Shorted on log length loads whats acceptable

[pmfiore]

The past couple of log length loads have been short.Is it ok to call the suppliers and tell them that i was shorted? Should the supplier make good on the shorted load?How accurate should the supplier be?How short is acceptable?(if at all)Whats the best way to handel this?

 

[myzamboni]

I'm assuming you were not home when the load was delivered? Otherwise, you would know if the load was short.

Maybe your thinking the truck delivering is bigger than what they deliver with?


Just throwing out thoughts here.

 

[pmfiore]

well acutually they tell me how much they are bringing and buy the time i cut and split i come up being short from what they tell me that i allready payed for

 

[Richard_]

I had the same problem , it was supposed to be 3.5-4 cords , and it came out to a little over 2 cords , called him and he sent me money for the difference , can't hurt to try , unless you are getting it a ridiculously low price

 

[pmfiore]

they say that they are bringing 8 cords get it cut split it comes out to be 5 3/4 or 6 or 6 1/2. look its eveident that i am an idiot but what is the best way to figure out how much you got when your getting fifty logs in 30 minutes do you measure every log or what

 

[Richard_]

if that's what it takes , he's not leaving till he gets your money , unless they require it up front

 

[KsWoodsMan]

they say that they are bringing 8 cords get it cut split it comes out to be 5 3/4 or 6 or 6 1/2. look its eveident that i am an idiot but what is the best way to figure out how much you got when your getting fifty logs in 30 minutes do you measure every log or what

Unless the logs you are getting are perfectly straight, chances are the load starts out as described, 8 cords. A cord of logs is usually less than a cord of firewood. Really straight logs stacked in like tooth picks will come out to more once it is processed to firewood. That doesnt happen often.

I have been hauling 8 ft 'fence posts' almost a cord at a time on weekends. The same wood if cut for firewood would only be about 3/4 of that or less. If they were straighter and more uniform, I could get more posts in the same space.

 

[volks-man]

Unless the logs you are getting are perfectly straight, chances are the load starts out as described, 8 cords. A cord of logs is usually less than a cord of firewood. Really straight logs stacked in like tooth picks will come out to more once it is processed to firewood. That doesnt happen often.

I have been hauling 8 ft 'fence posts' almost a cord at a time on weekends. The same wood if cut for firewood would only be about 3/4 of that or less. If they were straighter and more uniform, I could get more posts in the same space.

:agree2:

 

[pmfiore]

so what you are saying is that if i order 8 cords of logs i should only expect 6 is that correct?

 

[Suz]

they say that they are bringing 8 cords get it cut split it comes out to be 5 3/4 or 6 or 6 1/2. look its eveident that i am an idiot but what is the best way to figure out how much you got when your getting fifty logs in 30 minutes do you measure every log or what

When I used to buy a pulp length load of wood, I'd always measure the load before he unloaded it. It is pretty easy to measure because the logs are 8 foot long, then you measure the length of the truck bed, and the "pup" if he is using one then the height of the load.
You will always end up with fewer cords of cut and split firewood than pulp cords because you can stack firewood a lot tighter than what can be done with 101 inch pulp cord wood. There are always larger air spaces between the logs especially if there are some big logs on the load.

Plus if your wood supplier loads the logs in his favor he can load a lot more on th truck than what you think you are getting. Years ago they would even cut "plugs" to fill in the holes of the load. Buyer beware until you find a reputable dealer.
Jim

 

[Mike Van]

Call the guy, let them know what you end up with. They might make it up to you, but you won't know until you call.

 

[biggenius29]

I talked to a guy that sells 8' logs by the truck load. He says each load is aproxamitly 10 cords. He messures his loads by weight. You could get more than 10 cords if it is softer wood, or you could get less than 10 cords if it is harder wood.

 

[George G]

I would say, If you are ordering 8 cord and only getting 5-6.5. I would say that is totality unacceptable.

http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/weights/tips.htm

 

[hutch3912]

When I buy tree length by the 8 cord truck load(a triaxle load) the actual volume on the truck is 8 cord but when I'm all said and done cutting and splitting it only ends up to be around 7. Its nothing the trucker can do, by volume he is selling 8 cords, and if he mounded the top he would be way over weight in this state and risk getting a fine. If you want to avoid this you might ask for 8' next time because they can put quite a bit more on the truck if its not exactly straight. Some truckers won't do that for you because they end up with waste in the yard but some will.

 

[cjcocn]

It has been suggested that you give the supplier a call and I agree. Even if the response is that the load starts out at 8 cords and that's just the way it is, then at least you know and you can then decide if that is acceptable to you.

Having never purchased firewood in any form, I cannot offer advice on what the norm is, but KSWoodsMan makes a good point in that chances are the load does start out as 8 cords (I am giving the supplier the benefit of the doubt and assuming that the overall measurements add up when the load is on the truck).

A cord of wood is 128 cu ft of stacked wood. However, if it comes in 8' or 16' lengths, then you will have more air as any bends in the logs will cause the stack to be looser. Once you process the wood into stove lengths, it stacks tighter, but that form of measurement may not be accepted by your supplier because he didn't sell you wood in stove length - he sold you wood in log length.

The rounds here are a lot smaller then many of you are used to as we have smaller wood up here. If I sell a cord of 16" rounds and the buyer splits and re-stacks it, it will measure up to more than a cord. Can I go back and get some of that wood back? No, because I sold him a cord of 16" rounds.

The solution to your problem depends on you and your supplier (different folks will have different ways of addressing the matter). Maybe you can ask for a slight reduction in price, maybe just the phone call will prompt the supplier to try and load straighter logs for you, or maybe what you'll hear is "that's just the way it is."

Personally, 5.5 - 6 processed cords from an 8 cord log length load would not sit well with me, but if that is the norm then I would have to live with it or haul my own firewood (which I do anyway).

.... reading back over my post, I am not sure how much this helped. I do hope that you get a satisfactory (to you) response from your supplier and that you will post it up here.

 

[habanero]

I've never bought or sold firewood either, so I also don't know what "normal" is. But if it were me, I guess I'd look at it this way. It's going to be hard for the seller to accurately calculate how many cords of split/stacked wood is going to be on a load-and every load is going to be different because of different tree sizes/shapes/etc. If I was routinely getting about the same amount of split wood out of the loads, then I would negotiate the price of the logs based on that amount regardless of what the seller says is on the load. If I could pay a certain amount for "8 cords" (knowing it's really 6 cords processed) and feel comfortable with that price, then that'd be good enough for me. If on the other hand I felt I was paying too much for the 6 cords of processed wood, I'd move on to another supplier.

 

[husky455rancher]

i would definatly cal.l 5.5-6 cord when its supposed to be 8 aint right in my book.

 

[Zodiac45]

As Kansas said you'll never get 8 cords out of tree length after it's cut and split. 2 cords is a bit much though. Usually it's maybe one and we always tried too compensate.
Tell the people you buy from too put on more than the 8 cords measure on the truck because you've been shorted 2 cords per load on at least 2 loads?
We stopped selling by the cord tree length (the only way we sell firewood) for this reason. It's just not possible too have all straight logs so we now sell the wood by the pound. It's comparable too about $110 per cord right now.

 

[FIRESMOKE]

Do some homework, find out if he is selling it as a loaded cord of logs or a finished cord of firewood. If he is selling it as a loaded cord of logs he has done nothing wrong. Have a buddy call and find out for you and if he is cheating you call him out. Shop around and see how others are selling it also.

 

[Ohiowoodguy]

The only fair way is by weight, thats the way mills around here buy blocking (low quality timber-sized logs for pallet-making).