Looking into a firewood processor

Husq395 · April 01, 2023, 07:32:55 PM

Thinking about buying a processor starting out for my own wood and beginning some selling,wandering if anyone has some experience or information on certain brands or sizes an information is appreciated.

Southside · April 01, 2023, 10:06:40 PM

I rent a DYNA a couple of times a year, have had one that was a runner and one that was a dog. With the right wood they do make a big pile in a hurry, but trying to make the numbers work to own one around here doesn't work, so for me it's a side gig. Then again I have more side gigs than the Bar-Kays singing Soul Finger in a Chevy Chase Russian spy movie so maybe that has something to do with it. :D

barbender · April 01, 2023, 10:17:45 PM

I have a Dyna SC-14. 38hp Kohler and 14' attached conveyor. It works well for my small firewood operation. What doesn't work well is the price on a new unit, I think they are at $64,500 now. That's getting into the area where something needs to run all day every day imho. I paid less than 1/3 of that for mine in like new condition, I think it had 38 hours on the clock. It can sit until I need to do some wood for what I have invested in it.

B.C.C. Lapp · April 02, 2023, 08:57:51 AM

I don't think I'd jump into a processor until I had been selling wood for a while and had the beginnings of a solid customer base. But maybe you have been doing that, I don't know. Making firewood is fun, enjoyable and easy. Or at least I think it is anyways. Customer service and sales is the hard part. And you may find its not what you thought.

That being said good luck with a processor. I think you'll love running it. I've been eyeballing them for years now and never got up the nerve to make a move on one. Now I'm kinda glad I didn't.

GRANITEstateMP · April 02, 2023, 12:12:01 PM

Before buying the processor, make sure you have all the support equipment first: saws, tools, hydraulic splitter, more tools, dump truck or trailer, tractor/skid steer/log loader. Next thing you'll need is SPACE. My processor doesn't take up alot of room, but the support equipment, piles of logs, pile of saw.dust, pile of chaff, shorts and uglys pile all take up room. Last, but really one of the most important a processor is like a fat guy, it ALWAYS wants to EAT! You've got to have a real solid supply of logs. I do around 85-130 cord.a.year and try real hard to have 30 cord on the log decks before getting into production for the year. That means tying up a bunch of capital in "stock" but it sure beats having orders and no inventory to make them!

I'm not trying to overwhelm, just trying to lay it all out. I started with a saw, a splitter, tools, a truck, and a borrowed dump trailer. I did enough wood to heat my house for free (off the profit of selling a few cord). Then I did an upgrade here and an upgrade there. I hate payments so my way takes a bit longed, but I just keep picking away

Matt

GRANITEstateMP · April 02, 2023, 12:13:22 PM

Also, where are you located, that makes a difference too

OH logger · April 02, 2023, 12:18:53 PM

I hired a guy with a processor for prolly 5-8 years very regularly before I bought my own. It was a nice way to build a firewood business and customer base and test the waters while staying in the kiddie pool lol I'd still be
Doing that today but as time went on the other guy got busier and busier and I needed him more and more. So I bought my own blockbuster processor and am glad I did. Now I can make wood on my schedule not his and work it AROUND my logging work when it's wet. If that's not an option the rental
Route might work for you too

Husq395 · April 02, 2023, 02:58:41 PM

I'm in Pa. I have all the equipment and have been selling for a long time I burn probably 15-20 cord a year to heat house and other buildings I just thought it would make my life a lot easier and be a potential for more income if I could up the inventory to sell but not to familiar with brands to be considering and maybe what options work best.

barbender · April 02, 2023, 03:29:40 PM

Granite hit it on the head with the support equipment. Unless you have great markets, an excellent business plan and financial backing, you want to work your way up to the firewood processor IMO. A processor without an on-site loader of some sort will be extremely inefficient at best and inoperable in many cases. Jumping into a processor first is getting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

My local area doesn't have access to high paying urban markets. You are limited to home heating wood, and campfire wood and bundled firewood for possibilities. I've tied up a good portion of the bundled firewood market in the deliverable distance for me. Campfire wood can be lucrative, because people are looking for a service more so than when people are heating their homes and trying not to spend money.bI deliver to a few air BnB's, stack the wood nice and pretty and they don't flinch at the price because they have good money coming in.

