"seasoned" sale - *** EDIT: Now featuring 50% less lol ***
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Well........
So........
If it sounds too good to be true... and it looks too good to be true... the lesson here is: "yer gonna get screwed. probably twice."
Got home to a SMALL pile in the driveway. Lotsa "fresh split" smell and cold, fresh split faces (it was about 85 degrees and muggy @ 5:30pm) on these heavy splits. Ends looked nice, but the wood was clearly fresh split. Not split and sitting out for more than a few days. Sitting in rounds or logs for awhile - I could buy that. But no way the majority of this stuff had been sitting post-split *grumble*
So I called - my Mark-1 Estimat-O-Matic Eyeball was good - this was only "the first cord". The rest was due within the next couple hours. Story started unraveling on the time-since-split, that the wood had indeed been sitting in logs and rounds, split only in the last few weeks... *more grumble*
Figuring the wood there was pretty decent looking, i started stacking it up. I'd check the next load when it arrived and either turn it away (assuming i could get my pre-paid $$ back on it) or take it if it was better. Stacked it all up in about an hour. One piece in the entire pile looked split and aged all around. Lots of unsplit maple 5-6" rounds w/ plenty of obvious aging to them...
But waitaminute... Grab yardstick... average 20" log length (mostly 18-20)... about 48" tall stack (kinda generous)... two 8-foot skids... do the math, divide by 144... carry the one... that's only 0.83 cord. *lots more grumble*
Truck showed up finally - pretty late, but no big deal other than that it was tough to see much w/ just the floodlights up high. F-350 w/ high walls on the bed. I voiced my concerns - how this wasn't what I'd bargained for, how I turned down two other sellers, how I'd tried to make myself very clear on the phone about what I was looking for... I made it clear I wasn't trying to be a nitpicky a$$hole and he was indeed really keen on making things right - definitely a nice enough fella - just clearly not really a "pro" at this yet. He had no knowledge of moisture content and its inclusion in the definition of "seasoned" wood... Didn't really seem to want to hear or admit that oak doesn't season at all in rounds or logs... He was kinda wide-eyed at my other 4 cords stacked up, how nice and dry they were...
(if there's a bright spot here, it's that the sopping wet stuff, which I had left sitting split in the dirt since February, and only put up into stacks on Sunday - is already feeling really nice and dry and light. And I confirmed my math on those stacks... (64" x 18")/144 x 8 ft x 8 skids = 512 cu ft = 4x128 = 4 cords to the cu. inch)
Turns out he clears for farmers and developers, had already paid for the wood on his end, so I agreed we'd just take this load, call it a day, and not pay for any additional. Suck it up as a learning experience on both sides. And if this load + what I'd already stacked didn't add up to a full 2 cords, he did agree to come back out w/ a little more to make it up. He did mention that he had tried in the past to make split piles to sit out, but since he works 100+ acres, people come out of the woods and steal it, and he winds up losing a lot of invested time and money... But he would try to find some of the best aged stuff to set aside for me if I wanted.
So we poked thru the truckload. Decent looking wood - much less fresh-split smell. Still probably not anything to burn this year. But I paid for it and he brought it, so might as well unload it.
So he starts taking pieces off the top by hand. And then keeps taking them out by hand. and eventually unloads the entire cord from the truck... by hand. piece by piece. WOW. In chatting, it turns out his conveyor loader is broken, so he had loaded it by hand, too. and the big dump truck (which holds two cord in one shot) was also broken. So he's doing ALL this moving of splits by hand - no gloves, even. I officially felt bad for the guy.
But I ain't buying any more from him. And the Eyeball tells me I got about the same amount in the 2nd pile as the first - reckon it's gonna wind up being about 1.7 cord total when done.
Called another fella who has a nice stack seasoning - really good looking splits, sitting since January. Very good silvering on the whole pile. He's coming Saturday morning. Made it very clear that we'd be checking thru the truckload before he drops one stick.
*SIGH..............*
So........
If it sounds too good to be true... and it looks too good to be true... the lesson here is: "yer gonna get screwed. probably twice."
