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firewood Revenue
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That’s insane. Must have sold some to a mobster for them to know his whereabouts.
Knowing that there’s not a lot of profit in firewood, they must be using it as a front for other businesses.
Well that’s a different story. But sounds like he was delivering in bulk to the wrong guy?
Premium- from log to splits- best to use a kiln to dry- get certified- then you can sell certified wood ( no bugs due to high heat+ time in kiln ) anywhere in state as well as any type of campground, or wholesale it. For them and city folk the 1-2.5 cubic foot bag or wrapped bundles are the cats meow- stuff like Silver Maple and other item in that btu range as well as some of the conifers are perfect for that purpose - Hickory and fruit woods in very small bundels for smoking grills, then the good hardwoods for the heating folks as that will mostly be a 1/3 of cord size- due to local restrictions on storage. I do not sell firewood except for an occasional customer- I am out in the farmlands for my home so it really doesn't happen out there except perhaps for the owb people most of whom do their own. I just do not need the hassle of bickering price wise and delivery ( which fuel wise can eat you alive) As your base business generates the inventory all ready for you it is a minor expansion and can cut or at least mitigate disposal costs. As mentioned a processor is the way to go on the front end into kiln then into storage ( which again you already have) Couple of the services here sell a bit of fire wood but they do a very good business in chips/shredded wood for landscapers. The last option is the pellet/ compressed brick wood products, one company here does well in the pellet/ bedding area . bedding material - no oak or black walnut in that If I remember correctly- toxicity issues. Just some thoughts , as the saying goes to make a million in fire wood start with 2 million.
I make most of my money off firewood by buring it in my stove.
On a serious note, there are a lot more firewood producers around you than you might know. There are several firewood sellers in and around Asheville with big processors and selling Tractor trailer loads of wood.
Here is the one big problems I think you might be overlooking. That is big wood. Tree service wood always has a lot of big wood that just wont fit thru a normal processor. Also, smaller limb wood doesnt work well in processors as its usually crooked and wont feed well. What this means is there is a lot more labor involved processing this type of wood. Most of the firewood producers that buy their wood by log truck loads direct from loggers. The loggers know old joe producer cant handle those big old logs and only brings in the smaller stuff to sell for firewood. Old Joe doesnt want those little limbs either. This means to you that you will need a normal type wood splitter and someone to buck the wood into splittable sizes. I have split 40+in dia wood with my splitter and I can tell you a round that size will produce a lot of firewood. I can also tell you I can split a equal amount of wood, and its a whole lot easier to handle, if I stick to smaller wood that doesnt have to be resplit several times. finding someone to saw and split wood in the $8-$10 wage range, might be a problem. At least finding some one you could depend on and willing to work that hard and that cheap might be hard to find and keep.
I personally wouldnt worry about trying to store all that wood inside. Process it outside and pile it up. Once the wood is seasoned, then you can move it inside. A skid steer or tractor with FELworks well for moving large piles of wood. I let mine hit the ground and then use the tractor to pile it up. When I get to big a pile to work around, I then just scoop it up and carry it inside the shed and stack from the bucket.
The market around your area for firewood is fantastic. Grovepark inn likes to buy 4ft lenghts and will pay a premium for the wood. Seveal other places do similar. That is the market I would try to capture. The old guy over in Enka/Candler (old WNC pallet company) runs two processors. One is specialy built, by biltright, to split 4ft lengths. He has a set of scales he weighs truck trailer loads in and a knuckle boom to unload the trucks and sort the wood. Of course the really good wood goes thru that 4ft splitter. He also has a kiln, he has to because he ships truck loads out of state. He tried to sell me his business a few years ago as he was in his late 70's then and wanting to quit. I dont know if he is even alive now. I suspect his gandaugther and her husband might be running the business now as they both worked for him back then. I do know he sold wood year round and he even had a cover to work under when it was raining. There are a few more folks around that also run processors and produce lots of wood, most try to sell local to the average firewood burner. Some even do specialized splitting for those folks that use OWB and like their wood long. Most of those guys own homemade splitters built to handle longer wood than the standard 24in lenghts most factory splitter handle. I havent worked around that area in a couple of years, but when I was there, I would see all kinds of firewood operations setup on every back road and I talked to a lot of those people. I know then, and know of no reason for it to have changed, firewood is big business in your area.
