Who is cutting wood?

[XXX-er]

I think we paid 800$ a cord for wood into the Hankin lookout, I think actualy the wood was free but the chopper was 800$ a cord

[Hugh Conway]

Pellets take electricity. At night.

so stop posting on tgr and use the juice to power the pellet stove. Win win.

[stfu&gbtw]

so stop posting on tgr and use the juice to power the pellet stove. Win win.

Oddly enough, nobody makes an adapter that allows me to power a pellet stove with my mobile phone... Strange, I know...

[grrrr]

It certainly is ridiculous, and it's the same all over around here. But it's not more than running a pellet stove or burning propane. Speaking of more money than brains... Add much?

No, pellets are not an equivalent to $800/cord. Seasoned oak is around 1 1/2 tons to 2 tons per cord. Pellets run $200-$250/ton.

[stfu&gbtw]

No, pellets are not an equivalent to $800/cord. Seasoned oak is around 1 1/2 tons to 2 tons per cord. Pellets run $200-$250/ton.

Have you been diagnosed with some sort of profound intellectual deficiency?

[bodywhomper]

how much does propane cost in the land of stfu&gbtw?

[glademaster]

I manage to keep my cost to under $125/cord average. I will be burning about 1/4 lodgepole and 3/4 apple and sweet cherry next year.

STFU, I'll sell you a cord of apple for $1000. It burns slightly hotter than oak, and smells better.

[stfu&gbtw]

I forget what we paid for propane this year... $2.30/gallon or so.

My average is about $70/cord, considering I collect the 10 cords of pine/spruce/whatever that I burn in addition to the oak.

[Hugh Conway]

how much does propane cost in the land of stfu&gbtw?

he blew his wad bombproofing his mansion, no reserve for reserve power systems for a pellet stove.

[glademaster]

I forget what we paid for propane this year... $2.30/gallon or so.

My average is about $70/cord, considering I collect the 10 cords of pine/spruce/whatever that I burn in addition to the oak.

Is it REALLY? Including fuel for saws and a splitter, new chains, wear and tear on equipment, permits, your time, etc? If so, that's impressive, and nicely done. I have a neighbor who cuts all his own wood from NFS land, and his cost/cord is between $130 and $150 when you actually take everything into consideration, and that is if he isn't calculating the value of his time.

I've found the best economy comes from getting rounds delivered and doing your own splitting. Unsplit wood is worth a hell of a lot less than split firewood.

[XXX-er]

There is free wood all over the place up here if you wana go out and gather it but the thrifty people with enough room to order a 7 axle logging truck dumped in the driveway for 1200$ will get 17-20 cords which they just slice it off like a loaf of bread

[glademaster]

There is free wood all over the place up here if you wana go out and gather it but the thrifty people with enough room to order a 7 axle logging truck dumped in the driveway for 1200$ will get 17-20 cords which they just slice it off like a loaf of bread

Those logging trucks are at most 12-13 cords, usually you end up with 9-11 full cords out of one. Still a great way to do it, but your cost still comes in right around $100-120 a cord. I think it is difficult to get it much below that unless you have a large woodlot adjacent to your property, or own/operate a tree service.

[stfu&gbtw]

Is it REALLY? Including fuel for saws and a splitter, new chains, wear and tear on equipment, permits, your time, etc? If so, that's impressive, and nicely done. I have a neighbor who cuts all his own wood from NFS land, and his cost/cord is between $130 and $150 when you actually take everything into consideration, and that is if he isn't calculating the value of his time.

I've found the best economy comes from getting rounds delivered and doing your own splitting. Unsplit wood is worth a hell of a lot less than split firewood.

Does your heating bill include your furnace maintenance?

There's a couple of thousand dollars worth of equipment... Averaged out over 20 years, it's about $10/year. Probably spend $50/year on repairs. Maybe $50/year in fuel. I buy a single permit that never gets collected. Split the $20 with a neighbor. One new chain each season for ~$40. I don't calculate for time, because I chose to do it this way. It was part of the decision of moving here. Even if I spend another $200/year, it brings me up to about $100/cord. Then there's stove maintenance, and the all important footwear purchases... But all in all, the ancillary costs are minimal. That being said, if I didn't love doing it, I'd just put up the money for something else. But I didn't move up here to listen to a wind turbine, and I can't see making electricity a requirement for heat.

[glademaster]

Does your heating bill include your furnace maintenance?

There's a couple of thousand dollars worth of equipment... Averaged out over 20 years, it's about $10/year. Probably spend $50/year on repairs. Maybe $50/year in fuel. I buy a single permit that never gets collected. Split the $20 with a neighbor. I don't calculate for time, because I chose to do it this way. It was part of the decision of moving here. Even if I spend another $200/year, it brings me up to about $100/cord. Then there's stove maintenance, and the all important footwear purchases... But all in all, the ancillary costs are minimal. That being said, if I didn't love doing it, I'd just put up the money for something else. But I didn't move up here to listen to a wind turbine, and I can't see making electricity a requirement for heat.

