IBC Totes -- Firewood system upgrade!

[cantoo]

Bases are either brick hardwood skids or 2x4's built the same size. 48" long x 48" tall and 32" deep. I use these for my OWB splits. This is all my tractor will lift when wet, dry is no problem. I also use them for 48" long branches ( up to 7" dia) as they are lighter than body wood. I use roof underlayment for the tops and about 6" down each side. I stack them on scrap boards from my sawmill to keep them from freezing to the ground and to slow down rot.

 

[husky455rancher]

I got my first two Ibc totes today. My thought is to use them for all the off cuts and crap pieces I seem to have everywhere. We’ll have to see how much the Massey will pick up in a tote.

 

[husky455rancher]

I made single row racks about 4x4x18” the thought was pick it up the long way and place it inside the cellar door as far as I could on the ramp I made to account for the step. Then I go in the house and pick up the rack with a small pallet jack I bought. Then I could put it where ever I needed to. That would save me stacking 4 cord of wood or so.

It has worked pretty well. There was a couple hiccups. When I first started making the racks I was modifying existing pallets. We’ll it’s problematic. Most of the time the mini pallet jack gets hung up on the wood underneath and makes it almost impossible to move. Now I just use two 4x4s for the sides and put boards across. It works great. The only thing I need to do is step on the pallet jack to keep the wheel down. It’s a small pallet jack so the legs are short. I had to get a mini pallet jack so the pallet could fit through the door. Here’s one section of the cellar.

 

[Hexa Fox]

They only hold 1/3 rd of a cord. So if you are selling, you have to adjust your price accordingly.

So this is what I was wondering about. I know nothing about IBC totes but looking at getting a couple and trying them out for my property. The problem is I do not a piece of equipment capable of moving them after loading. I am guessing the guy I am buying them off of has the 'standard' 275 gallon ones. I have seen people argue about them holding 1/4 of a cord and a 1/3 of a cord.

A lot of people burn in my area. So I was wondering if I could get away with driving a piece of equipment on the road around here to make a few extra dollars here and there off extra wood? It is difficult though because you can only deliver one tote at a time. Even if you had a trailer you are going to have to load the tote(s) and piece of equipment with it. You are going to max out even a tandem axle trailer fast that way too.

Then what to charge? A true cord around here seems to average about $200. Maybe a little more. So are you going to sell an IBC tote full of firewood for $100 (which still seems a little low for the work involved). Then do you charge a deposit or something for the tote? I see the benefits of it though and why I want to learn more. If your equipment is not huge you could pretty much get it anywhere. Near a back porch, maybe even in a garage for someone. Then it is easy to deal with, the wood is already stacked and contained.

 

[Bill G]

I recently got ahold of some IBC totes and I'm beyond excited for my new way of stacking firewood.

Glad to see you were able to utilize them. Good thing farmers go through enough "global warming " food producing chemicals to keep this country actually moving and you could get some . There are a few folks that will condemn you for using them though. What did you do with the plastic tanks?

 

[Hexa Fox]

Glad to see you were able to utilize them. Good thing farmers go through enough "global warming " chemicals to keep this country actually moving andyou could get some . There are a few folks that will condemn you for using then though. What did you do with the plastic tanks?

Generally just curious, why would you be condemned for using IBC totes to store firewood? You are basically recycling if you ask me. There are a lot of people trying to get rid of them. I can people getting upset from just throwing the plastic into the garbage. I may try to resell mine or find another use for some of them but if I cannot use them or give them away I will probably need to trash the plastic bladders. However, the totes could probably be used a really long time for firewood purposes.

 

[djg james]

Glad to see you were able to utilize them. Good thing farmers go through enough "global warming " chemicals to keep this country actually moving andyou could get some . There are a few folks that will condemn you for using then though. What did you do with the plastic tanks?

I only had one. I cut 12" off the sides to make two square tubs. Rim it with some PT lumber and add compost. Makes good raised beds. Haven't finished so no pic.

P.S. After seeing your post, make raised beds and sell them in the Spring (lol).

 

[Hexa Fox]

I only had one. I cut 12" off the sides to make two square tubs. Rim it with some PT lumber and add compost. Makes good raised beds. Haven't finished so no pic.

P.S. After seeing your post, make raised beds and sell them in the Spring (lol).

I would love to see some pictures of the finished result or even your progress to better understand.

 

[djg james]

I would love to see some pictures of the finished result or even your progress to better understand.

The photos I took are on my other computer. I'll dig them out tomorrow.

