Firewood times for processing

[user 122190]

Wondering, how long does it take? I just finished moving the last cord of split wood to my sheltered area and it took me an hour. Takes about an hour to split it, took an hour to cut it, takes an hour to load it in the the trailer while in the wilderness, and more time to unload it when I get home, and more time to clean up all the waste from the splitting. Just hours and hours and hours per cord and every year it is 6 or more cords. Yeeeesh....

I'm starting to think buying firewood is sounding kinda cheap. Nah, not really, but close. I was thinking about cutting several extra cords this year to sell. At $200/cord that buys a lot of groceries, or use to. That idea never came about, just dealing with my own firewood usage.

I like to think there is some trick I haven't yet figured out to save more time. I know a lot of peeps here claim porting a saw is the answer. LOL, yeah, one of those hours might actually be 58 or 59 minutes rather then a full hour.

 

[biggerstaff94]

Drop the tree straight into the trailer? I have no clue about your program lol.

If i had a log splitter Id offload onto the splitter then stack it in the pile. Saves from having to bend over and pick up the same log a bunch. Other than that idk how you could be quicker.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Every time I finish firewooding, I swear that's it, I'm done burning wood. When it's gone, I'm installing a pellet stove, and going firewooding will now mean a forklift loading a couple pallets of pellets in the truck.

Some people here talk about going through 20+ cords of wood in a year. I don't know how they do it. I barely burn anything, and it still takes too much time.

We just got a new heat pump, and even running the AC hard, this month's power bill was $78. I suspect we'll be using that for heat a lot more this year.

 

[user 122190]

Processing firewood use to be fun. What really takes the joy out of it anymore is my footing. Bark, pine cones, small pieces, etc have me constantly fighting for solid footing. An hour of almost falling gets real old, real fast.

 

[Jeffkrib]

Every time I finish firewooding, I swear that's it, I'm done burning wood. When it's gone, I'm installing a pellet stove, and going firewooding will now mean a forklift loading a couple pallets of pellets in the truck.

Some people here talk about going through 20+ cords of wood in a year. I don't know how they do it. I barely burn anything, and it still takes too much time.

We just got a new heat pump, and even running the AC hard, this month's power bill was $78. I suspect we'll be using that for heat a lot more this year.

Ye literally just finished splitting my last bit of wood for this year (my 2024 winter wood). When you do a bit at a time its not too bad but when you spend a whole day doing it thats when it ends up like child birth. But just like a woman we keep going back, doing it again and again no matter how bad it is.

 

[cookies]

keep your areas clean, I rake up the tree trash regularly and burn it or even run it over with the push mower lol . I make the rounds piles where its getting stacked then move the splitter from pile to pile. Split and stack as you go so you move/carry the wood as short of distance as possible.

 

[sean donato]

I typically burn between 6 and 10 cord a year myself. The past few years ive been doing moat of my dads wood and helpsing with a few friends as well. Doing as little handling of the wood as possible makes it better. I haul logs cut as long as I can get on the trailer, which is either 16ft or 20 ft. (Any more it's 2 8ft or 10ft logs, new tractor can't pick a full stick. After I get home, I buck the logs to size then split right in front of the shed or skid its getting stacked on. I pretty much can't stand the go out, buck fill the truck up with little rounds, run home unload, pick the wood up to split it, load it on whatever, move it to the pile/shed. You end up moving the same piece of wood a dozen times before it's even close to the shed.

I'm even in the starting stages of building a bigger splitter that can take a big 4 and 6 way wedge. Really I'd like it to be more of a mini processor. Its all about handling the wood one less time.
I don't mind the mess, the tractor and/or burning it makes cleanup work pretty quick.
the alternative to buying cord wood is getting a straight truck load of logs delivered. Last I checked it was around $700.00 delivered. Still have to buck and split, but you don't have to fetch it. My only issue with buying it, is then you may as well burn oil or gas. Till you factor even minimal time and equipment your on par with other methods of heating. So long as I can get my wood for free I'll be heating with wood.

 

[HansFranz]

I'm starting to think buying firewood is sounding kinda cheap.

I have long held that opinion. $100-$200 for a cord of dried hardwood firewood? I don't know how it's worthwhile for anyone to sell it that cheap!

OTOH, cutting and splitting a cord of firewood for myself saves me $100-$200 ... it's a labor of love. Plus, I like the woodstove.

 

[HansFranz]

We just got a new heat pump, and even running the AC hard, this month's power bill was $78. I suspect we'll be using that for heat a lot more this year.

Keep your parkas handy. I lived in an apartment with a heat pump once, and it seems that the way it operated was by continually blowing around air that was 1.5°F warmer than the ambient air in the apartment. Talk about WIND CHILL!

 

[user 122190]

I typically burn between 6 and 10 cord a year myself. The past few years ive been doing moat of my dads wood and helpsing with a few friends as well. Doing as little handling of the wood as possible makes it better. I haul logs cut as long as I can get on the trailer, which is either 16ft or 20 ft. (Any more it's 2 8ft or 10ft logs, new tractor can't pick a full stick. After I get home, I buck the logs to size then split right in front of the shed or skid its getting stacked on. I pretty much can't stand the go out, buck fill the truck up with little rounds, run home unload, pick the wood up to split it, load it on whatever, move it to the pile/shed. You end up moving the same piece of wood a dozen times before it's even close to the shed.

