Supplier called saying he "can deliver now" over the weekend, took delivery of six cord of seasoned wood for $250 per cord.
Tried out new moisture meter (as recommended), and was thrilled to see that it really is seasoned as the meter said its old ("OL" - as in "Ye OL' wood", right?), though some was in the thirties, also found some in the teens.
Another confirmation was the Rip-Van-Winkle beard-like growths found on some pieces!
After handing over my check, heard that it was the last he had, seasoned since last year in a concrete horizontal silo, uncovered, of course.
If my luck holds out, stove delivery will get delayed 'till spring... Ye-haw!
PS, wife and I spent a solid day resplitting most of the six cord, will be stacking in the sun and wind over the next few days (spending our one week summer vacation prepping for winter, good thing my gal is practical).
6 cord at a crack- dealer must have a a truck or trailer of at least 768 cf for that much in splits a little over 85 cubic yards.
Glad you are able to take all this with a bit of humor. For some people hoping to actually save money heating their home with wood, after buying a stove and buying and trying to burn green wood, the results can be very disappointing.
Personally if I had to buy wood, I'd never expect to actually save any money, wood heating would be more of a novelty then an actual money saving activity. The only reason I do it is because I have the means of getting out and cutting and transporting my own wood which I enjoy immensely.
Sorry for the delayed response, been dealing with the recent wood delivery.
Applesister, "How did your supplier deliver 6 cords? I think Id feel a little overwhelmed by that amount of wood. I'm used to processing one tree at a time. That seems daunting even if I had a week to do it."
It took him two trips in his large dump truck (max load three cord). The moisture meter showed that the wood was mixed - some decent, but a lot was damp (due to poor storage). So my wife and I re-split most of the delivered splits. We spent most of the rest of the week moving and stacking, It's been a lot of work...
Lumber-Jack, "Glad you are able to take all this with a bit of humor. For some people hoping to actually save money heating their home with wood, after buying a stove and buying and trying to burn green wood, the results can be very disappointing. Personally if I had to buy wood, I'd never expect to actually save any money, wood heating would be more of a novelty then an actual money saving activity. The only reason I do it is because I have the means of getting out and cutting and transporting my own wood which I enjoy immensely."
I am hoping to save money eventually. If I can cut my oil bill in half then the cost of the stove, 35' stainless-steel liner, installation and the six cord of wood will be paid for in two seasons. I may not be able to cut it in half, but another goal is to be less dependant on fuel oil. FYI last winter I noticed our tank was just about empty during a very cold spell. The delivery company told me they cut me off due to non-payment. I said "what do you mean, non-payment?!?!?" they said there's an unpaid bill for the last delivery and they wont deliver until it's paid. I asked them why they didn't contact us about this, they said "we have too many customers to be able to call you when this happens" All I know is that we had never missed a payment before, have been a customer for about a decade now. They leave the bill in an evelope either stuck partially in the door or hanging on the door knob. I guess that one blew off and was lost in the snow. Things could've been bad if I hadn't noticed the oil level before it ran dry. Additionally, every few years we lose power for several days - often when the temps are low. I have to run the generator to run the furnace, and sometimes gasoline supplies in the area grow short.
Frank625, "Bruce that is a good looking stove. I looked through a few of those stoves and I like them. Just wondering why you chose the Pheonix over the Manchester. That side loading door looks nice on the Manchester."
Thanks Frank. There's a few reasons; first, we like the soapstone stoves and the Manchester is all cast iron. Second, while I like the heating capacity of the Manchester the rear exit height is too high to fit in my installation - the fireplace opening is just a tad higher than 27 1/2" over the hearth (I actually wanted the Mansfield but it wouldn't fit due to top-only flue exit). Finally, there was a tent sale going on and the Phoenix we selected was discounted about $950 because the manufacturer had fired it several times (though it looked close to new to me).
Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. I'll attempt to post a few pics soon.
Bruce.
