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I would think that stacking and keeping it all organized helps take the guess work out of what is seasoned and ready to go and the amount you actually have on hand.
I work all spring and summer to cut, split, and stack firewood for winter for us. I love walking by and seeing the wood stacked neatly in the shed. During the winter when I burn I find myself getting a little sad seeing the stacks diminish. There definitely is something soothing seeing stacked firewood.
Joe, you are proving that common sense makes sense. There are several reasons why you are making top dollar for firewood and you just showed all you business model experiences. Nice job! I love stacked wood by the way!
This video is golden. This is exactly why I watch your channel. I'm in the infancy of turning my firewood hobby into a business. Everyone's situation is different but I learn the best tips from watching channels like yours. Thank you Joe!!! 🤠👍
@ohiowoodburner Thank you very much for the offer. I will definitely make the time to do that. I'm about 30 mins south of you just south of Canfield. I'll probably bend your ear right off, lol!
We all should promote the idea of heating with wood also. There are some good reasons to do so. And that will, of course, increase the market for firewood.
The beauty of TH-cam. Everyone’s process is different and we get to decide what works best for us. Many benefits either way. Thanks for the advice Joe!
Great discussion, Joe!!! I totally agree that the more niche approach to firewood creates the value. Selling bundles has been my main stay. The market demand in my area is ever expanding. Referring to units and margins, I can get $650 out of a cord of wood sold as bundles. I never have to leave my property, as the bundle stand is at the end of the driveway. No fuel costs in transporting it and dumping it somewhere and no use costs for a transport vehicle. I will ride this horse as long as I can!
Hi Joe - it’s Big Rodders in Ireland. In addition to describing your firewood as premium you should add that it is also gravity defying - the lean on some of your rows is impressive!
I’m not into selling firewood, but I agree that your method of organizing your wood is the best way to organize your inventory. It keeps it off the ground, allows you to rotate your inventory, looks clean and professional and it also gives you a great idea of how much inventory you have. Keep doing your way and “ have a great day “😅
Glad to see your word choice calling it "inventory" tim. I always wonder if other industries have such low regard for their product as we do in firewood that we can't touch it unless we risk losing money LOL. Strange industry at times
Hi Joe. Another great video. I think every firewood producer needs to figure out their own system of manufacturing, material flow, inventory management, delivery. A lot depends on location and product demand. I switched to a "value added" business model about 15yrs ago. I make more now doing a quarter of the volume I did previously. There's a lot involved in this approach, and the business plan is opposite of what most people think is correct for them. There's a lot of potential in the firewood provider economy. I recommend everyone to work hard, work smart, and work safe. Eventually you'll figure out what works best for you.
Stacked vs piled. Husqvarna vs Stihl. GM vs Ford. Browns vs Bengals. College vs Pro. Eggs vs pancakes. Dr. Pepper vs Mr. Pibb. They all dry! It just depends on what works best for you in your own space. I have wood in rows, bins, and stacked. I do prefer the beauty of stacked rows (90+% of mine is) but I do have some piles for home use. Also totally agree the more you ORGANIZE your wood the less it cost. Not the more touches that cost money. 👍
Joe, one thing to consider is long-term repetitive motion muscle injury. I had tendinitis from picking up wood pieces by piece, and it took a long time to heal. Our approach is IBC totes, few are stacked and most are loose. We have rotating forks for dumping into a trailer or a dump insert on 3/4 ton pickup. We don't stack at customers' sites. We just can not keep up. Exception for a couple of elderly people with disabilities. IBC totes can be expensive, however. Ours averaged $20 per tote.
I don't dump. most every delivery is stacked. It is part of our method for max $. I use IBCs also but mostly to ferry wood around the yard. I had always said if you are too busy that means you should raise your prices LOL
At the end of the day we just needa do what works for us, ive done both,the biggest part of mine is piled but i agree woth stacks are better visibly ,knowing amounts, and loading is alot easier , i still have some of both,but took after you going with higher quality control and targeting the right markey for me,anyway thanks joe i appriciate the video,everyone just pick ways that best suites you,you may need both ways at some point, and dont wana be in tye dark one any way,its the beauty of this community sharing ways makes it better
Yessir,raining dreary nasty day here in East TN.today,I appriciate the video,your yard looks great too by the way,that's one more of the beautys of stacking too,how much snow have you gotten so far????
It's one of the things i have done over the last few years. Within a half inch plus or minus, I am constantly at 16 inches, and i have been able to charge just a little more. Every load still gets a few odd ball pieces, and no one has complained..
this is the channel i watch the most. I am a fan of half a dozen others. but this is the best channel. Stacking is the most important after the split. But where i start to lose the majority of people is how to get it from the stack to the customer. I see no videos from anyone about that. Stack into the vessel. Vessel to the end user. But how? conveyor into the vessel. Then dump at end user? Many restaurants get boxes on pallets and then we use pallet forks. Lots to be discussed about the process after we split / stack. - The Log Hog
Thanks for the nice post Bob. I keep it simple and here is a vid where I show a quick 1/4 cord loaded up for delivery th-cam.com/video/cVh5SRyCq4s/w-d-xo.html
Your "skip-row" stacking is allowing you to dry faster than normal. Much more airflow and sunlight. Takes up the same room as loose piles (~192 cu ft/cord), but much easier to handle. Tractor buckets just don't work very well with loose stuff.
Great points, Joe! We stack all of our wood. We don't have a large wood yard, so we have to make good use of our space. I feel like digging wood out of a pile takes just as long as it does to stack it. The best part is that there are no right or wrong ways to do it. Do what fits you and what works for you. The other thing is, a lot of people just look at the volume and don't value their time and effort put into making firewood. A lot of people around us are willing to sell it far too cheap. Thanks for another great video! Have a great day! 👍👍
Would love to see you bring Chris from “In the Woodward” onto the wood hounds podcast to discuss stacking VS bins. He is very anti stacking, would make a great debate and podcast. Keep up the great content!
haha. I support anyone who decides for themselves. I think what we need are some studies that can help us understand the science and facts. I would love to hear that!
Honestly though I don’t think it would be much of a debate. Chris makes it pretty clear on his channel that he’s doing his methods because they are the most efficient for him. Obviously, he used to do stacking for a long time and he determined through his own practice that for him, it’s not as productive. So I just don’t think that there would be much for them to debate or actually discuss.
As mentioned before not into wood trade but stacking the wood you can count practically the exact amount what you carry on stock which is very useful to knowing the amount of cash you have in wood Best of luck to you Whichever way suits your business
Great video Joe. I’m 100% in agreement about stacking. Seems to dry a lot faster. I’ve been using pallets similar to how Chris in the wood yard use to. Easy to load out a quantity without stacking in my trailer. But I do like to have it stacked in the trailer the first time I deliver to a new customer. I also don’t mind stacking for the customer as long as it’s not too difficult at the location. But I charge for that in my price. Great video Joe. Have a great day 👍🏻!
I am set up that if I can get my truck backed to the rack I don't charge bc I don't dump on the ground to begin with but If I have to go up steps or use a wheelbarrow I will charge
If the piles are windowed, it is easy to use your FIFO inventory management. Try an experiment, do 5 cords your way, and 5 cords into bins that are two pallets wide. 4' high. Time everything, & track the experiment until the wood is ready for sale. To expedite the "bin" wood, it's easy & quick to unload the the trailer into the tractor bucket and dump in the bin.
This is my hope is someone in academia will conduct such a test. Some of the difficult observations is "quality of life" where I just grimace when I see someone climbing into a bin to chuck logs. Ugh.
Last time I got firewood, they pulled up in a pickup truck. 10” stake boards on the side, but loosely thrown in. And they called it a full chord. Pieces were everywhere from 6” long to 24”. Some were thin enough to break by hand and many needed to be resplit. That seems to be the norm for firewood in my area.
i agree i stack for local. never touch the commercial sales is 300 cords every other week. stacking makes yard more professional. enjoyed the video as usual.
I’ve stacked my firewood for years. My reasoning: 1) my wife doesn’t complain about the messy pile 2) easier for my old back to pick and bundle. 3)My stacks are positioned so that the prevailing winds blow through the stacks which helps the drying process. It is my belief that a more professional appearance also helps my bundle woods sales.
I don't sell wood, I do cut for myself!! This year I started staking in totes and I found i like pulling it out of the totes better than pulling out of a pile!!
Hi Joe I can certainly see your points on how you run your firewood business !😊 Wow on GOOD that all the snow you got a few days ago is gone ! I'm pretty sure that a day doesn't go by without you appreciating your New wood yard !!😊 Merry Christmas to you and your family !🎄
Ya got to do what best for you. Having been burning wood for the past 50+ yrs. I've stacked for yrs, piling now is working better for me. Also location for drying is everything.
