Outdoor Wood Furnace Info

All-Purpose OWF Discussions => Fire Wood => Topic started by: martyinmi on December 04, 2011, 02:06:34 PM

Title: Bundled slab wood
Post by: martyinmi on December 04, 2011, 02:06:34 PM
A local saw mill not far from me offers bundled slab wood for $12/ bundle. They say that there is usually just over 1 full cord in a bundle. One of my friends weighed a bundle and it weighed just over 4500 lbs. Does anyone burn it regularly, and if so, are you happy with it? I'm doing the math, and if I go through 7 cords/year times $12/cord(bundle), that's really cheap heat. I certainly can't justify going out to the woods if I can pay $84 and the only work involved is cutting and stacking. For $100 more, one of my friends will haul all 7 bundles to my house with his boss' semi. With chainsaw gas and oil factored in, and maybe another $50 for miscellaneous, that's about $250/year.

   What do ya'll think? Should I put my TSC splitter up for sale?

   Marty
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: Ridgekid on December 04, 2011, 02:40:37 PM
Used to burn slab wood with my indoor furnace. It burned too quickly. Went back to logs.

Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: BoilerHouse on December 04, 2011, 02:47:39 PM
Try a cord and see how it goes.  If it works out you will be waaaay ahead- money and time!
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: Bull on December 04, 2011, 03:42:56 PM
A local sawmill here has a simelar deal, I am going to give it a try
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: martyinmi on December 04, 2011, 06:05:21 PM
I'm picking up a bundle tomorrow. At 4500 lbs., there should be real close to a cord. It should be much easier for my fully animated, father motivated wood stacker to stack. Another 8 years he'll probably be gone, so I'd best get all the work out of him that I can while I can.
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: RSI on December 04, 2011, 06:44:50 PM
Are they debarked? If not you will get a lot more ash and less heat than regular wood. Depending on how dry they are, they may be about a cord. Green wood is about 6000 Lbs per cord.

At that price I would get a couple years worth. The nearest place I know of selling slabs around here was asking $80 per bundle.
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: martyinmi on December 04, 2011, 07:01:22 PM
Are they debarked? If not you will get a lot more ash and less heat than regular wood. Depending on how dry they are, they may be about a cord. Green wood is about 6000 Lbs per cord.

At that price I would get a couple years worth. The nearest place I know of selling slabs around here was asking $80 per bundle.
It is debarked. The moisture varies between 12% and 35%. I'll cut some up tomorrow and give it i try. If it works out. I think I'll get a big load brought in.
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: TLuckoski on December 04, 2011, 07:56:07 PM
Bought 3 of these bundles (ash) this summer $15 a bundle. Seem to burn fine alittle fast but for $15 who cares.
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: martyinmi on December 06, 2011, 05:10:37 PM
I brought home a bundle of slab wood today. After cutting and stacking, I ended up with a stack that is 5'6" high, 8' long, and right around 2' wide. You can really pack that stuff while stacking because its flat with very few strings. I must have got either a drier or a smaller bundle because it only weighed 2800 lbs. My friends last bundle weighed 4500 lbs. Mine was much older looking than his. The moisture content varies from as low as 11% up to 31% on some of the thicker pieces, with the average close to 23 %. I'm going to get another bundle on Friday. This stuff sure beats going to the woods and plowing through the snow!
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: RSI on December 06, 2011, 05:25:57 PM
A cord of wood with no spaces is only about 80 cubic feet. a normal 4x4x8 cord is 128 cubic feet.
(There is close to 50 cubic feet of air space in the average cord)
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: martyinmi on December 09, 2011, 01:40:27 PM
I brought home another bundle today. This one only weighed 2300 lbs. Much thicker pieces. The moisture is slightly wetter than the first bundle. They got rid of a boat load of it between Tuesday and today. It looks like around 20 semi train loads have disappeared since Tuesday. The kid who loaded me said that landscape company's buy slab wood to chip and they somehow stain it(color it), and that's why the pile is so depleted. I think I'm going to get a bundle or two every week for as long as I can. I've already got enough wood stockpiled for this season, next season, and the one after that, and now my beautiful bride is calling me insane and a hoarder. Guess I've been called worse than that.
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: Bull on December 09, 2011, 06:01:38 PM
I agree with cooch
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: mikenc on December 09, 2011, 06:24:56 PM
me to
Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: beeman on December 10, 2011, 06:17:09 PM
i go to the local saw mill the junk stuf they cut off is free full trailer will last almost a week puled some dead trees from the wood left them in the field this will be wood for when the weather gets bad like last year snowed in for 3 days

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Title: Re: Bundled slab wood
Post by: Calopolus on March 01, 2012, 11:23:21 AM
Old thread I know......

Just called the sawmill in Kirkland, IL (Kirkland Sawmill) Sells 1 ton of chunk wood for $50. Will be going to get some either 3/10/12 or 3/17/12. Will take a few pics and let everyone know.

PS Guy on the phone was nice enough, took him a minute to realize why I was calling. Kept telling me he makes mulch from the scrap. Then said "Oh, you got one of those great big ones? Ok, $50 a ton, stop in anytime" Just thought that was funny.