Firewood

[jake]

Can those of you who have wood burning fireplaces answer a question for me? We are having one tree cut down and one trimmed and the guy will haul away the wood for $400, but he suggested we put it on craigslist for free and it will get snapped up. The thing is, it's cottonwood and looking online it seems a lot of people don't like it for burning. If you were offered as much as you could haul away for free, would you take it? I don't mind the idea of saving $400, but if it means I'll have five tons of wood sitting in the garden for months I'd rather pony up.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, I'm in Broomfield near Midway and Sheridan and it will be coming down sometime in the next couple of weeks :D

[Great-Kazoo]

he would charge you $400 to haul away wood?? i have an interest in it.

[CrufflerSteve]

Anything free on Craigslist will be snapped up.

I don't think cottonwood is popular for burning. It is rough on saws and hell to split but giving it away beats paying $400. Buy a gun with the money saved.

Steve

[DFBrews]

cottonwood burns hot and fast not good for maintaining heat overnight like pine etc.

[rondog]

Anything free on Craigslist will be snapped up.

This. Somebody will take it just 'cause it's free and they think they can use it or make a buck off it. To a lot of people, far'wood is far'wood. Let them deal with it. JMHO, of course.

[HBARleatherneck]

i have heated my 2400 square foot home for 4 years with only cottonwood. no other heat source. it works fine. it will go if you put it on craigslist for free.

[opie011]

I've been told the same thing by several people. I need two gigantic cottonwoods cut down and everyone has said put it on craigslist for free and it will disappear! Now if only I could come up with the $3k to have them cut down[Bang]

[Byte Stryke]

I've been told the same thing by several people. I need two gigantic cottonwoods cut down and everyone has said put it on craigslist for free and it will disappear! Now if only I could come up with the $3k to have them cut down[Bang]


pffft, Det-cord isn't THAT expensive.

[ROFL1]

[SideShow Bob]

I've been told the same thing by several people. I need two gigantic cottonwoods cut down and everyone has said put it on craigslist for free and it will disappear! Now if only I could come up with the $3k to have them cut down[Bang]

Helll, thar be a bunch of us good ole boys here that own chain saws, just buy a few cases of beer and we could have that thar tree down in no time.
I just want 50% of the royalties on the video though. [ROFL1]

[Byte Stryke]

Helll, thar be a bunch of us good ole boys here that own chain saws, just buy a few cases of beer and we could have that thar tree down in no time.
I just want 50% of the royalties on the video though. [ROFL1]



does this mean I can bring explosives!?
[LOL]

[Guylee]

I wouldn't take it, it burns fast and smells bad. I'd try the CL thing though, like many have said lots of people will take free stuff.

If that falls through I'll haul it for half the price.

[opie011]

pffft, Det-cord isn't THAT expensive.

[ROFL1]
That would be fun except they're right next to my house with one hanging over the house by alot. Not sure if you remember those big bastards between my house and the neighbor's?


Helll, thar be a bunch of us good ole boys here that own chain saws, just buy a few cases of beer and we could have that thar tree down in no time.
I just want 50% of the royalties on the video though. [ROFL1]
If someone here actually did this for a living I'd love a pay them in beer while doing the job...well as long as they had insurance!!!

[palepainter]

I burn the hell out of Cotton wood and Russian olive. I mix them and get great hearing results. The cottonwood catches fast and burns fast. Enough to get the Olive burning nicely.

I am one of those who find it on Craigslists and shows up with a trailer and hauls it away for fire wood.

[SideShow Bob]

I wouldn't take it, it burns fast and smells bad. I'd try the CL thing though, like many have said lots of people will take free stuff.

If that falls through I'll haul it for half the price.

Well,
When I was down on my luck, had kids to feed and couldn't afford to fill the propane tank in the middle of winter, I would burn anything including construction scraps to keep the house warm.
I know someone in a similar situation, and he may want to start stocking up for winter. I'll get in touch with him and let you know if they want the wood.

SSB.

[Irving]

I'd take some. My issue is that I live in an apartment, so I'd need a place to split it. I have my own axe. Well, I suppose I could take a truck load to my grandfather's place and split/season it there.

Let us know what you decide.

[Guylee]

Well,
When I was down on my luck, had kids to feed and couldn't afford to fill the propane tank in the middle of winter, I would burn anything including construction scraps to keep the house warm.
I know someone in a similar situation, and he may want to start stocking up for winter. I'll get in touch with him and let you know if they want the wood.

SSB.

He asked for opinions, I gave him mine.

[CrufflerSteve]

That would be fun except they're right next to my house with one hanging over the house by alot. Not sure if you remember those big bastards between my house and the neighbor's?


