Why is there no money in firewood?

[Stephen Blair]

Talk is cheap

 

jealousy is a cruel mistress:001_rolleyes:

[Alycidon]

Customer service is everything in any business.

 

 

 

Dead right, build a relationship with the customer, word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertising there is.

 

A

[Joy Yeomans]

Toffs and kiln dried. I think you are struggling to see the wood for the trees so to speak.

Kiln dried wood sold by Certainly Wood, Timports and others is typically 18-20% moisture. Allegedly the kilning process kills any infestations, that is a benefit that you dont have I agree.

 

I had to chop up a small wind blown oak about three weeks ago, it was still alive as part of the root was still attached. I ringed the bigger (12 inch or so) sections and yesterday the cut faces of these was around 17%. I do appreciate that the centres have some way to go of course but once cut and split you are well on the way to selling a comparable product.

 

I would suggest you buy yourself a wood moisture meter and surprise yourself with the moisture content of your stock. The only thing the Kiln dried has that you dont (given time) is no worms. Just make sure you charge well for it !!. If someone offered you a new car for £4k you would quite rightly think it a pile of crap, the same car at 20k and suddenly it a far better car !!.

 

I am selling stoves, have just had a JAPA 700 delivered today, I will sell air dried english wood this winter at levels that just undercut kiln dried if its dry enough. If not I will sell whats left over from this winter and leave it for the following winter. Maybe I wont sell a lot but I will make money on the good quality product that I do sell. No point being a busy fool.

 

I just need some cheap cord.

 

A

trying to teach us to sell firewood

 

mate ive had a moisture meter for 4 years

 

the kiln dried and toffs comment was a direct answer to the original post

 

that cheap cord your looking for is blowing in the wind - hence thats why you wont sell alot and you dont have to cause youve got a business selling stoves

 

teaching your mother to suck eggs:sneaky2:

 

our prices shall definatley be a big hike up from last year and no doubt we shall have some will go elsewhere, i just hope that our product stands out as it always does as a quality product, but sometimes as i say if your on a limited income/budget price rules and the customer will shop around for the cheapest, ive seen it happen

 

i had a chap today stop and ask for discounted logs - he livesin our village, hes never bought off us before, but now wants a cheap load cause he thinks its summer prices - this is what were up against and hes a director of a large plc co.

 

 

its the stove sellers that promote myths in peoples minds who install these stoves about kiln dried wood and hardwood only, to enable the firewood industry to continue i really think we should be promoting softwood and mixed loads which are perfectly acceptable if at the correct moisture content, thus enabling hardwood prices to level out and softwoods can meet some demand and give a good return on a perfectly acceptable commodity for woodland owners and foresters

 

joy.

 

lets hope your not storing birch for the next two years:lol: or you could be coming back to a pile of rot

[Johny Walker]

if you cant make pay, it leave it to thos of us that can

[gensetsteve]

jealousy is a cruel mistress:001_rolleyes:

 

You could be right If he is doing well I wish him all the best and will gladly learn from words of wisdom. But in a few months we have gone from selling stoves to desperately trying to kiln dry logs. Now we are delivering 6cu metres in the morning in MAY making a profit of £300 before lunch time. The cut and split seasoned kiln dried logs are costing less than the market value of unworked cord wood. I can see what Joy and some of the others are saying but some of the posts on this thread just dont add up to me. No offence to anyone intended.

[Stephen Blair]

i sold logs this week.

[Pat Ferrett]

There's no money in firewood! what a silly thing to say

[Dave Martin]

We're currently buying 1.2 cubic metres at £55, cut, split and seasoned.

 

Is that imported?

[gensetsteve]

i sold logs this week.

 

Well done, i didnt and I am not booked up for 3 months:crying:

[gensetsteve]

If you take a piece of green beech and dry it for a few weeks to 17% you may be suprised how high the moisture is in the middle in 6 months time oak takes a long time to dry. which probably explains its reputation for sulking in the fire and turning black.