My bought cord

[shawnw]

To the OP, smokee

I have a couple thoughts that may or may not help, coming from someone that's been selling wood for, lets just say longer than I really want to admit.

First, don't assume just because the person sells wood he's lower on the food chain than a six term politician. The seller doesn't read minds, if you don't let him know there's an issue, he can't even begin to try to make it right. This is what I tell all my customers both repeat and new when I deliver. When you speak to him speak with the intent of resolving the issue, not from the attitude of you ripped me off you stupid, worthless piece of scum. If he's legit he'll work with you. Several years ago I unknowingly shorted a customer when I lost count of the number of loads I had delivered on his order. He called, I went to his house, checked the situation, apologized for the shortage, and asked him if he preferred a partial refund or the missing load. As he was happy with the product, I brought the missing load and we were both happy. Mistakes happen, correcting them is part of running a good business.

As to your wood being wet, did you take delivery after Sandy? Last year I got nailed big time by Irene and Alfred as they both blew the tarp(s) off the piles and absolutely soaked what was very nice stove ready wood. I let people know when I delivered about the circumstance and they understood. All wood sellers here in the Northeast were in pretty much the same boat. Some of us were upfront about it, others not. It's really hard to keep wood dry under those conditions. If it's surface moisture put it near the stove for a couple days if possible before use and it will dry out quickly. If it's green well not much you can do short of a kiln. By the way this year when Sandy approached all my tarps were both staked to the ground and tied to trees in the landing / processing area.

I hope all works out for you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Take Care

This right here is what matters.

P.s. Jere is good people. Both here, and over on MTF

 

[2treeornot2tree]

smokee,

There is tons of ads on lancaster craigslist for wood for alot less then $200. You didnt get a very good deal. Get ahold of me earlier next year and i will hook you up with a true cord of good wood.

I have some pieces of cedar i just cut down if your interested for smoking. You can have some if you want. I also have some already in chips that came out of the chipper too.

 

[smokee]

smokee,

There is tons of ads on lancaster craigslist for wood for alot less then $200. You didnt get a very good deal. Get ahold of me earlier next year and i will hook you up with a true cord of good wood.

I have some pieces of cedar i just cut down if your interested for smoking. You can have some if you want. I also have some already in chips that came out of the chipper too.

You're right, there was some cheaper. My prob is that I'm self-employed and have lost my butt since '07. I have a stack of invoices here that are past due cause of Sandy so I had to buy from someone that would allow me to pay half cash and half credit. No biggie as I don't carry a balance and always pay off. I just needed a little wiggle room till I got paid.

Thank you for the offer as well. I have about 6 cords of cherry here but it was just cut. I should be good for a couple years after this year.

 

[Encore]

Dump trucks can be tricky. If a guy doesn't have his wood stacked in pre measured rows before loading it on the truck, you can end up shorted pretty easily.

That's why I hand stack on my dump truck. People actually end up padded more in their favor but I prefer it that way.

I agree with the others though that the wood "appears" to be seasoned, if the surface of it is wet, keep it out in the sun for a week and it'll be good to go.

On the measurement though I'd probably buy from someone else. That guy is not doing you a solid.

 

[SpiralAcacia]

actually temp has nothing to do with it....unless its close to 200* :msp_ohmy:

Its more with the relative humidity.... which is typically lower when temps go below freezing.

Never thought about it this way... I guess it's because here weather is very dry & windy + half the year is HOT... It all dries fast, I thought it was the heat part doing it but it must be the low humidity mostly.

Thanks!

SA

 

[smokee]

I got the exact response as that I thought I would - I've lived here long enough to know. He said he won't deal with me anymore and he only makes $45 on a load. He's going to bring out a quarter cord Monday and then I'm done with him. Great first experience! Poor attitude, my fault.... same old, same old. I said that I paid for a full cord, you shorted it and you're not going to deal with me anymore? "Doesn't weights and measures regulate this?" caught his attention and he started back-pedaling. I was nice with no attitude - at first - so that has nothing to do with it. Typical!

 

[iowa]

Always inspect and make sure theres the correct amount of wood there before paying in full. I would think these jokers would do it right the first time.

 

[trophyhunter]

I got the exact response as that I thought I would - I've lived here long enough to know. He said he won't deal with me anymore and he only makes $45 on a load. The place is the Mulchnest in Mt Joy, Pa. If you're thinking of buying from them, I'd think twice. He's going to bring out a quarter cord Monday and then I'm done with him. Great first experience! Poor attitude, my fault.... same old, same old. I said that I paid for a full cord, you shorted it and you're not going to deal with me anymore? "Doesn't weights and measures regulate this?" caught his attention and he started back-pedaling. I was nice with no attitude - at first - so that has nothing to do with it. Typical!

