Seasoned cordwood - lack of planning?

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

When its green they sell by the tonne when its seasoned they sell by the metre and increase the price as well. Your right their not daft

 

Indeed they do...

[Iain H]

It taken me 5 years to build up my stock of round wood to the point where I have now got 400 ton cut in 2012 and the timber I am using this year was cut summer 2011. The money tied up in the timber is the issue. Once you have kept it for a couple of years it is a bit like having money invested. You need to maximise its return. The only way to do that is process into logs or sell for a premium as round wood. I normally sell odd trailer loads to keep cash flow coming in but I would rather keep all of it to be honest. Picture shows the stack of ash from summer 2012. Only just got it out now because it was to wet last year.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

It taken me 5 years to build up my stock of round wood to the point where I have now got 400 ton cut in 2012 and the timber I am using this year was cut summer 2011. The money tied up in the timber is the issue. Once you have kept it for a couple of years it is a bit like having money invested. You need to maximise its return. The only way to do that is process into logs or sell for a premium as round wood. I normally sell odd trailer loads to keep cash flow coming in but I would rather keep all of it to be honest. Picture shows the stack of ash from summer 2012. Only just got it out now because it was to wet last year.

 

Good post thanks

[Rob D]

There's a few threads on this at the moment looking at how seasoned wood can get in the round....

 

 

I have quite a few bits of wood in the yard that have been there off the ground, 12" to 14" diameter for 3 to 4 years. The bark has come off most of them and they are in the open... Had a bit of a tidy the other day and ringed a few up. The end ring was cracked and dryish but the rest still pretty wet a foot into the log ie MC around 30% to 35%.

 

 

Is there such a thing as seasoned cord? i.e. MC 20% on splitting?

 

 

My experience of wood says not...

[Mortimer Firewood]

From what i have found is if wood is left in the round for some time then split the logs seem wet but seem to dry out in no time. Yesterday i split some 12 months old ash that was felled by a harvester that took most of the bark off and it was dry enough to burn 25%mc 8weeks under cover and this will be down to 20%.

Some of the big stems that were hand felled with all the bark on them are still as wet as the day they were felled. Ash Birch and Sycamore all seem to dry in the round if a lot of the bark is stripped and left for 12 months.

[muldonach]

There's a few threads on this at the moment looking at how seasoned wood can get in the round....

 

 

I have quite a few bits of wood in the yard that have been there off the ground, 12" to 14" diameter for 3 to 4 years. The bark has come off most of them and they are in the open... Had a bit of a tidy the other day and ringed a few up. The end ring was cracked and dryish but the rest still pretty wet a foot into the log ie MC around 30% to 35%.

 

 

Is there such a thing as seasoned cord? i.e. MC 20% on splitting?

 

 

My experience of wood says not...

 

The greater the diameter of the cordwood the higher the ratio of volume to surface area. If I have my maths correct a log of 2" dia has a volume:area of 1:1, a log of 10" dia has a volume:area of 5:1 or 5 times as much timber needing to pass moisture out of a unit surface area.

 

The moisture also has up to 5 times further to travel through the cell structure of the timber.

 

It is certainly my experience that thin sticks dry faster than thick ones, hence the success of cutting billets as discussed elsewhere on this forum or the need to process into split logs if you cannot handle billets.

 

The answer to your question is yes you can produce 20% moisture content in cord but it will likely take a while!

 

Cheers

mac

[Big J]

I take my hat off to any of you that can make money out of selling firewood on a dedicated commercial basis (by which I mean buying in loads, rather than processing arb waste that is not only free but you often charge the customer for disposal of)>

 

I've repeatedly done the sums on buying in loads to potter away processing in quieter times at the yard, but it's just not worth bothering with unless you are shifting 3-500 cubic metres a year, and I can't see how anyone can run a business selling just firewood processing less than 1000 cubic metres. That's only £70-80k gross revenue, minus £20-22k for cordwood, minus a few grand for fuel, minus cost of buying a processor, tractor, saws, renting a yard, buying a tipping truck or trailer.

 

How do you do it!?!?

[Mortimer Firewood]

I take my hat off to any of you that can make money out of selling firewood on a dedicated commercial basis (by which I mean buying in loads, rather than processing arb waste that is not only free but you often charge the customer for disposal of)>

 

I've repeatedly done the sums on buying in loads to potter away processing in quieter times at the yard, but it's just not worth bothering with unless you are shifting 3-500 cubic metres a year, and I can't see how anyone can run a business selling just firewood processing less than 1000 cubic metres. That's only £70-80k gross revenue, minus £20-22k for cordwood, minus a few grand for fuel, minus cost of buying a processor, tractor, saws, renting a yard, buying a tipping truck or trailer.

 

How do you do it!?!?

 

We pay 1250 per load of 26t all hardwood 80%ash get between 46 48 cube sold at £100 a cube which is £4600 we will do around 8 artics loads could sell a lot more but i will not pay silly money for cord.

[mendiplogs]

It taken me 5 years to build up my stock of round wood to the point where I have now got 400 ton cut in 2012 and the timber I am using this year was cut summer 2011. The money tied up in the timber is the issue. Once you have kept it for a couple of years it is a bit like having money invested. You need to maximise its return. The only way to do that is process into logs or sell for a premium as round wood. I normally sell odd trailer loads to keep cash flow coming in but I would rather keep all of it to be honest. Picture shows the stack of ash from summer 2012. Only just got it out now because it was to wet last year.

 

HI Iain nice one mate the thing is near us people nick hard wood so it a night mere job last year 75 tons went on the mendips :thumbdown:not thanks jon

[Rob D]

I take my hat off to any of you that can make money out of selling firewood on a dedicated commercial basis (by which I mean buying in loads, rather than processing arb waste that is not only free but you often charge the customer for disposal of)>

 

I've repeatedly done the sums on buying in loads to potter away processing in quieter times at the yard, but it's just not worth bothering with unless you are shifting 3-500 cubic metres a year, and I can't see how anyone can run a business selling just firewood processing less than 1000 cubic metres. That's only £70-80k gross revenue, minus £20-22k for cordwood, minus a few grand for fuel, minus cost of buying a processor, tractor, saws, renting a yard, buying a tipping truck or trailer.

 

How do you do it!?!?

 

 

 

 

I think that is why there a lot of threads now going on 'seasoned cord' - you can make the figures work if you process straight from cord into a truck and out to customer....

 

 

Ash and beech etc may be drier after being left in the round a couple of years but not firewood dry IMO.....