Firewood NF

[Eddyk]

I dont have much experiance heating a home with wood and the house I bought has an electric furnace and an air tight wood stove to off set the heating costs. I ordered 10 FACE CORDS of wood on Saturday. I had one cord dropped off in my garage to get to the nice weather and the other 9 cord are coming in the fall. It's all hard wood, cut and split and delivered with tax included for $60 a face cord. The wood burns beautifully and if I put a log on when I go to bed it's still burning in the morning. My electric furnace almost never comes on.My question is does this sound like a fair price to pay ?

[fishbait]

that's what I pay in the states, if you buy in quanity then it should be around $30-40 a cord.

[irishfield]

If it's actually good hardwood Eddy...IE..no popular mixed in... and I'm assuming those are 16" cut face cords. Cut/split and delivered for $180 a BUSH cord (3 face cords) is a GOOD price. It's a fair price even if they are 12" face cords (4 / bush cord) Good hardwood generally sells at around $240/BCord up here and approaches $300 when it's all oak and maple. Make sure you are getting a 4 foot high x 8 foot long pile for your $60 / face cord...as it sounds too cheap to be true if they're 16" rs..and if you are then you found a good source!

[Nemo]

Yep good deal if the wood is all hardwood and dry.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Nemo

[fishchaser]

Hey Eddyk, I'll say that's a hell of deal and wish I could find anything near that price. Over here the cost for a Bush cord is around the $300.00 dollar mark. Now it makes me wonder if I actually save money by heating with wood, I'm heating with propane as well

 

Fishchaser

[Terry]

yup

looks like a good deal to me

 

but have them deliver all of it now

 

the longer it sits the better it burns

 

and with an air tight stove, clean the chimney often, then do it again

those slow burning air tight stoves a the worst for chimney fires

[Beans]

That's a much better price than what we pay around Bobcaygeon...

 

$60 a face cord = $180 a bush cord cut split and delivered

 

Last spring I paid $215 a bush cord cut split and delivered (hard maple and birch)...most places are advertising anywhere from $200 to $225 a bush cord but you have to make sure that includes delivery...

 

Four years ago the prices were around $185 a bush cord but the gas prices bumped that up quickly...

 

This winter, I burned 2 bush cords (instead of 4) and set the thermostats at 20*C...

 

The numbers are not all in yet so can't quite compare if this was a good move or not...

 

Lots of elbow grease required for a wood stove...stacking, moving in to house, chopping kindling etc...but it looks nice on a cold evening and sure smells good...

 

I would have next winter's wood delivered now unless it is cut and split already on your suppliers property...needs time to dry out...

 

You might find this interesting:

 

http://www.woodheat.org/index.htm

[OhioFisherman]

Eddy my house is all electric with an air tight wood burner also, mine has electric baseboard heat, good points and bad to it. You can turn off or way down the heat in the rooms you don`t use often. My house is just under 2000 square feet, we don`t have a gas line so the choice was heating oil, propane or electric in this area.

 

1. clean your chimney every year, you can get the tools to do it for about the price of a chimney sweep doing it once, you need to know the size of the chimney opening to get the right brush, and the height of it to get enough sections of poles to do it properly. It takes maybe 15 or 20 minutes, and another 15 or 20 to take the pipes apart inside and clean and check them. My roof isn`t angled badly or real high though.

 

2. Firewood, face cord seems to be what we call a rick here, and the going price is also around 60 bucks here for it.. Got any Amish up there? I get my firewood from Amish sawmills in my area, I fill my utility trailer 12x6 1/2 x 2 = 156 cubic feet, more than a full cord(128 cubic feet) for 55 to 60 bucks and it`s heaping. Slab wood, short cut, but a lot of heavy pieces.

 

3. yellow jackets like to build nests in my chimney, the clean out is outside, a small metal door. They get in around the edges, mine is chimney tile not metal, don`t know if they would do that on a metal one. Raid indoor flea fogger kills them, I wait until it is almost dark and drop a couple down the chimney, in the morning they are all dead.

 

4. It is breezey here most of the time, I keep my wood covered but where the wind can help dry out the new stuff. I got 7 loads last year, some was old and seasoned some was green for next year. Burning green wood will clog the chimney quicker. Oak is probably the best to burn, maple, hickory, cherry, black walnut, and even ash burn well also. Ash won`t last as long, it isn`t as dense.

 

5. Mine runs pretty much full time during the cold months, I have had it (bought it new in 1989 and installed it while the house was being built) very few problems. Some minor part replacements an I didn`t clean the chimney the first two years. LOL I learned! Had to get a chimney sweep in the dead of winter on a snow covered roof.

[carll2]

i guess thats a good deal. here in my area of quebec its 100$ a chord of maple/birch used to be 50$ but it goes up every year.

[Big Cliff]

I have cut, split, and sold wood for many years. You have a good deal there! As Terry said, have it delivered asap. stack it and let it dry. Ideally you want 6% moisture in your wood for best results and heat output.

[ch312]

i dont mean to highjack the thread but i have a couple questions regarding wood stoves....

 

how should i go about setting up a wood stove in my house that has a 6' unfinished basement and no chimney? i only want it for maybe 2 years as ill be lowering the floor and finishing the basement when i have the money. i want to put as little money into this as possible and looks arent important at all as nobody goes in the basement anyways.