Dang! That rules out my cannon.

Steve

[sako55]

I work for a tree service. Don't do the climbing and cutting. If it is a cottonwood, you probably will have some larger logs. Too damn big to split. Pay him the cash to haul it away. Definately make sure he is insured and has proof. Alos some cities require you be licensed to perform tree work. And if anybody wants giant cottonwood logs to burn, PM me and I give you my shop location.

[spencerhenry]

i cut wood for a living. i sell firewood, i cut timber, i mill lumber. after a local fire a few years ago i picked up a couple jobs cleaning up after the fire. i called all of my "cheap" customers and offered it to them, no takers. i put an ad in the paper, no takers. eventually i sent 6- 30 yard dumpsters to the dump. even the dump had their restrictions, dumpsters had to be less than full for weight restrictions, anything over 18" diameter had to be cut less than 4 feet long. i brought one load of logs home, ended up sitting on them until i finally burned them in my slash pile.
it is wood, and will burn. but it doesnt split for beans, soaks up water like a sponge, stinks after it rains, stinks when it burns, leaves lots of heavy ash. overall one of the worst woods to use for heat. if cut green it is VERY heavy. i sell firewood, but PAY to get rid of cottonwood.

[funkymonkey1111]

cottonwood is hard as crap to split and it takes forever to dry, but it does burn.

someone will come get it with a craiglist ad.

[HBARleatherneck]

anyone burn only pine? how often do you clean your stove pipe? any creosote issues between cleanings?

[funkymonkey1111]

i burn pine exclusively--but just for fires in the fireplace--not for sustained heat. i have the chimney swept each year and the sweep says it looks ok. once it's dry, it's dry.

[JoeT]

Broomfield near Midway and Sheridan and it will be coming down sometime in the next couple of weeks :D

hey neighbor (136 and Sheridan here)

I did something similar at my old home, and listed free wood on craigslist. I has about 15 people call up to "take it all" only to have them either not show (I hate craigslist people) or when they came say they expected it to be cut and split, even though pictures showed 8+ foot sections.

After about a month, a guy finally came with his 2 sons, 3 chainsaws and a splitter. They were in the yard about 3 hours...took everything and cleaned up after themselves (even filled 2 holes in the yard where grass had been dug up from branches)

Someone will take it, but it may take a little while

[BlasterBob]

anyone burn only pine? how often do you clean your stove pipe? any creosote issues between cleanings?

Yeah, I burn ponderosa exclusively in my wood stove which is used to heat the entire house during the Winter. The chimney and flue get thoroughly cleaned a minimum of once each season. My little reloading shed (insulated - 12X20) is also heated with another wood burner and only ponderosa pine. Really surprised how LITTLE cresote is generated by this pine but we do keep hot fires.

[Irving]

How much does it run to get your chimney cleaned?

And do you worry about using fire to heat your reloading shed?

[BlasterBob]

How much does it run to get your chimney cleaned?

And do you worry about using fire to heat your reloading shed?

Cost to clean the chimney? ZERO, I am still able to crawl up on the roof and do it myself. Have a good circular brush on a sectioned fiberglass 15-ft pole and that equipment does a great job of cleaning.
Worry about fire to heat the reloading shed? Nope, been doing it for about fifteen years and sure don't anticipate any fire problems. I keep everything flammable a very safe distance from the wood burner and nothing near the stove gets hot enough to be ignited. Primers and powder supplies are kept a good distance from the stove too. Stove is an airtight type with a glass window in the door so it's not like a fireplace where sparks could jump out onto the concrete floor.

[jake]

It looks like I will be keeping the wood and giving it away. I'll list it here a few days before it goes global, so hopefully I won't have to deal with too many craigslist flakes. Thanks for all the advice.

[Byte Stryke]

It looks like I will be keeping the wood and giving it away. I'll list it here a few days before it goes global, so hopefully I won't have to deal with too many craigslist flakes. Thanks for all the advice.


I may be interested in a truckload of it as well for a friend.
Keep us up to date.

[jake]

The tree is coming down tomorrow, so if anyone is interested in some of the wood, shoot me a PM and I'll give you the location etc.

[BlasterBob]

This looks like a great opportunity for me to mention that I have a great, like new, hydraulic log splitter for sale. Please check out my ad down in the
Non-Firearms For Sale section. If someone here gets that big load of wood from Jake, this splitter can make a BIG job MUCH MUCH easier!![Help]

[Irving]

Cost to clean the chimney? ZERO, I am still able to crawl up on the roof and do it myself. Have a good circular brush on a sectioned fiberglass 15-ft pole and that equipment does a great job of cleaning.


3 story apartment complex here. No bueno for me.

Thanks for the update Jake.