Firewood co-op?
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Knobby57
Peeing outdoors
A boy is a boy .. 2 boys half a boy . Wisest thing I was ever told but a very successful person . One person will get more productivity than 2 working together .
Streblerm
Addicted to ArboristSite
It’s got to be the right group of people to work. It has to be a group of givers, not takers. As soon as one person starts whining that they didn’t get as much as somebody else, it’s all over.
I have a pretty flexible “co-op” relationship with a few guys. One group is 6 guys and is fairly equipment intensive (bobcats, excavator, dump trucks) and we scout for logged properties to clean up. The wood goes primarily to whoever’s house is closest but some goes to all. We used to take it all to one persons house and process there but have since moved on to the closest wood yard theory. In this group I’m small time. I mostly provide labor . We cut 8-12’ lengths and haul with equipment. We can haul 25 cords in a weekend. We mostly focus on acquiring the wood but sometimes we get together for processing. I use the least amount in this group so I am quick to assist with processing and slow to ask for help.
The other “group” is three of us with minimal equipment. Only two of us burn for heat. My mini bobcat, my pickup, and 6x10 trailer. We scout residential take downs and split the haul more or less evenly amongst two of the three. The third is just a casual fireplace wood burner so he just takes wood as he needs it. We’re talking about a face cord per year. Again we only co-op in the acquisition of firewood, not the processing. We have done eight cords in a weekend but mostly it’s a couple cords or less.
I have a pretty flexible “co-op” relationship with a few guys. One group is 6 guys and is fairly equipment intensive (bobcats, excavator, dump trucks) and we scout for logged properties to clean up. The wood goes primarily to whoever’s house is closest but some goes to all. We used to take it all to one persons house and process there but have since moved on to the closest wood yard theory. In this group I’m small time. I mostly provide labor . We cut 8-12’ lengths and haul with equipment. We can haul 25 cords in a weekend. We mostly focus on acquiring the wood but sometimes we get together for processing. I use the least amount in this group so I am quick to assist with processing and slow to ask for help.
The other “group” is three of us with minimal equipment. Only two of us burn for heat. My mini bobcat, my pickup, and 6x10 trailer. We scout residential take downs and split the haul more or less evenly amongst two of the three. The third is just a casual fireplace wood burner so he just takes wood as he needs it. We’re talking about a face cord per year. Again we only co-op in the acquisition of firewood, not the processing. We have done eight cords in a weekend but mostly it’s a couple cords or less.
Streblerm
Addicted to ArboristSite
While this is true of boys, two men can definitely get more than twice as much work done as one man. Think about If you have to climb down a ladder every cut or something is just too heavy for one person to lift. Some jobs are just too big for one man.
2 boys can work out too, just not left to their own devices. 2 boys need a supervisor.
OnTheRoad
Collector of shiny things.
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The key here is pairing with the right people. I have the equipment and the source of wood and I heat full time with wood. I have a couple of buddies who burn much less than I do and they help process wood when needed. It works out for everybody and yes, 3 of us can turn out a lot more wood than I can by myself in 3x the hours.
In this area I've had no trouble finding tree services that will happily donate wood. I don't leave the house to acquire wood and I don't pay for it.
In this area I've had no trouble finding tree services that will happily donate wood. I don't leave the house to acquire wood and I don't pay for it.
My COOP set up is a little different. I have two guys that love to hunt and I own some real nice hunting ground so they trade me some labor cutting and processing wood. If we have a normal cold year like we are having I burn 15 cords in a year. I run my Garn year around. This coop works great as they get what they want and I get what I want. We have become good friends over the years.
I was out working in my woodpile and a neighborhood kid offered a hand in exchange for some pocket money. I gave him a quick lesson in stacking then ran the splitter as he stacked. Felt like it cut the workload to about 1/3 of the original. Next day I was out working again and the same kid came by with a buddy. The two of them "working" together nearly quadrupled my overall workload that time. After about an hour of me working and them standing by the burnpit wile splits piled up to be stacked I told them both they could leave.
Welcome to the current generation. They've been given so much that the concept of working for something just doesn't compute. Certainly speaks to my grandchildren.
It just amazed me. The one kid on his own just kept working and working. The two of them together moved maybe 3 dozen splits before taking a break
Sounds about right. Either of the grandkids by themselves works well...together, not so much.
