Firewood Question

So out West, wood prices have stormed astronomically in the last few years. We used to buy it around $190-220 a cord (pine vs. almond) for several years but now we are looking at up to $400/cord. Thankfully we overbought when prices were lower and are limping buy on what is left (see Brent's greenhouse picture to see what we have...fortunately it's T-shirt weather during the day's so we don't have to run the fireplace much).

And yes, I know all you non-Westerners will laugh at what we have to pay, even in the old days...let's get past that part, paradise does come at a cost :rofl: Oh by the way, we don't use our wall electric heaters anymore and will run the pellet stove in the far room on occasion. So basically, the modern, very efficient fireplace is really our only main heat source, and it does a great job. Other rooms benefit from the southern exposure and don't need any additional.

So our current options for next year:
  • Pay through the nose for commercial cords (maybe slightly cheaper, but not by much, if we drive to town and bring it home a truck load at a time)
  • Get FREE busted up pallet wood that has already been cut to firewood size...emphasis is on FREE, but I'm sure they don't look as nice as a rugged piece of Almond in the fireplace and probably burns faster :)
  • Go to an urban farm where you pay about $75/cord but you have to do all the cutting yourself and it may be limited on how much you can really get, + all equipment
  • Get a fire permit and do all the work yourself (I think the trees have already been felled, but you have to be very careful about not starting a forest fire, $10/cord + Permit + all equipment...however may make for a great camping weekend)
Just curious if anyone has faced the dilemma of need to find alternate sources and what you would do?

Many thanks,
Sharon Kornbread
 
When I used to want firewood (when I had a fireplace) I used to buddy deal with a guy.

He'd go out and cut X amount with a chainsaw (I hate chain sawing), haul it over to his place, and he and I would quarter split it.

I'd take about what looked like 1/3, and he kept the rest.

He hated splitting (by hand) and I actually enjoy(ed) it for the exersize.

White Pine mostly, some birch.

Ahhh fond memories :)

Yes I really do enjoy quarter splitting wood with an axe in the cold autumn weather.
 
busted up pallet wood already cut to size, free,it works for me
pallet wood Ive used has been hard oak, ash, and other hardwoods. Burns great.
I took out my fireplace, but at 400 a cord, if its just for heating purposes, hardwood is hardwood.
 
i wood look more into the pellets sharon,, it makes good use of scrap wood, and you have eliminated the hard work.. might be able to get a semi tractor to drop off a years supply reasonable?
 
I didn't believe it until I saw it... similar to a pellet stove is a corn stove. Burns dry corn kernels, with a thermostatically controlled automatic feeder. Cheap corn that hunters feed deer. My BIL uses it it heat his barn/auxiliary shop/garage.

As for wood, soft wood like pine creates a lot of ash, and far less heat per volume of wood. I used to gladly pay twice as much for hardwood firewood, but (unfortunately) my house now only has fake logs and gas flames.
 
Somehow "free" is very appealing and one of my neighbors burns pallet wood with no problems. I would also go for the firewood permit and make a nice camping trip out of it. Trouble is, you guys are pretty far from the firewood permit area, aren't you? I'm guessing beetle killed pine is plentiful. Maybe haul a trailer to fill up.
 
I don't use firewood as my house is all electric and there's no fireplace in it anyway.... but in years past when I was growing up the fire place was our only source of heat... my dad cut his own cordwood and did so until he died... the latter years he did it just to have something to do and made a few extra $$ off the sale.... but as I remember, he didn't do a lot of pine... doesn't pine leave a creosote coating in the chimney that can create a chimney fire??
 
busted up pallet wood already cut to size, free,it works for me
pallet wood Ive used has been hard oak, ash, and other hardwoods. Burns great.
I took out my fireplace, but at 400 a cord, if its just for heating purposes, hardwood is hardwood.

my first thoughts on the pallet wood... what about all the nails ... I see a lot of work splitting them apart and pulling the nails out.
 
Sharon, my concern with pallets is the pesticides they are sprayed with so bugs are not transferred around the country and world. Some are only heat treated thus are safe for turning and or burning. But the health concerns limit my use of pallets anymore.
Hardwood is your best buy for btu's. The pellets, I know of some people here in Northern Indiana that heat their entire homes with a pellet stove. They buy their pellets in bulk and some are going together to buy a whole pallet or load for the cost breaks. It sounds expensive but my three Stihl saws and my splitter and my loader tractor all aren't cheap to buy, own or run. So sometimes you have to look at time saved by letting someone else have all the mess and fuss. Plus it gives Brent more time to work on the dining room table.:rolleyes:
 
I use firewood as a primary source of heat. I purchase almost all of it green and split - oversized cord $200 per cord, all oak and maple, no round wood. I season it for 2 years. I burn a max of 2 cords per year, sometimes 1 cord on a warm winter year.