I’m with you stacking is best. Takes up way less space to. I have limited space in my small operation and having 15-20 cord on had takes up space and stacking makes the most sense. For my personal use I like stacking in IBC totes I’ll stack on the tote right off the splitter than just fork the tote into the garage as I need them. It also allowed me to double stack the totes saving even more space and if someone shows up with a dump trailer or dump truck I can load them really easy by dumping a tote in.
Firewood is stacked at the Applied OCD wood yard. It looks beautiful, dries evenly, and is easier to handle. The closest thing to a pile is my holz hausen circular stack with the splintery bits randomly chucked in the middle.
Great video well explained im converted When i did firewood i had logs stacked but mine where 4 to 5ft long and i took from the stack and then cut into firewood and big stuff split with an axe Difference i had was i went to the forests felled the trees cut into these lengths i could handle to stack on a pickup and bring home to stack to dry. I didn't have room to stack the actual firewood logs if you understand Another Difference i had was in the forests i worked the oak had been poisoned to kill them off back in the 40s but oak centre doesn't rot like other wood so they just stood there drying on their feet All this wood had been under planted with conifer trees Well when the dead oak fell they took a pile of conifer with them. Hence i got the job of felling the oak into the empty rows between the conifer tree's without damaging them ( (sometimes of course one would go wrong) So my dry firewood was already seasoned,and boy was it seasoned and gave off terrific heat when burnt Interesting thing about radioactive wood sometimes if there was a bit of white wood left on the oak it would glow green in a wood stove. That scared a few customers 😂
I saw that same thing with cherry wood in my woodyard. It was green florescent glow around the sapwood. Dad said the old-timers called that phenomenon "Foxfire." I've only experienced it once but def saw it with my own two eyes!
I cut and split firewood for my own needs. I agree on stacking the wood; during splitting I load it straight on a wheel barrow, and from there it gets stacked in the wood shed. There it seasons for at least 2 years.
My firewood is piled in bins. The reason why? Simple. My space is very limited for stacking. If I can't go OUT, I have to go UP. I don't look at firewood as a thing of beauty. Stacked does look better. But when you get down to brass tacks, people want dry wood. Stacked. Bin. Piles. Doesn't matter. They want clean wood that they can burn right now. That's exactly what I deliver. Great video.
I stack all my wood into face cords. It would be convenient to toss into piles, but then there's no way to measure the volume. Stacking creates a more standard unit of measure and that's what keeps the loads consistent
Hi Joe, that was a really interesting video. I agree with the asthetic aspect of the content. When I first came to your channel I remember showing your "stacked rows" to my wife and saying "look at this,doesn't it look beautiful!" she thought I was nuts. Well I still do. I watch a lot of North American firewood vids and all I can say celebrate the difference. If it works for you (whatever way) that's great. Me I still love looking at thestacked rows! Cheers from HB NZ
Your local market situation is also faily important to determine what can become a viable business strategy. What works for you does not necessarily have to work for others. Not everybody lives in a region with restaurants and effluent people that will buy small amounts of premium firewood.
I would like to point out something to you but Im not criticizing you because you would not know this. I live in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio which has been one of the most economically depressed regions of our country since September 19, 1977. Despite the poverty of my Valley there are a number of homeowners who want to buy firewood the way I sell it. The same Market exists in every area of this country and the reason no one is buying this wood is because nobody is SERVING this Market. There are just way too many people that have bought this wrong belief that fewer touches equals more money when the opposite is the truth . All a person has to do is develop this Market and start selling to these people
Good morning! I stack everything. In our retail lot for pick up we have 120 4X4 T -Post racks. the lot is all recycled asphalt. You can buy 1 -2 racks then after that it’s trailer time. We do have guys to load and extra gloves for little Timmy sitting in the truck. After He or She loads helps the truck I give them the new set of work gloves. My restaurant accounts are loaded in IBC totes and racks I had manufacture them to fit on the forks of the Bobcat. Same thing on busy delivery days we have someone filling orders in racks we can dump in our trailer. 5 minute turnaround on delivery truck with pre measured racks so you know exactly the customer is getting correct amount Everyone loves a bakers dozen. I don’t get that with the butcher or a gas pump. If you like giving extra wood on every order usually looks like 3-4 bundles $24-$32 Dollars per 100 deliveries $2500 your right back to square #1 Thanks Joe! Need Adam run numbers on this !
Another good discussion Joe! I try to stack, sort, handle here to get the most return out of the quantity I produce. Hope you all enjoy your Sunday. Take care!
One TH-camr says he waves 400 or more hours a year by putting the wood into piles. He also has a processor. But he also rotates stock in bins like you do in rows. But to load into the bins, uses a conveyor, tractor, etc. So I don't see 400hrs saved, I see maybe 200hrs a year saved. Then everything is chucked into the truck or trailer and not stacked. It works for him. I can see chucking the wood into the truck or trailer once you know how 1/3 of a cord, 2/3 cord, or a full cord looks in your truck/trailer. One day I hope to get my "mojo" back and kick butt on firewood production.
“Sales are on fire”, oh man, I’m glad it’s not your wood! Elaine from Canada here, nice video Joe, love your passion. It’s your business, it’s your peace, your health, your choice and it’s working out. Yay for that! Cheers!
I mean, i think its pretty obvious that stacking firewood is going to be the best way to get the wood to dry. Doesnt take a master degree in thermal dynamics to understand why thats the case. My theory is, people WANT piles of wood to dry just as fast so badly, whether its in bins or cones on concrete, that they will convince themselves its a better method so they dont have to stack lol.
Good morning Joe, The great stack or no stack debate. My humble opinion is this, There's pro's and con's to both sytems. I agree that firewood stacked in rows is a beautiful thing, its also a great advertisement to any customer ( potential or regular) that passes by your yard. But heres the thing, i would say, use the system that best suits your method of production and allows for the profit margin that you expect. Wishing you all at OWB a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year🎉🎉
What about rows of netted bagged firewood, just stack bagged firewood into the back of the truck and count the number of bags to get partial cords, that way all the customer has to do is grab a bag or two as they require, it is easier for them. You can then also sell smaller quantities at higher prices. Also, old used corrogated iron sheets can be used as "Hats" on top of the rows of firewood, helping to keep the weather off of them.
I wonder why the stacking/not stacking is such a hot topic of discussion? I’ve seen some guys get mad at me for my opinion. Having said that, I believe the wood dries well in my area in piles. I’m on the top of a hill, it’s worked out ok for me so far. I don’t complain too much about the bending over because I need the exercise. Love your channel Joe! Thanks for sharing your opinion:)
Honestly I am annoyed by the whole debate. I just feel like something needs to be said about firewood as a commodity and that this crazy belief of "touching the wood is losing money" is just fundamentally wrong and ultimately holds our industry back from advancing to meet modern challenges. Firewood, to me, is a service industry...with an emphasis on "service!"
The only thing I'd suggest is raising the rows onto shelves high enough that you can push a pallet into a flatbed or trailer. Perhaps air flowing under the wood may help dry the bottom row better.
@@ohiowoodburner understood, and not a troll. I was reminded of my old job at the warehouse and having those pallets on a roller track with a slight grade. Thought perhaps that could speed up loading, but I'm sure you thought of it all.
I’ve done it both ways. I have to disagree. It dries fine in a pile and it’s way faster. Not a little faster. Of course you do you! You’ve got a great channel and deliver a top quality product!
Thanks Travis. I will remain firm on my conclusion but recognize that science will be able to give the right answer. Regardless, stacking is just easier, less work, and better inventory management
Love the points on stacking! I agree that stacking is the way to go as well. If i had a debarker/cleaner like you do, i would like it even more. Great vid today.
Great points Joe! I’m a piler. But the way you’re stacking is a key too. You’re doing single rows. I had bad results stacking because I’d do that three rows together🤞thing, which didn’t allow for great drying. All the points you made are things I’ve been thinking about, and I think this season I’m going to mix it up and still do some piles with certain wood, but wanna do single-wide rows with denser wood. I think it will dry faster. And it does look so much better, and sometimes easier to load!👍👍
Good video defending stacked firewood. Although it depends on mentality at the end of the day. Like you probably know. Which is why you choose to continue on your way the way you are. Thanks for the video. Enjoyed watching.
I agree, stacking looks way better. Are there any videos of people with piles of firewood doing moisture test on the wood in the middle? It just don’t seem like it would dry out as good without any air flow like stacked wood gets.
