Wood source near NYC?

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bpeikes

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Jan 11, 2007
6
Looking for a wood supplier in or near NYC. Probably have enough room in the backyard for a half cord right now. Maybe a full cord if I clean up :)
 
bpeikes said:
Looking for a wood supplier in or near NYC. Probably have enough room in the backyard for a half cord right now. Maybe a full cord if I clean up :)

Where exactly are you and what do you think the going rate is for cord wood in NYC?
 
I'm in Brooklyn,NY and I don't know what the going rate for a cord is. That's why I'm asking :)
 
A good start is this website:

http://www.logsplitters.com/NY.htm

I used the same (but for NJ) and found a decent dealer selling a cord for $155 split and delivered (not stacked). You will have to filter all the dealers not in Upstate NY (most of them seem to be) but there was a few from Brooklyn that I saw. Hopefully, somebody from Brooklyn will respond to you with better data but it's a start.

Jay
 
I haven't found anyplace that seems reasonable. The only folks I'm finding is the New York group which is selling "City Cords" for $159 which they say is a 1/10 of a cord, although they have different prices for "City Cords" of various lengths. Another place is charging $245 for a face cord (16" pieces). I called a place in Paramus and they charge way less for a cord but they don't deliver to Brooklyn. There's got to be a better source.
 
Hello, Used to live in NYC, b/4 moving to Westchester. I feel your pain. The best way and most economical is to try to contact a tree guy in long Island or Queens. You might have to pay a little extra for delivery. But the overall price will be better. You could also try contacting ConED or LIPA and find out who they use for tree trimming. To be honest any one in Manhattan strictly uses their fireplace as a weekender or romantic night. Which I understnd b/c of storage issues, imagine going 30 flights up an elevator with firewood. I know the guy up here, Mahopac Mulch, he would deliver but delivery charges. If you are adventerous, he could deliver small log length and then you cut and split. Also take a lookat Craigslist, I always see listings for LI and Queens either selling firewood or giving fresh cut away
 
bpeikes said:
I haven't found anyplace that seems reasonable. The only folks I'm finding is the New York group which is selling "City Cords" for $159 which they say is a 1/10 of a cord, although they have different prices for "City Cords" of various lengths. Another place is charging $245 for a face cord (16" pieces). I called a place in Paramus and they charge way less for a cord but they don't deliver to Brooklyn. There's got to be a better source.

At 159/tenth cord, you're better off buying the stuff at the grocery store. The reason I asked you what you think on price was to see what your investigation had turned up so far, and what you would consider reasonable. What might be interesting is to determine if anyone from let's say Westchester would be willing to deliver to you for an additional delivery fee. Also, I wasn't sure what you meant by "near NYC" (uhh isn't Brooklyn part of NYC? One of the bouroughs last time I checked)

Around here cord wood is going for about 150 a cord (at last check) and I'd be more than happy to ask some of the locals for you, but I'm a good 1.5 hour drive from you.

Have you tried asking any local stove dealers about wood sources? Do you have a truck?
 
A "City Cord" .....now what is that?
at this price I think I could Mail you wood cheaper.....
Mike
Really....what is a city cord???
 
mtarbert said:
A "City Cord" .....now what is that?
at this price I think I could Mail you wood cheaper.....
Mike
Really....what is a city cord???
They are made out of cardboard, a bit of sulfer, and a staple, and are usually given out 'complimentary' when you make any purchase at the tobacco store.
 
You guys just don't understand life in "The City". There are a few things that have to be done to deliver firewood. You have to grease a few palms.

First there is the guy from the city forestry service, then the state forestry guy. Gotta be sure it isn't out of state "contraband" wood. Next is the health department inspector. Can't have any bad fungus or anything coming into "The City". Then the Fire Department because you are transporting flammable fuel. Then ya got your local permit to cut wood. The ya got your local permit to haul wood. Then you got your fees to get over bridges and through tunnels. And then ya gotta grease the weights and measures guys because of the size of the load on the truck. Then you have to grease weights and measures again so they don't make you unload the whole thing on the side of the road to verify that it really is a "cord". Then you have to bribe the beat cop not to bust you for double parking in the neighborhood so you can deliver the wood. Now you get to bribe the building super to let you deliver the stuff to his building. After all that you come back out to find that the truck and the wood have been towed because the beat cop took your money but traffic enforcement didn't get any so they hauled everything away and you get to pay three more people to get it back.

$1600 a cord in Mid-Town would be a bargain.
 
