Pacific Northwest choices.

[Quielo]

I am buying a house in the Portland, OR area and have some new choices for wood. Here in NorCal I just order almond and don’t worry about anything else. The captions below are from the ads.

I will order wood immediately after moving in around May 01 so it can season a little more over the summer. I'm thinking I will need 3-4 cords as it will be my primary source of heat for 2700 square feet. The 2x4 mill ends look like great kindling and for starting and restarting the stove. I'm intrigued by the possibility of getting 12x12 mill ends though at 24 inches I would need to cut each one. The stove is likely to be an Explorer 3 which takes up to 22'

The slabs are appealing as I like to cut wood and even if green being only 1-4' it should season OK.

In terms of regular firewood there is Doug Fir, Maple, Alder and Oak and delivered prives range from $240-$350 with some outliers. Fir/Alder on the lower end and Maple/Oak on the upper.

If I had more space I would just get the Big Kahuna load and be OK for a couple of years.

Thinking one cord 2x4s, one cord Maple/Oak and maybe some slabs?


FIREWOOD 2X4 MILL ENDS DELIVERED 1 CORD $100 2 CORDS 180.00


$35.00 for 3 bundles (mixed species) or $15.00 per bundle if you don't need 3. 3 bundles is approximately a cord. The slabs are 3"-12" wide and usually 1" -4" thick


We have mill-ends that work great for Firewood...all Doug Fir, no bark, stacks great, little to no sawdust, from 2X6 to 12X12 most of it 2' in length. Pallets around 4'x4' that's 1/2 a cord for 60.00.


Mix of Alder, Maple and Fir delivered to your doorstep dry and ready to burn 1 CORD = $240


self loader loads of fir available starting approximately May 1 $1250 per load

 

[begreen]

Are some of this actually an option? Do you have a stove that can take 24" long mill ends? If buying cord wood, get doug fir, stack it top covered and off the ground. It should be burnable by November.

 

[weatherguy]

His stove takes 22", Id get a bunch of the mill ends and chop off 2-3 inches and use the end as kindling, Id get a cord of the split wood too. I don't like slabs myself, too much cutting but if you don't mind they're fine too.

 

[Quielo]

His stove takes 22", Id get a bunch of the mill ends and chop off 2-3 inches and use the end as kindling, Id get a cord of the split wood too. I don't like slabs myself, too much cutting but if you don't mind they're fine too.

I like the exercise of sawing with a bow saw. I don't like sawing and then waiting two years to burn so the 1-4" seems ideal.

 

[begreen]

Though fir is a favorite, $240 for a cord of mixed alder, fir, maple is not a bad deal for our neck of the woods. Not sure how your prices compare.

 

[Quielo]

Though fir is a favorite, $240 for a cord of mixed alder, fir, maple is not a bad deal for our neck of the woods. Not sure how your prices compare.

Just looking at CL they seem all over the place. From $325 for fir only (Big Sale) to $200 for mixed. Hard to know which are correctly seasoned. May have to buy a MM and go to their lots to look at the wood before it's loaded.

 

[Dataman]

Suggestion for you. Your going to be in Portland, OR. Think about Bad Air Days. They limit woodstoves then. I hope you have catalyst stove or Pellet Stove.

https://multco.us/health/staying-healthy/winter-wood-burning-restrictions

Since your buying new stove consider pellet stove. Pellets cost about the same I bet per cord/ton. Lots easier to handle. No splitting. Lots less bugs. Just buy good stove. I got Harmon XXV myself in place of Blaze King King (cat stove).

If you burn in city limits with no burn ban look for some problems.

If you have place to keep the pallets out of the weather think about 1 ton for each cord of wood. I would buy 4 tons to start. Most places deliver with forklift.

How old are you? Think about that too.

(broken link removed)

 

[MTY]

How old are you? Think about that too.

What does age have to do with firewood? I think condition would be more important than age. My neighbor in his eighties could easily outwork many people half his age. He was going strong until the 40 year old driving the tractor hit him with the hay slip while he was bucking bales. They had traded places due to the 40 year old's inability to keep up.

That old guy was my hero. One year he and I split a logging truck of tamarack. I came home from work and saw he had rounds cut and turned on end. I picked up my maul and went to town on his wood. He was quite upset when he saw his wood had been split. He asked me what he was supposed to do to keep himself entertained now that I had taken his fun away.

I'd say if the OP likes to cut with a bow saw, he is most likely in decent if not good shape.

 

[Dataman]

Age has a lot to do with it. Wear and Tear. Just another aspect of the story of life. Buy he if he has found Fountain of Youth. Great.

 

[Quielo]

Age has a lot to do with it. Wear and Tear. Just another aspect of the story of life. Buy he if he has found Fountain of Youth. Great.

I'm in my late 50's and can spend several hours splitting wood without dying.

 

[Dataman]

I'm in my late 50's and can spend several hours splitting wood without dying.

Great. Me too when 50's. But what if he's 80+? There are 3 Stages of Stoves.