Chris from In The Woodyard proves it time and time again that wood dries when piled,…but on pallets and off of the ground. I think that most people don’t understand that wind is very important in the speed of the seasoning process when outside. He’s tested wood in the middle and on the bottom with moisture meters, and they were seasoned.
Hi Joe, I agree with you 💯 I think it looks better and dries better 😀😊 I stack mine in a wood shed. It's breezy here most of the summer. The wind goes through it 365 days a year and when it is hot it dries fast 😊❤
Joe, I agree with you. I have worked in farwood since i was 10. We burned forward all my life. I'm 67. I buy a lot of Harwood, now this year I bought 10 Rick, I dispat. After I bought it, they pile their wood. How do I know it's not season out good? It's full of a lot of trash, and they use a Bobcat to load a tri-axle dump true. They cannot tell me they're throwing it in the pile that it dries out the same, and it's just as clean. It is not thank you.
I remember my first few tri axles of logs, which had about 6 cords each, took me about a month to get it done. With all of my other responsibilities I thought that was a good pace. Glad you are still at it buddy
Not a businessman, just my own personal supply. I have 2 areas that are stacked, and 2 that are piles. I'm using the piles first, 'just to get rid of them'. I prefer the stacked.
Fire wood is solar energy expressed in carbon. Commodity stausb requires a buyer and a seller. I have often cut my own wood and given it away without entering commerce, other than the trade of my access to Solar energy ( burgers and chainsaw gas)for the trees stored solar energy :).
My reason for this vid is not to convince anyone of anything. I am just wanting to make sure that this totally incorrect and backwards belief of "fewer touches" is clearly understood as being contrary to reality. It seems in no other industry involving the sale of commodities does this belief exist.
How close are you to yard capacity for the stacked wood. Will you ever maximize the row length by stacking columns at the ends to make full rows of even height.
I hang each individual piece from a wire attached to a board so each piece dries in the sun at its own pace. Think Indians drying salmon on racks. Each rack is constructed to maximize sun exposure and air flow. I also play soft rock from the seventies to calm down the woods chakra and allow the moisture to leave each individual piece. David Gates and Bread is my favorite. Once my wood psychologist has determined a piece is ready for sale my new age fung schway artists smokes the rack with incense to facilitate each pieces gift to the business. 😀
Ultimately the customer has no idea how you dry your wood. As long as it is dry and ready to burn at point of delivery that is all that matters. However stacking makes sense if your Woodyard is limited for space.
Well said…I agree with stacking, dries good, easily loads and for a salesman it looks great like a neat grocery store. Presentation is a big deal. 🇺🇸👏🏻
Totally agree with your business plan and operation. Anybody viewing can see the cleanliness and care. They know they're going to get clean wood, and what they paid for. I see lots of bulk firewood deliveries dumped with a bunch of bark, dirt and sawdust having taken up space that should have been fire wood. And the buyers think they save money 🤦.
Will start with answering your specific question believe it is simply because the firewood small rounds or split has become the finished product your double stacked pallet method in my opinion is the only and best way to go triple stacked would be far to restricted regarding air flow while a single stack could be done on sawmill slabs if so desired and does work well the only thing we did differently while double stacked as you have there is a single top row right down the center seems it did create somewhat of an air tunnel our other objective was to slightly stack leaning toward the inside each top piece would be an inch or better overlap creating a foot or so gap at the top between the rows after having some rows at times end up on the ground from falling outward and restacking adopted this method and never looked back the downside to stacking firewood is zero in my opinion some individuals just want no part of it
Nice post Linda. I am thinking of trying a six wide system instead of four but it has always been on my mind if it could introduce mold. Seems the rows are apart far enough but I would hate to be wrong
Joe if you are getting minimal mold and or mushrooms hopefully none or next to none from your four row system than I see no good reason why you would get any from six rows eight or however many rows that is good thinking on your part given the woodyard is only as big as it is and utilizing all usable space is just smart business sense
Hey Joe go watch this video that I am going to suggest right now : FIREWOOD DRYING BINS DO THEY WORK? I am not saying you are wrong .I just want to clarify that piled up firewood that is off the ground on pallets dries excellently You are a sole proprietor. ..and you want to make as much for a stick of firewood as you can Chris from in the woodyard does it part time .
Hi Joe! So I season the rings (as I have to cut them first with a chainsaw anyway using smaller splitting machines) for as long as I can. Before then split and further season the wood. Then I try and get it away in a few large barns we have to keep the wood dry. I find people can complain if the wood is wet and not ‘ready to burn’ id love to keep it outside but here in the south of England it rains a lot and in the winter endlessly and the wood starts to deteriorate. Clearly I have to spend a lot of time to move it in to barns they aren’t huge barns so I can’t drive in to them and move them on the truck and hand load in to some smaller barns. How do you get around keeping a load of wood outside to make it easier to access and sell, if it gets wet? A lot of people here expect it dry and ready to burn I’d say. I’ve had complaints from selling wood that was outside in the winter stacked and not covered though it was very well seasoned I got people who complained from it being wet! Best wishes. Tim, England UK
My part of Ohio is usually cloudy and wet but keeping the rows in single file lets the wood dry off pretty fast. I don't deal with mold etc like this. The moisture I'm concerned about is what lives inside the stick
@ Hi Joe, do you find customers will just put the logs in their log stores and dry out within a day or two of sun anyway once undercover so it’s not a big issue? Maybe I should aim to stack and keep the wood outside uncovered like I used to. The wind and sun in single file rows does really season and wick off outside water well. Do you use tarps or anything to cover them over, customers aren’t worried if some wood is a little wet from rain? I’m wondering if I’m losing a lot of time to get it in a dry barn that makes loading up take a lot longer too. If I can just say that the wood will dry up surface water on the logs within a day or two and then it will save a whole load of time.
If you want to sell firewood as a low-priced commodity, handle it as little as possible and skip shaking off the loose bark. Don’t even worry about a constant cut length. However, if your goal is to create a more valuable product, you'll need to inspect it more closely, handle it more frequently, and market it through advertising and sales calls. Joe’s restaurant customers didn’t just show up; he had to locate them and produce a quality product. They expect and are willing to pay for a product that is 100% usable for their purposes. I wouldn’t expect a restaurateur to be sorting wood at their establishment while someone at a table waits for a meal. Joe is doing great! I commend Joe for transforming what could be a commodity business into a largely custom service🙂
Love your enthusiasm Joe. Your argument for "value added" firewood is very strong. I'd like to recommend a book for you. The title is Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting. Makes for interesting reading, especially for a wood hound. Hope you are having a great day.
My firewood business is way more profitable. TH-cam has been pretty flat this year but OWB has been growing nicely. I still regard them opposite sides of the same coin but I make 4x more $$ than YT anymore.
@ The reason that I ask is that a friend of mine says that he sells 50,000.00 in firewood but takes in over 100,000.00 with YT. But the firewood drives his YT channel. Thank you for responding. I enjoy watching your videos.
Here in Oregon it is illegal to not sell by the cord so it’s all bulk. 99% of the time customers want full cords and I plan on using bins to season and store, but if I quickly run out of room I will do some cord sized stacks. Stacking full cords in a truck gets old too, but you just have to want to work, I’m sure I will confuse a lot of people when I pull up with a 180cf loose cord
@ as far as I can tell no but who is really going to enforce it? People have bundle stands, but they are pretty adamant about making sure people know what a full cord is when selling wood. We have always found it to be a burden to sell less, charge another $20 to deliver a half, but there are lots of people out there with sheds that are built for less. It’s my time for growing and learning so things can change as I am now working on opening my own yard and delivering as much as possible. I hope to mechanize and spit straight into dump trailers
Next variable: are your stacks running North and South, or East and West. I used to live slightly north of your latitude, and I settled on East -West as the better orientation.
I've always kinda scratched my head trying to figure out the "more touches of your firewood=lost money" logic. If you have 8" rounds and split them 4 ways and make $300 a cord for boiler wood, take the same wood and split them 8 ways for bundle wood and make $900 a cord, and then take the same wood and split them 16 ways to make kindling for $2,000 a cord are you losing money? Simple production economics means that the person who does the most work makes the most money, unless you're a farmer which is a whole different subject for another discussion. I totally get your position on stacking vs piling, volume of production makes all of the difference 👍 Good video with good information for thought 👍
Thanks Lyle. I would normally just mind my business here but I find it difficult to do nothing and allow this wrong belief define our industry. If you still want to make you $$ with split and sell, go for it...but don't let your decisions be based on wrong conclusions.