I did not want a pellet stove because I sometimes find free wood, and I have never seen free pellets.

For me - it's all about cost - what is the cheaper option?

I would burn oil if it was cheaper than firewood.
 
We use our pellet stove quite a bit, price to run it is comparable to natural gas. Trick when buying in bulk is keeping them dry, but they usually come in well sealed plastic bags and with the addition of a tarp, you should be fine. I'd look at buying in bulk and have them delivered via a flatbed, use Bob to unload with some forks. A pallet of pellets around here is about $200 -$225 (per ton, 40lb bags).

There is always this...http://imaginationforpeople.org/en/project/emi-gas/

Just eat lots of beans. ;) :D
 
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Yep, Usually do buy the pellets by the pallet!

I just have them fork them into the back of the truck. Bob can handle about 1500 pounds of lift with a tipping load of 3000 pounds. I tried to lift a whole pallet off the back of bob once, but all I could do is lift the back end of bob off the ground. So a little manual bag moving. I have extra pallets around, so I generally just split them into two pallets worth.
 
my first thoughts on the pallet wood... what about all the nails ... I see a lot of work splitting them apart and pulling the nails out.

at the end of the day, when you sweep out the firepit, you sweep out any nails that might have been in the wood.

AT 400 dollars a cord, I can sweep a few nails out of the pit. Last time I purchased hardwood cord here on LI, where everything is expensive, I think I paid 250 stacked in my yard.
I see hardwood cords going for around the same out here still,delivered and stacked.
 
Thanks everyone. Our winter has been pretty mild (today I don't think we even need to start anything as inside residual temp from yesterday is 65 and outside temp is 44 and climbing. I generally don't even think of starting a fire unless it's 57 or below).

We only use pine for making kindling and maybe the first real log before we switch to all hard wood for the rest of the day.

I think we will make it through the rest of the year with what we have (and we have over a pallet of pellets to stoke the pellet stove in the office room if needed). We'll plan over the spring/summer what to do next year.

Can't believe I've given Brent the OK to go buy log cutting equipment and he's not biting...what's wrong with this picture :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Thanks everyone. Our winter has been pretty mild (today I don't think we even need to start anything as inside residual temp from yesterday is 65 and outside temp is 44 and climbing. I generally don't even think of starting a fire unless it's 57 or below).

We only use pine for making kindling and maybe the first real log before we switch to all hard wood for the rest of the day.

I think we will make it through the rest of the year with what we have (and we have over a pallet of pellets to stoke the pellet stove in the office room if needed). We'll plan over the spring/summer what to do next year.

Can't believe I've given Brent the OK to go buy log cutting equipment and he's not biting...what's wrong with this picture :rofl::rofl::rofl:
well cord wood is hard work kinda like building a table:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Pellets are pretty compelling price wise when you factor in everything else and also pellet stoves tend to burn so efficiently which helps a lot. Its also a fair bit cleaner, as anyone who has had both a wood and pellet stove would surely agree. I'm also with Jonathan on the pallets, my cheap side says use them, but some of them are treated with some really nasty stuff - especially any from overseas.

well cord wood is hard work kinda like building a table:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Yah know.. you could build the north wall of that greenhouse with cordwood construction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwood_construction :stick: :whistling:

Seriously though Brent, get a nice saw and a good timberjack and hmm.. a good pair of chainsaw pant! Doesn't mean you have to actually go cut wood with it, but hey tools!!!
 
my first thoughts on the pallet wood... what about all the nails ... I see a lot of work splitting them apart and pulling the nails out.

I use a power saw to cut pallets to size and leave the nails in; the fire removes them and I haul them out with the ashes. I DO WATCH FOR NAILS and use a metal detector if I have any question. That brings up what people heard as the guy who jumped off of a tall building to commit suicide, but changed his mind yelled as he dropped by, "So far, so good."

I believe it was Ryan who posted about pallets having bug poison in them. I do not know where to look up the particulars. I do cut it and burn it along with my main wood, eucalyptus. When there is a fire my wood stove is sealed off from the house except when tending the fire. The pallets I get are mainly white oak and maple with an occasional mahogany from Mexico.

Enjoy and stay warm,
JimB
 
I believe it was Ryan who posted about pallets having bug poison in them. I do not know where to look up the particulars. I do cut it and burn it along with my main wood, eucalyptus. When there is a fire my wood stove is sealed off from the house except when tending the fire. The pallets I get are mainly white oak and maple with an occasional mahogany from Mexico.
JimB

Good point...ours is one of the newer, efficiency fireplaces where the door is only open to add wood...so I think that should take care of those concerns. Thanks, Jim
 
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