1. Wood Stove
2. Pellet Stove
3. Propane Stove

Why? More miles on the Odometer of Life. Before the OP buys new stove they need to evaluate this. Or end up buy stove and replacing it later on. Up to OP

 

[Eureka]

Mill ends work but they're messy and frustrating. I run a woodworking shop and am picky about what I bring home to burn now after a couple years of fumbling with random size blocks and sticks that don't stack whether in a pile or in the stove. They burn great in my OWB via shovel.

Your other choices all look decent and mill ends will still work but come with some frustrations.

 

[Quielo]

Great. Me too when 50's. But what if he's 80+? There are 3 Stages of Stoves.

1. Wood Stove
2. Pellet Stove
3. Propane Stove

Why? More miles on the Odometer of Life. Before the OP buys new stove they need to evaluate this. Or end up buy stove and replacing it later on. Up to OP

There is wisdom in counseling to prepare for a more sedentary lifestyle. I prefer to force myself to remain active. The previous owner installed a natural gas insert on the upper level so that is always available if needed.

If I had the space I would get the self loader and stay out of my wife's way for a couple of years.

 

[Quielo]

Mill ends work but they're messy and frustrating. I run a woodworking shop and am picky about what I bring home to burn now after a couple years of fumbling with random size blocks and sticks that don't stack whether in a pile or in the stove. They burn great in my OWB via shovel.

Your other choices all look decent and mill ends will still work but come with some frustrations.

I'm presuming yours are smaller sizes? Getting 6x6 or 12x12 at a uniform 24" inch length would alleviate the stacking issues. I could saw them to 20" with an end piece or just cut them to 12" lengths. They will burn hot so perhaps better for the morning.

 

[Eureka]

I'm presuming yours are smaller sizes? Getting 6x6 or 12x12 at a uniform 24" inch length would alleviate the stacking issues. I could saw them to 20" with an end piece or just cut them to 12" lengths. They will burn hot so perhaps better for the morning.

Yes most of what I have are anywhere from 1x1 sticks to 4x4 chunks but not much larger; all different lengths. Now I try to keep more consistent length (around 16") instead of all the little cubes and short pieces. That is what makes it a pain. Kiln dried burns hot and clean though!

 

[billb3]

The mill end 2x4 are a PITA to store. A heap with a tarp over it will get old real quick. Although stacking them on pallets should keep ya real busy for quite a while.

Maple/oak or maple/alder/fir ?
Cut and split is ready to go, if it's seasoned, which it usually isn't.

I've done slabs. You'll need a chain saw. I've used a table saw, sawzall, cut-off saw, hand saw. After a couple of weekends out in the yard in the cold and rain cutting enough for the week I bought a saw. Slabs are nice, you can leave them long and cut as needed. It can be a lot of bark and the bark that gets burned can make a lot of ash. You can end up with a big pile of bark outside to clean up too. I put mine in a hollow in the woods. I could have burned it, but wet bark is pretty nasty stuff to burn. It makes good soil eventually.


If you don't have room for 7-12 cord of logs, do you have room for slabs ?
If you don't have room for slabs do you have room for a heap of 2x4 ?

The doug fir mill ends and the cut and split firewood are both solutions to needing firewood right now albeit maybe a bit pricy, but if you've been buying almond cut, split and delivered in the land of fruits and nuts that should be the easiest way to go if you don't have much for processing tools.

 

[johneh]

All your choices are good
They all come with draw backs
In the end it is up to you
You decide how much room you have
how much work do you want to do (be honest)
How much do you want or can afford to spend
Then make your choice

 

[MTY]

Late 60's here. Tomorrow I will put on a 40 pound water tank and hump it up and down some pretty steep hills killing weeds. It takes about 13 tanks and 2 hours to cover that portion of the property, and it is too steep to do with a wheeled vehicle. A fat teenager could not cut it. Condition not age is the determining factor. We all will croak sometime, but there is no sense in surrendering to the myth that age alone is a limiting factor.

I'm in my late 50's and can spend several hours splitting wood without dying.

 

[Quielo]

Late 60's here. Tomorrow I will put on a 40 pound water tank and hump it up and down some pretty steep hills killing weeds. It takes about 13 tanks and 2 hours to cover that portion of the property, and it is too steep to do with a wheeled vehicle. A fat teenager could not cut it. Condition not age is the determining factor. We all will croak sometime, but there is no sense in surrendering to the myth that age alone is a limiting factor.

That is who I want to be when I grow up.

 

[BKVP]

What is all this writing about aging? That’s a different website. This is about the glorious fun, hard work and benefits of being a wood burner. As John Wayne said..”we’re burning daylight”.

Depending upon where in N. Cal you live, the folks in Redding at Rainbow Pellet Stove have been around a very long time, carry plenty of different wood heaters and know first hand the nuisances of wood burning in the area.

Enjoy! From Norfolk VA....have a great day.

 

[Quielo]

What is all this writing about aging? That’s a different website. This is about the glorious fun, hard work and benefits of being a wood burner. As John Wayne said..”we’re burning daylight”.

Depending upon where in N. Cal you live, the folks in Redding at Rainbow Pellet Stove have been around a very long time, carry plenty of different wood heaters and know first hand the nuisances of wood burning in the area.

Enjoy! From Norfolk VA....have a great day.

Thanks BKVD, I'm in NorCal and moving to the Portland area but Clackamas, not multinomah county. Looking forward to burning new stuff