Stacking works better for me but piles work for others so it’s personal preference. I do see this “community” kinda starting to go at each other over everything from types of saws, sharpening chains, splitters, stacking, safety equipment and whatever else. It’s sort of a turn-off for the firewood hobbyist like myself. I’ll just watch the “big timers” go at it from the grandstands.
I think as a hole us wood hounds are a good bunch . I stack my premium wood and pile my bulk wood . Both dry well . And the best saw is a sharp saw . We can all learn a lot from each other .
When I load my truck for a half cord I count the pieces till I get my number. I’ve counted ten half cords came u with an average and that’s my number. Works for me.
I like hearing and learning from you, logfather, buckn ray, and in the woodyard. Think the best model would be to give the most options to the potential customer. You want fresh, ready, big, small, long, short, hard, or soft? We can do it.
I did a vid a couple years ago comparing firewood selling to gas stations who sell regular, mid-grade, and premium fuel. Give the customers a choice. At least for me I go after only one of those markets. There are just too many others selling to the other two.
Great video. Limited space is a problem usually. The stacks I agree look so much better and the inventory. Get a tape measure out and see how inventory looks. ( no guessing) when are you planning to drive south for an out of this world hickory smoked steak ????
I wish all this green wood I got would burn as is, here WNC there's no shortage of downed trees, just green as a Gourd....23 loads on a triaxle L9000 dump all hardwood. I'm on the lookout and have found some dead/standing dead to donate to the folks here in WNC but there's so many people trying to sell green wood here and it pisses me off taking advantage of folks that are really going through it. I got a lead on a couple standing dead locust trees hopefully I can get it cut up and took to a local community center here in a day or 2....great video bud.
i use only dry standing fir second i build my truck rack to hold 1/2 cord and sell it that way also i sell rounds some people like to split their own wood thanks for the windy vid
@ohiowoodburner yes man!. I've been burning firewood as our main source of heat for over 16 years now and I still LOVE every bit of it. All the small things you learn along the way. I agree with your notion of how many times you pick up each.piece of wood in hopes of supplying good buring wood. Cheers!!
Joe, I think you could get close to the MC required for wood gas furnace customers and they are paying $750/cord. If your MC is a little high you could use the shipping container as a dry kiln and reach MC very quickly. Just in case you decide to expand using my consultation, my fee is very low... say $1200. Ok great thanks see ya.
$750 is a good price but my target is higher than that. So far so good but seems a lot of people can't get their minds around that....think wood is only sold at $300ish a cord.
@ohiowoodburner your choice wood is worth more but furnace wood doesn't have to be perfect. You could almost buy it from your Amish neighbor for $225 and sit on it until the MC is right. I've got Amish neighbors and you've got me thinking.
Joe with all the rows you have now how do you know which row is the next row you pull from? Besides the obvious of the weathering. Do you have a date marked on your rows? Or a map of the Woodyard with dates jotted down. Or just your Joe Memory? Asking for a friend. Peace
Well, in a perfect world the yard is set up to rotate 60 cords so I would go from one end to the other but...you can tell that i got a little messed up along the way. I do just go off memory. I know where and when everything was stacked.
Joe, great video. I love how you think. You work hard & to me it seems like you enjoy what you’re doing. Firewood stacked looks awesome, whether it’s on pallets on the ground, in metal totes, or in home made cages, it all looks good. If you got to chuck wood to load it, it’s much safer & easier standing flat footed when chucking.😉😉🇺🇸 Have a great day👍 Dave from Maine.
Thanks Dave. I have tried every method for my style of service and I have gravitated to what works best for us. I also think is a lot do about the volume I am currently at. If I were to expand I would have to consider modifications but I think that is way down the road
@ Joe, I forgot to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you, your family, & to all your helpers that stack wood for you. Again, Have a great day.👍 Dave from Maine.
I use the time I would have used stacking to split more firewood. I used to stack wood in IBC totes but in the end decided in my particular situation I was wasting time...
I sale a good bit of fire wood . Cords of it . But I am just a Hobbyist. I don’t want to try to survive off firewood . Here in NC I sale both heating wood , cooking wood and what I call Pleasure wood .
Nice. I did a vid a couple years ago comparing firewood selling to gas stations who sell regular, mid-grade, and premium fuel. Give the customers a choice
@@ohiowoodburner I agree with you, my point is with utilities is that they hide their capitalism behind "doing it for the environment." Anyway, love your videos and work ethic!
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I would think that stacking and keeping it all organized helps take the guess work out of what is seasoned and ready to go and the amount you actually have on hand.
I agree John...It is a great way to manage your inventory
I work all spring and summer to cut, split, and stack firewood for winter for us. I love walking by and seeing the wood stacked neatly in the shed. During the winter when I burn I find myself getting a little sad seeing the stacks diminish. There definitely is something soothing seeing stacked firewood.
I agree. Love it!
Joe, you are proving that common sense makes sense. There are several reasons why you are making top dollar for firewood and you just showed all you business model experiences.
Nice job! I love stacked wood by the way!
I just came up with a great idea Doug!!! You should come over and help me stack!!! hahahaha. Hope all is well on your side of the border
@ I’ll be right over
This video is golden. This is exactly why I watch your channel. I'm in the infancy of turning my firewood hobby into a business. Everyone's situation is different but I learn the best tips from watching channels like yours. Thank you Joe!!! 🤠👍
Thanks Sam. I enjoy ur channel. If ur up my way stop by. Not sure where u are but prob close to the valley
@ohiowoodburner Thank you very much for the offer. I will definitely make the time to do that. I'm about 30 mins south of you just south of Canfield. I'll probably bend your ear right off, lol!
We all should promote the idea of heating with wood also. There are some good reasons to do so. And that will, of course, increase the market for firewood.
The beauty of TH-cam. Everyone’s process is different and we get to decide what works best for us. Many benefits either way. Thanks for the advice Joe!
Thanks for watching Harold!
Great discussion, Joe!!! I totally agree that the more niche approach to firewood creates the value. Selling bundles has been my main stay. The market demand in my area is ever expanding. Referring to units and margins, I can get $650 out of a cord of wood sold as bundles. I never have to leave my property, as the bundle stand is at the end of the driveway. No fuel costs in transporting it and dumping it somewhere and no use costs for a transport vehicle. I will ride this horse as long as I can!
Nice! Sounds like you have it figured out buddy. Keep it up
Joe, you and Chris in the woodyard play nice, now. Great video, Joe, always entertaining and well presented. The woodyard looks really good and busy.
I love the firewood community. We have a big tent
Hi Joe - it’s Big Rodders in Ireland. In addition to describing your firewood as premium you should add that it is also gravity defying - the lean on some of your rows is impressive!
haha. I was just straightening one yesterday. Seems the freeze thaw can get them leaning
I’m not into selling firewood, but I agree that your method of organizing your wood is the best way to organize your inventory. It keeps it off the ground, allows you to rotate your inventory, looks clean and professional and it also gives you a great idea of how much inventory you have. Keep doing your way and “ have a great day “😅
Glad to see your word choice calling it "inventory" tim. I always wonder if other industries have such low regard for their product as we do in firewood that we can't touch it unless we risk losing money LOL. Strange industry at times
Sunday morning Joe video with my cup of joe. Your yard looks great. Merry Christmas to you and family and to other viewers.
Thanks for watchig Roger. It is a cold one out there today!
Hi Joe. Another great video. I think every firewood producer needs to figure out their own system of manufacturing, material flow, inventory management, delivery. A lot depends on location and product demand. I switched to a "value added" business model about 15yrs ago. I make more now doing a quarter of the volume I did previously. There's a lot involved in this approach, and the business plan is opposite of what most people think is correct for them. There's a lot of potential in the firewood provider economy. I recommend everyone to work hard, work smart, and work safe. Eventually you'll figure out what works best for you.
Great post Pete. thanks for taking the time buddy
Stacked vs piled. Husqvarna vs Stihl. GM vs Ford. Browns vs Bengals. College vs Pro. Eggs vs pancakes. Dr. Pepper vs Mr. Pibb. They all dry! It just depends on what works best for you in your own space. I have wood in rows, bins, and stacked. I do prefer the beauty of stacked rows (90+% of mine is) but I do have some piles for home use. Also totally agree the more you ORGANIZE your wood the less it cost. Not the more touches that cost money. 👍
Nice post Yorky!
