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thinking about starting a bundled firewood buisness

Started by skinnyest, March 18, 2014, 05:49:17 PM

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skinnyest

Ive been kicken around starting up a small bundled firewood business.Got a pretty good supply of firewood logs,a small but reliable timberwolf splitter,working on getting an elevator together,and an idea for a bucking table that should be pretty easy to put together.Im already doing 20 to 25 cords a year for friends and family and I was doing that with rounds from a tree service.I figure with smaller logs instead of monster rounds (that usually needed recut anyway)I should be able to get more done in less time.( and if the bundleing business don't work out my equipment will be better than what I have now.Ive talked to a handful of stores and there interested in selling for me.I want to start small then add more stores as I upgrade equipment and hopefully someday do it full time.
A question I have is,I have a 10 by 16 insulated wood frame shed( its insulated because I lived in it 10 or so years ago when I hit some hard times) The walls are 6 foot high and it peaks at 8.If I set up a fan or stack of them blowing across the back put a row of wood 14 long 6 or so high a second set of fans blowing the opposite way then a second row of wood the same size then a third set of fans blowing back and ending at a dehumidifier(the fans would move the air in a s shape) would that make a big difference in drying time.All the wood bundles I see around here look nice and clean and they are adveritized as seasoned.When I stack my wood to season outside it turns grey pretty fast and the ends turn black long before its ready to go.Do you think ill have mold problems,or will I have mold problems after I take it out.There is a room attached to the back of my garage (used to be a dog kennel its 8 by 16)The first year I lived there was also my first year heating with wood,I filled that room with fresh split wood from floor to ceiling figuring my wood would allways stay dry and I wouldn't have to bring it in on a cold winter day.Big mistake never seen so much mold.Guess my last question is should I wrap the wood first or after its dry.seems like a little less work to wrap it first but im afraid it might shrink too much and fall apart thanks for any help you can give me

Busy Beaver Lumber

To dry, you need to get air through the wood. Your wood is molding because you are stacking it wet and not allowing enough air to get through the piles of wood. Likewise if you wrap it wet, you will grow some very nice mold cultures, even if the wood is dry on the inside and was just wet on the outside the day your bundled it. Never wrap wet wood. Dry it to less than 20% moisture content.

Putting wet wood in an insulated, basically air tight room would be a complete recipe for disaster. The moisture will have no place to go and mold will flourish.

One time i hauled a load of fairly wet wood in my truck with a fully enclosed cap on it. I had intended to unload it and stack it to air dry as soon as i got home, but something more important came up and I did not get to do it that day. Then I got very busy at work that week an let it slide. About 5 days later, I notice water pouring out of the bed of my truck. The truck cap was acting like a kiln and was pulling the moisture out of the wood in the hot daytime ours. The entire inside of the cap and bed was dripping with water and some of the wood had already started to mold. Lesson learned there for sure.

Changing to a grey like color is normal for air dried wood and is part of the normal aging process. The nice clean bright color bundles you see in service stations have been kiln dried and are fairly new wood. That is why they are not grey in color.
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skinnyest

thanks busybeaver,I figured wrapping first was a bad idea but ive figured wrong before.What do you think of using my shed with fans and a dehumidifier?.For some reason around here the wood turns grey like you said when seasoned outside but the end grain turns real black.Air pollution maybe? or a weird mold?

