Sources for Firewood

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crazydoctorbob

New Member
Dec 26, 2007
8
Long Island New York
I live in Nassaue county, new york. Does anyone know of any sources of free firewood.

I've heard you can obtain a permit to scavange firewood from along side the state parkways - Wantagh, Southern, Meadowbrook etc. God knows there's a load of wood from fallen trees and limbs. Does anyone know how to go about getting a permit ?

Does anyone know a contact at LIPA? I understand they're a source of firewood?
 
Hey crazydoctorbob down there what might be a good source for wood is trucking company's they throw out a lot of broken pallets which are made from the hearts of logs.

I know of a lot of people up here that burn them and feel fortunate to get them.

Most of the time if you just drive around the terminals you'll spot them set aside away from the trucks and docks. They save big buck in trash fees if the public takes them away...but they don't like the public hanging around their docks.

If you see them set aside at the farthest point those are the junk ones for the taking. Don't take the one stacked neatly next to the building those pallets are valuable and are needed for transportation requirements.

Just be aware that if your stove has shaker grates you'll have to remove the nails or you'll get klinkers.
 
savageactor7 said:
Hey crazydoctorbob down there what might be a good source for wood is trucking company's they throw out a lot of broken pallets which are made from the hearts of logs.

I know of a lot of people up here that burn them and feel fortunate to get them.

Most of the time if you just drive around the terminals you'll spot them set aside away from the trucks and docks. They save big buck in trash fees if the public takes them away...but they don't like the public hanging around their docks.

If you see them set aside at the farthest point those are the junk ones for the taking. Don't take the one stacked neatly next to the building those pallets are valuable and are needed for transportation requirements.

Just be aware that if your stove has shaker grates you'll have to remove the nails or you'll get klinkers.

Pallet wood can be good scrounging fuel, and it is also good for stacking other firewood on - however it does need to be treated with a bit of caution - it tends to be much drier than normal cordwood, and because it's often smaller as well, you need to be careful not to over stuff the stove with it, and keep an eye on your temps so as to avoid over-firing. Many folks like to use pallet wood either mostly for kindling, or mixing it with regular cordwood to help keep the fires under control. It can be particularly useful to mix pallet wood with "not as dry as it should be" cordwood to get an average moisture level in the stove that resembles normal wood...

Gooserider
 
Make freinds with a farmer with a grove and you will be set for life. You clean up the dead trees and knock down ones that can be safely done in exchange for wood and possibly storing on site as well.

Where I live (Iowa) have people have contacted me after they seen how much of a grove I cleaned up for where the now friends that own the farm where I cut wood at.

You kind of have to network around friends of friends and then you will get all the wood you want.
 
This is my first season burning so I haven't really looked for good sellers yet. I do agree with who ever said pallet wood. most companies trash their pallets after they are done unloading them and if you drive around some industrial parks you will normally see stacks of them piled by the buildings. There are only a few companies that hold on to pallets for dear life because they are made of high grade wood (to hold items like granite). These companies will actually charge a deposit to get the pallet back. But don't worry, if it's a pallet that a company wants to keep they will put them inside out of reach.

I got this years pile from my father who lives further upstate and doesn't burn anymore so I haven't needed to look at all this first season. I'm a high end commercial contractor so next years pile is from the 15 acres of land I had cleared for the building I'm doing right now. I just told my subcontractor to leave some on the side for me :)

Might want to pick up the yellow pages and reach out to some site contractors. Networking goes a long way, but be prepared to do some work for the wood. I went to my jobsite on a weekend after we were done clearing and spent a good afternoon chainsawing to secure next years pile.

Craigslist always has listings around Nassau and Suffolk, just not sure how seasoned you'll be able to pick up right now
 
Always have different avenues to obtain wood.
I have three.

Call tree services in your area. Many times these companies just want to get rid of the wood and will drop it off.
Of course this requires yard space, and you do get some larger stumps ect...but it can be a fine source.

Many times Cities will have tree dumps with yard waste sites. These are great sources of wood.

A drive around town with a watchfull eye will nail plenty of wood. I have knocked on doors where I see woodpiles with no fireplace visible. This is often seasoned wood that someone thought they would use someday and now they are just willing to get rid of it.

Any pallet companies around? That is where I obtain all my kindling and some great burning stuff. The place just down the street makes pallets, and if you leave your trailer there they will fill it up. Last year I got some awesome slab oak that was the fast food of burning...man that was nice stuff!
 
Hey High_Iron,
Can you post a picture of the logs you get? I'd like to see what 6-8 cords looks like.

Thanks
 
Awesome pile, lota work, I've been there. I had gotten logs the first year I had the stove. Split them for the following year. I burn about 3-4 cords here. I'll be calling for logs next month to split for my 2010 season. I would invest in a splitter, it will be well worth it.
 
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