Joe, one thing to consider is long-term repetitive motion muscle injury. I had tendinitis from picking up wood pieces by piece, and it took a long time to heal. Our approach is IBC totes, few are stacked and most are loose. We have rotating forks for dumping into a trailer or a dump insert on 3/4 ton pickup. We don't stack at customers' sites. We just can not keep up. Exception for a couple of elderly people with disabilities. IBC totes can be expensive, however. Ours averaged $20 per tote.
I don't dump. most every delivery is stacked. It is part of our method for max $. I use IBCs also but mostly to ferry wood around the yard. I had always said if you are too busy that means you should raise your prices LOL
100%! We do both, if stacked into totes, we can arrange the wood in the yard easier. Great job
Thanks Derek.
At the end of the day we just needa do what works for us, ive done both,the biggest part of mine is piled but i agree woth stacks are better visibly ,knowing amounts, and loading is alot easier , i still have some of both,but took after you going with higher quality control and targeting the right markey for me,anyway thanks joe i appriciate the video,everyone just pick ways that best suites you,you may need both ways at some point, and dont wana be in tye dark one any way,its the beauty of this community sharing ways makes it better
Thanks for commenting Jesse. Hope you are staying dry. Been super wet lately
Yessir,raining dreary nasty day here in East TN.today,I appriciate the video,your yard looks great too by the way,that's one more of the beautys of stacking too,how much snow have you gotten so far????
@@jessejones9830 very minimal. Had that one storm but that has been it. Raining today
It's one of the things i have done over the last few years.
Within a half inch plus or minus, I am constantly at 16 inches, and i have been able to charge just a little more. Every load still gets a few odd ball pieces, and no one has complained..
I think consistent lengths is the first step to awesome firewood. How's things going for you Dan?
@ohiowoodburner : I'm doing well here 😉👍
@@DanielAtkinsFirewood INDEED, I think you kick butt... Keep Pushin' On Brother.
this is the channel i watch the most. I am a fan of half a dozen others. but this is the best channel. Stacking is the most important after the split. But where i start to lose the majority of people is how to get it from the stack to the customer. I see no videos from anyone about that. Stack into the vessel. Vessel to the end user. But how? conveyor into the vessel. Then dump at end user? Many restaurants get boxes on pallets and then we use pallet forks. Lots to be discussed about the process after we split / stack. - The Log Hog
Thanks for the nice post Bob. I keep it simple and here is a vid where I show a quick 1/4 cord loaded up for delivery
th-cam.com/video/cVh5SRyCq4s/w-d-xo.html
Your "skip-row" stacking is allowing you to dry faster than normal. Much more airflow and sunlight. Takes up the same room as loose piles (~192 cu ft/cord), but much easier to handle. Tractor buckets just don't work very well with loose stuff.
I agree. I made the mistake one of having my rows too close together and ruined about four cords with mold. Keeping spaced like this works great
Great points, Joe! We stack all of our wood. We don't have a large wood yard, so we have to make good use of our space. I feel like digging wood out of a pile takes just as long as it does to stack it. The best part is that there are no right or wrong ways to do it. Do what fits you and what works for you. The other thing is, a lot of people just look at the volume and don't value their time and effort put into making firewood. A lot of people around us are willing to sell it far too cheap. Thanks for another great video! Have a great day! 👍👍
I agree. I think if a neighbor wants to sell their firewood cheap we should do the neighborly thing and buy it from them!!!
@ohiowoodburner
LOL But make sure the quality is in the wood !!!!😊
@@ohiowoodburner absolutely!
Would love to see you bring Chris from “In the Woodward” onto the wood hounds podcast to discuss stacking VS bins. He is very anti stacking, would make a great debate and podcast. Keep up the great content!
haha. I support anyone who decides for themselves. I think what we need are some studies that can help us understand the science and facts. I would love to hear that!
Honestly though I don’t think it would be much of a debate. Chris makes it pretty clear on his channel that he’s doing his methods because they are the most efficient for him. Obviously, he used to do stacking for a long time and he determined through his own practice that for him, it’s not as productive. So I just don’t think that there would be much for them to debate or actually discuss.
As mentioned before not into wood trade but stacking the wood you can count practically the exact amount what you carry on stock which is very useful to knowing the amount of cash you have in wood
Best of luck to you
Whichever way suits your business
Thanks Jonesy. Good post
Great video Joe. I’m 100% in agreement about stacking. Seems to dry a lot faster. I’ve been using pallets similar to how Chris in the wood yard use to. Easy to load out a quantity without stacking in my trailer. But I do like to have it stacked in the trailer the first time I deliver to a new customer.
I also don’t mind stacking for the customer as long as it’s not too difficult at the location. But I charge for that in my price.
Great video Joe. Have a great day 👍🏻!
I am set up that if I can get my truck backed to the rack I don't charge bc I don't dump on the ground to begin with but If I have to go up steps or use a wheelbarrow I will charge
If the piles are windowed, it is easy to use your FIFO inventory management. Try an experiment, do 5 cords your way, and 5 cords into bins that are two pallets wide. 4' high. Time everything, & track the experiment until the wood is ready for sale. To expedite the "bin" wood, it's easy & quick to unload the the trailer into the tractor bucket and dump in the bin.
This is my hope is someone in academia will conduct such a test. Some of the difficult observations is "quality of life" where I just grimace when I see someone climbing into a bin to chuck logs. Ugh.
Last time I got firewood, they pulled up in a pickup truck. 10” stake boards on the side, but loosely thrown in. And they called it a full chord. Pieces were everywhere from 6” long to 24”. Some were thin enough to break by hand and many needed to be resplit. That seems to be the norm for firewood in my area.
We still have services like that here in my area. I hear stories from my new customers. Seems there is a market for everything at least
i agree i stack for local. never touch the commercial sales is 300 cords every other week. stacking makes yard more professional. enjoyed the video as usual.
300 a week is huge volume. Good job Robbie
@@ohiowoodburner300 every OTHER week 😊
I’ve stacked my firewood for years. My reasoning: 1) my wife doesn’t complain about the messy pile 2) easier for my old back to pick and bundle. 3)My stacks are positioned so that the prevailing winds blow through the stacks which helps the drying process.
It is my belief that a more professional appearance also helps my bundle woods sales.
well said. Nice post Matt
I don't sell wood, I do cut for myself!! This year I started staking in totes and I found i like pulling it out of the totes better than pulling out of a pile!!
haha I hate pulling from a pile but it always seems I tear my shirt pulling from a tote LOL
I completely agree with you Joe the more you handle your firewood the more it;s worth and the more valuable it becomes.
Preach brother Yusri!
Hi Joe
I can certainly see your points on how you run your firewood business !😊
Wow on GOOD that all the snow you got a few days ago is gone !
I'm pretty sure that a day doesn't go by without you appreciating your New wood yard !!😊
Merry Christmas to you and your family !🎄
You got that right Ken. I can't believe that this woodyard is mine sometimes. Love it! Merry xmas to you too buddy
Ya got to do what best for you. Having been burning wood for the past 50+ yrs. I've stacked for yrs, piling now is working better for me. Also location for drying is everything.
Thanks for sharing Allan!
I’m with you stacking is best. Takes up way less space to. I have limited space in my small operation and having 15-20 cord on had takes up space and stacking makes the most sense. For my personal use I like stacking in IBC totes I’ll stack on the tote right off the splitter than just fork the tote into the garage as I need them. It also allowed me to double stack the totes saving even more space and if someone shows up with a dump trailer or dump truck I can load them really easy by dumping a tote in.
Nice post. Thanks Charger
Firewood is stacked at the Applied OCD wood yard. It looks beautiful, dries evenly, and is easier to handle. The closest thing to a pile is my holz hausen circular stack with the splintery bits randomly chucked in the middle.
How does the holshausen work with drying?
@ohiowoodburner I haven't cracked it open yet!
Great video well explained im converted
When i did firewood i had logs stacked but mine where 4 to 5ft long and i took from the stack and then cut into firewood and big stuff split with an axe
Difference i had was i went to the forests felled the trees cut into these lengths i could handle to stack on a pickup and bring home to stack to dry.
I didn't have room to stack the actual firewood logs if you understand
Another Difference i had was in the forests i worked the oak had been poisoned to kill them off back in the 40s but oak centre doesn't rot like other wood so they just stood there drying on their feet
All this wood had been under planted with conifer trees
Well when the dead oak fell they took a pile of conifer with them.
Hence i got the job of felling the oak into the empty rows between the conifer tree's without damaging them ( (sometimes of course one would go wrong)
So my dry firewood was already seasoned,and boy was it seasoned and gave off terrific heat when burnt
Interesting thing about radioactive wood sometimes if there was a bit of white wood left on the oak it would glow green in a wood stove.
