move on to the next job. Though the scroungers rarely get great wood. I keep the good stuff.

If I don't think I am getting my money's worth, I will be sure to demand a refund

 

[glenng]

On Long Island, NY we have a mixture of opportunities to acquire firewood.

I buy some when I see a good price or quality available on Craigslist, and I "scrounge" when the opportunity arises (most of the time from Cragslist). I generally try to avoid retailers around here because, the quality falls short of my expectations most of the time.

The funny thing is that you can pay top dollar for junk at times and also have an opportunity to have a tree removal company/landscaper deliver logs to your door for free (to avoid disposal costs when the don't deal in firewood and aren't connected to a company that does take the logs at no cost).

Those that know their business don't waste time processing firewood since labor and storage costs are high and the profit is relatively poor. It is more sensible to dump their byproduct free of charge and move on to the next removal job that will make thousands of dollars in a single day.

J.O. you have it figured out to the tee. I keep a list of "Scroungers" that will haul away wood so I can move on to the next job. Though the scroungers rarely get great wood. I keep the good stuff.

If I don't think I am getting my money's worth, I will be sure to demand a refund

J.O. scroungers don`t get a refund. They get cut from the "scrounge list" if their deemed a scrounge nuisance. Scroungers must pretend to appreciate crap wood in hopes to maybe get "good wood" sometime down the road.

 

[Flatbedford]

I have tossed scrounged wood right in the woods when I get home. I don't want it, but don't feel right about leaving it.

 

[JotulOwner]

On Long Island, NY we have a mixture of opportunities to acquire firewood.

I buy some when I see a good price or quality available on Craigslist, and I "scrounge" when the opportunity arises (most of the time from Cragslist). I generally try to avoid retailers around here because, the quality falls short of my expectations most of the time.

The funny thing is that you can pay top dollar for junk at times and also have an opportunity to have a tree removal company/landscaper deliver logs to your door for free (to avoid disposal costs when the don't deal in firewood and aren't connected to a company that does take the logs at no cost).

Those that know their business don't waste time processing firewood since labor and storage costs are high and the profit is relatively poor. It is more sensible to dump their byproduct free of charge and move on to the next removal job that will make thousands of dollars in a single day.

J.O. you have it figured out to the tee. I keep a list of "Scroungers" that will haul away wood so I can move on to the next job. Though the scroungers rarely get great wood. I keep the good stuff.

If I don't think I am getting my money's worth, I will be sure to demand a refund

J.O. scroungers don`t get a refund. They get cut from the "scrounge list" if their deemed a scrounge nuisance. Scroungers must pretend to appreciate crap wood in hopes to maybe get "good wood" sometime down the road.

Glenng

Sounds like you have had some bad experiences with "scroungers". Can't be because of me , because I am always happy getting free wood. My comment about getting a refund was in jest.

 

[Chris S]

So then the two guys I let onto my property to cut logs aren't really my buddies after all. Next time they come over I'll tell my wife- "look honey the scroungers are here"
I'm burning this year, but we'll be several years before I'll kick them out- it'll rot if I leave it all, and that'd be worse than burning oil with the windows open.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Though the scroungers rarely get great wood.

The only thing greater than free is free and delivered. I'm OK with free if it keeps the house warm.