The last option is home heating wood. It's the one I don't pursue. If people look me up from word of mouth I will definitely sell them wood, but I probably only sold 10-15 cords of split and delivered wood for home heating in the last year. The market doesn't support the price I need for it to be worth it.

If I hadn't worked up to the processor, but went and borrowed money for a skid steer, dump trailer, newer 3/4 or one ton pickup, the firewood processor and whatever miscellaneous tools needed I'd be in debt really deep. Then I'd need enough cash flow to keep the payments made. I would be forced to sell hardwood firewood cut split and delivered for $175/cord, like some of these other guys in the area that have done exactly what I just laid out. There is just no money left at that rate, just a cash flow. Guys are paying $80-$100/cord for 8 foot firewood delivered. By the time your 12 cord scaled load you paid for processes out to 10 cords of cut and split, if you paid $80 a cord now you are at $96/cord. So at $175, you spent an hour to process and probably 2 hours by the time you go and deliver the wood. $79 for 3 hours of you and your equipment. These guys pop up and usually last about 2 years before they go belly up. In the meantime they manage to keep the price artificially low.

Anyways, that's the view from rural northern Minnesota.

Husq395 · April 02, 2023, 04:41:26 PM

That's what I have mainly done over the years is camp fire wood I border a state park and own a campground and there are several other campgrounds close to me I have all the equipment minus the possible firewood processor

hedgerow · April 02, 2023, 05:39:17 PM

husq395 I throw out my thoughts on a processor for what's it worth. I burn 10-15 cord a year of good hard wood locust and hedge mostly. I quiet selling years ago. Not a lot of home heating going on here. Couple company's have the camp wood sewed up. About ten years ago I thought I would try a processor. I wanted to keep it at twenty grand or less. The ones I could find wouldn't go large enough dia of wood. So I built one. Its worked ok but I just don't have enough pole wood on my farms to really make it run like it should. Its just set the last two season's as we have been cutting hedge only and its not straight enough to even bother with the processor. A good splitter and conveyor just works better for me. We buck with a skidloader and grapple and a guy sawing. We split on to a conveyor in to trailers and stack. My trailers hold three to four cord and then the trailers go into the shed to season. I back the trailers up to my Garn barn and just load the boiler from there. I don't handle my firewood much.

jimbarry · April 02, 2023, 05:48:14 PM

Log supply is something to consider if you are going the route of a processor. Size matters for both the logs and the processor. If you want to get in for less than $15K you can maybe find yourself a used Hakki Pilke Easy37, like what both @GRANITEstateMP and I operate. It'll cut pretty much any log 12" or smaller that is fairly straight. Anything larger or crooked gets blocked up and over to the splitter.
If you have large diameter log inventory and you ventured into the larger processors you likely will run into the issue of having to re-split the larger chunks coming off the processor. It will depend on your customer needs.
For us the Hakki Pilke is good for the small logs

20220826 Firewood processing 14 inch long hardwood with a Hakki Pilke 1x37Easy. - YouTube

The SplitForce vertical splitter is what we run for the larger logs and crooked logs.

20230303 Splitting firewood all day - YouTube

stavebuyer · April 03, 2023, 03:02:07 AM

Quote from: barbender on April 02, 2023, 03:29:40 PM
Granite hit it on the head with the support equipment. Unless you have great markets, an excellent business plan and financial backing, you want to work your way up to the firewood processor IMO. A processor without an on-site loader of some sort will be extremely inefficient at best and inoperable in many cases. Jumping into a processor first is getting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

My local area doesn't have access to high paying urban markets. You are limited to home heating wood, and campfire wood and bundled firewood for possibilities. I've tied up a good portion of the bundled firewood market in the deliverable distance for me. Campfire wood can be lucrative, because people are looking for a service more so than when people are heating their homes and trying not to spend money.bI deliver to a few air BnB's, stack the wood nice and pretty and they don't flinch at the price because they have good money coming in.

The last option is home heating wood. It's the one I don't pursue. If people look me up from word of mouth I will definitely sell them wood, but I probably only sold 10-15 cords of split and delivered wood for home heating in the last year. The market doesn't support the price I need for it to be worth it.