I'm serious....I have 10 cords (real cords) of Hickory and White Oak sitting under our deck and the temp is 47 F in mid Jan. If I thought like minded cheapskates were paying 1600.00 for a cord I would USPS some real wood to them...
Mike
 
Thanks for all of the updates. I'll take a closer look at craigslist. Don't know why I didn't think of that.

In an earlier post I said "near NYC" just because I assumed places would deliver if they were near NYC. I know Brooklyn is in NYC, grew up in Queens.

I also have been told to check a place called Urban Arborist in Brooklyn. I'll post back when I get more info. I'm sure there are other Brooklyn folks who would like to know.

Seems like there are quite a few in Staten Island as well, but no one ever seems to be at the number when I call.
 
Well guys, can you accept another "starter" has decided recently to install wood stove (Vogelzang) into the house ( Brooklyn) ? If so I'll greatly appreciate for sharing your knowledge and experience regarding how to survive with wood stove among Brooklyn's homeowners( suspicious neighbors), how to be sure housing department inspector won't knocking your door every Monday because of starter smoke coming out your pipe, local Firefighters team are not siren your block every 3 hours because of "wood burning smoke" is detecting by some fire worrying neighbor calling them, how to stay OUT of problem living in Brooklyn where wood stove heating, honestly, is not a major house heat supply method. Any "educational" stories, fails, wins,discussions with officials, court cases, under the water stones on the way to keep our houses cozy warm and safe ?????
In exchange, I'll share with you many spaces ( public property)Up state NY to take fire wood for free as much as you can pick up.
 
Welcome, but w/ a Vogelzang, you get the alternative set of questions...

1. Fire insurance paid?

2. Fire insurance have max valuation on it?

3. Do you have plenty of smoke detectors?

4. Do you have a good evacuation plan?

5. Have you gotten off-site storage for any irreplaceable items?

6. Have you slipped a few quid to the FD for rapid response?

7. Have you noticed a pattern in these questions? %-P

In case you were wondering, Vogelzang doesn't have the best reputation for quality / safety, etc... Good luck with it, but be careful!

Gooserider
 
Hi Brooklyner, welcome. Well, you've just mentioned perhaps the least favorite stove here. Sorry. But to be fair, what model Vogelzang stove?

Have you looked at the Consolidated DutchWest or the Englander stoves? They're a much better stoves and in the long run will likely cost you less.
 
Thank you guys. Pretty shocked with Gooserider honesty. Still not shared his note with my wife( she is very sceptical to wood stoves at all). My Vogelzang stove is Model BX26E that what I have on the Manual. I'm on a start of the project and just thinking to where and how to drill my concrete wall, where to chose place to install the stove, what direction, how many inches to the walls and what kind of metal shield to install to the wall to reduce the minimum distance to the wall and another thousand questions. That is why I have started the membership to your community. Spiritually I'm a naturalist and like to see open fire( not on my house of course)but Brooklyn is a pretty specific place to live with a majority of homeowners that merely don't care about their hot water bunring energy source(gas, oil). That was the major reason to start my project and to see what happen coming winter season. I've been wonder coming to NYC Housing Department to know that there are no specific regulations for stove installation: no inspection required, no permit. Just the top end of the pipe should be at least 4' higher than the upper point of your roof. That's it. I spoke to the inspector by myself and I still cannot trust him. It cannot be true.
I would appreciate for ANY negative reports regarding Vogelzang usage; what exactly should I pay my attention on ?
Also ( I thought) somebody lives in Brooklyn with wood stove installed would accept my friendly visit and show me how such device works, etc. In my turn, I'm going to share my experience with anybody. So any advice, any exact information is WELCOME. Be my guest ( I have very tasty organic cucumbers growing on my backyard !)
 
This stove is a cheap knock off. It is not approved for residential use, especially in NYC. You will find it hard to regulate and a risky venture. Check a little further and I think you will find that installing it will be in violation of city fire code, building code, insurance code and common sense. Ask your inspector and trust him. He has the final word, you need his approval.

The castings of this stove are of poor quality and the stove lacks adequate regulation. It also is not EPA approved. If you are going to burn in a city, you need to do it cleanly or you will be a neighborhood pariah.

I say dump the stove. Return it if at all possible. If you are going to the effort of installing a stove, get something that is safe and you and your wife will be happy with. Otherwise, you are going to be hearing a lot of I told you so's. I'd also learn the penalties for violating code.

edit: Brookliner, can you exchange the stove? The reason I asked which model is because Vogelzang does make some EPA approved stoves. They will still have the same code regulating them, but will be a lot safer. Here's a link for more information:

http://www.vogelzang.com/EPA-certified-woodstoves.htm
 
As for code, NYC is tightly regulated. Go to this document and read Article 19, (section 848)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/bldgs_code/bc27s14.pdf

some items of note:

Qualifications of installer.-
(1) Installation shall be made only by persons authorized
by the manufacturer to install the specific equipment in
question.