I'm even in the starting stages of building a bigger splitter that can take a big 4 and 6 way wedge. Really I'd like it to be more of a mini processor. Its all about handling the wood one less time.
I don't mind the mess, the tractor and/or burning it makes cleanup work pretty quick.
the alternative to buying cord wood is getting a straight truck load of logs delivered. Last I checked it was around $700.00 delivered. Still have to buck and split, but you don't have to fetch it. My only issue with buying it, is then you may as well burn oil or gas. Till you factor even minimal time and equipment your on par with other methods of heating. So long as I can get my wood for free I'll be heating with wood.

Yup, a tractor would really help out. And to think I use to hand split all my wood. I still do some, as I enjoy it, but the joints remind me that I'm not getting any younger.

In a few years I'll have a propane heater and a tank installed. Since I've live here, it is all wood burning. I do have a small electric heater for the bedroom, and I heat water on the stove to fill an aluminum water bottle that I toss under the covers. Helps a lot. I'm also growing fond of the idea of wearing a winter parka inside, and possibly insulated overalls/bibs.

 

[Wood Doctor]

My buddy and I work together to produce this much firewood for ourselves each year:

We produce the amount shown apiece. We figure 4 to 5 cords apiece that requires about eight days of work. Then I go out and produce more for friends who cover my cost. It's a great hobby.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Keep your parkas handy. I lived in an apartment with a heat pump once, and it seems that the way it operated was by continually blowing around air that was 1.5°F warmer than the ambient air in the apartment. Talk about WIND CHILL!

Ours does better than that, but the same basic idea. The air coming out is warmer than ambient air, but not as warm as the human body. So yes it warms the space, but you never feel cozy or toasty.

We also had a nearly week long power outage awhile back. Our house stayed as warm as ever.

 

[sean donato]

Its definitely a labor of love. Once you start adding up your time and equipment it generally wouldn't make sense....I'd be a lot fatter if I didn't process wood though lol.n

 

[sean donato]

Ours does better than that, but the same basic idea. The air coming out is warmer than ambient air, but not as warm as the human body. So yes it warms the space, but you never feel cozy or toasty.

We also had a nearly week long power outage awhile back. Our house stayed as warm as ever.

That's a big bonus with wood heat, even my furnace circulates hot air around the house through the floor ducts without the blower going. For end of the house isn't as warm as the part under the furnace, but it doesn't need power to make heat.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Then there is loading, delivery, and unloading time. Today I spent two hours packing the truck as tight as a sardine can with seasoned hardwood, mostly split. It will take two more hours to deliver and unload the truck, stacking it as I unload. Some of my customers offer to help unload. While they remove the logs, I sometimes build a stack with crib-stacked ends, something like this schematic:

Others have a rack to hold the logs so that the "bookends" aren't needed. The reason the crib stacking works is because about 80% of the force is straight down. In all, figure no less than eight hours required per delivered and stacked truckload. Now compare that to the $100 per hour that a repair guy made last week replacing a yard sprinkler head.

BTW, if OP can get it for $200 a full cord (128 cu ft or two pickup truckloads), that's a bargain. I think he is talking a face cord not a full cord. I wish the term, face cord, was never invented. Just MHO.

 

[user 122190]

Then there is loading, delivery, and unloading time. Today I spent two hours packing the truck as tight as a sardine can with seasoned hardwood, mostly split. It will take two more hours to deliver and unload the truck, stacking it as I unload. Some of my customers offer to help unload. While they remove the logs, I sometimes build a stack with crib-stacked ends, something like this schematic:
View attachment 1021718
Others have a rack to hold the logs so that the "bookends" aren't needed. The reason the crib stacking works is because about 80% of the force is straight down. In all, figure no less than eight hours required per delivered and stacked truckload. Now compare that to the $100 per hour that a repair guy made last week replacing a yard sprinkler head.

In my area it is $200 a cord. It has been going up steadily every year. From what the Wood Doctor is sharing, I wouldn't do it for $400 a cord.

 

[Wood Doctor]

There is one way to make money by collecting, processing and selling firewood. First, don't try to deliver it. Second, get big like this:

 

[farmer steve]

I try and only touch the wood 4 times when processing. 5 if I count when I throw it in the stove.
1. Cut it and throw in the tractor bucket and take home and dump in pile.
2. Pick it up to split and throw splits in tractor bucket.
3. Stack it in my selling bins or my personal bins or firewood racks directly from bucket.
4 . Load into a customer's truck or trailer from the bins. They usually help.
I realize not everyone has access to a tractor so I'm lucky in that aspect. When I first started cutting wood 40+ years ago I cut down 6-8" diameter dead oaks with a 10" Montgomery wards chainsaw and drug them out with a snapper lawnmower (like Forrest Gump used) and split them with a double bit axe. The good ol days.

 

[link]

I don't have a tractor, but my neighbor does...

 

[sean donato]

Last I knew cord wood cost was highly dependent on the person selling it. Seen it as low as $225.00 for **** and over $400 for premium kiln dried hardwood, delivered, stacked and sometimes in crates.
Edit: just checked with a place across town $205 cord free delivery if you order 2 or more cords. Delivered means dumped in your yard.