Buying wood sucks!!

[ChadMc]

Thought I’d vent and share my experience ha. Who knows maybe it’ll help someone here. Long story short we moved into a new home that backs up to the woods and made the investment into a regency stove and heating 24/7 by wood. Due to a late install (dec 5) this year we were forced to buy wood for this winter. 1st cord was actually a little bigger the a cord but 50% was punk. Looked good until you turned it to the bark side to find 2 inches of rot and punk. Half became fire pit wood and the other half we burned and it wasn’t great. Metered a lot of it and most was in the low 20s. 2nd comes the guy claimed he was the most honest around blah blah. Paid a lot for a cord stacked it one my racks which hold exactly 1 cord and it’s 2/3s. I call the guy and he says it’s a loose cord! Whattt!! Then sell it cheaper. Not to mention more then half was short blocky stuff or splits that were 24” long but at least this stuff was seasoned. All measuring under 20%. The last and final cord was just a delivered. Little shy of a full cord and 100% ash. Guy must have hit a ash goldmine. Looks like it was sitting for a few months at most. Ironically it burns the best at out anything I got this winter. Hot, long, and zero smoke after start up.
Sorry for the rant. To make me even more bummed I’ve been hitting it hard since dec and have CSS all by myself 3 cords and counting. I look at my nice tight neat stacks and can’t wait till next winter! For people who buy wood. Do yourself a favor. Buy a chainsaw and a maul. There’s wood everywhere you look and it’s pretty satisfying working for it to heat your family. When you see your gas/energy bill even more of a plus

 

[Hksvr4]

Im stuck in the same situation. Moved in to the home July of last year. Bought 3 face cords for $60 each. First cord was no so great, second was great stuff, third was ok but it was too big and had to split them. Im kinda running low right now.

Im actually going tomorrow to pick up some free oak logs this guy is giving away. He said it's cut and sitting uncover for a year. I have a bunch of red oak trees that we just cut down. 5 of them. But I'll have to wait at least 2 years to use them. I guess im going to search for free logs every day.

Btw, buying firewood at this time of year is not a good idea.

 

[kyguylal]

Cord of green wood cost $300+ here in NH. Its sold as "seasoned". Usually been sitting for three months and 30% moisture.

I bought a grapple load for $75/cord and I've been bucking and splitting every day for two months after work.

It's an addiction. Just bought a truck so I can scrounge firewood.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Wood stoves are that exception to the rule of get the stove, buy the fuel. I doubt if many first time burner start gathering fuel a yr or more before getting their stove. Right now im suppling wood to a friend(whom i tried to explain about the wood) who has ZERO dry wood stacked. Thought he could burn standing dead which he has a lot of.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Wood stoves are that exception to the rule of get the stove, buy the fuel. I doubt if many first time burner start gathering fuel a yr or more before getting their stove. Right now im suppling wood to a friend(whom i tried to explain about the wood) who has ZERO dry wood stacked. Thought he could burn standing dead which he has a lot of.

I have a friend who asks for advice about a cabin stove. I keep sending him links to stoves on CL that I would buy. I also sent him a link for the Englander at HD. In return I get texts asking what I think about the stoves at TSC and every other cheap Chinese stove. Some people just don’t listen.

 

[Woody5506]

The more you burn the more you realize a 3 year plan really isn't so crazy. As long as you keep up with it, you can pretty much guarantee well seasoned wood on hand at all times.


Edit - yes buying wood sucks!

 

[maple1]

IMO the number one way for buyers to help avoid disappointment, is to assume that any & all wood you buy is wet/green.

 

[ChadMc]

Now, yea I expect that. I even told my neighbor who heats with wood not to buy anymore. I told him I would help with his supply. Funny cause it seems like these guys sell the wood and don’t even know how a stove operates. They are screwing up the others who sell because I’m sure there is some truly honest people out there.

 

[johneh]

Never buy wood that you have not looked at
I insist that anyone buying wood from me look at it
see what they will get and check the moisture content
But I charge a fair price for wood under 20% moisture content
A lot say I can buy cheaper from so and so
I just say your choice. My wood goes fast so don't ask for any come December

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have a friend who asks for advice about a cabin stove. I keep sending him links to stoves on CL that I would buy. I also sent him a link for the Englander at HD. In return I get texts asking what I think about the stoves at TSC and every other cheap Chinese stove. Some people just don’t listen.

