Got Paid to Split Wood

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Mr A

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2011
600
N. California
I picked up a labor gig from craigslist. $100 bucks to split and stack 3/4 cord. Amazing how clueless some burners are. This guy has a old slammer. All the wood was wet and he wants to burn it up in the next month, he's been burning fresh cut all winter. He showed me his burner, with pride. The glass door was coated with thick black goo. None of this wood is ready to burn, and he says he burns a cord a month! This guy is going to burn his house down. It seemed to him, amount of wood burned was more important than quality of burn . I mentioned he shouldn't plan on burning any wood he buys for a year or two, that went in and out one side of the head to the other. I told him he better clean his chimney- he said he had it inspected before he installed the slammer "it was fine". I hope he gets it soon. I'm thinking maybe I should bring him a stove load of seasoned wood, sort of steer him in the right direction. The wood was mostly knotted camphor rounds, oak branches. Guy has space to store 20 cords.
 
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Good luck. I've learned in my profession, if people are interested in learning they will ask questions after you mention something. If no questions come along, just move on. Heck, the more he burns, the more money you can make from splitting. $100 to split and stack 3/4 cord of wood is almost ridiculous on his end. He might as well have paid for a cord to be delivered at that point.
 
Yea, and I'm thinking I can deliver my free scrounged truckloads to his place, maybe charge $100 for the P/U load of wood, and another $100 to split and stack it. Wouldn't want to sell him any seasoned wood, he might not burn enough to keep paying $1000 a season for wood( My sarcasm, his words) There it is, that's how to make money in firewood- Find an idiot and lose your conscience
 
I see it all the time around here. Bad burning habits, and the age-old lore of "pappy always cut his wood in the spring and summer, split it in the summer and fall, and burned it in the fall and winter...."
Then you try and tell them about seasoning, efficiency, safety, etc. They look at you like you are stupid or something. So you go the next step and tell them to go to the internet and check out some sites (like this one) for some good input to the subject. You get the "we've been doing it like this for 50 years and we've been fine with it, we ain't changing". Well, have at it.......

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink!
 
Geeze Scott, I just used that phrase a few minutes ago!

Mr A, that sounds like some easy money there but I'm with you, I hope he doesn't learn too late or too hard of a lesson.
 
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I would split that amount for that cash. Split it when he's not there and let him assume you had to use a splitter for all of it. ==c

that's how to make money.......Find an idiot and lose your conscience
There's the spirit; That's what this country is all about! ;lol
 
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Heck thats a nice pay day and its all cash in hand to bout....
 
Sometimes ignorance has to hit bottom before it can rise to the top. He needs to see the difference in his stove from a clean burning stove. Until he is ready to listen, just keep doing as he asked. It is a short ending job anyway. Shouldn't be too long before he has a chimney fire or worse.
 
MR A
I would not give him dry wood, it might set off all
that black shiny creosote that been waiting for
some real heat.

I was just getting to the bottom of the thread to say the same thing.
 
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MR A
I would not give him dry wood, it might set off all
that black shiny creosote that been waiting for
some real heat.
Uh, oh. More proof wood can be too dry and dangerous.
 
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