CRThomas

Quote from: skinnyest on March 18, 2014, 05:49:17 PM
Ive been kicken around starting up a small bundled firewood business.Got a pretty good supply of firewood logs,a small but reliable timberwolf splitter,working on getting an elevator together,and an idea for a bucking table that should be pretty easy to put together.Im already doing 20 to 25 cords a year for friends and family and I was doing that with rounds from a tree service.I figure with smaller logs instead of monster rounds (that usually needed recut anyway)I should be able to get more done in less time.( and if the bundleing business don't work out my equipment will be better than what I have now.Ive talked to a handful of stores and there interested in selling for me.I want to start small then add more stores as I upgrade equipment and hopefully someday do it full time.
A question I have is,I have a 10 by 16 insulated wood frame shed( its insulated because I lived in it 10 or so years ago when I hit some hard times) The walls are 6 foot high and it peaks at 8.If I set up a fan or stack of them blowing across the back put a row of wood 14 long 6 or so high a second set of fans blowing the opposite way then a second row of wood the same size then a third set of fans blowing back and ending at a dehumidifier(the fans would move the air in a s shape) would that make a big difference in drying time.All the wood bundles I see around here look nice and clean and they are adveritized as seasoned.When I stack my wood to season outside it turns grey pretty fast and the ends turn black long before its ready to go.Do you think ill have mold problems,or will I have mold problems after I take it out.There is a room attached to the back of my garage (used to be a dog kennel its 8 by 16)The first year I lived there was also my first year heating with wood,I filled that room with fresh split wood from floor to ceiling figuring my wood would allways stay dry and I wouldn't have to bring it in on a cold winter day.Big mistake never seen so much mold.Guess my last question is should I wrap the wood first or after its dry.seems like a little less work to wrap it first but im afraid it might shrink too much and fall apart thanks for any help you can give me
I do bundle firewood as of now and I take care of a town of 40.000 and it nets me about $60.000.00 to $70.000.00 a year. I am getting into the bag business now now knowledge of income on this yet  I sell my bundles of Ash  from $2.50 wholesale to $10.00 retail You will find you will sell as much bundled firewood in the summer as in the winter. In bundle firewood sale you have to get heat out of your mind its for looks only your customers will let you know real quick what they want in wood My customers want Ash and dry. A young man and his wife I help get started 5 years ago she told me last year they neted over a $100.000.00. They sell in St Louis Mo. He has ask me to help him some times but I can't because I am covered up try bundled you might like it.

CRThomas

Quote from: CRThomas on April 16, 2014, 01:42:30 PM
Quote from: skinnyest on March 18, 2014, 05:49:17 PM
Ive been kicken around starting up a small bundled firewood business.Got a pretty good supply of firewood logs,a small but reliable timberwolf splitter,working on getting an elevator together,and an idea for a bucking table that should be pretty easy to put together.Im already doing 20 to 25 cords a year for friends and family and I was doing that with rounds from a tree service.I figure with smaller logs instead of monster rounds (that usually needed recut anyway)I should be able to get more done in less time.( and if the bundleing business don't work out my equipment will be better than what I have now.Ive talked to a handful of stores and there interested in selling for me.I want to start small then add more stores as I upgrade equipment and hopefully someday do it full time.
A question I have is,I have a 10 by 16 insulated wood frame shed( its insulated because I lived in it 10 or so years ago when I hit some hard times) The walls are 6 foot high and it peaks at 8.If I set up a fan or stack of them blowing across the back put a row of wood 14 long 6 or so high a second set of fans blowing the opposite way then a second row of wood the same size then a third set of fans blowing back and ending at a dehumidifier(the fans would move the air in a s shape) would that make a big difference in drying time.All the wood bundles I see around here look nice and clean and they are adveritized as seasoned.When I stack my wood to season outside it turns grey pretty fast and the ends turn black long before its ready to go.Do you think ill have mold problems,or will I have mold problems after I take it out.There is a room attached to the back of my garage (used to be a dog kennel its 8 by 16)The first year I lived there was also my first year heating with wood,I filled that room with fresh split wood from floor to ceiling figuring my wood would allways stay dry and I wouldn't have to bring it in on a cold winter day.Big mistake never seen so much mold.Guess my last question is should I wrap the wood first or after its dry.seems like a little less work to wrap it first but im afraid it might shrink too much and fall apart thanks for any help you can give me
I do bundle firewood as of now and I take care of a town of 40.000 and it nets me about $60.000.00 to $70.000.00 a year. I am getting into the bag business now now knowledge of income on this yet  I sell my bundles of Ash  from $2.50 wholesale to $10.00 retail You will find you will sell as much bundled firewood in the summer as in the winter. In bundle firewood sale you have to get heat out of your mind its for looks only your customers will let you know real quick what they want in wood My customers want Ash and dry. A young man and his wife I help get started 5 years ago she told me last year they neted over a $100.000.00. They sell in St Louis Mo. He has ask me to help him some times but I can't because I am covered up try bundled you might like it.
The reason I sell Ash it burns clean a bundle is about 10 to 12 lb I put a cord split in my kiln with slow air flow little heat my dehumitfier on low from noon to noon I can bring a green cord down to 8 to 10 percent resplit that stick the in sides will be 14 to 15. I do a cord every day 5 days a week A cord brings me between $750.00 to $1200.00 Net. Go to raisin666@facebook.com for my operation pictures

