Buying wood

[Acoma]

I spoke with a wood supplier in Reno. $395 fuel included for 1 cord of (proven) seasoned Oak. He has several varieties, Walnut, a fruit tree variety, etc. I decided on the Oak. They will deliver next week.. I need to chop it into smaller pieces. They are way cool. They have tons of small pieces, scrap that they said I can load anytime for free. Any type...what a killer situation. I figure I can load my SUV once and a while for start up fuel, then the logs for fire management. I was so stoked on this site.

[gjbingham]

Re: Buying wood

Ouch! Still a lot of money. Fruit wood would be nice too. Time to get a chain saw and a cutting permit.

[TDVT]

Re: Buying wood

WOW, that IS alot! We pay around $165 a cord for "seasoned" hardwood around here. Be aware that the definition of "seasoned" can really vary from area to area. Here in Vermont "seasoned" typically does NOT mean dry, more like half-dry (but burnable).

I know that the small WF bakeries around here use all the slab & cull (basically waste) from local saw mills (usually softwood; hemlock, cedar, etc.) for their fuel, which is very inexpensive.

The historic Quebec ovens (very close to here) were supposedly fired with cedar for a fast, hot fire. I'm sure the fact we have alot of cedar around here figured in as well.

I'd think about the starting your fires with softwood to extend your supply of oak since it's not an issue in an oven.

We heat our house exclusively with wood, mostly maple up this far, as you might expect, but there is more oak in the mix in southern Vermont. We burn exclusively hardwood in the wood stove as the quick creosote build-up from softwood is a problem.

Oak is my favorite for my WF BBQ cooker, where the food is directly exposed to smoke making softwood not an option.

Time to throw another log on the fire!

[CanuckJim]

Re: Buying wood

TD,

My reading about historical ovens in Quebec substantiates what you say about them using cedar for bright, hot, fast fires. Here in Ontario, white cedar is abundant also. I get mine in the form of slab wood from a bandsaw miller; free for the loading. It's perfect for getting the fire started brightly, then I load on mostly maple, but also yellow ash, beech and, sometimes, birch. Oak, unfortunately, is not very common here, though it is futher east and north. I usually try to stick to limb wood; it's less work than splitting logs. It's not that hard to get in the country. A friend of mine is an aborist, and that definitely helps. Having said that, though, split wood definitely catches better and burns brighter without a very hot fire below it.

Jim

[Acoma]

Re: Buying wood

I was thinking about the BTU and ability to burn long as a dense wood. I gathered my info from JW Norris per the link below. If I should go with a different wood that you guys feel is acceptable, let me know. I will likely go with a half cord to start. Feedback appreciated.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f2/a...wood-2543.html

[CanuckJim]

Re: Buying wood

Acoma,

Oak will be absolutely fine. I'd burn more if I could get it easily. You'll need something for kindling and a kind of mid-fire to get oak really going, but the BTU count is excellent.

Jim

[Acoma]

Re: Buying wood

Jim, the place has TONS of walnut, and fruit species too. He has great scrap pieces that I can fill up and use as kindling. I figure I will get tons of scrap for start up and kinding. His fruit type is close in BTU and is $50 less per cord. With density, I thought the Oak was best, you agree?

[Les]

Re: Buying wood

Robert, I think you are getting ripped off at $395.00. I did a quick look in the Sac Bee and it's being sold for $260.00. I'm sure if you searched around Auburn or Grass Valley you could find if for a lot less.

Les...

[Acoma]

Re: Buying wood

I don't have the vehicle to tow it up? My curiosity is getting it here?

[Les]

Re: Buying wood

Dude - you live in Northern Nevada. I thought it was a prerequisite to own a 4x4 truck.

Les...

[gjbingham]

Re: Buying wood

Someone you know has a trailer that is suitable for hauling wood. Ask around. $400 is on the high end around here, but in Portland, $350 for a chord of oak is not unusual.

If I remeber correctly, which I may not, depending on the type of oak, fruit wood may burn hotter. Just remember, oak and other really hot burning woods are harder to get started too. Do a search of the forums for firewood. I and others posted links to BTUs produced by various firewoods.

The issue regarding soft woods v. hardwoods has been debunked. It all depends on how seasoned the wood is is. Often, hardwoods produce more creosote than softwoods, simply because they take longer to season and people figure a year is good enough. That's not always the case.

[Acoma]

Re: Buying wood

SUV, no truck. I don't have a boat, 5th wheel, etc.....I will check around there too....we will see. Idea, pick it up for me

[RTflorida]

Re: Buying wood

Robert, nice comeback.....I guess the question is - Les, what are you doing on Saturday?

RT

[gjbingham]

Re: Buying wood

There you go! Les, get out that Smart Car and start haulin' wood!

Everyone around here has a truck, or know someone who does. You only need it for a couple of hours. Now, and more importantly, find someone with a truck and a trailer.

BTW, I got a chord of unseasoned oak for $165 recently, which I consider to be a very good price. Oak is really hard to comeby in the NW.

[jwnorris]

Re: Buying wood

As bad as the price sounds, it may not be too bad. I only looked at a single known source here in Orange County and this is what I found for 16" pieces:

Hickory @ $941.68
Mesquite @ $550.02
Walnut @ $434.74

Keep those home fires burning.

J W