That scared a few customers 😂
I saw that same thing with cherry wood in my woodyard. It was green florescent glow around the sapwood. Dad said the old-timers called that phenomenon "Foxfire." I've only experienced it once but def saw it with my own two eyes!
Not to mention it's pretty hard to tell how much you have exactly. Great points!
Very true. You can prob estimate close but it is nice to know for certain
I cut and split firewood for my own needs. I agree on stacking the wood; during splitting I load it straight on a wheel barrow, and from there it gets stacked in the wood shed. There it seasons for at least 2 years.
I do that with some of my oak. That is why I get tired of looking at it LOL
My firewood is piled in bins. The reason why? Simple. My space is very limited for stacking. If I can't go OUT, I have to go UP. I don't look at firewood as a thing of beauty. Stacked does look better. But when you get down to brass tacks, people want dry wood. Stacked. Bin. Piles. Doesn't matter. They want clean wood that they can burn right now. That's exactly what I deliver. Great video.
Thanks Nate. Sounds like you have a nice operation buddy
I stack all my wood into face cords. It would be convenient to toss into piles, but then there's no way to measure the volume. Stacking creates a more standard unit of measure and that's what keeps the loads consistent
Thanks Nate. It's good to be in full control of your inventory
Hi Joe, that was a really interesting video. I agree with the asthetic aspect of the content. When I first came to your channel I remember showing your "stacked rows" to my wife and saying "look at this,doesn't it look beautiful!" she thought I was nuts. Well I still do. I watch a lot of North American firewood vids and all I can say celebrate the difference. If it works for you (whatever way) that's great. Me I still love looking at thestacked rows! Cheers from HB NZ
Thanks Cliffy. I believe there is something awesome about stacked firewood. I can't take my eyes off my yard when I'm there!
Joe vs. Chris, boxing match of the year. Sunday Sunday Sunday! Stacking vs. Piles and Piles. Be there or be square.
haha. serious I don't see a competition here. Do what's best for you
Your local market situation is also faily important to determine what can become a viable business strategy. What works for you does not necessarily have to work for others. Not everybody lives in a region with restaurants and effluent people that will buy small amounts of premium firewood.
I would like to point out something to you but Im not criticizing you because you would not know this. I live in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio which has been one of the most economically depressed regions of our country since September 19, 1977. Despite the poverty of my Valley there are a number of homeowners who want to buy firewood the way I sell it. The same Market exists in every area of this country and the reason no one is buying this wood is because nobody is SERVING this Market. There are just way too many people that have bought this wrong belief that fewer touches equals more money when the opposite is the truth . All a person has to do is develop this Market and start selling to these people
Good morning! I stack everything. In our retail lot for pick up we have 120 4X4 T -Post racks. the lot is all recycled asphalt. You can buy 1 -2 racks then after that it’s trailer time. We do have guys to load and extra gloves for little Timmy sitting in the truck. After He or She loads helps the truck I give them the new set of work gloves. My restaurant accounts are loaded in IBC totes and racks I had manufacture them to fit on the forks of the Bobcat. Same thing on busy delivery days we have someone filling orders in racks we can dump in our trailer. 5 minute turnaround on delivery truck with pre measured racks so you know exactly the customer is getting correct amount
Everyone loves a bakers dozen. I don’t get that with the butcher or a gas pump. If you like giving extra wood on every order usually looks like 3-4 bundles $24-$32 Dollars per 100 deliveries $2500 your right back to square #1
Thanks Joe!
Need Adam run numbers on this !
haha. Thanks Tex. I would avoid any accountant with this. Seems they are known to ruin a good time
I really appreciate this perspective and agree with your analysis. It is refreshing to hear something different from the "rik, rank, row" club!
LOL... I like the name, I may use that LOL
Great job Joe!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Chris
You and Chris "in the woodyard" have valid points about the way you operate. Chris's operation seems to me more efficient. Both seems to work.
I think we are razor sharp with efficiency but each step must add value. Margin is where it's at
Another good discussion Joe! I try to stack, sort, handle here to get the most return out of the quantity I produce. Hope you all enjoy your Sunday. Take care!
Thanks Dave! Stay dry
One TH-camr says he waves 400 or more hours a year by putting the wood into piles. He also has a processor. But he also rotates stock in bins like you do in rows. But to load into the bins, uses a conveyor, tractor, etc. So I don't see 400hrs saved, I see maybe 200hrs a year saved. Then everything is chucked into the truck or trailer and not stacked. It works for him. I can see chucking the wood into the truck or trailer once you know how 1/3 of a cord, 2/3 cord, or a full cord looks in your truck/trailer. One day I hope to get my "mojo" back and kick butt on firewood production.
Nice post. Thanks Dr
“Sales are on fire”, oh man, I’m glad it’s not your wood! Elaine from Canada here, nice video Joe, love your passion. It’s your business, it’s your peace, your health, your choice and it’s working out. Yay for that! Cheers!
Thanks Elaine!
I mean, i think its pretty obvious that stacking firewood is going to be the best way to get the wood to dry. Doesnt take a master degree in thermal dynamics to understand why thats the case. My theory is, people WANT piles of wood to dry just as fast so badly, whether its in bins or cones on concrete, that they will convince themselves its a better method so they dont have to stack lol.
I like your thoughts on this Dorchy. I agree with you but conditional on the results of testing LOL
Good morning Joe,
The great stack or no stack debate.
My humble opinion is this,
There's pro's and con's to both sytems.
I agree that firewood stacked in rows is a beautiful thing, its also a great advertisement to any customer ( potential or regular) that passes by your yard.
But heres the thing, i would say, use the system that best suits your method of production and allows for the profit margin that you expect.
Wishing you all at OWB a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year🎉🎉
I agree with you Paul. I think the debate is silly and the true waste of time but I had to represent Team Stacking. Seems noone else would LOL
I'm right there with you on stacking versus piling, Great video
Thanks Tim! Stay warm buddy
What about rows of netted bagged firewood, just stack bagged firewood into the back of the truck and count the number of bags to get partial cords, that way all the customer has to do is grab a bag or two as they require, it is easier for them. You can then also sell smaller quantities at higher prices. Also, old used corrogated iron sheets can be used as "Hats" on top of the rows of firewood, helping to keep the weather off of them.
I had long ago rejected bags. I think that violates rule #3 of selling is that the customer has to see the product.
@@ohiowoodburner - thin Netting Bags, basically invisible and if you use black netting, it blends in.
I wonder why the stacking/not stacking is such a hot topic of discussion? I’ve seen some guys get mad at me for my opinion.
Having said that, I believe the wood dries well in my area in piles. I’m on the top of a hill, it’s worked out ok for me so far. I don’t complain too much about the bending over because I need the exercise.
Love your channel Joe! Thanks for sharing your opinion:)
Honestly I am annoyed by the whole debate. I just feel like something needs to be said about firewood as a commodity and that this crazy belief of "touching the wood is losing money" is just fundamentally wrong and ultimately holds our industry back from advancing to meet modern challenges. Firewood, to me, is a service industry...with an emphasis on "service!"
The only thing I'd suggest is raising the rows onto shelves high enough that you can push a pallet into a flatbed or trailer.
Perhaps air flowing under the wood may help dry the bottom row better.
These are already on pallets. Thanks buddy for watching
@@ohiowoodburner understood, and not a troll.
I was reminded of my old job at the warehouse and having those pallets on a roller track with a slight grade.
Thought perhaps that could speed up loading, but I'm sure you thought of it all.
I’ve done it both ways.
I have to disagree. It dries fine in a pile and it’s way faster. Not a little faster.
Of course you do you! You’ve got a great channel and deliver a top quality product!
Thanks Travis. I will remain firm on my conclusion but recognize that science will be able to give the right answer. Regardless, stacking is just easier, less work, and better inventory management
Love the points on stacking! I agree that stacking is the way to go as well. If i had a debarker/cleaner like you do, i would like it even more. Great vid today.
I think the cleaner isn't needed if you stack. If you process into a trailer you can stack the wood and leave the junk behind to dump.
Great points Joe! I’m a piler. But the way you’re stacking is a key too. You’re doing single rows. I had bad results stacking because I’d do that three rows together🤞thing, which didn’t allow for great drying. All the points you made are things I’ve been thinking about, and I think this season I’m going to mix it up and still do some piles with certain wood, but wanna do single-wide rows with denser wood. I think it will dry faster. And it does look so much better, and sometimes easier to load!👍👍
Try to keep it facing North/south. The sun gets on every stick on both sides. Keeps mushrooms down especially with oak
Good video defending stacked firewood. Although it depends on mentality at the end of the day. Like you probably know. Which is why you choose to continue on your way the way you are. Thanks for the video. Enjoyed watching.