Got home to a SMALL pile in the driveway. Lotsa "fresh split" smell and cold, fresh split faces (it was about 85 degrees and muggy @ 5:30pm) on these heavy splits. Ends looked nice, but the wood was clearly fresh split. Not split and sitting out for more than a few days. Sitting in rounds or logs for awhile - I could buy that. But no way the majority of this stuff had been sitting post-split *grumble*
So I called - my Mark-1 Estimat-O-Matic Eyeball was good - this was only "the first cord". The rest was due within the next couple hours. Story started unraveling on the time-since-split, that the wood had indeed been sitting in logs and rounds, split only in the last few weeks... *more grumble*
Figuring the wood there was pretty decent looking, i started stacking it up. I'd check the next load when it arrived and either turn it away (assuming i could get my pre-paid $$ back on it) or take it if it was better. Stacked it all up in about an hour. One piece in the entire pile looked split and aged all around. Lots of unsplit maple 5-6" rounds w/ plenty of obvious aging to them...
But waitaminute... Grab yardstick... average 20" log length (mostly 18-20)... about 48" tall stack (kinda generous)... two 8-foot skids... do the math, divide by 144... carry the one... that's only 0.83 cord. *lots more grumble*
Truck showed up finally - pretty late, but no big deal other than that it was tough to see much w/ just the floodlights up high. F-350 w/ high walls on the bed. I voiced my concerns - how this wasn't what I'd bargained for, how I turned down two other sellers, how I'd tried to make myself very clear on the phone about what I was looking for... I made it clear I wasn't trying to be a nitpicky a$$hole and he was indeed really keen on making things right - definitely a nice enough fella - just clearly not really a "pro" at this yet. He had no knowledge of moisture content and its inclusion in the definition of "seasoned" wood... Didn't really seem to want to hear or admit that oak doesn't season at all in rounds or logs... He was kinda wide-eyed at my other 4 cords stacked up, how nice and dry they were...
(if there's a bright spot here, it's that the sopping wet stuff, which I had left sitting split in the dirt since February, and only put up into stacks on Sunday - is already feeling really nice and dry and light. And I confirmed my math on those stacks... (64" x 18")/144 x 8 ft x 8 skids = 512 cu ft = 4x128 = 4 cords to the cu. inch)
Turns out he clears for farmers and developers, had already paid for the wood on his end, so I agreed we'd just take this load, call it a day, and not pay for any additional. Suck it up as a learning experience on both sides. And if this load + what I'd already stacked didn't add up to a full 2 cords, he did agree to come back out w/ a little more to make it up. He did mention that he had tried in the past to make split piles to sit out, but since he works 100+ acres, people come out of the woods and steal it, and he winds up losing a lot of invested time and money... But he would try to find some of the best aged stuff to set aside for me if I wanted.
So we poked thru the truckload. Decent looking wood - much less fresh-split smell. Still probably not anything to burn this year. But I paid for it and he brought it, so might as well unload it.
So he starts taking pieces off the top by hand. And then keeps taking them out by hand. and eventually unloads the entire cord from the truck... by hand. piece by piece. WOW. In chatting, it turns out his conveyor loader is broken, so he had loaded it by hand, too. and the big dump truck (which holds two cord in one shot) was also broken. So he's doing ALL this moving of splits by hand - no gloves, even. I officially felt bad for the guy.
But I ain't buying any more from him. And the Eyeball tells me I got about the same amount in the 2nd pile as the first - reckon it's gonna wind up being about 1.7 cord total when done.
Called another fella who has a nice stack seasoning - really good looking splits, sitting since January. Very good silvering on the whole pile. He's coming Saturday morning. Made it very clear that we'd be checking thru the truckload before he drops one stick.
*SIGH..............*
Wow, you have really got some trouble with firewood dealers! I feel sorry for you. It would almost be easier at this point to cut your own! If we lived closer together, I'd volunteer to give you a hand with it. Could you drive around and look for wooded land with some dead trees, and then maybe knock on doors? Quite often around here people will let you cut dead trees on their land if you ask them. Especially if they aren't woodburners themselves. Even if they are, sometimes they'll let you cut some for yourself if you help them with their firewood.
Just a thought, might be an easier way to get your firewood and then you won't have to deal with those guys.
Just a thought, might be an easier way to get your firewood and then you won't have to deal with those guys.