Some of those cheap stoves at TSC are OK . I have the Country hearth 2000 i bought for a apartment and it performs quite nice with great heat output ,clean burn but like many 2Cu ft stoves not the longest burn times. That stove would be perfect for a small cabin,but not a large cabin.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Lots of free wood where a house is being torn down. You might have to pull a few nails but it probaly been drying for 100 yrs. Floor joists and wall studs mainly. Is mostly what i burn.

 

[BigJ273]

If you buy it, it’s ALWAYS wet!!

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Some of those cheap stoves at TSC are OK . I have the Country hearth 2000 i bought for a apartment and it performs quite nice with great heat output ,clean burn but like many 2Cu ft stoves not the longest burn times. That stove would be perfect for a small cabin,but not a large cabin.

What kind of clearances come with these TSC stoves? My friends cabin is tiny so he really needs a jacketed stove so he can keep it close to the walls.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

What kind of clearances come with these TSC stoves? My friends cabin is tiny so he really needs a jacketed stove so he can keep it close to the walls.

They are all different , ill try to find a manual for mine. Exactly how small is the cabin?
Manual States:
12 inches from the rear and 18 in from the sides to combustibles. Single wall pipe should be 28 in from the wall. If in a corner stove corners should be at least 8 in from the wall. SW pipe entering a flue 18 in from ceiling.

 

[weatherguy]

If you buy it, it’s ALWAYS wet!!

Or punky. I'm lucky my brother in law is in the business and hes as honest as they come, I buy it from him and let it season in my yard. He retired for a couple years so I get the problems buying wood, I could write the same stories you guys are writing. Thankfully he got bored and got back to cutting wood.

 

[ChadMc]

Never buy wood that you have not looked at
I insist that anyone buying wood from me look at it
see what they will get and check the moisture content
But I charge a fair price for wood under 20% moisture content
A lot say I can buy cheaper from so and so
I just say your choice. My wood goes fast so don't ask for any come December

I totally agree now that I have experienced what I have. Luckily I’ll most likely never buy wood again. The fact that people list that they sell “seasoned” wood is the issue. Not a big deal cause I’d say most people who heat with wood do they’re own wood suppling.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

They are all different , ill try to find a manual for mine. Exactly how small is the cabin?
Manual States:
12 inches from the rear and 18 in from the sides to combustibles. Single wall pipe should be 28 in from the wall. If in a corner stove corners should be at least 8 in from the wall. SW pipe entering a flue 18 in from ceiling.

If I had to guess I would say 700 square at best. I’ve read an older thread on the country hearth stove, durability seems to be an issue. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

If I had to guess I would say 700 square at best. I’ve read an older thread on the country hearth stove, durability seems to be an issue. What are your thoughts on this?

I dont use the stove that often so i cant speak to long term durability. I havnt read those threads ,were they about the 2000 or the larger sizes?

 

[Stinkpickle]

I purposely buy green wood, because it’s cheaper and I know I’m going to keep it stacked for at least two years...even ash wood.

 

[Hksvr4]

The free logs I picked up. Split it and what is it?

 

[Stinkpickle]

View attachment 255915View attachment 255916The free logs I picked up. Split it and what is it?

Spalted maple?

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I dont use the stove that often so i cant speak to long term durability. I havnt read those threads ,were they about the 2000 or the larger sizes?

Yes. And the bigger one I believe. Seems like it is not a very good 24/7 burner. I didn’t go to in depth with my reading but what I did get out of it is they appear to wear out fairly fast.

 

[Hksvr4]

Spalted maple?

Guy said oak, but I knew it wasn’t.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I don’t buy firewood but if I had to I would do what some others are doing here. I would buy green logs and process and dry myself. That way I have control over my split sizes and lengths

 

[Grizzerbear]

If a person is selling much wood they are most likely selling it for a good chunk of their yearly income or supplemental.....at least around here. My father used to cut and sell wood and normally had around 40 cord of wood cut before fall every year. Now this was with a regular full time job mind you. Now if he was to cut and stack wood up for 2-3 years of average seasoning time for oak.....our predominant tree here......that would eat up a ton of space around the place if you catch my drift. Its just unrealistic for a wood seller to keep that kinda inventory. And on the "seasoned wood" definition.....we r not far from the days gone when smoke dragons were the norm and 6-9 month css wood burned well.