Thanks for watching Serge
Of course, learning from the best.
I agree, stacking looks way better. Are there any videos of people with piles of firewood doing moisture test on the wood in the middle? It just don’t seem like it would dry out as good without any air flow like stacked wood gets.
What I want to see is more involvement from academia. This is wide open for research especially if we can see the direction epa stoves etc are going.
Chris from In The Woodyard proves it time and time again that wood dries when piled,…but on pallets and off of the ground. I think that most people don’t understand that wind is very important in the speed of the seasoning process when outside. He’s tested wood in the middle and on the bottom with moisture meters, and they were seasoned.
Hi Joe, I agree with you 💯 I think it looks better and dries better 😀😊 I stack mine in a wood shed. It's breezy here most of the summer. The wind goes through it 365 days a year and when it is hot it dries fast 😊❤
This yard I have found the wood dries super fast. Seems the hard pack radiates heat and the wood gets it from all directions
Joe, I agree with you. I have worked in farwood since i was 10. We burned forward all my life. I'm 67. I buy a lot of Harwood, now this year I bought 10 Rick, I dispat. After I bought it, they pile their wood. How do I know it's not season out good? It's full of a lot of trash, and they use a Bobcat to load a tri-axle dump true. They cannot tell me they're throwing it in the pile that it dries out the same, and it's just as clean. It is not thank you.
Nice post Wade. This is what I try to do the opposite of. But of course the customer is going to pay for my service.
i am older and have bad body parts took me a month at 2 hours a day to split and stack 6 cords
I remember my first few tri axles of logs, which had about 6 cords each, took me about a month to get it done. With all of my other responsibilities I thought that was a good pace. Glad you are still at it buddy
The Only way to settle the stack - pile controversy is joe and Chris in the ring 🥊
haha. No. That's what's great about America. Do what you want and let the market decide.
@ ok but it would make great content , you know how much Tyson-Paul fight grossed right ?
Not a businessman, just my own personal supply. I have 2 areas that are stacked, and 2 that are piles. I'm using the piles first, 'just to get rid of them'. I prefer the stacked.
haha so do i. I have some of the off cuts for my furnace in piles but that is because it is low value stuff
Good money and honest work
Thanks Sparty!
Fire wood is solar energy expressed in carbon.
Commodity stausb requires a buyer and a seller.
I have often cut my own wood and given it away without entering commerce, other than the trade of my access to Solar energy ( burgers and chainsaw gas)for the trees stored solar energy :).
Thanks George!
Gratitude is a feedback loop.
Enshallah every attention token I type leads to ewe too b dough for you:)
I'm starting in this business. I've been debating between stacking vs. pilling. I think you are convincing me to stack.
My reason for this vid is not to convince anyone of anything. I am just wanting to make sure that this totally incorrect and backwards belief of "fewer touches" is clearly understood as being contrary to reality. It seems in no other industry involving the sale of commodities does this belief exist.
How close are you to yard capacity for the stacked wood. Will you ever maximize the row length by stacking columns at the ends to make full rows of even height.
I have more areas to expand. I could also stack my rows taller. I may go six rows wide but not sure if that is how I want to go forward.
I hang each individual piece from a wire attached to a board so each piece dries in the sun at its own pace. Think Indians drying salmon on racks. Each rack is constructed to maximize sun exposure and air flow. I also play soft rock from the seventies to calm down the woods chakra and allow the moisture to leave each individual piece. David Gates and Bread is my favorite. Once my wood psychologist has determined a piece is ready for sale my new age fung schway artists smokes the rack with incense to facilitate each pieces gift to the business.
😀
Love it. David Gates and Bread for the win!
@ how far did you get until it was just too much to believe?
Ultimately the customer has no idea how you dry your wood. As long as it is dry and ready to burn at point of delivery that is all that matters. However stacking makes sense if your Woodyard is limited for space.
All my customers know because we tell them. It is a selling point that people like to know about.
Well said…I agree with stacking, dries good, easily loads and for a salesman it looks great like a neat grocery store. Presentation is a big deal. 🇺🇸👏🏻
Indeed Larry. Thanks buddy
Totally agree with your business plan and operation. Anybody viewing can see the cleanliness and care. They know they're going to get clean wood, and what they paid for. I see lots of bulk firewood deliveries dumped with a bunch of bark, dirt and sawdust having taken up space that should have been fire wood. And the buyers think they save money 🤦.
Agree. But the bottom line if the truck is loaded by hand you are going to have minimal mess.
Hey Joe, good video - but you need to go head to head with Chris 'In the Woodyard'!!
haha. I just do my thing. There are all different types and varieties of firewood.
Will start with answering your specific question believe it is simply because the firewood small rounds or split has become the finished product your double stacked pallet method in my opinion is the only and best way to go triple stacked would be far to restricted regarding air flow while a single stack could be done on sawmill slabs if so desired and does work well the only thing we did differently while double stacked as you have there is a single top row right down the center seems it did create somewhat of an air tunnel our other objective was to slightly stack leaning toward the inside each top piece would be an inch or better overlap creating a foot or so gap at the top between the rows after having some rows at times end up on the ground from falling outward and restacking adopted this method and never looked back the downside to stacking firewood is zero in my opinion some individuals just want no part of it
Nice post Linda. I am thinking of trying a six wide system instead of four but it has always been on my mind if it could introduce mold. Seems the rows are apart far enough but I would hate to be wrong
Joe if you are getting minimal mold and or mushrooms hopefully none or next to none from your four row system than I see no good reason why you would get any from six rows eight or however many rows that is good thinking on your part given the woodyard is only as big as it is and utilizing all usable space is just smart business sense
Hey Joe go watch this video that I am going to suggest right now : FIREWOOD DRYING BINS DO THEY WORK? I am not saying you are wrong .I just want to clarify that piled up firewood that is off the ground on pallets dries excellently You are a sole proprietor. ..and you want to make as much for a stick of firewood as you can Chris from in the woodyard does it part time .
I have done everything for handling except holzhausens. I gravitate to practical solutions and for me this is it
Hi Joe! So I season the rings (as I have to cut them first with a chainsaw anyway using smaller splitting machines) for as long as I can. Before then split and further season the wood. Then I try and get it away in a few large barns we have to keep the wood dry. I find people can complain if the wood is wet and not ‘ready to burn’ id love to keep it outside but here in the south of England it rains a lot and in the winter endlessly and the wood starts to deteriorate. Clearly I have to spend a lot of time to move it in to barns they aren’t huge barns so I can’t drive in to them and move them on the truck and hand load in to some smaller barns. How do you get around keeping a load of wood outside to make it easier to access and sell, if it gets wet? A lot of people here expect it dry and ready to burn I’d say. I’ve had complaints from selling wood that was outside in the winter stacked and not covered though it was very well seasoned I got people who complained from it being wet!
Best wishes. Tim, England UK
My part of Ohio is usually cloudy and wet but keeping the rows in single file lets the wood dry off pretty fast. I don't deal with mold etc like this. The moisture I'm concerned about is what lives inside the stick
@ Hi Joe, do you find customers will just put the logs in their log stores and dry out within a day or two of sun anyway once undercover so it’s not a big issue? Maybe I should aim to stack and keep the wood outside uncovered like I used to. The wind and sun in single file rows does really season and wick off outside water well. Do you use tarps or anything to cover them over, customers aren’t worried if some wood is a little wet from rain? I’m wondering if I’m losing a lot of time to get it in a dry barn that makes loading up take a lot longer too. If I can just say that the wood will dry up surface water on the logs within a day or two and then it will save a whole load of time.
@@TimStandish I got away from covering. I think it is good for split firewood to get rained on
If you want to sell firewood as a low-priced commodity, handle it as little as possible and skip shaking off the loose bark. Don’t even worry about a constant cut length. However, if your goal is to create a more valuable product, you'll need to inspect it more closely, handle it more frequently, and market it through advertising and sales calls. Joe’s restaurant customers didn’t just show up; he had to locate them and produce a quality product. They expect and are willing to pay for a product that is 100% usable for their purposes. I wouldn’t expect a restaurateur to be sorting wood at their establishment while someone at a table waits for a meal. Joe is doing great! I commend Joe for transforming what could be a commodity business into a largely custom service🙂
Nice post greg. Good assessment of this market!
Love your enthusiasm Joe. Your argument for "value added" firewood is very strong. I'd like to recommend a book for you. The title is Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting. Makes for interesting reading, especially for a wood hound. Hope you are having a great day.
haha. I am literally looking at it right now. It sits on my end table. Lars would be a good invite to the Wood Hounds Podcast!
