Red6

I used to live in an older house built in the early 1950s which had a flue and chimney. I thought about getting a wood-burning stove to heat the house until my homeowner's insurance company told me they would not insure me.

I went with a forced air propane furnace in addition to propane-fueled fireplace logs that did not depend on electricity to work.

Great combination and one of the best decisions I have ever made.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

This is because of the fact that most flue fires stay undetected until they break through often into the attic space where it spreads across the ceilings until it drops down into the house.
They can be very bad and often end up with a total loss.
My wife's parents had one a few years ago and even though the fire was mostly contained in one room.
They lost several thousand dollars in possessions.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

That's an excellent way to avoid my point. Cost of living has everything to do with a business like this. Do you think the guy selling firewood by the side of the road or hauling it to your house in a pickup is thinking about EBITDA, gross profit or ROI? Give me a break. The reason cost of living is germane is because that is exactly what the seller is trying to cover. When the cost of clothes, food and utilities goes up he needs to earn more to pay for that. Walmart is not exactly his business model.

I live on two acres that I personally cleared from virgin forest by hand by myself. I am well aware of the labor required to limb and buck a downed tree. Are you? So how much is that labor worth? That's the real question.

And yes, I know about seasoning wood before burning it. I have lived in the same house for 40+ years with a wood-burning fireplace and have only had to have the chimney cleaned one time. What does that have to do with this discussion? Is the guy's labor worth more or less depending on whether his wood is seasoned or not? Your question is completely irrelevant to this discussion.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

There are other sources of wood for burning in a wood-burning stove. Local lumber yards produce scrap and it is generally available to the public but there will probably be a line so you might have to show up at odd hours to have a shot. Old telephone poles are also available at power line maintainence facilities. Great opportunity to use your electric chainsaw. I used to use our local lumber yard for a source for kindling for my wood-burning stove and they also had lots of sawdust available that I would use for bedding for my horses. I bought bundle of scrap molding pieces about 10'-12' long for $15. They had to load it into my truck with a fork lift, lasted 3 yrs. If you're really in a bad way, dried horse and cow flops are also burnable and available for free at stables, etc. Just gotta be creative. Coal can also be burnt in wood-burning stoves. I used to add it to wood to keep the fire burning evenly. Also burns longer in the evening to keep the heat coming longer after bedtime.

An interesting aside for those with wood burning stoves for heat. I noticed years ago when I had a mylar balloon from a birthday floating on my ceiling that slowly lost it's helium until it just became buoyant and floated mid air. The heat of the fireplace would lift it to the ceiling where it floated across the ceiling to the stairway upstairs, it went up the stairs via the ceiling, entered a bedroom where it dropped to the floor, traversed across the floor to the stairway and went back down just above the steps and back across the floor to the fireplace where the process began all over again.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Ya forgot spitting and stacking.

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

I've never worked up a sweat spitting... HA!!
(yeah, I know it was a typo...)

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

Possibly the price increase is not due to the cost of preparing and delivering the wood, but more due to cost increases at the grocery store, etc. Everyone deserves to make a living off the fruits of his labor. If you don't want to pay the going price for firewood, and don't have electricity or natural gas to fall back on, get a propane heater and tank installed.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Exactly.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

Since you are asking if I am aware of the work involved I will have to inform you that I assist my relatives in their firewood business on a regular basis.
What makes my remarks on the seasoning of wood was your insisting that you have a very small window to get the wood cut once it's down and I pointed out the fact that you actually have to wait to burn the wood for safety.
I can guarantee that I have more cords of wood cut under my belt than you or most people on the site.
My side incomes are how I aquire my photo equipment.
However the firewood business my wife's dad has is a means to support his tractor collection and his garden.
It's not counted on for the everyday living expenses like you claim it has to be.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Your father-in-law is fortunate. Most people who sell firewood are not in his (or your) position; they are trying to feed their families. Don't lump them in with you. They are doing it to make a buck to meet expenses. I did NOT claim it has to be counted on for the everyday living expenses for everyone. I specifically said "most."