Well that's an option in the future. But right now I've got no truck, no splitter, no chainsaw... and no time 
I work full time, got 2 kids, a house I'm perpetually working on, and a neverending list of side jobs waiting for my attention. So Mr FireWoodDealer is gonna keep getting my bidness for the foreseeable future.
This is why I built the 8+cord shed tho - so I could deal w/ it this year, and then have next year+ sitting in wait. And just keep getting deliveries and rotating stacks every year... If I wind up only picking thru the stacks and burning the dryest stuff in there this year, and going thru a lot of BioBricks and EcoFirelogs - or heck, just run the oil more - then so be it. Just that much more relief next year when i start out 2 yrs ahead instead of one.
Here's a (really blurry cellphone) pic of yesterday's 1st truckload stacked in front of the prior stacked stuff...
I work full time, got 2 kids, a house I'm perpetually working on, and a neverending list of side jobs waiting for my attention. So Mr FireWoodDealer is gonna keep getting my bidness for the foreseeable future. This is why I built the 8+cord shed tho - so I could deal w/ it this year, and then have next year+ sitting in wait. And just keep getting deliveries and rotating stacks every year... If I wind up only picking thru the stacks and burning the dryest stuff in there this year, and going thru a lot of BioBricks and EcoFirelogs - or heck, just run the oil more - then so be it. Just that much more relief next year when i start out 2 yrs ahead instead of one.
Here's a (really blurry cellphone) pic of yesterday's 1st truckload stacked in front of the prior stacked stuff...
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What you're going through is the main reason I started cutting my own wood......it's just SO hard to find an honest, knowledgeable wood seller!
I only go through 3-4 cords per year, and there's a small mill nearby where I get 4x4x4 pallets of culled 2x4's for $10, so, I usually get a fir or two from our property, the 2x4's, and then scrounge some hardwood. This year I got 3/4 a cord of very well seasoned cherry, and 1 1/2 cords of white oak, (all for free!!) so I'm all set for this year--but I still got my eye out for next years wood. In fact on the way home I spied a big maple that came down in one of last winter's storms, and I asked the owner for permission to cut it up......
A friend and fellow wood burner once made a good observation, he said: "Think about dropping, bucking, splitting, and stacking 5 cords of wood, and then letting it season for two years. Think about how much work, advance planning, and space it takes to do that and how you have to wait two years to get paid for your work. Now, extrapulate that out over 50 or 100 cords..........now you know why most wood sellers don't have fully seasoned wood for sale........"
I see ads all the time on Craigslist: "Seasoned White Oak. Cut down this Spring, split this summer, will be ready to burn this fall." No way Jose! Sometimes, if the price is really good (i.e. $100 a cord or so) I'll buy some of the unseasoned hard wood and then just sit on it for two years......
There are the rare exceptions of knowledgeable, honest wood sellers that have the time and space to do it right, and on occasion you can pick up some seasoned cords from someone who is moving and bought/cut the wood a few years ago, but at the end of the day I'm convinced that just about the ONLY way to get good, really well-seasoned wood is to either cut it yourself, or, buy from wood sellers and then season it yourself (i.e buy your cordwood 1-2 years in advance).
NP
I only go through 3-4 cords per year, and there's a small mill nearby where I get 4x4x4 pallets of culled 2x4's for $10, so, I usually get a fir or two from our property, the 2x4's, and then scrounge some hardwood. This year I got 3/4 a cord of very well seasoned cherry, and 1 1/2 cords of white oak, (all for free!!) so I'm all set for this year--but I still got my eye out for next years wood. In fact on the way home I spied a big maple that came down in one of last winter's storms, and I asked the owner for permission to cut it up......
A friend and fellow wood burner once made a good observation, he said: "Think about dropping, bucking, splitting, and stacking 5 cords of wood, and then letting it season for two years. Think about how much work, advance planning, and space it takes to do that and how you have to wait two years to get paid for your work. Now, extrapulate that out over 50 or 100 cords..........now you know why most wood sellers don't have fully seasoned wood for sale........"
I see ads all the time on Craigslist: "Seasoned White Oak. Cut down this Spring, split this summer, will be ready to burn this fall." No way Jose! Sometimes, if the price is really good (i.e. $100 a cord or so) I'll buy some of the unseasoned hard wood and then just sit on it for two years......
