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2015 firewood prices

Started by timberlinetree, September 06, 2015, 06:54:46 AM

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SwampDonkey

Not up here, fuel oil is more than $5/gallon. Plus over the last 10 years insurance companies have dropped anyone with a tank older than 10 years. A new tank is $600 installed these days for 200 gallon. And you have to show it was installed by someone certified.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

gspren

Quote from: SwampDonkey on September 25, 2015, 08:49:37 AM
Not up here, fuel oil is more than $5/gallon. Plus over the last 10 years insurance companies have dropped anyone with a tank older than 10 years. A new tank is $600 installed these days for 200 gallon. And you have to show it was installed by someone certified.

  WOW! How much was oil last year before it dropped? On road diesel is only $2.39 here and I saw it for 2.19 in Delaware.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

SwampDonkey

This week's regulated max price is....

road diesel is $CDN 1.08/litre x 3.8  US Gallon = $4.10
                                          x 4.54 Imp = $4.90

fuel oil is $CDN $0.94/litre x 3.8 US Gallon = $3.57
                                      X 4.54 Imp = $4.27 

in 2001 stove oil was 0.48/litre = $2.18  when crude was $US 26/barrel
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

4x4American

Quote from: SwampDonkey on September 25, 2015, 08:49:37 AMNot up here, fuel oil is more than $5/gallon. Plus over the last 10 years insurance companies have dropped anyone with a tank older than 10 years. A new tank is $600 installed these days for 200 gallon. And you have to show it was installed by someone certified.



Thats crazy!  I wonder why it's so much, is that low compared to what it was?  Is that in U.S. bills?  And golly you can't even install it yourself?
Boy, back in my day..

SwampDonkey

Here in NB 2000 litres or more yes. But the kicker is that the insurance companies insist on it for homes, which typically use a 900 litre tank. Other provinces I suspect require them by law and these insurance companies make it simple for themselves by requiring all policy holders to do it.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

robson1015


John Mc

Quote from: robson1015 on October 05, 2015, 10:15:58 AM
$ 150 per cord

If that's a full cord, and not a face cord, I don't know how someone can make a go of it at those prices, unless they are valuing their time or equipment at next to nothing.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

beenthere

robson
Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

Add some location to your profile (click your user name and you will see where you can update your profile), then will help interpret your posts.

Are you selling firewood for $150 ?  What species? 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Alan M

We sell oak for $90 per face cord if the buyer picks up, $100 per face if we deliver it. We sell about 26 face cords per year, and can't keep up with the demand. I live in a suburban area where fireplaces are very common.

John Mc

Quote from: John Mc on September 21, 2015, 08:37:04 AM
A friend here doing firewood is selling seasoned hardwoods for $350 a cord, delivered in the local area. He has a good reputation - full measure of good wood, and when he says it's seasoned, it is (unlike some other folks in the area).  He's selling all he can make.

Just found out he sold about 250 full cords this year.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Peter Smallidge

In about 2007 or 2008 we used to sell hardwood firewood in the Ithaca, NY area for $90/face cord (16") delivered and stacked.  A couple years we had dry wood, but later it was seasoned (off the stump and split) but not dry.  It was an upscale market and we provided a gourmet product clean, stacked, and measured to show full volume. That was a break-even price for me.  I could only justify the selling price because I delivered wood to and from work - I didn't account for time or miles for delivery.  Most other dealers in the area at that time only sold large volumes of greater than 3 full cords (about $225 or $250/full as I recall) or sold what I called "ditch wood" (looked like it was pulled up from a roadside ditch) at less than full marketed volume.  We sold out each year.  Until, the Emerald ash borer got close. Our county was inside the quarantine and our market was in the next county. Tough luck as we had just purchased about 20 full cords of logs.

You can sell firewood at a competitive price, at a price the market will accept, or at a price that covers your costs.  My costs were higher than competitors (high volume processors), so I had to sell to a new market that wanted smaller volumes of ambiance wood. It was a nice niche while it lasted.

In NY, the Department of Agric and Markets regulates the sale of firewood.  They stipulate species and the need for measurements in three dimensions.  Also, NYS DEC requires a certificate of source whenever firewood is moved on a public road...even from your woodlot to your your woodshed.

Everyone on this forum knows that using firewood is a "lifestyle" fuel.  You love it or you hate it.  The economic argument for firewood always seemed easy with one of the many online fuel heat comparison calculators.  Here is one
http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparison-calculator.php   With this calculator you can adjust the heat content and the efficiency of the stove or burner.  With firewood at $250/full and fuel oil at $4.50/gallon near Swampdonkey, wood is half the cost as oil on a per BTU basis.  Aside from the convenience of just bumping the thermostat, you could double the cost of firewood and be on par with oil...BTU to BTU.

Around hear, eastern Adirondacks, a tri-axle of hardwood logs is about $650...about $110 to $125 per full cord.  Even if you don't buy the wood, the wood sold has value. Your time has value.  As I calculate costs, I couldn't sell full cords for less than about $225 to $275 without losing money.  I was closer to $300/full and barely making the books balance.
Peter Smallidge
NYS Extension Forester &
Adirondack Woodlot Owner
http://cornellforestconnect.ning.com

John Mc

Good data there, Peter.

I don't buy logs myself, since I take wood from my own land, but a friend down the road buys a triaxle load or two each year. Last I checked a couple of years ago, he was paying $100-$110 per full cord for a load of hardwood logs, delivered. He's buying more-or-less locally, which helps on the price. Since he's cutting with a chainsaw, rather than on a processor, he's able to take some logs which a processor can;t handle efficiently, which may help his price a bit.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Peter Smallidge

Hi John

I don't have the equipment or tine to move large volumes of wood effeciently. I tried it but it didnt pencil out. For smaller scale home use I use an ATV and cart.  I suspect you might gain a cost savings to produce your own logs if you're  appropriately equipped.  However one large scale producer near ithaca ny buys logs. Other producers who are loggers get logs from their jobs.
Peter Smallidge
NYS Extension Forester &
Adirondack Woodlot Owner
http://cornellforestconnect.ning.com

John Mc

Yeah, I'm only taking 3 to 5 cords per year off my own land, and help some others with their firewood or the occasional saw log, using a compact tractor and winch. I've come to the realization that it's a good thing I'm not trying to make a living at this, because I am not at all efficient at it.  It's a good thing I like puttering around in my woods.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

larry1

Anywhere  from 90- 110 per face cord  , mostly maple with some birch and oak. My chum can't keep up with his orders and the heating season hasn't begun yet.

Larry--  Northern ont. 

PaulR

Here in Idaho, I'm selling red elm for $250/cord, split and delivered.  Just started this year and can't keep up with the demand!

xalexjx

I'm charging 210 a cord delivered locally, same price as last year.
Logging and Processed Firewood

John Mc

Quote from: xalexjx on October 19, 2015, 07:21:45 AM
I'm charging 210 a cord delivered locally, same price as last year.

Seasoned or green? How far upstate? (New York city folks tend to then of anything north of Schenectady as "Upstate NY", but that area is a far cry from what you see when you really get upstate.)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

xalexjx

That is green directly off conveyer, and doing a few hundred cords a year, I'm about an hour south of lake placid
Logging and Processed Firewood

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