Designer Logs

[ash1]

Even if the wood were to come in free the costs are in the machinery needed to process it, the tractor needed to run the processor ( I have just paid £1265 to have mine serviced ), the storage vessels, the machinery needed to lift the storage vessels, the land to store it on, the truck to deliver it in, the barn to store it in etc etc..... GET AWAY FROM THIS MIND CONCEPT THAT WOOD SHOULD BE FREE.... to do it properly is expensive and hard work.

 

 

 

Nowhere did I indicate it should be FREE I merely queried whether £120 was sustainable. Read the post.

 

Keith

[andy26]

a staggering £120... (for a cube of firewood)

but for someone like myself who heats the whole house and domestic hot water with wood, that would cost in the region of not far short of £3000!!.

Keith

3000/120=25.

 

25 Cubes of seasoned harwood?

 

Taking a typical energy content of 1700kwh/cube

 

Thats: 42,500kwh

 

Using current price;

 

Domestic gas at approx. £0.04/kwh= £1700

 

Or if not on the mains gas network:

 

Heating Oil @ £0.056/kwh=£2380

 

If you order 25 cubes of firewood I'm sure a supplier would be a lot more competitive than £120.

 

If you could get it for £68/cube its the same pro rata as Gas (minus the inconvenience plus the beauty of a wood stove).

 

If you could get it for £95/cube its the same pro rata as Oil.

 

However you heat your home, its either very big or very inefficient.

[Dave Martin]

Nowhere did I indicate it should be FREE I merely queried whether £120 was sustainable. Read the post.

 

Keith

 

I did read the post and you will note I said `even` if the wood was free. A stove company close to me is selling at £160 a cube. I was merely making the point that you referred to your wood as being free and the cost of the wood is only a small part of the total costs involved in retailing the product.

[andy26]

Nowhere did I indicate it should be FREE I merely queried whether £120 was sustainable. Read the post.

 

Keith

 

I know where your coming from.

 

The best cure for high prices... is high prices...

 

If £120 is not sustainable (which it isn't IMO at current energy prices) then it won't last.

 

Some of the increase is due to the time lag in the supply stream.

 

The rising price for firewood has not gone unnoticed, woodland owners, forestry contractors, timber merchants and firewood suppliers are all doing their bit to respond to the market signals.

 

It just takes time.

[Frankie Lawrence]

 

The rising price for firewood has not gone unnoticed, woodland owners, forestry contractors, timber merchants and firewood suppliers are all doing their bit to respond to the market signals.

 

 

There all doing there bit to make a bit more monney in what is hard and uncertain times. The price is to low as it is for the ammount of work and effort that goes into a bag of logs.

 

personally I think everyone shoudl stand together to up there prices but itll never happen as someone will allways undercut

[Rob D]

Hi Rob

It will continue as long as he is in business as he is a friend and we work on a quid pro quo basis and have done for 25 years. I also have land which I will be planting with ash etc, shortly, for future coppicing.

 

There are guys on here selling seasoned hard wood in builder’s bags (not quite a cube) for £25 now!! Also on eBay £35 for Oak!!

 

Which brings me to another point about the size of builders bags, which a great deal of firewood suppliers use I’m yet to see one that actually is a cu metre most are.8 of a metre or even.6

I’m not saying they don’t exist I’ve just never come across them.

 

To remain sustainable the price has to be comparable or cheaper than oil or gas which at £120 for a cube of hardwood is not.

 

Keith

 

 

As I said you have a good system there and maybe because you have that in place it's harder to see why people will pay £120-00 a cube.

 

I'm not sure it does have to be cheaper than oil or gas. People who are putting stoves in don't seem to be doing any calculations as to costs etc. Once they've spent £3,000 installing a stove they're going to use it!

 

Builders bag sizes have been discussed in many other threads and most have moved onto the fully vented, reusable cubic meter bags. I've been using them for 2 years as have many others treet| Treet Firewood and they are widely available.

 

My firewood prices this year will be £85-00 mixed soft and hard, £100-00 mixed hard only and £120-00 oak only. So there's some options for people there and 65% of the logs I sell are the mixed hard and softwood.

 

I know you think £120 a cube is not sustainable but you'd see perhaps differently in the middle of a cold Feb when there is no dry wood to be had for love nor money!

[farmer_ben]

Keith,

 

Keep your man happy, as free wood around my way doesnt exist anymore!!

 

Since i started producing firewood (3 years ago) I'd say most of my imputs have risen between 25% and 50% in 3 years. Red diesel was around 40p but now 67p. Derv £1.00 now £1.40, cord wood £30t now £40t etc etc etc but yet my prices have gone up roughly 10%, I wish I could charge more for a cube, just dont have the guts too!! What im saying is I think the prices you quoted will stay there and hopefully they will, because we (as an industry) need to be charging that sort of money so we are actually making a sensible return from work we all undoubtably enjoy

[farmer_ben]

As I said you have a good system there and maybe because you have that in place it's harder to see why people will pay £120-00 a cube.

 

I'm not sure it does have to be cheaper than oil or gas. People who are putting stoves in don't seem to be doing any calculations as to costs etc. Once they've spent £3,000 installing a stove they're going to use it!

 

Builders bag sizes have been discussed in many other threads and most have moved onto the fully vented, reusable cubic meter bags. I've been using them for 2 years as have many others treet| Treet Firewood and they are widely available.

 

My firewood prices this year will be £85-00 mixed soft and hard, £100-00 mixed hard only and £120-00 oak only. So there's some options for people there and 65% of the logs I sell are the mixed hard and softwood.

 

I know you think £120 a cube is not sustainable but you'd see perhaps differently in the middle of a cold Feb when there is no dry wood to be had for love nor money!

 

Could't agree more my man!

[windfall]

Keith, How much does it cost you to make a m3 of firewood from your free wood?

[ash1]

Keith, How much does it cost you to make a m3 of firewood from your free wood?

 

Windfall

 

Well there’s fuel for the chain saw, fuel for the splitter and about 2 hours time to process 4 cubes.

I think I know where this is going so to pre-empt any conclusions on your part the chainsaw is used on my smallholding and the splitter was taken in exchange for money owed some years back which as I sure you can imagine was also used to process free logs which I sold on.

As an axiom I love doing it.

 

Keith