There are the rare exceptions of knowledgeable, honest wood sellers that have the time and space to do it right, and on occasion you can pick up some seasoned cords from someone who is moving and bought/cut the wood a few years ago, but at the end of the day I'm convinced that just about the ONLY way to get good, really well-seasoned wood is to either cut it yourself, or, buy from wood sellers and then season it yourself (i.e buy your cordwood 1-2 years in advance).
NP
Stacked up the 2nd truckload. LOTS more that's too long for me. Many in the 22-24" range, when i max out around 20-21. And total ~1.85 cords. and i stack kinda tight. probably won't bother making him come back out. but will mention it if they call to check.
The good news: 2 more cords arrived today, and they look awesome. It was pouring rain all night and morning, so it was soaked, which sucked. But most of my uncovered piles were similarly soaked too. Lots of barkless, silver, scentless pieces - really no fresh-split scent at all. Turns out this "mr 8 months" is the brother of the other guy i went to look at w/ the 2-yr logs. He is trying to convince his brother to split them up and get them out for a few years, that the log-form "seasoning" isn't doing him any good.
SO in short - nice guy, definitely recommended. $200/cord kinda steep but it's the going rate. and he dropped a LOT of wood - heck it looks WAY more than 2 cords to the Eyeball. I will gladly post contact info if ppl feel it's warranted, or feel free to PM me for his info if you're looking for good wood fast in CT.
The bad news: I seem to have torn my left piriformis muscle and can't really move my left leg (or anything else, for that matter) that much without tremendous amounts of excruciating pain shooting thru my left hip area. So this stuff gonna sit for abit... *sigh*
Hurricane 'what' NOW? *grumble*
SO in short - nice guy, definitely recommended. $200/cord kinda steep but it's the going rate. and he dropped a LOT of wood - heck it looks WAY more than 2 cords to the Eyeball. I will gladly post contact info if ppl feel it's warranted, or feel free to PM me for his info if you're looking for good wood fast in CT.
The bad news: I seem to have torn my left piriformis muscle and can't really move my left leg (or anything else, for that matter) that much without tremendous amounts of excruciating pain shooting thru my left hip area. So this stuff gonna sit for abit... *sigh*
Hurricane 'what' NOW? *grumble*
Amusing update - had to share. Neighborhood has a few stray slutcats - one decided to pop kittens way back underneath the 3 cords I have stacked along the barn wall there. Back in the V near the fence, to the right.
She'd had kittens before a block or so away, and an everloving neighbor took mama and kits in 'til they grew up and then found the babies homes. Mama went right back out and got in a way again, 'twould seem. She's been hanging around our back yard a LOT lately - shoulda known something was up. She's been trying to get our attention!
So true story: late last night, we got a knock on the door. Neighbor lady w/ flashlight. Brings me out to my woodpile to introduce me to the new "neighbors" under it. Turns out mama cat went to her house, and then led her - step by step! - right to my woodpile. Cat knows where her friends are! Now I gotta hope I don't crush 'em working back there. Dangerous life that little'n lives...
She'd had kittens before a block or so away, and an everloving neighbor took mama and kits in 'til they grew up and then found the babies homes. Mama went right back out and got in a way again, 'twould seem. She's been hanging around our back yard a LOT lately - shoulda known something was up. She's been trying to get our attention!
So true story: late last night, we got a knock on the door. Neighbor lady w/ flashlight. Brings me out to my woodpile to introduce me to the new "neighbors" under it. Turns out mama cat went to her house, and then led her - step by step! - right to my woodpile. Cat knows where her friends are! Now I gotta hope I don't crush 'em working back there. Dangerous life that little'n lives...
Ed, I can confidently say that pile has kicked your butt..litterally; the delivery that was short, the kittens...and of course...the injury. I will have a beer for you tonight.
update - slutcat ain't the sharpest tack out there. kittens all gone. no clue where - figure Something ate 'em. oh well... kinda simplifies things. wish she'd go hide in the barn already...
oh and my piriformis injury seems nearly all healed. walked all the way down 4 flights of stairs at work today w/out even thinking of it...
oh and my piriformis injury seems nearly all healed. walked all the way down 4 flights of stairs at work today w/out even thinking of it...
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