Firewood 50 lb Bagging

[Woodcutteranon]

Hi Everyone...

I have been lucky enough to land a very high-end restaurant that orders 1 cord every three weeks. Honestly this isn't my "ideal" customer but I couldn't pass up this opportunity. Anyhow, I deliver seasoned <20% moisture content maple, oak, ash to them and I stack it in their crib. Easy!

Today the MGR brought up the idea of delivering the cords packaged in 50 lb mesh bags to make easier for them moving the bags of wood inside by the grill... less labor. I told her I would explore this...

I'm small potatoes here guys...I am very professional but I do this more for the enjoyment than the massive piles of $$ we all make selling firewood... so I will entertain the bagging thing only because it looks like another premium up-charge given the expense and I have the time to do it. Does anyone have a good source of a manufacturer of those tilt-stands that I see on YouTube? All of those look like the are from the UK and are for their shorter logs. The bags appear to be relatively easy to find on Uline for about $0.65 per bag.

Can anyone offer insight to this process and point me in the right direction for bagging firewood in 50 pound bags?

Thanks in advance for your replies

WCA

 

[farmer steve]

Hi Everyone...

I have been lucky enough to land a very high-end restaurant that orders 1 cord every three weeks. Honestly this isn't my "ideal" customer but I couldn't pass up this opportunity. Anyhow, I deliver seasoned <20% moisture content maple, oak, ash to them and I stack it in their crib. Easy!

Today the MGR brought up the idea of delivering the cords packaged in 50 lb mesh bags to make easier for them moving the bags of wood inside by the grill... less labor. I told her I would explore this...

I'm small potatoes here guys...I am very professional but I do this more for the enjoyment than the massive piles of $$ we all make selling firewood... so I will entertain the bagging thing only because it looks like another premium up-charge given the expense and I have the time to do it. Does anyone have a good source of a manufacturer of those tilt-stands that I see on YouTube? All of those look like the are from the UK and are for their shorter logs. The bags appear to be relatively easy to find on Uline for about $0.65 per bag.

Can anyone offer insight to this process and point me in the right direction for bagging firewood in 50 pound bags?

Thanks in advance for your replies

WCA

i lug 50 lb. bags of feed and it ain't easy. i can't see some scrawny kid luggin bags of fire wood. large 50 lb. mesh onion sacks wood be my choice but are a pita to fill. good luck with this as i see LOTS of $$$$ to be made.

 

[unclemoustache]

I get mine from Harris Seeds.


They hold about 1 cubic foot. My last order was for 200 bags, $81. That's about 40 cents per bag. Includes shipping cost.

https://www.harrisseeds.com/collect...ons-corn-potatoes-18-x-32?variant=28921293073

I use a thin metal 5-gal bucket with the bottom cut out. I turn it upside down, put the mesh bag over the end until it's all on except for the bottom, and then flip the bucket over. Fill it with wood (not too tight) and lift the bucket out, making sure to bring the mesh up with it. All wood is neatly inside the mesh, but it's not full. I take a few more splits and shove them in the middle, wiggling them hard to get them to the bottom while pushing everything else to the sides. Takes about 2 minutes for everything. I use pretty small splits, though, since this is for campfire wood sold at gas stations and hardware stores.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

How about bundling instead of the bags?

 

[sundance]

I'd figure out a way to makeup a couple 50 # bags and make sure she understands what she's for before I got in too deep. Agree with farmer steve that 50# bags aren't very handy or user friendly. Without seeing her layout, it sounds like something like the old little red wagon might be a better answer.

 

[T. Mainus]

We use those bags for our kindling. Keep them out of the sun. In 6 months of sitting in the sun theres nothing left of them. I agree bundles would be the way to go if your going to entertain their request.

 

[NSMaple1]

If I was working there, lugging 50 pound bags wouldn't seem easier to me. I think she might reassess that idea if presented with a couple 50 pound bags of wood to experiment with. How many people here move their stove wood around like that? Likely would be a few if it was a good idea.

