Looking for firewood

Hegartyfarm · January 16, 2008, 10:22:17 PM

looking for log length firewood in or around Columbia county ny, also pondering a diesel splitter project any suggestions ?

beenthere · January 17, 2008, 01:38:10 AM

Hegartyfarm
Welcome to the forum.
What have you looked into so far? Wanting delivered wood? Wanting to know if there is firewood that you can go and pick up?
Interested in what you have in mind for a diesel splitter. Big? small?
Whatcha been using to make firewood? going commercial, or for your own use?

Should get some ideas here. A lot of splitter chat has been going on over the years. The search function should help you if you haven't already tried it out.

Pull up a stump...

Sawyerfortyish · January 17, 2008, 07:09:07 AM

This is the wrong time of year to be looking for wood to burn this season. I always tell people get your wood in may or june so you don't have to play around in the snow and ice. I don't know much about small diesel engines but from running big diesel engines in my mill in the winter I'de say your better off with a gas engine. You don't have to plug em in or treat the fuel just start em up and go. Just my two cents from winter time experiance with diesels.

letsgetitracing · January 17, 2008, 09:09:54 AM

i had a gas motor on my splitter until i sat down and figured out that it was going to cost me a fortune and not a small one either to run it every day a big block chevy out of a dump truck that made around 300 hp to get enough torque to run my 120 gal a minute pump would cost me 50 gal in 8 hours 6.25 gal an hour which is figured on burning 60 gallons in a truck

so i put a 5.9 cummins out of a dodge pick-up on and it will burn next to nothing compared 2.5 gal per hour about a 2/3 less fuel and i can run off road which is little cheaper than gas right now the motor got 22 mph in a 3/4 ton truck loaded or not

if you were to use a 4 cyl diesel out of a skid steer it would be around 1 1/3 gal an hour they are about 50 hp with alot of torque to run a pump you would have to run a v6 gas to compare the torque to do the same job and run it alot higher rpm which does nothing but make heat in the oil and burn alot of gas

$167.50 gas motor

$60.00 in off road diesel

Hegartyfarm · January 17, 2008, 06:58:57 PM

Im looking for some wood to cut and split for next year, I work for a excavation company driving trucks and operating machines. My wife and I also do excavating/landscaping on the side (for now). We burn wood in our house and sell a few cords a year. Thinking about a small diesel splitter thats efficient and quick. Thanks for the feedback

SwampDonkey · January 17, 2008, 07:22:42 PM

Sorry for the following ramblings. I tend to go on and on sometimes and say more than requested. :D :D

I guess it depends on the run of wood you have and how much you split. Not every piece needs split in the run of wood I'm used to. I use furnace wood and most of the buts only require one split in half for up to 12 inch diameter stuff. I like bigger wood for a furnace, less handling and longer burning time. Kitchen stove sized 16" wood, is just for that. No good for a furnace up here. I get 7 hours out of 3 slabs of y birch or maple in the furnace. 4 hours is about it for that small fine stuff. So anyway, I have a 10.5 hp gas engine (old walk behind snow blower engine) splitter and it only takes a tank to split all I need in 7.5 cords. The last couple of years I have bought it split because it's harder to get tree length or 100 inch wood. I've always treated the loggers right and paid on delivery, but I suspect some people have gave them a bad taste and they are turned off firewood deliveries. Also, they run into all kinds of difficulties when they get on site. No room to unload, overhead wires and stuff I haven't thought of.

timberjack240 · January 17, 2008, 09:33:52 PM

axes and mulls run really cheap :D

SwampDonkey · January 17, 2008, 09:45:49 PM

That's for bad behaving young fellers. ;)

Hegartyfarm · January 17, 2008, 09:50:30 PM

The diesel splitter idea comes from a slight addiction to diesel power, not so much necessity

Dave Shepard · January 17, 2008, 10:07:57 PM

Diesel power is a good thing! Where abouts in Columbia County? I am just over the line in Mass. Not much logging going on, so it's hard to find loads of log length around here right now.

Dave

Hegartyfarm · January 17, 2008, 10:23:48 PM

Columbia county is south of albany, im about a half hour from Great Barrington MASS

Dave Shepard · January 17, 2008, 10:27:14 PM

I'm about 5 minutes from G.B. ;D I ~~am in~~ was in the tree/landscaping business for about ten years. Lots of competition around here now.

Dave

Hegartyfarm · January 17, 2008, 10:42:02 PM

if you have or now someone who has some log length let me know id like to get a small amount at first just to see how it goes. We have the same problem with competition around here, seems like theres machines and trucks behind every tree. Everyone has a right to work how they want but so many of these guys will work for almost nothing

Dave Shepard · January 17, 2008, 10:47:13 PM

I'll keep an eye out for you. Yes, underbidding is a serious problem. The main reason is the customer isn't comparing apples to apples, and then they are unhappy when they don't get what they are expecting. As my former employer used to say, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. :D

Dave

Ed_K · January 18, 2008, 06:52:58 PM

Do you have a log truck? How far you willing to drive? I'm an hour past Dave, and I have log length cordwood.

stonebroke · January 18, 2008, 07:43:16 PM

Hook up with a local tree service. There must be a ton in
Columbia county the people over there have lotsa money.

Stonebroke

Hegartyfarm · January 18, 2008, 07:56:26 PM

Quote from: Ed_K on January 18, 2008, 06:52:58 PM
Do you have a log truck? How far you willing to drive? I'm an hour past Dave, and I have log length cordwood.

No log truck long flatbed trailer though, thanks for the offer but im trying to find something closer, but if i cant ill be in touch

Weldrite · January 21, 2008, 08:51:56 PM

Hegartyfarm,
I love the idea of the diesel splitter. I took the 8hp gas motor off my 1950's Jacobson tractor and bought a 8hp diesel off ebay. I think I payed less than $400 for it new with shipping. First thing i did was tighten every bolt, added 100% bio fuel and ran it. It has both electric and rope start. I have only used the rope. It sits outside and starts in about 10 to 15 pulls in real cold weather. The power is unreal and it uses about 1/4 as much fuel as the gas motor did!!!!

Next project is to built a splitter that will run off the extra drive pulley on the tractors motor. Drive the tractor up to the splitter, hook on to it, pop the belt on, and start splitting. It's cheaper than buying different motors for each piece of equipment and you only have one motor to keep running ;).

Cheers, Ryan