What is more profitable your firewood business or your TH-cam channel?
My firewood business is way more profitable. TH-cam has been pretty flat this year but OWB has been growing nicely. I still regard them opposite sides of the same coin but I make 4x more $$ than YT anymore.
@ The reason that I ask is that a friend of mine says that he sells 50,000.00 in firewood but takes in over 100,000.00 with YT. But the firewood drives his YT channel. Thank you for responding. I enjoy watching your videos.
I like your video. Agree 100 percent with your thoughts. I hate piled firewood. Nice woodyard.
Thanks Jim. I do believe in the saying "to each, their own" but for me I can't deny the efficiency of this method
Here in Oregon it is illegal to not sell by the cord so it’s all bulk. 99% of the time customers want full cords and I plan on using bins to season and store, but if I quickly run out of room I will do some cord sized stacks. Stacking full cords in a truck gets old too, but you just have to want to work, I’m sure I will confuse a lot of people when I pull up with a 180cf loose cord
Interesting post Carl. Can you sell a fraction of a cord? 1/3? 1/4? Or must a customer only be able to purchase an entire cord.
@ as far as I can tell no but who is really going to enforce it? People have bundle stands, but they are pretty adamant about making sure people know what a full cord is when selling wood. We have always found it to be a burden to sell less, charge another $20 to deliver a half, but there are lots of people out there with sheds that are built for less. It’s my time for growing and learning so things can change as I am now working on opening my own yard and delivering as much as possible. I hope to mechanize and spit straight into dump trailers
Washington state is the same way. There are a few that want half, but at this time, they are slowly finding me..
Next variable: are your stacks running North and South, or East and West. I used to live slightly north of your latitude, and I settled on East -West as the better orientation.
all but one are NS.
Joe, i want to come up and spend a day seeing how you do things.
A day is too long. I work about 1 hour a day.
@@ohiowoodburner lol
Make sure your processing keeps up with your record sales!
That's not happening Zeke. I'm still buying about 30% of my sales
I've always kinda scratched my head trying to figure out the "more touches of your firewood=lost money" logic. If you have 8" rounds and split them 4 ways and make $300 a cord for boiler wood, take the same wood and split them 8 ways for bundle wood and make $900 a cord, and then take the same wood and split them 16 ways to make kindling for $2,000 a cord are you losing money? Simple production economics means that the person who does the most work makes the most money, unless you're a farmer which is a whole different subject for another discussion. I totally get your position on stacking vs piling, volume of production makes all of the difference 👍 Good video with good information for thought 👍
Thanks Lyle. I would normally just mind my business here but I find it difficult to do nothing and allow this wrong belief define our industry. If you still want to make you $$ with split and sell, go for it...but don't let your decisions be based on wrong conclusions.
Stacking works better for me but piles work for others so it’s personal preference. I do see this “community” kinda starting to go at each other over everything from types of saws, sharpening chains, splitters, stacking, safety equipment and whatever else. It’s sort of a turn-off for the firewood hobbyist like myself. I’ll just watch the “big timers” go at it from the grandstands.
Nicely put. The false dichotomy is sad. If you like bins, use bins. If you like stacks, use stacks. Well done, buddy, on a thoughtful comment.
Nice comment salty. I agree with you. I still want to encourage all to not get trapped into thinking one way is best.
Good morning 🎉
I think as a hole us wood hounds are a good bunch . I stack my premium wood and pile my bulk wood . Both dry well . And the best saw is a sharp saw . We can all learn a lot from each other .
When I load my truck for a half cord I count the pieces till I get my number. I’ve counted ten half cords came u with an average and that’s my number. Works for me.
Stacking is good exercise and can aid belly reduction as does chucking!!
seems I need to get busy then Geezer!
I like hearing and learning from you, logfather, buckn ray, and in the woodyard. Think the best model would be to give the most options to the potential customer. You want fresh, ready, big, small, long, short, hard, or soft? We can do it.
I did a vid a couple years ago comparing firewood selling to gas stations who sell regular, mid-grade, and premium fuel. Give the customers a choice. At least for me I go after only one of those markets. There are just too many others selling to the other two.
Great video. Limited space is a problem usually. The stacks I agree look so much better and the inventory. Get a tape measure out and see how inventory looks. ( no guessing) when are you planning to drive south for an out of this world hickory smoked steak ????
where would this steak be?
The Scioto Ribber Portsmouth Ohio.
I wish all this green wood I got would burn as is, here WNC there's no shortage of downed trees, just green as a Gourd....23 loads on a triaxle L9000 dump all hardwood. I'm on the lookout and have found some dead/standing dead to donate to the folks here in WNC but there's so many people trying to sell green wood here and it pisses me off taking advantage of folks that are really going through it. I got a lead on a couple standing dead locust trees hopefully I can get it cut up and took to a local community center here in a day or 2....great video bud.
Thanks for the good commet Nicke. Hope things smooth out for you buddy
How do I get ahold of you? I have a BBQ restaurant in Mount Vernon Ohio and I use about 40 cord a year of hickory, oak and cherry
Best way is my email. I don't have any contacts down your way to refer you to for firewood but maybe one of the commenters can help you out.
i use only dry standing fir second i build my truck rack to hold 1/2 cord and sell it that way also i sell rounds some people like to split their own wood thanks for the windy vid
Thanks for watching Terry
I stack my firewood each row 90° to eachother.. where iam in Canada one FACE cord is 160bux for all Oak. 500bux delivered for one BUSH cord.
Sounds like a decent price. Keep it up Kevin!
@ohiowoodburner yes man!. I've been burning firewood as our main source of heat for over 16 years now and I still LOVE every bit of it. All the small things you learn along the way. I agree with your notion of how many times you pick up each.piece of wood in hopes of supplying good buring wood. Cheers!!
Joe, I think you could get close to the MC required for wood gas furnace customers and they are paying $750/cord. If your MC is a little high you could use the shipping container as a dry kiln and reach MC very quickly. Just in case you decide to expand using my consultation, my fee is very low... say $1200. Ok great thanks see ya.
$750 is a good price but my target is higher than that. So far so good but seems a lot of people can't get their minds around that....think wood is only sold at $300ish a cord.
@ohiowoodburner your choice wood is worth more but furnace wood doesn't have to be perfect. You could almost buy it from your Amish neighbor for $225 and sit on it until the MC is right. I've got Amish neighbors and you've got me thinking.
Joe with all the rows you have now how do you know which row is the next row you pull from? Besides the obvious of the weathering. Do you have a date marked on your rows? Or a map of the Woodyard with dates jotted down. Or just your Joe Memory? Asking for a friend. Peace
Well, in a perfect world the yard is set up to rotate 60 cords so I would go from one end to the other but...you can tell that i got a little messed up along the way. I do just go off memory. I know where and when everything was stacked.
How much is the shoulder operation going to cost?
I agree. The irony of this vid is my shoulder has been pretty tender lately LOL. Been selling a lot of wood lately
Joe, great video. I love how you think. You work hard & to me it seems like you enjoy what you’re doing. Firewood stacked looks awesome, whether it’s on pallets on the ground, in metal totes, or in home made cages, it all looks good. If you got to chuck wood to load it, it’s much safer & easier standing flat footed when chucking.😉😉🇺🇸 Have a great day👍 Dave from Maine.
Thanks Dave. I have tried every method for my style of service and I have gravitated to what works best for us. I also think is a lot do about the volume I am currently at. If I were to expand I would have to consider modifications but I think that is way down the road
@ Joe, I forgot to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you, your family, & to all your helpers that stack wood for you. Again, Have a great day.👍 Dave from Maine.
I use the time I would have used stacking to split more firewood. I used to stack wood in IBC totes but in the end decided in my particular situation I was wasting time...
I always found that interesting. I have figured that I make more money stacking my firewood than making more. Seems odd but true
I sale a good bit of fire wood . Cords of it . But I am just a Hobbyist. I don’t want to try to survive off firewood . Here in NC I sale both heating wood , cooking wood and what I call Pleasure wood .
Nice. I did a vid a couple years ago comparing firewood selling to gas stations who sell regular, mid-grade, and premium fuel. Give the customers a choice
make more money on less product is exactly why our utility companies want to help us save energy
That's probably the case but at least for me I embrace capitalism so I'm not bashful about profitability
@@ohiowoodburner I agree with you, my point is with utilities is that they hide their capitalism behind "doing it for the environment." Anyway, love your videos and work ethic!