Glad to see you held his feet to the fire, you know he does this to anyone he thinks he can get away with doing it to and probably has regular customers that don't know any better.

 

[smokee]

I just called back to change the delivery date of the missing wood and he apologized and very sorry for his attitude. We all have bad days and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not a hard man to deal with and a little humility goes a long way.

 

[smokee]

This is what I got from burning the wet wood. This was brand new last week and I've burned about a wheelbarrow load of the wood that had surface wetness.

 

[turnkey4099]

I just called back to change the delivery date of the missing wood and he apologized and very sorry for his attitude. We all have bad days and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not a hard man to deal with and a little humility goes a long way.

I don't think he deserves any "benefit of the doubt" The fact he back pedaled after the mention of W&M tells me he shorts everybody.

Harry K

 

[smokee]

I don't think he deserves any "benefit of the doubt" The fact he back pedaled after the mention of W&M tells me he shorts everybody.

Harry K

He said he's never got a call about a shorted load. I said that perhaps the people he's selling to don't know exactly how much is in a cord. lol. I let him know it's here for him to come and take a look at. I also gave him the measurements of the stack and the average length of the pieces.

 

[artbaldoni]

Do you think he knows what a cord of wood really is?

 

[Fred Wright]

He said he's never got a call about a shorted load. I said that perhaps the people he's selling to don't know exactly how much is in a cord. lol. I let him know it's here for him to come and take a look at. I also gave him the measurements of the stack and the average length of the pieces.

This seller is a bullchit merchant. Don't let him BS you.

 

[smokee]

What's your take on the mess at the top of chimney

Is that mess all around my chimney top normal?

 

[howellhandmade]

Is that mess all around my chimney top normal?

Maybe if you're burning railroad ties. I've never had anything like that, but I've always burned wood that I knew was seasoned.

 

[trophyhunter]

Is that mess all around my chimney top normal?

That was all from a wheel barrow load of that bought cord? That was some fine looking workmanship on your part that all got turned into a sticky creosote mess.

I can't imagine a freshly cut and split oak being burned in such a small quantity making that much of a mess, unless the flue temps were really low. That is not a situation that can be let to go on like that, big time chimney fire waiting to happen.

Let that stove rip and get hot before reducing the air intake, I have become a firm believer in tossing the old thermometers and using what you see going on through the doors and the heat you feel in these new EPA reburn stoves. It seems to me they are designed to operate properly at significantly higher temperature than what could be gotten by with on older stoves.

The reburn on both of mine are pretty much no where to be found much under 500*, and I observe a similar trait in stoves belonging to friends.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

If you are stuck, and need some ready to burn red oak, and can drive to Chester County with a truck, I will make you whole in the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Sorry, crummy iPhone picture, but it's dark now, so I used this one I had.

View attachment 263475

This is what I got from burning the wet wood. This was brand new last week and I've burned about a wheelbarrow load of the wood that had surface wetness.

That's from WET WOOD! I'd take Jere39 up on his offer! Perhaps he'd trade a load of your freshly cut wood for some of that nice dry oak?! His offer is a great one!

 

[Uncle John]

Do you think he knows what a cord of wood really is?

I wouldn't doubt half the wood sellers don't know how to measure a cord.

Around here they like to sell by the rick!

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Is that mess all around my chimney top normal?

From my experience you're going to get that in varying amounts EVEN if your wood is dry. Naturally wet wood makes it worse but I've had wood that was stored inside on a concrete floor do the same. Some of what your dealing with is temperature inversion. Hot air coming up the stack hits your metal reverse funnel which is being cooled be outside air. It is not always just creosote, Sometimes it's the water just "washing" the underside of the funnel.

All my wood is stored inside, even when moved to the boiler as it's inside as well. I notice differences on how much inversion happens from the outside air conditions. When there is a lot of moisture in the air, such as when the snow starts melting it gets worse. If your stove is ramping up or down it happens some there too.

I gave up on having a cap because of the drips and such. I take mine off when I fire the stove up in the Fall and put it back on when I shut it down. problem solved.

I've noticed too that you can have "dry" wood that will sizzle even after being stored inside on dry concrete for 5 plus years. Wood will go up and down in moisture content due to atmosperic conditions to some extent. Granted our barns aren't sealed and insulated but f they were you'd probably have water dripping off the roof while it dries. Open enough to get good ventilation for drying and moisture escape.

I've seen extreme cold with high winds where you can get those drips to start freezing on the backside of the stack. Makes nice creosote frozen mess.