mobile processor price

[woodmaker]

 My partner in the firewood processor has the chance  to process some wood for someone else.The log length wood would be delivered to the processor location,and the woods owner would have his truck under the conveyor as the wood came off.We would be responsible for loading the deck and processing the wood. We have never done it this way before.
 Should it be by the cord or by the hour and how much should we charge?
I would appreciate your thoughts ,and experiences. thanks

[GRANITEstateMP]

If it's "processor wood" not giant gnarly, twisted, well you know, and it's dropped at my place by a trucker, I charge between $50 and $65 a cord.  Yeah, it's a bit of a range, BUT, like it depends on the wood, and the "help".  If he's got a truck sitting and does all the trucking great, but what about when he's delivering the cord you just worked up?  Is there a second truck or trailer you can load?  Not like you can work up a cord for yourself since its his wood on the deck...  I will sometimes work out a deal in trades also, I'll do so many for you, in exchange for 1 for me, something to think about.

Most of the wood I process for others is either at their location, or trade / barter.  Pretty sure my last "rate" was 1 cord for me, 2 for him, he helps (super good worker too).  He's happy and I'm happy, a lot of times I'll fill my trailer while he's dumping his first cord to keep busy, it works for us.

[woodmaker]

Thank you,GRANITEstate MP.  We were thinking about in the same range,but didnt really know if that was realistic,or fair to both parties. You make a good point in bringing up wood quality,it truly makes a big difference in production.

[glassman_48]

woodmaker,
I own northern michigan firewood products, I am a sponsor in here I sell brute force processors.  In northern lower michigan the price per pulp cord is usually around $45 per pulp cord.  I was charging $75 per hour for myself and a gas machine that would easily do 2 pulp cords per hour.  The diesel machines can get more per hour for man and machine, hope this helps. Its better to just pile the wood, if you have to wait for a trailer, it takes way more time.  good luck

[woodmaker]

Thank you glassman-48. Sorry about the delayed reply,went on a bus tour down in the land of grits and just got back last night.I am not familiar with the term "pulp cord"  Would that be what we call "processor wood"; straight ,8 to 20 " diameter or would it just be pulp; anything that isnt good enough to be a log,6 " up?

[glassman_48]

pulp cord is the same as a loggers cord, or 3 face cords equals 1 pulp cord 4' by 4' by 8' is a pulp cord.  

[Corley5]

  100" firewood is delivered here in ten or twenty cord loads.  A cord of this is 2'X8'X8'.  One of these in a perfect world would process to 3 16" face cords but the world isn't and it takes exceptionally nice straight wood to get close to that.  2.5 16" face cords is my average.  No matter the dimensions a true cord is 128 cubic feet of well stacked wood.

[glassman_48]

Greg,
I just mobile processed the worst load of wood I have ever seen.  A lot of it was oak tops 20 pulp cords 100" long.  We were cutting them 20" for an outdoor boiler.  What should of taken 7 or 8 hours took almost 12.  Some of the limbs were 12 to 14" diameter.  My buddy had to get up on the processor to steer them through, almost every deck had one so crooked we had to manipulate it. 

[Corley5]

I just did 30 cords of about the same grade except this stuff was sugar maple.  Big bony top wood from a saw log job.  Bruce kicked out a couple cords that was too big for the machine or just too ugly to fight.  He's going to cut it up with his chainsaw and he has a splitter.  You buy a lot of air with wood like that.  It was on the only mobile processing job that I do.  I gave the guys the number for my supplier and suggested they contact him for next year.  The wood came from different supplier than previous years when it's been hardwood pulp from thinning jobs with some top wood like I have delivered.

[Gearbox]

It depends on length of cut wood size and number of splits . I get 55 to do boiler wood 4 way split up to 14 inch dia. . They couldn't pay me enough to do 14 inch small fire place wood . Good luck .

[shamusturbo]

I actually do quite a bit of "for hire" processing. Ill attach some pictures for reference. YOU HAVE TO DO IT "PER HOUR" or you will get burnt. Figure out what it costs you, per hour, to run your machine and add in what your labor is worth. Factor in some delays and break downs so you aren't losing the second the machine breaks.

**I will NOT rent my machine. There is a certain level of danger and the "learning curve" for a rookie to run it is extremely unproductive. 

My numbers: 
Most of the jobs I do are $1300/day and that is 10 hours of the processor running, WHICH INCLUDES processor operator and loader operator who also preps poles. The customer gets what they get. I have made as many as 43 cords in a day and as little as 21. Half of the jobs are pipeline wood that is too long and still needs bucked somewhat. Quality varies. The 43 cord day was delivered loads of poles from a land clearing company. Almost no cutting down length or bucking. 

I did a job once that the customer insisted he load the processor. He couldn't keep up and was pissy about the price to begin with so I processed what he could get loaded. A 4 cord an hour pace is very hard to load even on an even, hard surface.  

BROKEN DOWN: I figure $100 hour for machine (CRD Loco 20) with operator, fuel, and a small "break down cushion". I've torn a conveyor belt, destroyed trailer tires, etc. I figure $300 a day for the skidsteer with an operator who also "preps" the wood to be processed. I think that figure has been too low since I have started. 

MATH: 
$1300 @ 21 cords = $62/cord
$1300 @ 43 cords = $30/cord

[shamusturbo]

[GRANITEstateMP]

shamusturbo,

$1300 may seem like a big nut to crack for a day to the customer, but if your putting out between 20 and 40 cord a day (what's a good average?) then it seems pretty darn cheap!  Especially when you add in the skid steer loading the deck and bucking / prepping.

Are those 20 to 40 full cord, not face cords?  If so, that is a bundle of wood in a day!

I do a by the cord deal with most of my customers, because it's smaller scale, and it seems to work for me.  With a machine like yours, I'd want to go hourly too, no sense you waiting on someone else that's slowing down production (if doing it by the cord)

Matt 

[BargeMonkey]

 It all depends on wood quality and how fussy someone's going to be with what goes up the conveyor. If your waiting on trucks that gets old quick. I would figure how many cord you can realistically do per hr, how much fuel your using and what your help makes, figure that to an hourly rate, if you can do more than 2 cord I prefer the "by the cord" especially in nice wood. 
I recently priced a job @ 60 a cord cutting roughly 180-200 cord, my fuel, my loader feeding it, I'm figuring 3 long days if nothing breaks.