Is there a viable future for dry top quality logs

[yaxleylad]

I have been surprised and disapointed at the quality of some fire wood, ie too wet. I was talking to an old boy at a car boot the other day he said a neighbour bought 2 load's off some bloke but demanded they come and take it away again as it was fresh cut and was tarry and wouldnt burn clean. Even my regular supplier as let me down unfroitunately. Is there a viable future for a fire wood dealer who can absolutely 100% guarantee there wood to be dry hard wood's, will people pay extra for best quality dry wood, even if its not huge quantity's?

[3dogs]

i have one customer who buys firewood all year round so that he can dry it out ready to burn. i have other customers that burn with coal and a wet log lasts longer so there happy.

[Mr Ed]

I know 2 large firewood dealers round here, 2 brothers who run seperate busineses. 1 sells nothing but sopping wet green wood, the other nothing but bone dry seasoned wood.

 

Both seem to do equally well. My point being, the general public does'nt seem to care.

 

If timber is split into billets and stacked the french way, it drys very quickly - one summer will get it down to 20%

[Mike Hill]

I guess it depends on how much the consumer relies on their fire for heating,thus if the wood is green and puts out less heat then the consumer will take objection to the the lack of quality.Around here the most popular wood to burn is Birch,but most people will accept Spruce.We have a list of people who will colect wood from jobs for us and they will travel further for Birch than for anything else,Ash,Oak,Tamarac etc.We don't sell firewood,I'd have to find out all the costs involved.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Customers are just tight, they want top quality bone dry wood for the same price as fresh cut.

 

I've had a few complain their suppliers wood is wet thru, I tell them the price of mine for a standard load and they go well I was only paying 80 a load from him. Doohhh

 

I've seen bone dry bulk bags full advertised on the net from a well known supplier at £105 per bag. Wonder how many of them he sells a year.

[Tom D]

I've started to get asked more lately if my wood is dry, i think more people are buying stoves which need dry wood. I dont think people will pay much more for dry though, theres a guy round here who just logs up trees on site and takes them straight to the customer, he seems to do ok. I am trying to build up a regular customer base who want dry wood, i'll be puting my prices up next year.

[Log-ologist]

I only sell seasoned wood , ie. its at least one season old.

 

Seriously though I have timber on the stack that is 3 years old and is still wet in the middle. it is upto 3 foot in diameter though. last week I went through the stack and cut downwards slices into the big bits to get air in and water out. Logs are gonna be big this year.

[Dean Lofthouse]

One of you lot got a bloke to ring me today, I thought it was a windup, probably is.

 

He told me he buys transit loads split logs off tree surgeons in the huddersfield area and one of them had told him to ring me because he had been told I had plenty of logs.

 

I said the only difference between me and all the rest is I only sell 2 year under cover seasoned logs .

 

He said he would buy fresh split logs if I'd sell them to him. He would come with his transit if I would do him a load onto his truck.

 

I said, no problem, how much have the rest been charging you for a transit load?

 

He said £40.

 

I said, what for "split logs"

 

Yep he said.

 

I said "F'ck me" They can supply me and I'll sell em on for £95"

 

I told him he hadn't got a hope of getting them off me for that, it wouldn't even cover my costs.

 

Upon which he slammed the phone down

[dazlog]

Alot of people jumping on the firewood band wagon this year and selling for peanuts. A few customers have bought what they thought was a bargain, most of which is wet thro from this season.

[Log-ologist]

cheap logs last longer...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... but they use more matches and petrol to light them.