A good deal on Firewood

[Toast]

I read many posts where people are concerned about getting a "good deal" on firewood. I worry about this a little my self.

However, I believe that it is very important that people who cut split and deliver this stuff can stay in business. So, I keep buying firewood c/s/d. I have paid from $70 a face cord to $330 for a 2 cord truckload. As long as it stacks up and they do what they say, I don't blink about it.

Here is my thinking...I am not a logger... i am a chemistry teacher. I need these guys to stay in business if I am going to continue to heat with wood. I can cut and split some myself, but I am smart enough to know that I don't want to rely on only my prowess with a mall to keep my family from freezing to death.

So, I live in a rural area with lots of hardwood forests and I buy firewood.

Of course, it is better free or scrounged or what ever.....

Ideas?...

Jefffrey

 

[jabush]

I used to be good for one cord per year from a local guy, just to make sure I had enough. His loads always measured out, but this year I hooked up with a busy tree company. Man...more wood than I know what to do with. All I have to do is go pick it up as they leave it curbside and tell the resident that I will be out for it. I split by hand or borrow my buddy's 35 ton husky. I'm hoping by fall to be 2-3 years ahead...woot!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I'm a big proponent of buying local and from small places.

I myself am a chemist, but I cut my own wood. Wood heat is about a cost savings to me- without it I'm buying oil. When I cut my own I save even more.

 

[fossil]

Where we live, there are no hardwood forests. There are basically no scrounging opportunities. There are no busy tree services. The dominant species of tree in the immediate area (immediate meaning for miles and miles around) is Juniper, which burns fine, but is sort of a PITA to process. Junipers don't fall over from the wind, either. The firewood available comes mostly from independent suppliers who have the equipment and the ambition to get permits from the Forest Service to harvest standing dead trees from the forests in the mountains, predominantly Lodgepole Pine, Douglas Fir, and some Larch (Tamarack). I have neither the proper equipment, nor the experience, nor the strength & stamina of my youth, nor the time to go up in the mountains and fell my own trees. All my firewood comes CSD or in bucked rounds from local suppliers, or an occasional purchase off craigslist. I have three suppliers with whom I've dealt a number of times, and they're straight-up honest folks who always deliver a bit more than advertised. I split & stack & carry & burn, and that's enough of that type of woodwork for me. And yes, I'm happy to give my business to those guys who provide a valuable service in an honest way. Rick <--not a chemist

 

[Tfin]

If I can't scrounge/harvest it myself, I have absolutely no problem ordering it C/S/D from the local guys. They need to make a living too, and even though its more expensive this way, it dose save time.

Interestingly enough.......my wife is a chemist.

 

[Jags]

I'm not a chemist ....but I did stay in a holiday inn express lately.

I have bought C/S/D one time, a dump truck load, and it was from a local. Lately, I have run into a couple of deals that I couldn't pass up, including said local wanting to drop some rounds off for me. He is trying to sell is house and doesn't want the wood there anymore. Another tree guy doesn't sell firewood and will drop trunks off (3 cord at a time) for $120. Hard to pass up.

Other than that, I am a do it yourself wood burner, with respect at the hard work it takes and worth of C/S/D wood.

 

[fossil]

Well, I'm not really a chemist, per se, but I was an Engineering Lab Tech on Navy nuke plants...and I know that pH is the negative log (base 10) of the Hydronium ion concentration in moles/liter. :cheese: Rick

 

[Jags]

Well, I'm not really a chemist, per se, but I was an Engineering Lab Tech on Navy nuke plants...and I know that pH is the negative log (base 10) of the Hydronium ion concentration in moles/liter. :cheese: Rick

Well Duhhh!

 

[RedRanger]

Haven`t been logging truck loads delivered in this area for eons. I buy csd or rounds. Always buy at least 2 cords a year from my regular supplier, then scan the paper for cheaper stuff. Just like where fossil is, these are just local people trying to make an honest buck and feed their families. So, it actually makes me feel good supporting them.

By using more than one supplier we manage to get a little more variety as well. What one doesn`t have the other usually does.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I guess it depends on a lot of things, mainly how much you are interested in getting the wood in by yourself and all that it entails. And how much free time that you have to do it; and if there is a "supply" of wood for you to get, etc. I think that it is a noble thing that you want to see the firewood guys stay in business. I personally have yet to pay for fuelwood and hope to keep that going as long as I can; when I can't get wood for myself then I guess you can start throwin' dirt on me. To each his own, and everyone's situation is different; we're all probably just doing the best that we can for ourselves.

