BK on the way, no firewood.

[Bill in the U.P.]

Greetings to you all. It's been a long time since I have been on here. I just bought a new (to me) house and ordered a BK Sirocco 30.1. I have to start looking for firewood. Are Eco bricks a possible source for burning this season? Do you have any other suggestions? My next stop will be the local CL to see what's there for firewood. Merry Christmas to you all : )

Bill in the UP

 

[DUMF]

Greetings to you all. It's been a long time since I have been on here. I just bought a new (to me) house and ordered a BK Sirocco 30.1. I have to start looking for firewood. Are Eco bricks a possible source for burning this season? Do you have any other suggestions? My next stop will be the local CL to see what's there for firewood. Merry Christmas to you all : )

Bill in the UP

Too late for firewood even if they say "seasoned" Bill. The bricks could do it butt $$$. Look at the Wood Forum for ideas: free pallets, contractor sites ( ( not painted or PT wood though ), dead standing trees, etc.. Many ideas here.

 

[begreen]

See if there are kiln dried wood sellers in your area. If not, get a ton of Eco Bricks and maybe scout around for some pallet wood?

 

[Bill in the U.P.]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I just emailed a guy 30 miles away to see if he would deliver this far. I know his "seasoned, ready to burn" isn't dry enough, but there might be a few in the load I can meter and burn this year. This will be my start on next seasons supply. Makes me happy thinking about getting busy with firewood again.

 

[begreen]

Let them know you have a fussy stove that is not going to work well with damp wood. Ask how long the wood has been in a shed or split and covered. Wood that "was felled last spring" and split last week is not going to be seasoned. Always be ready to refuse a load of wood that is not as advertised. If buying "seasoned" wood take a few splits off the truck before they unload. Then use your axe or maul to resplit a few splits. If they are wet inside, either renegotiate the price or refuse the load.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Do you have a pickup truck or snowmobile? You should be able to scrounge something up in the woods. The UP is full of two tracks.

 

[rwhite]

Throw an ad on Craigslist or FB marketplace. I'm in the same boat. Luckily a neighbor of mine who burns a boiler was and buys 10 cord a year was willing to sell me some of last year's for what he pays. There may be a kind soul out there willing to help. Most commercial guys are cut and sell.

 

[Highbeam]

I own many cords of truly seasoned and dry wood. It is possible that a seller also has truly ready wood but be ready to test it. I would rather burn semi seasoned wood then none at all.

 

[ddddddden]

+1 for wood bricks. You might be able to find them for ~ $250/ton on sale from TSC or RK. The only seller of kiln-dried hardwood in my area wants $300/cord.
If you try burning unseasoned wood, I don't think you will be very impressed with your new stove. It would be nice to see the full capability of the stove before experimenting with fuel.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/biobricks-the-economics-of-them.79910/

 

[kennyp2339]

To be honest you cant go wrong with the TCS Redstones, considering that the burning season is a 1/3 of the way through already its not going to cost that much, if you do decide to mix in pallet wood, make sure it has no nails or glue , both can and will screw up the cat.

 

[Bill in the U.P.]

+1 for wood bricks. You might be able to find them for ~ $250/ton on sale from TSC or RK. The only seller of kiln-dried hardwood in my area wants $300/cord.
If you try burning unseasoned wood, I don't think you will be very impressed with your new stove. It would be nice to see the full capability of the stove before experimenting with fuel.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/biobricks-the-economics-of-them.79910/

Thanks for the link. I am still reading but very good info...

 

[Bill in the U.P.]

To be honest you cant go wrong with the TCS Redstones, considering that the burning season is a 1/3 of the way through already its not going to cost that much, if you do decide to mix in pallet wood, make sure it has no nails or glue , both can and will screw up the cat.

Thanks kennyup2339. Your post showed up while I was checking out TSC online and found
RedStone Wood Fuel, Pack of 6


$3.19
Was $3.49

 

[ddddddden]

Here's another brick source mentioned in that thread.

http://www.ruralking.com/wood-fuel-blocks-greenheat-20pk.html

I got bricks from a local manufacturer for $170/ton. Our Woodstock lüvs them! I haven't tried the TSC nor RK brand, but if you get good fuel, I think you and the BK will be very happy together. Consider it a Christmas present for the new member of your household.

p.s. I don't disagree with the kiln-dried wood suggestion; it's just not a good option in my area. Here's some more info on kiln-dried wood.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/kiln-dried-as-real-as-seasoned-wood.157998/

 

[jetsam]

Throw an ad on Craigslist or FB marketplace. I'm in the same boat. Luckily a neighbor of mine who burns a boiler was and buys 10 cord a year was willing to sell me some of last year's for what he pays. There may be a kind soul out there willing to help. Most commercial guys are cut and sell.