Don't know their layout but sounds some kind of dolly setup or cart on wheels would be a better idea - but maybe their walkways etc. are tight for space.

 

[woodshax]

Bagging and bundling is all we do. I get 2 cuft by volume mesh bags out of Vietnam for about 25 cents a bag.... at 18 inch cuts you can only fit about 1.4 cu ft of wood (oak) and weighs 40 to 45 lbs. Pretty easy to carry. they last longer in the sun than others I have purchased but should be covered. With what we built below 2 guys can do 400 bags in a day. We use a bundler we made as well but we sell (state parks) about 4 times more of the bags than the bundles. We do about 15000 bags a year

 

[reddogrunner]

Dog food and horse feed bags work great for that. We go through about 4 a month on our place, so I just store them in a trash can. This time I year I fill them from a bin of shorts with chunk wood. Easy to move around and if one tears it goes in the burn pile. They last a really long time if you take care of them well. Just a thought. They would probably hold about 10-15 sticks depending on split size.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Dog food and horse feed bags work great for that. We go through about 4 a month on our place, so I just store them in a trash can. This time I year I fill them from a bin of shorts with chunk wood. Easy to move around and if one tears it goes in the burn pile. They last a really long time if you take care of them well. Just a thought. They would probably hold about 10-15 sticks depending on split size.

I've got to ask, how many darn dogs do you have?! I just have a 85lb Black Lab. I buy 2 bags at a time (spendy stuff and cheaper stuff, mix them together). The spendy stuff is 30 or 35lbs, the cheaper stuff 50lbs. The 2 bags last 3-4 months.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Don't know their layout but sounds some kind of dolly setup or cart on wheels would be a better idea - but maybe their walkways etc. are tight for space.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking about that as well. I'd imagine something like a 4 wheeler barrow (like a red wagon) would work, or a 2 cart dolly with uprights on the end that would normally stick under the furniture.

Bundling would be cheaper, figure about 5 cents per bundle in plastic wrap. Granted it's a one time use, but at $0.65/ea for a bag, you'd need to get 13 uses before it became cheaper than the wrap.

 

[lknchoppers]

Maybe suggest they use a wheel barrow, I don't think this Manager Woman is thinking right. That is a lot of bags per cord. Restaurants can be very demanding.

 

[woodshax]

bout 95 per cord the way we do it

 

[NSMaple1]

But on the other hand - if it's really what they want & will make it worth your while, well then full steam ahead.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

They have been pretty reasonable about this. Their last supplier was bagging but the owner passed away. Their most recent supplier was a train wreck giving them pieces too big to put in their grill and wood covered in mud and mushrooms. They asked me to consider this as it helps them with their labor. I will be passing this expense on to them so I am motivated to make this adjustment...plus, IMO this may better position me to bring on more restaurants.

 

[Hinerman]

Maybe suggest they use a wheel barrow, I don't think this Manager Woman is thinking right. That is a lot of bags per cord. Restaurants can be very demanding.

Agreed, they need to use a wheel barrow or a cart of some sort.

 

[reddogrunner]

I've got to ask, how many darn dogs do you have?! I just have a 85lb Black Lab. I buy 2 bags at a time (spendy stuff and cheaper stuff, mix them together). The spendy stuff is 30 or 35lbs, the cheaper stuff 50lbs. The 2 bags last 3-4 months.

I have a few dogs and a few horses. Ahem. A few. I've always got feed bags lying around brother Deer corn, bird feed. I do the bird dog thing, use your imagination

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I have a few dogs and a few horses. Ahem. A few. I've always got feed bags lying around brother Deer corn, bird feed. I do the bird dog thing, use your imagination

A friend had 2 Irish Wolf hounds (big dogs). He always said, "they don't eat that much". Shoot, their food bowl was something Jethro Bodine would have used, probably held 5 gallons!