Just got oil delivery, love my stove!

[FiremanBob]

72 gals from Oct. 23 to Dec. 18. I use the oil burner to make hot water, and didn't start burning wood until the week before Thanksgiving and was travelling 7 of the past 14 days. So the stove is definitely saving me some serious money, and I'm keeping the office at 70 deg instead of 60 like last year. The blower is working great and I can feel the warm breeze at my desk all the way across the office from the stove.

The bad news is I'll run out of wood in about 10 days. I won't believe anyone who says he'll deliver fully seasoned wood at this time of year, so I'll have to pay up and switch to biobricks. Even if I use a couple tons of those I'll still be well ahead financially by Spring.

This forum has been invaluable in getting me down the learning curve on using the stove. Restarts are now quick and smooth and I'm getting good stovetop temps (400-500) consistently. Only problem is the stove is a little small and I can't go more than about 5 hours without losing the coal bed. When the auto blower blower turns off I wake up and feed the fire - usually about 4 am.

Thanks, guys.

 

[WILDSOURDOUGH]

That is great Bob...
Gotta love that independent feeling !

I would agree that if your stove is running for only five hours and that you are 'losing' the coal bed... probably too small.

 

[downeast]

The bad news is I'll run out of wood in about 10 days. I won't believe anyone who says he'll deliver fully seasoned wood at this time of year, so I'll have to pay up and switch to biobricks. Even if I use a couple tons of those I'll still be well ahead financially by Spring.
This forum has been invaluable in getting me down the learning curve on using the stove. Restarts are now quick and smooth and I'm getting good stovetop temps (400-500) consistently. Only problem is the stove is a little small and I can't go more than about 5 hours without losing the coal bed. When the auto blower blower turns off I wake up and feed the fire - usually about 4 am.
Thanks, guys.

Bob, you need some faith in honesty. Harvesting, processing, delivering a commodity like firewood is a tough grunt. Try just getting one tree from stump to stove. %-P
In too many years of buying and harvesting our firewood I've NEVER met or even known of a firewood guy to cheat or short anyone on quantity or seasoning. Reputation is on the line. Most firewood customers don't know how much manpower is involved in a cord. If you're serious about using wood, you need to plan at the very least, a year out. Don't blame the seller until you actually hear the bell. :smirk: Sounds like the dog ate my homework. But remember, it is a seller's market now, you will pay close to $300/cord for seasoned hardwood.......worth it.
Forget "biobricks", it is an OK stop gap solution only, and $$$$$. Get out, look around, call tree cutters in RI: arborists, loggers, contractors, highway crews, linemen, the local "sanitary landfill" dump, easy.
Get going; wood is the most plentiful renewable, sustainable BTU resource out there here.
Bill will be in the mail. :vampire:

 

[Codeman812]

Not trying to start something here but I used close to 6 wood guys last year and not one had seasoned wood, or wood that didn't sizzle at the time I bought, AND I did tell them I was going to burn immediately. 2 actually were dead on on the correct amount. The rest were short. I used 2 this year, neither were "seasoned" and 1 was short almost a full face cord. The last guy I used sold me the right amount an didn't tell me the wood was "seasoned" he said I have had the logs for 1 - 2 years and I opened the wood up on labor day. Since he was completely honest with me I will get 2 -3 more dump truck loads for next year in about 2 months and work on scrounging more as well. I would like to have a 2 year supply. I was amazed on the wood guys business practices, you would think they would care about reputation, obviously they didn't. The one that shorted me this year lost more than I did as I was going to buy 3 more dump truck loads. He also argued with me and said I didn't measure right, not exactly hard to measure a face cord, but I had 2 other people verify, one that didn't know anything about face cords other than what the definition of a face cord is supposed to be and the other was someone who knows the business. Both came to the conclusion that he was short. So yes I do have issues with wood guys, but I finally found an honest one so all is well. I will gladly give his name and number to anyone who asks.

 

[swestall]

Gee, that's a lot of oil...(LOL)

 

[FiremanBob]

Well, this is a pretty populated area and in view of the huge increase in wood burning, I have to believe that the supply of truly ready wood is very small and prices are high. The local stove dealers look like anthills with all the shoppers. I paid $185 for my cord in Nov. and wouldn't be surprised if prices were $100 higher now.

