Shrink wrapped firewood

[mattfr12]

Any you guys selling shrink wrapped firewood at your local stores. i was considering a bundling machine from twister industries and didn't know if any of you guys are selling firewood like this and having any success i thought about trying it because the wrapper isn't extremely expensive.

but would like to hear feedback if anyone is doing it. around here theirs 6-7 logs in a bundle anther almost getting a dollar a piece. i got tons and tons of wood laying around and just trying to figure out what to do with it at the moment. was even talking to them about getting a kiln.

a tub grinder is down the road but i don't wanna dish out another 100g's or so right now wanna wait for a few more years i really don't have the right zoning on my property to run one either so I need to move first also. just haven't found the right place yet.

 

[superjunior]

I've thought about this as well. At any grocery store around here a bundle of about 5 or 6 small pieces of wood goes for 4.99$

 

[Jwalker1911]

Any you guys selling shrink wrapped firewood at your local stores. i was considering a bundling machine from twister industries and didn't know if any of you guys are selling firewood like this and having any success i thought about trying it because the wrapper isn't extremely expensive.

but would like to hear feedback if anyone is doing it. around here theirs 6-7 logs in a bundle anther almost getting a dollar a piece. i got tons and tons of wood laying around and just trying to figure out what to do with it at the moment. was even talking to them about getting a kiln.

a tub grinder is down the road but i don't wanna dish out another 100g's or so right now wanna wait for a few more years i really don't have the right zoning on my property to run one either so I need to move first also. just haven't found the right place yet.

if you can weld or have a friend that has a welder i would suggest building your own they can be a very simple design

 

[treemandan]

Oh for crying out loud, that is no way to treat firewood. You might as well start telemarketing for the electric company. Think about it. Is that what you want to be known for? For packaging up itty bitty bits of firewood to make it cost more that it does? Oh you people with your packaging. Do you not see what you do? There really is nothing left is there? Its all been wrapped in plastic with a price tag on it.

 

[mattfr12]

Oh for crying out loud, that is no way to treat firewood. You might as well start telemarketing for the electric company. Think about it. Is that what you want to be known for? For packaging up itty bitty bits of firewood to make it cost more that it does? Oh you people with your packaging. Do you not see what you do? There really is nothing left is there? Its all been wrapped in plastic with a price tag on it.

Its not to rip people off but it is convenient it sells wood to the people that normally wouldn't call you i don't expect to get rich from this but its cash. I was gonna offer a way better deal than the rest like half of their price get 10 logs for 5$ around here that gets you 5 logs.

Your selling to the cubical workers that wouldn't call a tree man. or the people that just make a few fires a year that it wouldn't even be worth delivering 10$ worth of wood.

 

[dts99]

a guy i give alot of my hardwood sells cords and always has a few bundles by the side of the road forsale, he ties them up with twine and gets a few bucks for them, he got the idea cuz a ladie stoped and asked him for 7 pieces of wood one day, cuz he'll load a cord on his truck and park it by the road for advertising

 

[treemandan]

Its not to rip people off but it is convenient it sells wood to the people that normally wouldn't call you i don't expect to get rich from this but its cash. I was gonna offer a way better deal than the rest like half of their price get 10 logs for 5$ around here that gets you 5 logs.

Your selling to the cubical workers that wouldn't call a tree man. or the people that just make a few fires a year that it wouldn't even be worth delivering 10$ worth of wood.

Well after you kiln it, run it through yer wrapping contraption and deal with the people who own the stores ( that should be interesting in itself to say the least) I don't think yer deal is gonna work out for you.

But man, what has it all become? Firewood wrapped in little plastic bundles.

 

[ForTheArborist]

Any you guys selling shrink wrapped firewood at your local stores. i was considering a bundling machine from twister industries and didn't know if any of you guys are selling firewood like this and having any success i thought about trying it because the wrapper isn't extremely expensive.

but would like to hear feedback if anyone is doing it. around here theirs 6-7 logs in a bundle anther almost getting a dollar a piece. i got tons and tons of wood laying around and just trying to figure out what to do with it at the moment. was even talking to them about getting a kiln.

a tub grinder is down the road but i don't wanna dish out another 100g's or so right now wanna wait for a few more years i really don't have the right zoning on my property to run one either so I need to move first also. just haven't found the right place yet.

That should be a cinch. Get a few guys to learn along side with you the first year, and the following years you can quarter back the whole thing through those guys from the field.

Labor, big splitter, wrapper, delivery truck/trailer, phone calls vs. paying to handle and dispose of the wood.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Matt, I looked into this pretty hard some years ago, to make money, ya gotta move tons. It has to be kiln dried to be sold at stores that have food, law here anyways.

 

[mattfr12]

Matt, I looked into this pretty hard some years ago, to make money, ya gotta move tons. It has to be kiln dried to be sold at stores that have food, law here anyways.

Ya we are gonna be using a kiln looking at a 10 cord model from a company called blue mountain and the wood will be done with a processor that we are looking at getting from twister industries so we are gonna try and move tons of it. got 4 stores on board so far and looking for more. its kinda a shot in the dark see if we can turn a decent buck from it. it it doesn't work out the shrink wrapper was the cheapest part of the whole investment so it wont be a big loss then we will have a 4 cord per hour processor to use during making other firewood and will be able to kiln dry it so its a win win.