I think a lot of those 10-cords-a-year boiler guys tend to burn green wood, as getting a few years ahead means warehousing 30+ cords.

 

[rwhite]

I think a lot of those 10-cords-a-year boiler guys tend to burn green wood, as getting a few years ahead means warehousing 30+ cords.

He's only 20 cords ahead! But this is all fir and lodgepole so definitely dry in 2 years. But he does crank through the wood as he's heating 6000 sqft with a boiler . He set every aside that was 6" or smaller because he only gets 2-3 hours burn time out of it. He was pretty worried about selling it to me in case I was disappointed. Had a hard time believing that all those small rounds got me a burn time of 18 hours.

 

[tarzan]

Keep your eyes and ears open. Getting truely seasoned wood from a seller seems to be ALMOST impossible but you also may luck out on some standing dead or even cut, split, and stacked.

Once I had noticed a stack of White Oak that never got any smaller so I stopped to ask the owner if he would be willing to sale. He told me I could have it free for hauling but warned it had been stacked for four years and may not be any good

Another time my dad stopped to ask about a seasons worth of firewood. The lady said her husband sold firewood but had passed three years ago so if he would clean up the mess he could have it.

Then there's all the standing dead burnable wood I've came across over the years.

 

[rdust]

Welcome back! I remember reading all about your Princess install and then reading about it being left with the x.

Nice to see you're sticking with the BK line up. Soon you'll have as much experience as Webby burning them.

 

[kennyp2339]

$3.19

I personally like the big 3 packs myself

 

[rwhite]

Get yourself a $30 moisture meter as it will save you a ton of headaches. Around here you can get pretty good prices on wood since I think folks are wanting a bit more Christmas money. It's not "green" since we can only cut standing dead. But it's not seasoned either. But if the price is right no harm in starting the stockpile. If anyone wants a premium for their wood I would at least ask for a few sample pieces to take home. Leave it in the house to equalize for a day or two then split and measure.

 

[Bill in the U.P.]

Welcome back! I remember reading all about your Princess install and then reading about it being left with the x.

Nice to see you're sticking with the BK line up. Soon you'll have as much experience as Webby burning them.

Lol, thanks for remembering rdust. How are things in your neck of the woods? I sold a house I bought after the X that I installed a Sirocco 20 in. Then one of those "perfect storm" series of events happened and I was able to "retire." Took a 3 month road trip across the south, AZ to Florida, stayed around for awhile in each and found there is no place like home (UP Michigan). And way too much traffic down there for my tastes. So, back in the north country giving it another go. I'll probably work part time a few more years (5 hour days, 3 per week). Gonna try my hand at Permaculture gardening and getting 3 years ahead in my firewood.

 

[Bill in the U.P.]

I called the closest TC an hour away and was quoted a price of $315.12 for a pallet of the Redstone FB. Is that a fair price? She said there were a hundred per pallet and I'm assuming she meant 100 packs of 6. Does this all sound reasonable?

 

[Wickets]

quoted a price of $315.12 for a pallet of the Redstone FB

is the pallet included in the price???

good luck with the BK Sirocco and finding a supply of dry wood to burn

 

[jetsam]

I'd spend the $300 on a chainsaw and go look for some standing dead stuff. Woods are full of 'em unless someone else has been picking them out already.

 

[Ashful]

The potentially good news is that I believe an up-draft catalytic stove like the BK is one of the designs most tolerant to under-seasoned wood, as long as you forgo any hope of burning low and slow. Burn off as much moisture as you can in bypass, then engage cat and run medium-high.

If you try to run low, it will surely stall, but BK is one of the only stoves on the market that can safely run at higher settings while self-managing temps and runaway.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Greetings to you all. It's been a long time since I have been on here. I just bought a new (to me) house and ordered a BK Sirocco 30.1. I have to start looking for firewood. Are Eco bricks a possible source for burning this season? Do you have any other suggestions? My next stop will be the local CL to see what's there for firewood. Merry Christmas to you all : )

Bill in the UP

Quite a dilemma! I scrounged and begged a lot last year (first year after a December install), and was fortunate enough to make it through with a clean flue, although I did a lot of stove-front drying to get there.

You have any land with that new paradise that you just moved to?

Most of my new neighbors have been pretty generous with their wood, and I have about 5 acres to scrounge from. I did some fantasizing about a wood fired firewood kiln as well, although I never executed anything more than a few tarp covered wood racks.

Good luck to you, and happy holidays, Bill!