The cord I got burns beautifully, but is a little short and more important, nearly all the pieces are too long for the stove. If I didnt' have my band saw the whole lot would be useless.

There's a biobrick dealer only 4 miles away (Negus Lumber in Swansea) whose price is $259/ton and they'll put the pallet right inside my garage. I'm so buried in work that I can't go shopping for firewood now. And maybe a tight stoveful of bricks, well damped down, will let me get a full night's sleep.

Now is the time for long-term planning, though. ASAP in the Spring or if we get a good ice storm I'll start laying in future years' supplies.

 

[Stevebass4]

just look around - i found 8 cords of seasoned fire wood from next door - the guy stopped burning 5+ years ago so i bought it all for 400.00 (burning a load now)

heck didn't get around to moving it before the snow so i stop by once in a while and grab a truck bed full

 

[Sandor]

The bad news is I'll run out of wood in about 10 days. I won't believe anyone who says he'll deliver fully seasoned wood at this time of year, so I'll have to pay up and switch to biobricks. Even if I use a couple tons of those I'll still be well ahead financially by Spring.
This forum has been invaluable in getting me down the learning curve on using the stove. Restarts are now quick and smooth and I'm getting good stovetop temps (400-500) consistently. Only problem is the stove is a little small and I can't go more than about 5 hours without losing the coal bed. When the auto blower blower turns off I wake up and feed the fire - usually about 4 am.
Thanks, guys.

Bob, you need some faith in honesty. Harvesting, processing, delivering a commodity like firewood is a tough grunt. Try just getting one tree from stump to stove. %-P
In too many years of buying and harvesting our firewood I've NEVER met or even known of a firewood guy to cheat or short anyone on quantity or seasoning. Reputation is on the line. Most firewood customers don't know how much manpower is involved in a cord. If you're serious about using wood, you need to plan at the very least, a year out. Don't blame the seller until you actually hear the bell. :smirk: Sounds like the dog ate my homework. But remember, it is a seller's market now, you will pay close to $300/cord for seasoned hardwood.......worth it.
Forget "biobricks", it is an OK stop gap solution only, and $$$$$. Get out, look around, call tree cutters in RI: arborists, loggers, contractors, highway crews, linemen, the local "sanitary landfill" dump, easy.
Get going; wood is the most plentiful renewable, sustainable BTU resource out there here.
Bill will be in the mail. :vampire:

Thank you for this post, you saved me some typing.

Why don't people (that won't cut it themselves) buy it in June, stack it and cover it and be ready?

Plan ahead, or at least quit bitching when the wood is sizzling. Or call the fuel oil company.

 

[FiremanBob]

I, for one, was considering in June selling this house and moving Down East.

 

[Codeman812]

So what your saying is that it is ok to sell seasoned wood that sizzles and I can't groan about it. So along that line of thought I can sell you used parts for your car and call them new, it is a misrepresentation of a product. It shouldn't matter what situation a person is in.
When you sell someone sizzling wood that you called "seasoned" the person buying has every reason to complain. No matter what time of year they bought. But once again it is somebody trying to rip somebody else off, and it happens way to often in wood sales. But as long as you can justify it somehow.

Thank you for this post, you saved me some typing.

Why don't people (that won't cut it themselves) buy it in June, stack it and cover it and be ready?

Plan ahead, or at least quit bitching when the wood is sizzling. Or call the fuel oil company.

 

[swestall]

On a positive note: I found that no matter what the only way I could be sure to have well seasoned wood was to season it. At that point I started to buy a year ahead. Now, I burn from one side of the woodpile and stack the other. So, I am always a year ahead of my demand. This also gives me some insurance against something happening and I can't get to it when I need to.

Let's face the facts: you should not be sold something that isn't what it is represented to be. I get a pretty good deal on my cordwood. And, when I go to pay for it, I usually stroll over to the pile and take a look at what I'm getting. If the ends are aged, its a pretty good bet that the wood has been there a while.

What you see is what you get. I have a lot of woodland, but no time; so I buy. In fact, sometimes he cuts for me off my own property.

I've stayed with the same guy for a long time. That has helped with the price and with what I get. At one point, we even had that talk, which leveled the playing field.
In the end, no sense in being overly upset about what has happened as the seller is just getting over on you more. Better for you to let it go and in the future do your business knowing what to expect.