If I hadn't worked up to the processor, but went and borrowed money for a skid steer, dump trailer, newer 3/4 or one ton pickup, the firewood processor and whatever miscellaneous tools needed I'd be in debt really deep. Then I'd need enough cash flow to keep the payments made. I would be forced to sell hardwood firewood cut split and delivered for $175/cord, like some of these other guys in the area that have done exactly what I just laid out. There is just no money left at that rate, just a cash flow. Guys are paying $80-$100/cord for 8 foot firewood delivered. By the time your 12 cord scaled load you paid for processes out to 10 cords of cut and split, if you paid $80 a cord now you are at $96/cord. So at $175, you spent an hour to process and probably 2 hours by the time you go and deliver the wood. $79 for 3 hours of you and your equipment. These guys pop up and usually last about 2 years before they go belly up. In the meantime they manage to keep the price artificially low.

Anyways, that's the view from rural northern Minnesota.

Same view from rural KY, but a much shorter and milder heating season. We also have more than a few who find the cash payments as an attractive supplement to various government support programs. They will deliver some dripping wet water maple cut from a yard tree piled into a short bed Ranger with 4 old tires in the bed and advertise it as a cord.

porcupine · April 03, 2023, 08:53:01 AM

Husq395: Original post questioning info on brands.

The major firewood processor manufacturers make quality products.

Only you know your financial capabilities.

Choosing what brand/model and the company's support reputation is what you must decide on.

I have a Brute Force processor.
Built very stout, well thought out. Works good. Support okay.
I operate it by myself: Load the live deck, position the dump trailer under the conveyor. Repeat until full. It doesn't take long.

If you have the support equipment as mentioned by the other members and can pay the crazy prices in 2023, buy one. You will pound out a lot of wood.

Productivity brings a great fulfillment factor.

Husq395 · April 03, 2023, 02:22:23 PM

Yes I know the prices are outrageous but I don't know if that is ever going to change now I've looked into brute force and blacks creek so far I know there's more out there Hudson has a dealer not far there prices seem a little better but I haven't looked at them maybe there's a reason I appreciate the info so far keep it coming.

jimbarry · April 03, 2023, 03:29:46 PM

What type of processor are you considering? Do you want full hydraulics like the brands mentioned, or something that can use a chainsaw for the cutting like a Wallentstein? Or maybe something to mount of a skidsteer like a Halverson or Vallee. Then there's Cord King. And of course there's EastonMade but prepare to mortgage your great grandchildren's inheritance. Or keep it simple and buck with a saw and use a fast vertical splitter like SplitForce for less than $10K (it's what we use).

Husq395 · April 03, 2023, 06:10:18 PM

I thought about all hydraulic or possibly everything hydraulic and a manual saw I looked at the split force at a show last year I really like them with the conveyor but then your still bucking everything with the saw and handling every piece but the extra money spent may outweigh the labor involved has that been a good system for you?

stavebuyer · April 03, 2023, 07:00:13 PM

I bought my Dyna SC14 used and factory reconditioned for less than 20K in 2017. I had more demand then I could supply for firewood pickup up green. Didn't really pencil out other than a tax write off from other parts of my operation and as a way to utilize unmarketable logs and idle labor. Multiple loaders were already subsidized by the sawmills and log yard. Firewood was a breakeven at best and wouldn't have come close to paying for the loaders and yard upkeep as a stand alone.

If you have a great market to sell to upscale clients or wrapped bundles then buy split wood ahead of time wholesale and focus on marketing as that is where the money is to be made.

OH logger · April 03, 2023, 08:28:28 PM

Stave hit the nail on the head. It's a great add on to a business in my opinion too. It's a nice compliment to my logging business but dang I'd hate to feed a bunch of hungry kids on it. Or just one lol

barbender · April 03, 2023, 10:04:47 PM

Yep, if my wife wouldn't have taken that professional level job she landed with her Masters degree, there's times we'd be eating off cuts and bark for supper😁

hedgerow · April 04, 2023, 10:20:31 AM

Quote from: stavebuyer on April 03, 2023, 07:00:13 PM
If you have a great market to sell to upscale clients or wrapped bundles then buy split wood ahead of time wholesale and focus on marketing as that is where the money is to be made.

To me this statement hits the nail on the head. Back when I sold firewood it didn't take long selling wood to the general wood heating folks to find out selling firewood to the upscale clients is were the profits are. I focused on them and made firewood the way they wanted and sold them the amount they wanted. Firewood is a business were more can be less money in you pocket at the end of the day it not done right.