 

[fossil]

...I think that it is a noble thing that you want to see the firewood guys stay in business.

Nobility has nothing to do with it...we need those guys to stay in business. Rick

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Perhaps we do need those folks to stay in business. But as long as I am able, I will continue to cut, split and stack my own. It is good to do for yourself whenever it is possible. Why hire someone to do something you can do on your own? And it is a very nice feeling whenever I look at my wood pile. Knowing how much it cost some of our neighbors to heat their homes, and they were not warm homes either, makes my wood pile look just that much nicer. Also, having 7 years supply on hand says I have many thousands of dollars worth of heat there, right in my back yard. Thank you.

 

[Carl]

I am a local guy who likes to support himself.

Sooo, I am local, get my own firewood, and feel very noble about it.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

...I think that it is a noble thing that you want to see the firewood guys stay in business.

Nobility has nothing to do with it...we need those guys to stay in business. Rick

Oh absolutely...I just think that he should be commended for even thinking about them. In today's "me, myself and I" society it's amazing that someone even considers another's welfare!

 

[Gator eye]

with the price of oil I bet wood supplers will have no problem finding people to buy there wood.

Oh and I not a chemist either.....although I did play with a few chemicals in my youger days....man I miss the 70's..lol

 

[Elderthewelder]

when I bought my stove 2 years ago I told myself that I would never pay for wood, If I could not scrounge it I would just run my NG furnace, well so far so good I have managed to scrounge quite a bit , I have about 3.5 cords as we speak, all scrounged. I have however quickly learned that there is no such thing as free wood ,especially with today's gas prices, wear and tear on truck / saw, physical labor to hump it into truck, out of truck, split, stack etc, etc.

So I am having second thoughts on maybe buying wood in the future, I plan on buying a pallet of North Idaho logs before winter
I ran into this add on craigslist today and thought it was a pretty good deal, however I am about 30 miles from him, 60 round trip so I doubt he would deliver to me
(broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/732735924.html)

 

[N/A N/A]

Straight up...even with the prices of wood delivered now (which is by far the highest I have seen ever ) I am still heating my home far cheaper than my neighbor who has a $150 gas bill a month ( or even a $100 or $75 gas bill )....And by the way...I am for sure not a chemist but also not to lazy to cut, split, stack, and look around for the free stuff as well. At this point it really does not matter how you get your wood, you will save money. Just my thoughts

 

[aandabooks]

I haven't yet bought any wood. Been heating for 3 years now. But this year, I did buy a 17 acre piece of land. I guess you could say that I am now buying wood.

The way I look at it is like this: Each heating season I save between $600 and $1000 dollars on heating the house. I am on natural gas. I need between 3-5 cords of wood per year to run the wood furnace. If I were to buy wood, it would have to be a maximum of $200 per cord and even then I might as well run the NG furnace and save the other work that wood entails. A cord of wood around me is anywhere from $225 to $300 delivered.

Looking at the logical side of things, what I should be looking at doing is beginning to sell some wood off of my land to help pay for the purchase and make a few bucks for equipment upgrades.

 

[jpl1nh]

Initially I bought a few cords but as I started to seriously burn wood I began to use more and more wood I cut myself. Call me crazy, but I love the whole process; cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking, and I love the time outside and greatly appreciate the exercise. If I take into consideration the hours of labor per cord, a couple of hundred dollars for CSD wood is an absolute bargain! I know I'd have a tough time making ends meet doing it for a living.

 

[brooktrout]

I hate chemistry.....and math.

 

[Ken45]

Well, I'm not really a chemist, per se, but I was an Engineering Lab Tech on Navy nuke plants...and I know that pH is the negative log (base 10) of the Hydronium ion concentration in moles/liter. :cheese: Rick

Quit talking dirty!

;-)

Ken

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I hate chemistry.....and math.

And that's why you have to buy crank, and get short changed in the deal.

-pH- my own crank supplier

 

[neverrude]

Got a local landscaper – tree guy were I can load my truck (6ft bed) with rounds, mostly cut to size for $10.