Another 25 cords or so, and you'll have a "snow fence" the full 700'.winter winds that fill in the cleared 700 foot long driveway with snow
If you get a lot of wind, those trunks can move quite a bit and destabilize the stack...NorthPa, I love how you use your trees!
Another 25 cords or so, and you'll have a "snow fence" the full 700'.
If you get a lot of wind, those trunks can move quite a bit and destabilize the stack...
Thanks, you're right. Don't have pallets ready yet, so I put down two-by's for rails with cross members to keep the wood off the ground (hard to see with the grass so tall). Figuring the bottom level will need to be restacked to dry, may have to restack the whole thing before winter anyway.Now you just got to slide some pallets underneath to get those stacks up off the ground. Lookin good!
The wife would scalp meAnother 25 cords or so, and you'll have a "snow fence" the full 700'.
I doubt you have more wind than we do here ( #3 in the nation). Dries the stacks nicely though.this is the windiest hellhole on earth
My research was that both the Phoenix and the Manchester are both soapstone/ cast iron hybrid stoves. Maybe I had that wrong, but thought the correction might help other readers of the forum. Though I went with the Manchester because it was way cheaper than the Mansfield which has a similar size fb. Manchester has soapstone lined fb with cast iron outer shell. Happy burning!Sorry for the delayed response, been dealing with the recent wood delivery.
Applesister, "How did your supplier deliver 6 cords? I think Id feel a little overwhelmed by that amount of wood. I'm used to processing one tree at a time. That seems daunting even if I had a week to do it."
It took him two trips in his large dump truck (max load three cord). The moisture meter showed that the wood was mixed - some decent, but a lot was damp (due to poor storage). So my wife and I re-split most of the delivered splits. We spent most of the rest of the week moving and stacking, It's been a lot of work...
Lumber-Jack, "Glad you are able to take all this with a bit of humor. For some people hoping to actually save money heating their home with wood, after buying a stove and buying and trying to burn green wood, the results can be very disappointing. Personally if I had to buy wood, I'd never expect to actually save any money, wood heating would be more of a novelty then an actual money saving activity. The only reason I do it is because I have the means of getting out and cutting and transporting my own wood which I enjoy immensely."
I am hoping to save money eventually. If I can cut my oil bill in half then the cost of the stove, 35' stainless-steel liner, installation and the six cord of wood will be paid for in two seasons. I may not be able to cut it in half, but another goal is to be less dependant on fuel oil. FYI last winter I noticed our tank was just about empty during a very cold spell. The delivery company told me they cut me off due to non-payment. I said "what do you mean, non-payment?!?!?" they said there's an unpaid bill for the last delivery and they wont deliver until it's paid. I asked them why they didn't contact us about this, they said "we have too many customers to be able to call you when this happens" All I know is that we had never missed a payment before, have been a customer for about a decade now. They leave the bill in an evelope either stuck partially in the door or hanging on the door knob. I guess that one blew off and was lost in the snow. Things could've been bad if I hadn't noticed the oil level before it ran dry. Additionally, every few years we lose power for several days - often when the temps are low. I have to run the generator to run the furnace, and sometimes gasoline supplies in the area grow short.
Frank625, "Bruce that is a good looking stove. I looked through a few of those stoves and I like them. Just wondering why you chose the Pheonix over the Manchester. That side loading door looks nice on the Manchester."
Thanks Frank. There's a few reasons; first, we like the soapstone stoves and the Manchester is all cast iron. Second, while I like the heating capacity of the Manchester the rear exit height is too high to fit in my installation - the fireplace opening is just a tad higher than 27 1/2" over the hearth (I actually wanted the Mansfield but it wouldn't fit due to top-only flue exit). Finally, there was a tent sale going on and the Phoenix we selected was discounted about $950 because the manufacturer had fired it several times (though it looked close to new to me).
Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. I'll attempt to post a few pics soon.
Bruce.
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