What say the masses?

[gastone21]

Good idea or not?

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I'm going to be shy this year. I've got 2 cords of well seasoned wood, and 1 cord of pine that I'm hoping will be ready by Feb. or so. I've got my eye on some more unseasoned pine that I'm hoping if I split pretty small will season up to be usable this winter (late). In the meantime I've thought of getting some compressed bricks for 200/ton. Then I came across this on FB. Thoughts?

 

[weatherguy]

I'd try a load, I'd get the compressed too just in case. I have 7 cords of mostly seasoned wood but will getting some compressed to be on the safe side.

 

[Grizzerbear]

Get the compressed bricks. You won't have to fight them for lack of seasoning and they are a lot easier to store. Not saying the mill ends are bad firewood but they likely have been laying outside in a pile and wont likely be dry enough this year. Jmo

 

[BigJ273]

I’ve found that the “freight fee”, or delivery fee for these things is often more than u would pay for a cord at the same cost

 

[begreen]

If you have room to store them, I'd consider trying them. Can you visit the mill and test a few by splitting them and probing with a moisture meter?

 

[kennyp2339]

Just an fyi, I finally figured out how to stack miss matched splits and small pieces, I took a standard pallet and 72" mesh fencing, measured 10ft of fencing and cut it, made a cylinder out of it tying the ends with bailing wire using linemen's pliers, stood the cylinder on top and did a random throw of split uglies into it, so far the cylinders have held up great, even had a tree fall on one of them, still standing. This would be perfect for cut off pieces. The plan once I'm ready to burn it, is to take wire cutters and cut the bailing wire down so the top is open up, then work my way down as needed.

 

[CincyBurner]

Red oak is good burning wood. Chunks will season faster than larger splits.
Probably pushing large oak chunks to be ready by Feb '21. Cookies no problem. Looks like lots of small chunks in the pic, but that the advert pic from the mill.

• Larger chunks: split some and leave some as is then check (measure % MC of fresh splits) in Feb '21, and let us know how they measure up.

More cumbersome to store, and doesn't lay up in the stove as nicely.
You can probably expect changes for stove loading, and for burning characteristics from bigger splits.
I store cut-offs and uglies in a couple IBC crates where they dry quickly. Great for shoulder season burns. Several past threads about ideas to store (crates, bins, etc.) of chunks on this site.
Compressed wood bricks are ready to burn with real low MC.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

I worked at a mill for almost ten years and used this in a standard fireplace for several years. I found it to burn very fast and was constantly reloading because the size of the pieces were so small that they burnt like kindling.

 

[peakbagger]

I got a bulk bag of odd shorts from a commercial firewood packager last year. They sold them a "big bag" made out of reinforced polyethylene . Its roughly 4'x4'x4' square bag with 4 loops on the top for picking it up. Its does not sit square but sitting on a pallet it keeps the wood in one place. The bag shed some rain but in soaker the wood gets wet. It does breath so the contents dry out quickly.

 

[Bad LP]

A friend owns a baseball bat turning operation. He sells his 48" split waste for 50.00 per bundle or about a 1/4 cord loaded into your truck. That works out to 200/cd and all you have to do is run a saw down the middle, (or 2 cuts) stack it and dry it.

 

[Dabster13]

Pine seasons crazy fast, 4-6 months depending on how it's stacked i can get it under 20%. If your 3 cords of wood that you currently have can last you that long you should be good. To get it to dry faster, stack looser than you normally would (more airflow).

Also, utilize those 2 cords of well seasoned stuff. Grab the Pine you are currently drying and keep a small stack near the stove to utilize that heat and airflow. It will dry out those fairly quickly and you'll be able to burn that in with the seasoned stuff. Pines annoying as you'll have to restock the stove often, but it dries extremely quick if top covered and left in a windy location.

Protip for the compressed logs, use them alongside wood, don't wait until you're out of actual wood to start burning, i did the one year i picked them up and I did not like their burn times when they were burning without real logs