On a serious note, there are a lot more firewood producers around you than you might know. There are several firewood sellers in and around Asheville with big processors and selling Tractor trailer loads of wood.
Here is the one big problems I think you might be overlooking. That is big wood. Tree service wood always has a lot of big wood that just wont fit thru a normal processor. Also, smaller limb wood doesnt work well in processors as its usually crooked and wont feed well. What this means is there is a lot more labor involved processing this type of wood. Most of the firewood producers that buy their wood by log truck loads direct from loggers. The loggers know old joe producer cant handle those big old logs and only brings in the smaller stuff to sell for firewood. Old Joe doesnt want those little limbs either. This means to you that you will need a normal type wood splitter and someone to buck the wood into splittable sizes. I have split 40+in dia wood with my splitter and I can tell you a round that size will produce a lot of firewood. I can also tell you I can split a equal amount of wood, and its a whole lot easier to handle, if I stick to smaller wood that doesnt have to be resplit several times. finding someone to saw and split wood in the $8-$10 wage range, might be a problem. At least finding some one you could depend on and willing to work that hard and that cheap might be hard to find and keep.
I personally wouldnt worry about trying to store all that wood inside. Process it outside and pile it up. Once the wood is seasoned, then you can move it inside. A skid steer or tractor with FELworks well for moving large piles of wood. I let mine hit the ground and then use the tractor to pile it up. When I get to big a pile to work around, I then just scoop it up and carry it inside the shed and stack from the bucket.
The market around your area for firewood is fantastic. Grovepark inn likes to buy 4ft lenghts and will pay a premium for the wood. Seveal other places do similar. That is the market I would try to capture. The old guy over in Enka/Candler (old WNC pallet company) runs two processors. One is specialy built, by biltright, to split 4ft lengths. He has a set of scales he weighs truck trailer loads in and a knuckle boom to unload the trucks and sort the wood. Of course the really good wood goes thru that 4ft splitter. He also has a kiln, he has to because he ships truck loads out of state. He tried to sell me his business a few years ago as he was in his late 70's then and wanting to quit. I dont know if he is even alive now. I suspect his gandaugther and her husband might be running the business now as they both worked for him back then. I do know he sold wood year round and he even had a cover to work under when it was raining. There are a few more folks around that also run processors and produce lots of wood, most try to sell local to the average firewood burner. Some even do specialized splitting for those folks that use OWB and like their wood long. Most of those guys own homemade splitters built to handle longer wood than the standard 24in lenghts most factory splitter handle. I havent worked around that area in a couple of years, but when I was there, I would see all kinds of firewood operations setup on every back road and I talked to a lot of those people. I know then, and know of no reason for it to have changed, firewood is big business in your area.
As Mudd said, processors like a standard size log. If you are going to add big wood, I'd look at something like the Tempest. I think they were bought out by Wood-Mizer. They use a box wedge that drops 4-6 pieces a pass and the splitter cuts in both directions.
jonnyjedinight
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Yes. Well ventilated though
jonnyjedinight
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Wow thanks man!
There are a lot of variables in that question. Firewood like anything comes with it own set of pitfalls. Good thing is if stored properly, wood has a long shelf life. Wood stacked and stored properly takes up a lot of room. There are a lot of ways to approach it and it depends on many factors. One thing I know is, you can't sell what you don't have. Since you have an unlimited supply of wood, equipment and labor and liability cost will be your biggest issues. Along with seasoning time storage. Making wood deliveries comes with it's own set of problems. The cheapest way is to start small with basic equipment and feel out the market and see how it goes.