 

[Bill G]

Generally just curious, why would you be condemned for using IBC totes to store firewood? You are basically recycling if you ask me. There are a lot of people trying to get rid of them. I can people getting upset from just throwing the plastic into the garbage. I may try to resell mine or find another use for some of them but if I cannot use them or give them away I will probably need to trash the plastic bladders. However, the totes could probably be used a really long time for firewood purposes.

You 100% and completely did not read what I posted at all. Go back at read what I said. I know you will not so as much as I hate it I will quote myself verbatim. The anti-farmer sentiment on this site is getting out of hand

Glad to see you were able to utilize them. Good thing farmers go through enough "global warming " food producing chemicals to keep this country actually moving and you could get some . There are a few folks that will condemn you for using them though. What did you do with the plastic tanks?

 

[Bill G]

I only had one. I cut 12" off the sides to make two square tubs. Rim it with some PT lumber and add compost. Makes good raised beds. Haven't finished so no pic.

P.S. After seeing your post, make raised beds and sell them in the Spring (lol).

I am glad to see you were able to utilize them. They are discarded here all the time. One large operator here tried selling off semi loads. I think he had to pay to get rid of them in the end

 

[djg james]

I am glad to see you were able to utilize them. They are discarded here all the time. One large operator here tried selling off semi loads. I think he had to pay to get rid of them in the end

I do have to cut up the unused portion and put it in the recylce bin. It's HDPE so it can be recycled.

 

[djg james]

I would love to see some pictures of the finished result or even your progress to better understand.

I just use a circular saw with a fine tooth blade in it and cut around the tank at the marked lines in the picture. When done, I have two tubs that I frame around the sides with PT 2x6s, 2x8s or whatever I have. Then use bricks/blocks at the corners to level it up while the bottom is still intact with the ground.


P.S. If you use my idea and sell them, I require a $5 royalty check for each unit.

 

[Bill G]

I do have to cut up the unused portion and put it in the recylce bin. It's HDPE so it can be recycled.

I just noticed you are in Illinois. Maybe I have asked before but what part of this fine state are you in? I am in the far west.

 

[djg james]

I just noticed you are in Illinois. Maybe I have asked before but what part of this fine state are you in? I am in the far west.

20 miles due East of St. Louis ..... NOT East St Louis. Further East along Hiway 40.

And You??

 

[Bill G]

I not to familiar with that area but I think you have a huge warehouse area around there somewhere. I am a good 5 to 6 hrs north on right on the river. No Illinois towns. It is basically Muscatine Iowa

 

[cantoo]

Bill G, the problem with totes is that they are used to contain a variety of products, some of which are quite dangerous. Not usually a problem if the labels are still attached but if not then it's a guessing game. We have dogooders using them for irrigation and they have no idea what was in the totes before. Some people are using them for apple juice. We do some chemical spraying so as long as the label is intact we can usually clean them properly. I'm in the middle of farm country and totes are usually $100 around here. I was at a recent farm auction and they sold 10 totes with no labels on them. People were opening the lids and sniffing them to see if they could figure out what was in them. I call that thinning the herd.

 

[sean donato]

Bill G, the problem with totes is that they are used to contain a variety of products, some of which are quite dangerous. Not usually a problem if the labels are still attached but if not then it's a guessing game. We have dogooders using them for irrigation and they have no idea what was in the totes before. Some people are using them for apple juice. We do some chemical spraying so as long as the label is intact we can usually clean them properly. I'm in the middle of farm country and totes are usually $100 around here. I was at a recent farm auction and they sold 10 totes with no labels on them. People were opening the lids and sniffing them to see if they could figure out what was in them. I call that thinning the herd.

Agreed, when you do find them around here about half of them have no label or something toxic in them. There was a guy down around cherry street in Columbia that had food grade totes that held canola oil, soy oil ect. The company he got them from cleans them before getting rid of them. He was at $90.00 per, if you picked them up. Had a sliding scale for delivery. Haven't talked to him in a while to see what current prices are. I wouldn't buy one if I didn't know what was in one.

 

[djg james]

I wouldn't buy one if I didn't know what was in one.

Yes mine was a water soluble surfactant. Lots of water and its clean.

 

[husky455rancher]

Well I got ahold of two totes. My first experiment with one was to see if my baby tractor could lift it if I used it for end pieces and small crap that’s hard to stack. So today I tried one tote. Now if I get the forks tilted all the way back before I lift it’ll pick it up just enough to move it around. I should take a little bit out but this will work fine for this application. I am going to try to just throw split wood in one and see if it’ll lift it.