Finally buying a couple of cords

[peakbagger]

I normally cut and split my wood from an available wood lot but my increase in use due the installation of storage has pushed me into buying a few green cords to let me get caught up so I am a year ahead Its depressing that I am in an area with lots of wood and logging yet CSD wood is more costly locally then areas to the south. There is a high demand from local power plants and papermills so the loggers just haul it over log length to the plants. There is a new biomass power plant being built nearby that is going on line late this year so I expect the wood supply will be even tighter next year with them adding 1600 tons per day of demand for low grade wood chips to a tight market, thus I want to concentrate on getting ahead for 2014/2015.

Its been a while since I bought CSD wood so it will be interesting to see how it works out. The dealer has been around for years and I know that the wood being delivered was probably a standing tree last week, so it will be green as it comes. Heck I might even get some oak mixed in as my area is just north of where the Oaks didnt grow in the past and he is driving up from down south where Oaks are prevalent.

I am getting ready to install a solit heat pump run by surplus net metered PV so hopefully I can match my current wood cutting to my usage by supplementing heating with the heat pump.

 

[Applesister]

Some dealers get a better mix than you can find in your back yard. When I was more casual about wood burning I bought for years from two different dealers and I used to get yellow birch and sugar maple, which the one doesnt grow here and the other I wouldnt cut down on my own lot. The other guy brought me chestnut oak and an odd assortment of hickories.
If I went back to using a dealer I would call around and ask what species they can get and where it comes from.
In all the wood deliveries Ive gotten, oak was very sparse in all of them.

 

[bogydave]

Get it ASAP.
&
Get it stacked .
Gonna need a year + to season
oak longer yet.

 

[StihlHead]

Some dealers here sell seasoned wood year round. Most run out in late winter though. I can get all the Doug fir I want from a good dealer for $175 a cord, delivered. I bought one cord of two year barn dry DF two years ago when I fell short of cut firewood. Oak is a different story here, and they want $300 a cord for it. It takes longer to dry, likely 2 seasons here for me to get to 20% (if it does not rain all summer like it did 2 years ago).

We are in a similar demand situation as you for firewood around here, even though its the land of trees. Mainly because of saw, pulp and pellet mill demand as well as export demand for logs. After that there are firewood processors that cut and sell firewood in the city and burbs for a premium. Then there are the wood scrounges like me that glean logging cuts, CL listings, and arborist work in the city and burbs. I may flip to buying green DF mill ends from a guy for $300 for a three cord dump truck load, delivered. The cost for "free wood" is getting a lot higher with these insane gas prices lately. I am averaging $44 a cord with gas and trailer rental, never mind driving time, wear and tear.

 

[arbutus]

Similar story here. $150 a cord of good CSD hardwood that has dried a while downstate from several sources. $200 + a cord in this area, for green CSD.

Most people here are buying a log truck of 8 to 10 pulp cords delivered and CSS themselves.

 

[peakbagger]

Wow, I was quite happy with the transaction, they made an appointment and showed up on time. Its good clean wood obviously from some sort of processor. Species is ash, oak and some maple. Good mix of split sizes and not a lot of rot. I am in the process of stacking but expect ther were generoous cords. Its also a lot drier than expected. Its for a the winter of 14/15 (I hope) so it will have time to dry. They drove right past one of the local firewood "bandits" ($300) a cord and I expect they may get some business from my referrals.

I have considered buying a truck load in the past but I dont mind cutting and splitting my own, I just got caught by how well I could run the house off my storage (and how little oil I used) so I was short some as I heated primarilly with wood last this past winter. Knock on wood with my upcoming heat pump experiments (net metered solar to a split heat pump) I can match the amount of wood I can cut and split with the demand for heat. I really dont mind a mix of wood, I am used to northern hardwoods for burning and with storage I really dont need the long burns obtained with Oak, rather I want fast hot burns which maple ash and birch works fine.

I figured we all hear about transactions that go wrong so I wanted to to let folks know when things go well.

 

[StihlHead]

The only wood I have bought here was a good deal 2 years ago December. $175 for a full dry cord for Doug fir. A local guy, a retired forester from southern Oregon near where I used to live with my ex. Anyway, he has a 2 cord fenced trailer, 4x8x8, and stacks 2 year barn dry split wood in it so you can see that its a stacked cord or two when he drives up before he unloads it. No BS that way. It was 15% dry too, which was great that very wet, snowy and miserable year.

Compare that to a 'cord' of oak the ex bought just as I was moving out of her place the year before. Guy shows up with a dump-trailer full of small size cut limbs that were wet and muddy in a heap. I stacked it and it was about 2/3 of an easy to measure cord in the 'rick' racks. She called him back about it and he dragged over another half load of muddy wet wood and dumped it. I left that for her to deal with. I had cut and stacked over 12 cords of fir on her property, all she had to do was go get it. She wanted to keep that wood in reserve though. So who was I to tell her any different? Free dry stacked wood... or a pile of muddy wet oak that costs money? *shrug*

 

[tomahawk]

Last time I bought wood was about 4 years ago. (new child and no time) It was an alder and birch mix, in rounds, for $90 a cord. I bought 2 cords from him and wish I would have saved his number. One of the better deals I have got. Looking at CL today it looks like most cords are about $175 and up around here now. I am blessed to have free wood right out my back door.

 

[jdp1152]

If I could find some green/split cords for a reasonable price, I wouldn't pick up the saw again. While I enjoy the process, I'd rather spend that time on home renovations or playing the yard with my youngin while a nice picnic shoulder smoked in the green egg. This state is highway robbery on wood from what I've gathered. You can go to craigslist and get something that might be 2/3rds of a cord for 2-300 or you can go online and find someone that delivers a legit cord that isn't even close to seasoned despite claims of 2 years for 3-400. Bought some pricey kiln dried that was harvest in Southern NH that was absolutely fantastic. It reduce my oil consumption that year just enough to justify it, but no way enough to make it worthwhile outside of the ambiance of a nice fire. I am fortunate that I live in an area where not many people maintain their own land and I'm increasing my access to property for wood.