(2) The installer shall certify to the registered architect
or licensed professional engineer who has filed the
application that the installation is in full compliance
with the terms of the listing, acceptance and the
manufacturer's instructions.
(3) For retrofit installations in occupied residential
dwellings, the installer shall have a home improvement
contractor's license from the department of consumer
affairs.
(c) Controlled inspection. -Installation shall be subject
to controlled inspection to ensure that the installation is
in accordance with:
(1) the structural elements shown on the approved plans,
(2) the fire protection requirements, and
(3) the listing, acceptance and the manufacturer's installation
recommendations.
(d) Environmental requirements.- All solid fuel burning
appliances shall comply with the requirements of the air
pollution control law, chapter one of title twenty-four of
this code.
 
OK, for the record, the little VZ box stove isn't going to burn down the neighborhood while it is still in the box. In fact I have never seen anybody that owns one come here and say one has burned down anything. But...

Vogelzang itself says that the little stove is for heating things like workshops, hunting camps, barns and cabins. I am willing to bet that you aren't living in any of those. While I cannot tell you why the box stoves can't pass UL safety testing (VZ ain't talking on that subject) the fact is they can't. That should be enough reason for you not to install one in your home. Whether or not you can somehow get a permit or insurance coverage while using it the fact that UL will not certify it to their minimum safety standards should be enough to dissuade you.

Secondly you are going to have to spend a lot more than the $125 or so that those stoves cost to properly vent it into a safe and approved chimney setup. We don't know what your chimney setup is but one thing is for sure and that is that it isn't ready for a safe and proper wood stove installation or you would have described the work that has been done to get it ready.

Third is the fact that you live in a densly populated urban area. There is no way on earth you will ever get one of those stoves to burn clean enough that you won't be smoking up the hood and pissing off your neighbors. Little non-EPA heaters like that one stop spewing smoke just about the time they reach a temperature where they are about to melt themselves and the chimney pipe. Not something you want going on in your home.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that can help you figure out a safer and much cleaner way to add wood heat to your home.




At a minimum I would return the stove if possible and get my money back to give me a little time to assess the safety issues and chimney requirements. Everyone here loves to heat with wood and wants more people to heat with it also. We just want you to be able to do it in a safe manner and in a way that it does not get you afoul of your community or local officials.
 
Amen, BroBart. The first 3 rules of wood burning are: be safe, be safe, be safe. The box you are looking at to hold 1000+ degree fires in your home is not rated for home use. Please change your mind. And I have NEVER said that before on this forum.

Be safe.
Jags
 
Thank you BrotherBart. Now I'm enough convinced I made that stupid purchase in the US. As new homeowner never thought American houses mostly made from building materials that can be a regular wood stove fuel %-P
Now I have to learn a lot and obviously have to start to collect money for the Adirondack hunting made from stone and bricks house with fancy fireplace where I'll feel myself safe. Thanks a lot for all suggesters ;-)
 
Brooklyner said:
Thank you BrotherBart. Now I'm enough convinced I made that stupid purchase in the US. As new homeowner never thought American houses mostly made from building materials that can be a regular wood stove fuel %-P
Now I have to learn a lot and obviously have to start to collect money for the Adirondack hunting made from stone and bricks house with fancy fireplace where I'll feel myself safe. Thanks a lot for all suggesters ;-)

Actually Brooklyner, by the time the material in a modern house has been processed to the point where it is used in construction it is NOT suitable for use as stove fuel :coolhmm: However it will still burn quite nicely OUTSIDE the stove, which is what we are worried about...

That said, you don't need the "Adirondack hunting made from stone and bricks house with fancy fireplace" to be safe - the issue is NOT with what your house is made from, the issue is strictly with the cheap-@$$ Vogelzang stove that you were wanting to install. If you had a SAFE stove, or were asking about getting a safe, modern, clean burning stove (just about any of the other brands mentioned regularly here) we would be able to give you good advice on choosing an appropriate stove for your existing house, installing it safely, and operating it properly. The problem is that it can't be done with that Vogelzang stove you purchased.... (You might also still have problems getting the firewood to burn in the stove, per the initial posts in this thread, but that is a seperate issue)

Gooserider
 
mtarbert said:
A "City Cord" .....now what is that?
at this price I think I could Mail you wood cheaper.....
Mike
Really....what is a city cord???

Something got garbled in translation. It's actually called a "chitty" cord.
 
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