BUY firewood or CUT firewood?

We weren't even able to find anyone to buy wood from this year. It's the first year that we were looking to buy instead of cut our own. It seems no one does it anymore.

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If you can't think of anything else to say, you can always correct my spelling and grammar. - PinkBat

Unless you run across a deal on a good used splitter, there is no need to purchase a tool that is only needed for about 24 hours once a year.

We rent on Friday at 5PM on my way home from work. Split some on Friday night. Get up early on Saturday and go continuously until done or time to return splitter before the hardware store closes at 6PM.

Splitting firewood warms you three times: In the splittin', in the stackin', and in the burnin.

I'm in the Ozarks so hardwood is not a problem we also have 60 acers. We have heated with a Lil House outdoor wood furnace (I cut 24'' wood) for over 12 years, I have a husky 460 and a husky 147 for limbing I have a trailer I pull with my tractor so yes I have a bit invested but I sell wood as well for $80 a cord you pick up as well as a couple wood customers I deliver to in town while we are going anyway it cover's our trip and lunch for the delivery and stacking . I do not have or rent a splitter it is all done by hand . Our neighbor logged last year and can not get to 40 acers of her place and told me to have at it, and I have been lol . I have around 30 cord out here stacked & split now and will start cutting again here soon . It is a hard way to make a buck to say the least but the $$$ comes in handy @ my slow time of the year & also helps with Chirstmas cash.

Where is the "AROUND HERE" that you speak of?

It all depends so much on local markets most of the replies aren't relevant anyway. Here I can sell firewood for $250+ delivered. I own 260 acres of woodlot. Even including all my fuel and repair costs and some pretty healthy depreciation on tractors, etc., I figure I can make about $30/hour all told. SO I sell as much as I can stand to cut.

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Sorta overboard on the wood splitter ether split with a maul or buy a used splitter one and sell a used one and just figger the interest and loss......wont be much.
What concerns me more it that "access to bottom ground" thing
I live in the middle of Il and around here theres not much that growsin the bottoms you want to cut and burn SPECIALLY if your cutting this year for this heating season.
Can you get sawmill chunks or coal?

Firewood here is $180-220 cut and delivered. In the past we have looked for free firewood on Craigslist that was already cut, though sometimes it needed splitting. We would get it all home, then rent a logsplitter for the weekend ($75) and get everything split. We bought a chainsaw on Craigslist, and we're keeping our eyes open for a logsplitter. This year, we're actually getting firewood from someone who has a lot of it as well as a logsplitter on site. So we split the wood that's already cut, load it up, and bring it home.

Dh bought a chainsaw last year. We needed it even if we weren't burning the wood. Some of our old trees needed to be removed anyway. So far the wood is still free but we are facing the possibility of buying some this winter. Most places around here you can get a cord delivered and stacked for $125. It takes more than a month to burn a cord and our electric heat would cost more than that $125 each month.

He should go with coal, for that amount of BTU's

59.5 million btu's would be about 3 tons. you can get it delivered in bags for about 900 or in bulk loose for about $750. If you choose to burn "local" bituminous coal you would have about the same mess as wood and you would most likely spend about $300(this would be very high quality bituminous coal).

Never thought about Coal, and most coal stoves can burn wood.

Yeah, $300+ a good coal stove $2,000 would put me ahead, with far less work, I could also stockpile several years worth of coal, just have to lug it in. I need to check local availability of coal, my great Grandma heated with coal, the coal pile was a fun place for us kids to play in!

there are lots of variables here, What is the going rate for wood in your area? (you need a base number to compare to.) What is the travel distance to your wood supply? What sort of equipment do you own to transport the wood? Can you get that equipment into the woods or will you be packing it any distance to said vehicle? What dollar amount do you place on your labor? How much wood will you be cutting/buying? I cut and delivered wood for sale back when I was healthy, on average I earned enough to pay expenses, and cigarette money if I bought the cheap brands.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

I am always amazed at the prices that firewood goes for around the country. I just had 5 cords delivered for $338. This is from a local company that does this professionally. We've been buying wood for a long time just to help to reduce our heating natural gas bill and to provide a backup means of heating in an emergency. At some of the prices that some areas are forced to pay, we'd probably say just forget about using wood if you can't cut it yourself!

I was wondering the same. I used 4 cords last year; coldish winter. 10???

That would be an unbelieveable price in Eastern CT. Seasoned is about $150-180/cord. If I didn't have my own trees I would probably stuck with oil.

Wow! The wood that we bought was seasoned for one year and almost all hardwoods. It really helps us to cut the heating costs. It has been unseasonably cold in September and October, so we've been using our fireplace insert exclusively to heat. We're also still working on some firewood from about 2 years ago. We always try to stockpile some each year to ensure that we have a backup.

If you like to do it, you can make the numbers justify it. Otherwise they won't.

I like going out for a few minutes every few days and splitting large rounds with a couple wedges and a maul. I have all year - no hurry. I don't need a $2000 splitter.

we cut most of our own, and have purchased some. Most are storm downed trees, friends trees needing hauled away, construction sites (got lots of nice black locust last year about a mile from home, unsplit, but cut in 20" lengths.
We use about 4/5 cords per year, with wood being primary. We stockpile the logs all year, and cut a bit here and there. We have stacks of wood in different stages of seasoning. the wood we are burning now was cut two years ago, and we are still splitting stuff we got since then, and stacking appropriately.
we dont spend anywhere near what the op suggested. Maybe get a chainsaw, a splitting axe and see if its for you? We dont have a log splitter, wear our regular work gloves and boots, etc. We also take free pine logs, because we camp, have a river place with a fire pit and have a campfirepit at home. if its free, we use it, although the gooey stuff gets burned outside.
My absolute favorite woods to burn are walnut, locust, birch, maple and oak, in that order.
DH has also been getting lots of free pallets, which are nice for stacking the wood on top, cutting up for kindling or burning whole at the river for a warm bonfire.

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I'd rather have one Chewbacca than an entire clone army.

Cords in my area run 65-75/cord, for seasoned hardwood. I have been busy splitting......gosh two cords-3 cords this weekend of my own wood. If you have time, and wood on your land, I would do it. Find a friend who is splitting wood (out here most do), and go see what it's like and be helpful. Sit down and figure out costs and time and what it's worth for you. I enjoy it personally. I think it's great. But it does take a lot of time. Sue

Cutting your own wood is cheap and simple. It's tough work, but it's not complicated.

Here's how I do it. I wait until I (or a friend who will call me) drive by people cutting down a tree. Usually happens more often after a storm. If the are chipping the wood on site I ask if I can take some. 90% of the time they are happy to have me take it and usually help load it into my minivan (GREAT for hauling all kinds of things and it will all stay dry, a HUGE plus over a pickup truck). Sometimes it takes a few trips to get it all.

Take it home and let it dry for 9 months to a year. Large pieces need to be cut with a chainsaw. Using a chainsaw is really not that difficult. Just go slow at first until you get used to it. Then either use a maul to split by hand or rent/buy a mechanical splitter which is the fastest way to do it.

I'm not sure why so many people think it's complicated or expensive. It's not.

Wood: free
Chainsaw: I use a cheap ($150) homelite. Not great, but it works.
Chains: either sharpen the yourself or buy new when it gets dull. New: $20
Maul to split buy hand: $20

No law says you have to split it all at once either. When I split by hand I'd just do a little every weekend.

Good luck!