glassman_48

skinnyest,
I bundle enough firewood to sell for myself only right now.  I started last summer, I bag firewood all summer long.  I put green wood in a pallet with a webbed bag holding it together.  It is supposed to be able to dry that way in 40 days enough to burn in a woodstove.  I let mine dry in pallets for longer than that.  I sell the pallets all summer long to people that dont want to pay 5 bucks a bundle for firewood.  After about 60 days I can use that wood for my firewood bundles.  I also keep a pallet right behind my firewood processor and whenever a dead/dry log comes through I split it and stack it behind on the pallet so I always have some pallets full of dead/dry wood to bundle.   hope this helps,,,,,,,ed

CRThomas

Quote from: Busy Beaver Lumber on March 26, 2014, 07:10:09 PM
To dry, you need to get air through the wood. Your wood is molding because you are stacking it wet and not allowing enough air to get through the piles of wood. Likewise if you wrap it wet, you will grow some very nice mold cultures, even if the wood is dry on the inside and was just wet on the outside the day your bundled it. Never wrap wet wood. Dry it to less than 20% moisture content.

Putting wet wood in an insulated, basically air tight room would be a complete recipe for disaster. The moisture will have no place to go and mold will flourish.

One time i hauled a load of fairly wet wood in my truck with a fully enclosed cap on it. I had intended to unload it and stack it to air dry as soon as i got home, but something more important came up and I did not get to do it that day. Then I got very busy at work that week an let it slide. About 5 days later, I notice water pouring out of the bed of my truck. The truck cap was acting like a kiln and was pulling the moisture out of the wood in the hot daytime ours. The entire inside of the cap and bed was dripping with water and some of the wood had already started to mold. Lesson learned there for sure.

Changing to a grey like color is normal for air dried wood and is part of the normal aging process. The nice clean bright color bundles you see in service stations have been kiln dried and are fairly new wood. That is why they are not grey in color.
I have wrapped it befor it drys and after it makes no differents in the wrapping. I have a 4 foot fan I put between my two stacks that equil a cord in the same kind of build ou say you have a little heat and dehumitfier. 24 hours on free cut Ash My heat is NG it keeps my build at about 60 to 65 degrees that is just the pilot  light below 30 degrees I have to move the control up to one for the 60 to 65 degrees. I am wanting to go with color you have to bye 4 cases of each color that would be $1600.00 dollars. Take me a while to use up that would be 16 rolls thats a lot of money for a test run. I guess it wouldn't be I use 4 to 6 rolls a month. I get 250 bundles per roll and I sell 1000 to 1500 bundles a month year round. My bundles sell for $2.50 to $10.00 dollars a bundle. remember people that buy bundles are picky and don,t mind paying for what thewy want besure and get for heat out of your mind its for looks. or if some body gets a load of wet wood and your Ash is dry they buy it to get there green started We were swamp the first two month this year we when night and day. Bundled firewood is a good business in the right place. I have turned business down because I can't be relyable. I sell a cord a day. They have companys that have contracts with big chain they delivery once a year one pallet I've tested it and it is in the 40 percent. You can stick a gage on my wood any time around 15 percentYou go for it

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