 

i have a few big trees in my yard i need to cut down and i can get the wood stove for free so i figured free heat is always good

[brickNblock]

Hey there Eddy.

We just moved into a new home ourselves just west of you a bit.we're on the Trent-Severn just north of Trenton at and the BayOQuinte.

We do have electric heat but got through the entire winter thus far solely by our woodstove.

Facecords costs us $80/per.they were 16" and all a good mix of hardwood.

I have found recently a guy who sold ASH only. I have found the Ash to burn better then any of the others and supply much more heat.

I had never heard of Ash before. We mix it with the maple and birch to really get it going and hopefully benefit the most from this mixture.

The price you paid is a little better then the going competitive rate....just make sure it is seasoned tho.

I dont know of a manner to check if so except by burning and what I did is ask some neighbours who in town is reputable.....just the same, to burn is the way to check.

Actually, with the new Ash...I bought only a dozen or so logs to start to see how it burned before investing.

I have now placed next years order..but not for the price you got....thinking I paid about $10 more per face cord.

Actually.....having moved from an Enbridge gas area...........I heated our home this past winter for about $350....and to me that reeks of savings.

Not only that but it is pleasent to see, much cleaner and the warmth is right away.

OK...so there is work invol;ved...there is the same kind of pleasent work involved with camping and fishing....I love it.

The face cords.........I split a;lot of them too.....and the cutoffs available become my kindling.

Another method is, I take the carpenters cutoffs from the framing of new homes and split them...( 2x8, 2x10's)OK it is only spruce but it ignites quickly and provides flame.......another method I currently use for kindling is I purchase the Northland firelogs..($ 16/case)......Cut them into quarters and when lighting I'll crumble the quarter piece then add my hardwood.

This is a way to cut down on newspaper to light and other poverished woods that provide flame but are detrimental to your chimney.

Make sure you have a good chimney brush..........I installed my own woodstove and chimney.....Ive only had to clean it once this winter and it was last weekend and my woodstove goes non-stop.

I am a builder of fireplaces and chimneys and are aware of chimney fires from mostly creoste buildup.....my chimney has been whistle clean bud!

You got yourself one heck of a price....I hope it is seasoned wood;.

You'll know right away when you go to burn it.

Enjoy your new home and woodstove Eddy...........

I am enjoying ours immensely.....

peter

 

BTW.....you know exactly where I live...ask Lew.....we're close to Lock 7...I'll say no more.

Looking forward to seeing the pair of you out here this season

Edited April 18, 2007 by brickNblock

[Jer]

$60 a face cord is definitely a good price. I just put my order in for next years wood...price has gone up again...4 bush cords, $240 a piece (last year was $225).

[Eddyk]

Thanks for your comments. yes I think I got a good deal. This guy came well recommended. Another thing ' while we were unloading the wood he noticed my fishing equipment and wants to take me out and show me some lakes.

[Beans]

" Any man that likes fishing...can't be all bad..." Mark Twain (I believe)

 

Did you take a look at that link ?

[Pinch]

A good thing to use for starting your fires is cardboard egg cartons or the tim hortons drink holders. They start really easily and last quite a while for the kindling to catch.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Pinch

[cisco]

Once a guy who made a living selling stove wood told me he'd put white birch in to please the eye even though it wasn't as good as maple or other hardwoods. So maybe tell him you don't want any birch in the shipment.

[Roy]

Species lbs per CF WT BTU Rec. BTU per cord Units needed to produce 1million BTUs

Hickory 50.9 4327 27.7 19.39 0.052

East. Hophornbeam 50.2 4267 27.3 19.11 0.052

Apple 48.7 4100 26.5 18.55 0.054

White Oak 47.2 4012 25.7 17.99 0.056

Sugar Maple 44.2 3757 24 16.8 0.060

Red Oak 44.2 3757 24 16.8 0.060

Beech 44.2 3757 24 16.8 0.060

Yellow Birch 43.4 3689 23.6 16.52 0.061

White Ash 43.4 3689 23.6 16.52 0.061

Hackberry 38.2 3247 20.8 14.56 0.069

Tamarack 38.2 3247 20.8 14.56 0.069

Paper Birch 37.4 3179 20.3 14.21 0.070

Cherry 36.7 3121 20 14 0.071

Elm 35.9 3052 19.5 13.65 0.073

Black Ash 35.2 2992 19.1 13.37 0.075

Red Maple 34.4 2924 18.7 13.09 0.076

Boxelder 32.9 2797 17.9 12.53 0.080

Jack Pine 31.4 2669 17.1 11.97 0.084

Norway Pine 31.4 2669 17.1 11.97 0.084

Hemlock 29.2 2482 15.9 11.13 0.090

Black Spruce 29.2 2482 15.9 11.13 0.090

Ponderosa Pine 28 2380 15.2 10.64 0.094

Aspen 27 2290 14.7 10.29 0.097

White Pine 26.3 2236 14.3 10.01 0.100

Balsam Fir 26.3 2236 14.3 10.01 0.100

Cottonwood 24.8 2108 13.5 9.45 0.106

Basswood 24.8 2108 13.5 9.45 0.106