Go back a re-read what I said. I did NOT say "you have a very small window to get the wood cut once it's down." What I said was, "Those downed trees need to be harvested within a certain period of time or they are useless." With your vast experience surely you have seen a rotten tree or two. Seasoning is not the same as rot. Cut wood needs to be kept dry while it seasons for a reason.

So. since it is your position that folks selling firewood are greedy and in it for whatever they can gouge out of a gullible customer, it is nice to know that you sell wood for ½ or less of what others charge. Is that correct? If not, how do you (or your father-in-law) determine the price? By your standard you should be giving it away. You don't, because you have a need for the revenue. Given that the prices of cameras and tractors are going up, aren't you going to need more money for those? Based on your previous remarks I am guessing that you are charging very, very little for firewood. Where do you get the rest of the money for your habit?

Lastly, you don't know me or anything about me so you have no idea how many cords of wood I have "under my belt." Please don't be so arrogant.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

We sell the wood for 70.00 a rick or facecord as it is also known which translates to $140.00 per cord.
This is actually less than most around here
It's also more than enough to cover the cost of my photography hobby because while I do have the occasional bought of GAS I have always been intelligent enough to buy pre owned and enjoy the substantial savings.
Currently the camera collection is at five bodies and numerous lenses.
I generally have a hard time letting go of the camera even though I have a better one in the collection.
I also have several upper tier lenses for the Canon bodies.
I like the quality that comes with the l glass even the older ones.
My new journey is going to be with Sony as I got my a7rii which is a couple generations back but still a great camera.
Sure we could charge as much as everyone else does for wood however many folks who heat with wood do so because they can't afford the alternatives.

flathead27ford Loc: Colorado, North of Greeley

LOL, so true.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

You don't need all those bodies and probably don't need all those lenses. Sell some of them, then you can give the firewood away for free to people who can't afford the alternatives. Of course, you will need to see a financial statement or tax return before you give it to them; otherwise you might be giving it to someone who can afford the alternatives but is just too cheap to pay for them. My neighbor spends all summer stockpiling firewood to heat his house over the winter. He has a nice, modern house with central propane heat but is just too cheap to pay for the butane. He would rather turn his time and sweat equity into heat than do something else with his time and pay for the propane. I would venture to say that much of your product goes to exactly those sorts of people except that they lack the resources to cut their own.

Two more points and then I am done with this:
- it's bout, not bought
- I don't care if you have 5 camera bodies or 500, it is irrelevant to this discussion, as is what you pay for them.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Some thoughts on the price of cord wood. I used to live in a house heated by a wood-fired stove on the first floor of a 2-story house. I bought cord wood locally but supplemented that with other types of wood. I got scrap lumber from a local lumber yard, bought old telephone poles from a power line maintenance company. I even bought scrap trim molding in a bale from a lumber yard that produced it in a bundle that that was 10-12' long and they had to load it in my pickup with a fork lift. Cost me $15 and lasted for 3 years. There is also coal to burn in wood burning stoves as well. I liked it because it burns at a higher heat level than wood and when added to a wood fire keeps it burning evenly. I also put coal in the stove at bedtime so that it kept the house warmer longer.

For those that are really financially strapped, cow and horse flops when dried are also burnable. Many stables and farms have large piles of these that dry out and are generally free.

An interesting aside for those of you living in a house with a wood burning stove. A few years ago I had a mylar ballon that had lost enough of it's helium so that it was just buoyant enough to float freely in the air. It would drift near the stove and rise to the ceiling and bounce along the across the room until it got to the stairs. It went up the stairs close to the ceiling and went into the first bedroom. It then dropped to the floor and went back out of the bedroom and went back down the stairs just above the steps. When it got down to the first floor, it moved across the floor to the stove where the process repeated.

rhadams824 Loc: Arkansas

In Arkansas and area we call this a rick (half cord).