For sure, I'm not so much calling bullshit as I am impressed. My neighbor bitches and moans about the work considering it still ends up costing him more than me.

I heat 100% with wood, so no furnace maintenance. I do have a small propane wall heater that gets used when I'm traveling during the winter, but that's only 2 or 3 years old, and I'm a renter, so no maintenance costs there. However, I would absolutely factor furnace upkeep into my total yearly heating costs when figuring that number out. Just like I include the costs of stove maintenance in my wood heating costs.

I enjoy the work as well and hope I can heat primarily with wood for many years to come. I do see myself taking steps to reduce consumption as much as possible in the future though. Processing and handling 6+ cords a year probably isn't going to sound nearly as enjoyable in 30 years.

[grrrr]

Have you been diagnosed with some sort of profound intellectual deficiency?

I'm just suffering from STFUtalkingouthisassagain. But aren't we all?

[BCMtnHound]

Those logging trucks are at most 12-13 cords, usually you end up with 9-11 full cords out of one. Still a great way to do it, but your cost still comes in right around $100-120 a cord. I think it is difficult to get it much below that unless you have a large woodlot adjacent to your property, or own/operate a tree service.

The old long log 5-axle trailers carried about 35cubic metres, or approx 12 cords. Since the pine beetle salvage really ramped up, 7, 8 and even 9 and 10 axle b-trains are the norm and they carry the loads XXX-er is describing. Only issue is that with the industry switching over to small diameter pine salvage, it can be hard to find 'firewood' grade logs that go for the old $.25/m3 stumpage (royalty) rates in the central and northern interior of BC.

[~mikey b]

I'm just suffering from STFUtalkingouthisassagain. But aren't we all?

Pretty much.

[glademaster]

The old long log 5-axle trailers carried about 35cubic metres, or approx 12 cords. Since the pine beetle salvage really ramped up, 7, 8 and even 9 and 10 axle b-trains are the norm and they carry the loads XXX-er is describing. Only issue is that with the industry switching over to small diameter pine salvage, it can be hard to find 'firewood' grade logs that go for the old $.25/m3 stumpage (royalty) rates in the central and northern interior of BC.

I stand corrected. I'm pretty sure you could fit all of the trees in Utah on about 3 of those 10 axle trucks. I miss living somewhere with forests.

[glademaster]

Started burning the ash last week. December brings the maple. January and beyond brings the red and white oak.

Such a nice time of year. A few logs in the am brings the house up to comfort, then the mid day south facing windows pick up when the stove winds down. House is good until the next morning.

I enjoy the ease of the fall and spring heating, but the stove runs so much better when it's cold out and it's running 24/7. Between the better draft from the cold temps and the stove and chimney being heat-soaked, I like the "maintenance" style of deep winter burning.

[Hugh Conway]

The old long log 5-axle trailers carried about 35cubic metres, or approx 12 cords. Since the pine beetle salvage really ramped up, 7, 8 and even 9 and 10 axle b-trains are the norm and they carry the loads XXX-er is describing. Only issue is that with the industry switching over to small diameter pine salvage, it can be hard to find 'firewood' grade logs that go for the old $.25/m3 stumpage (royalty) rates in the central and northern interior of BC.

so, this is XXXer chiming in with his middle of bumfuck BC schtick again for all 10 people here who that's relevant too? Between that and STFUs shit math....

[stfu&gbtw]

so, this is XXXer chiming in with his middle of bumfuck BC schtick again for all 10 people here who that's relevant too? Between that and STFUs shit math....

I keep my math skills sharp calculating the volume of your mom's enormous vagina.

[glademaster]

I once knew a woman so deep they called her the Lynn Canal.

[XXX-er]

so, this is XXXer chiming in with his middle of bumfuck BC schtick again for all 10 people here who that's relevant too? Between that and STFUs shit math....

I have been missing you HUGH! We love you up here in bumfuck land cuz we appreciate a mag who knows alot about bumfucking, a guy who could shove that 800$ cord of hickory up his ass and ...still have room for the 17 cords of beetle pine !

[stfu&gbtw]

I'm just suffering from STFUtalkingouthisassagain. But aren't we all?

What's hard for you to understand here? Pellets are 14 million btus/ton. Oak is 29 million btus per cord, or 14.5 million per ton. Pellets are $250/ton. That oak I bought, before tax, was $750/1.3 cords, or $288/ton. Even at that absurd price, the costs per ton, and especially per BTU, are comparable.

Maybe what you're really trying to say here is that my ass is a lot smarter than your brain...

[grrrr]

Buy pellets by the ton, they're $230/ton at Big R today. Unless they're on sale for $199. Which is either way less than your $288. Which is not an accurate number. Red Oak (the kind you get in Colorado) is 21 million BTU/cord, not 29. And you changed your tune from $800/cord to $750/1.3 cords to make your numbers better. At $800/cord, it's double the cost/BTU of pellets. At $750/1.3 or $576/cord, it's about 50% more for the oak.

But if your math justifies your decision, have at it.