After all, its you who will be upset over Christmas not the seller.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year.

 

[FiremanBob]

Well, getting through the winter might not be so easy. I'll run out of wood right on Christmas Day. The local biobrick dealer is out of stock but may get a shipment later next week, and calls to 6 different guys who all advertised seasoned firewood in the local paper turned up 6 guys who are out of stock, too.

 

[rad3110]

I agree the only way to make sure your wood is seasoned correctly is to cut and split yourself or buy it a year in advance. I have a small insert so I prefer to cut my own wood 15 to 17 inch lengths( they call it stove wood and charge you 50 bucks more a cord for the shorter cut, get less pay more). Ive been seeing more and more guys advertising there wood not split in 8 to 10ft lengths. they come and just drop off a whole container load 6 to 8 cords, they claim for $400.00 on Long Island NY. THe guy advertises in Newsday. This is not an endorsement I have never used him or know anyone who has. bottom line for me im cutting and splitting on my own is the way to go. Corded wood in my area is going for 165 to 225 bucks a cord advertised price.

 

[Codeman812]

Absolutely, This year I am going to buy next years wood in JAN or FEB, although it will burden me a little at this time I know it will be more "seasoned."
On the positive side, I did find a better resource on firewood, and he is honest, so I will be staying with him. Another positive is that I am finding more scrounging opportunities, and I am using that for 2 year wood. I tried buying log loads but the lists are way too long, I have been on a couple of lists for 8 months now. I don't think they are going to call this year

 

[swestall]

Bob, perhaps you can get some pallet wood or something like that. I have a friend that builds cable reels and they always have surplus ends, etc. If you look in Superpages for your area perhaps you can hook up with a pallet supplier that has those at his location. They are usually cut up.

Are there any folks here near to Bob that could be of more direct help??

 

[Codeman812]

Bob, maybe you could try sawmills, they sell slab wood most of the time. Usually they are cutting logs year round so they may have some for sale. I worked for a custom woodworking place that cut slab wood off, cut the trees into dimensional lumber, kiln dried it and then into the cabinet or wood products process, so you may have to be creative in looking for folks who can provide slabs.

 

[thephotohound]

I agree that it is up to the burner to make sure he buys ahead and seasons "seasoned wood" for at least 3-6 months in the summer sun. However, I also agree that many firewood guys are misrepresenting their product by calling it "seasoned". Problem is, the term "seasoned" is so ridiculously abused, it is almost as bad as a fish story (it was THIS big!). The other problem is that the market is flooded with "firewood" guys just looking to pay bills between cutting lawns and plowing snow. And to the REAL firewood guys out there (you know who you are), I believe you when you say 1) the wood is "ready to burn" and 2) a cord is a cord. Your reputation really DOES depend on it. It's literally your livelihood. Read my signature if you wonder what I do when I'm not sure about something. Most should do the same.

 

[iceman]

its funny to me... i am in mass and its the same everywhere.... my firewood guy was excited when he brought my wood because he got it log length and it was sitting for almost 2 years!! he claimed it was ready to burn and i didn't want it to dry because it would burn 2fast!
lol this was the wood ... does it look well seasoned??

 

[drizler]

72 gals from Oct. 23 to Dec. 18. I use the oil burner to make hot water, and didn't start burning wood until the week before Thanksgiving and was travelling 7 of the past 14 days. So the stove is definitely saving me some serious money, and I'm keeping the office at 70 deg instead of 60 like last year. The blower is working great and I can feel the warm breeze at my desk all the way across the office from the stove.

The bad news is I'll run out of wood in about 10 days. I won't believe anyone who says he'll deliver fully seasoned wood at this time of year, so I'll have to pay up and switch to biobricks. Even if I use a couple tons of those I'll still be well ahead financially by Spring.

This forum has been invaluable in getting me down the learning curve on using the stove. Restarts are now quick and smooth and I'm getting good stovetop temps (400-500) consistently. Only problem is the stove is a little small and I can't go more than about 5 hours without losing the coal bed. When the auto blower blower turns off I wake up and feed the fire - usually about 4 am.

Thanks, guys.

Bleed them even harder, do what I do. Get all the oil you will need in the height of Summer. If you handle it right you should be able to make it all winter with just one full tank of oil. No use paying more than you have to, you are getting robbed mightily anyways.