 

[Farm Boy]

Matt, I looked into this pretty hard some years ago, to make money, ya gotta move tons. It has to be kiln dried to be sold at stores that have food, law here anyways.

Why the mandate to be kiln dried? Bugs?

 

[treemandan]

Why the mandate to be kiln dried? Bugs?

Yeah, bugs and such. The wood has to be clean for the good people of the world. The last thing they want is dirt. Dey's scairt ov da dert! Conveinience is a lot of work. I kinda feel sorry for a person who buys an armload of firewood at a time.
An arm load can only last a short time, like maybe an hour?
What do you run the kiln on? Wait! Don't tell me, I don't want to know. I mean I do but I don't. The whole thing seems ass backwards to me. Anything for a buck though right guys?

And Matt, I didn't mention anything about ripping people off, you did. Well, if they are the type to buy plastic wrapped firewood then I guess they deserve it. Its not like anybody is making them buy it.

 

[Kapriel]

Hello, I believe the plastic shrink wrapped wood you speak of has been heat treated to 133 degrees for 1/2 hr.

This will get you top dollar as nothing can live thru that not eggs , larvae, etc.
I was thinking of doing this as I have alot of HVAC experience. The problem is economics..... It can be done and is done,
however you can go broke doing it.

I've heat treated wood using Natural Gas & Propane. You can use just about anything you want Steam , Electric. Oil

But there is an incredible amount of handling, labor, fuel, storage. etc.

I cannot justify it not to mention it's not what I want to do, but some people do it.

just my 2 cents....

 

[mattfr12]

kiln runs on propane and the one we where looking at heated to upwards of 180 degrees if i remember correctly was 3-6 hours they where saying for 10 cords. it can run on propane or natural gas not sure how hard it will be to get a gas line to where its going.

 

[Kapriel]

If I was buying one I would want it to run on Natural Gas.

Propane, #2 oil, Electric, are just too expensive as a fuel but can be used.

If Natural Gas is not available I would do one of two things. Maybe outsource the work and pay their treated price or go with Propane.

As you know the 3-6 hrs quote time to be in the kiln at 175 degrees or so is what it takes the core of the wood to reach 133 degrees for 1/2 hour at that point the printer will print out your temp readings for the 1/2 hour and that you will keep for your certification records as the wood being heat treated.

It's a lot of work with fork trucks and machinery but there is a market for this product. Think places like big cities, hi rises, expensive homes, etc. These folks will pay extra for the occasional fire they have.

Your customer needs the assurance that the wood is pest free and there are no eggs or larvae in it waiting to hatch.
They will pay a price for this.

 

[Jwalker1911]

Hello, I believe the plastic shrink wrapped wood you speak of has been heat treated to 133 degrees for 1/2 hr.

This will get you top dollar as nothing can live thru that not eggs , larvae, etc.
I was thinking of doing this as I have alot of HVAC experience. The problem is economics..... It can be done and is done,
however you can go broke doing it.

I've heat treated wood using Natural Gas & Propane. You can use just about anything you want Steam , Electric. Oil

But there is an incredible amount of handling, labor, fuel, storage. etc.

I cannot justify it not to mention it's not what I want to do, but some people do it.

just my 2 cents....

eggs and larvae cant survive 133 degrees for half an hour?

 

[Toddppm]

Do a search in the firewood threads they've talked about it alot. Even building your own kiln out of a sea container. I've seen those little bundles as high as $7 each here, amazing but still hard to make money at it. Fuel costs are probaly going to be the big killer between the kiln and the delivery o top of everything else.
There's a huge nursery with a couple different locations here that has about every piece of equipment you could own for landscaping and tree work including cranes, giant tree spades, dozers, excavators, concrete trucks -I mean everything and multiple pieces of every one. They have firewood processors, kilns the whole nine yards and I don't think they've turned a profit on firewood yet over the years from what I've heard.

 

[Kapriel]

Nope they cannot.

Google it if you want to.

Nothing can survive at 133 degrees F for 1/2 hr except for my Ex Wife !

Seriously, it's 133 degrees for 1/2 hour which by the way is not easy to do !

 

[Jwalker1911]

Nope they cannot.

Google it if you want to.

Nothing can survive at 133 degrees F for 1/2 hr except for my Ex Wife !

Seriously, it's 133 degrees for 1/2 hour which by the way is not easy to do !

Ive had to work in environments that were that warm or maybe worse.....i bet a roach could tho they can survive most anything

 

[Kapriel]

I hear you. roaches are tuff but they can't take it either.

Think of it another way. You've been outside at zero degrees if you were to stay out long enough for your core temp to reach 32 degrees well you get the point.

The wood has to be treated at about 175 degrees F. for about 3-6 hours so that the themal probe inside the core of the sample reaches 133 F for 1/2 hour.
It doesn't have to be 175 Deg F. it could be lower say 150 degrees but would take days instead of hours to get the 133 degrees.

By the way wet wood aids in the speed of treatment. Dry wood will work but takes longer.

It takes a lot of heat to do this... I mean you have no idea $$$$ If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

You should see the poisionous chemical fumes come out of ordinary wood....
You can't be in the chamber you wont be able to breathe. There's alot of things going on here at the same time.