Seems like a good deal on firewood....

fitzer1982 · 06-09-2022 9:30am

Anyone have a recommendation for supplier in Meath/Louth, usually buy from store when needed but would like to stock up.

Muahahaha · 06-09-2022 10:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577282#Comment_119577282

how do you mean vic, like use the Pallet Network to get it to their warehouse from Dublin port and then they distribute it nationwide? Id say that is do-able but if there were people in Cork or similar it would likely add extra costs to get crates that far? If the cost of delivery from port to house was anything over 60 euro per crate its getting to the point its not worth someones while and I dont think it would be possible to deliver something that heavy and bulky from Dublin to Cork. Let me ring them and ask how it works though.

Otherwise a 20ft shipping container is 33 cubic metres so would fit about 30 x 1m3 crates or 15 x 2 meter ones. Its a lot of firewood, as in a group buy would need up to 15 people buying 2m crates. I would take two of them, bailey99 said he would take 4 but some would only want one due to storage limitations.

Double C · 06-09-2022 10:44am

They were selling 450kg kiln dried birch for 320 in my local topline. Does this sound like a good deal?

https://www.mullingarhardware.ie/450kg-crate-kiln-dried-birch-firewood-logs

Heighway61 · 06-09-2022 11:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578083#Comment_119578083

Would take 2 x 2m.

Cloudio9 · 06-09-2022 2:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578260#Comment_119578260

The €300 Beech from TJ O'Mahony is better wood. Birch burns faster and the bark can be messy.

furiousox · 06-09-2022 2:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577922#Comment_119577922

Goodwood fuels in Drogheda?

vicwatson · 06-09-2022 3:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578083#Comment_119578083

Yes

youd need a warehouse involved then pallet network to distribute, costs could run high

antomack · 06-09-2022 5:00pm

Depending on the final cost I would be interested in at least 2 of the 2m3 ones but would go to 5/6 if particularly good value as would have space to store it. Based in Roscommon.

Muahahaha · 06-09-2022 9:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578458#Comment_119578458

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119580397#Comment_119580397

Leave it with me a couple of days and I'll see if I can get a solid price of what it would cost landed to the door for all of us who are interested in doing it this way. If its possible to do for circa 370 per 2m3 crate of oak delivered I think its worth doing compared to paying 570 odd locally. If it worked out it would be something Id be keen on doing every winter

Heighway61 · 06-09-2022 9:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119581682#Comment_119581682

Fair play!

Personally, I'd go for oak.

RainInSummer · 06-09-2022 10:20pm

Count me in for 2x2m³ as well if that's ok with you. I'd imagine a blocker could be the small nature of the order. Then again, not many will turn away money.

The beech from Northern Poland might be cheaper to ship as there's less legs to get it here. I'll see what the family over there say. I'll send you a DM if I can get any info.

Muahahaha · 06-09-2022 10:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119581904#Comment_119581904

Nice one Rain, we could be up to around 13 x 2m crates and a 20ft container should fit 15 of them given its 33cbm. And for sure contact your family in Poland and see what is available and at what price.

Id say a small order is possible from the Baltic states, would imagine they are packing it into 40 foot containers rather than 20ft but as you say not many will turn away money. The blocker to this though could be the cost of distribution here after they land at a port but I'll find out what I can and get back to the thread with details.

One thing is for sure, firewood is in big demand this winter and we all know what that means for prices

Fears of rising prices and energy shortages this winter has led many consumers to stockpile fuel, according to distributors here. Solid fuel companies are reporting a significant increase in orders in recent weeks, with many consumers on average buying more than they would have done a year ago. That comes as concerns have been raised about the possibility of energy shortages during the winter, largely due to reductions in supply from Russia.

Ecofuel, which specialises in sustainable solid fuels, including peat briquette alternatives made from waste sawdust that is compressed into burnable logs. It was established in 2014 and has grown steadily since then, with its business picking up significantly during the pandemic. That growth began to level off again this year, as the country's economy moved back towards normality, but has spiked again in recent weeks.

"In the last two months, of July and August, we’ve seen an increase of 85%," said Janis Vitols, founder and chief sustainability officer with Ecofuel. "Our July was crazy – we saw an increase of 138% in July compared to last year."

Mr Vitols said the spike in demand has been made up of both returning and new customers, while the company has also seen a significant increase in the volume of goods purchased in each transaction. "I’ve seen a 171% increase for the last two months in the average order values," he said. "So the guys are not only buying early, they’re also making larger purchases.

"People are generally worried about what it’s going to cost them in October or November, but most importantly they’re wondering if it’ll be available for consumers to buy."

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0904/1320302-energy-crisis-fuel/

RainInSummer · 06-09-2022 11:11pm

Even if it turns out to be a pipe dream at least you gave it a shot.

The journey to Ireland is relatively straight forward. The amount of moving parts skyrockets once it gets to Ireland alright.

The likes of tjomahony and the coops are ideally set up for stuff like this. Distribution network already in place, huge amount of covered storage etc etc.

Wouldn't be the first time someone took on the big boys and won though!

Cape Clear · 07-09-2022 8:52am

Looks like the idea has building momentum. Would a central drop off point work with people organising their own transport along the lines of the coal warehouse model. Would two crates fit in a car trailer/pickup. We've used Prompto Despatch previously to ship stuff various distances and they've worked out quite reasonable.

oleras · 07-09-2022 11:13am

Stick me down for 2 if this goes ahead, based in Co.Limerick.

The trouble with the 2m crates is the center of balance transporting them, my local guy will only deliver the 1's because of this. Larger, enclosed wagons really required.

stooge · 07-09-2022 11:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119580397#Comment_119580397

I would be the exact same in terms of numbers of crates and location.

Black_Knight · 07-09-2022 2:27pm

Anywhere delivering to Cork with good deals? Not looking for much. I'd get the Kiln Dried Beech Firewood Log Crate 450kg from TJ OMahony but they don't deliver to Cork.

RainInSummer · 07-09-2022 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582798#Comment_119582798

The 2m3 crates normally weigh in at ~880Kg, so two of those would be say 1.8 tonnes with a bit of safety margin thrown in. They tend to be tall and thin and would tip fairly rapid in a pickup or trailer I'd say. I've seen some of the ones in Poland be just over the 1m3 height, but with a much larger footprint. Any time I've gotten delivery they were on a truck with either a crane or a forklift.

Muahahaha · 07-09-2022 6:27pm

@bailey99 @Heighway61 @antomack @Cape Clear @antomack @oleras @stooge

Update, spent a while checking this out this morning and another bit this afternoon. . Theres two elements to this- getting it from Riga to Dublin Port then from the Port to a warehouse somewhere near the M50 for breaking down and redistribtion on a pallet network. On the first leg Ive emailed 3 shipping brokers who organise container shipping to get a quote for a 20 foot container and am waiting for replies. There is also one company who might be able to do the whole thing Riga to a person door but he need to check with his sub contractors- that would be the ideal situation but will see what happens.

On the second leg I cannot get any firm quotes without knowing where it is destined for in Ireland. There is no such thing as just giving a national delivery price to deliver all 15 crates, all transport companies need to know where it is going before they will quote. I know there has been mention of 2 x Roscommon, 2 x Limerick, Cork, Im in Wicklow, etc but I need you to either post up or private message me your closest town or village. With that info then companies will quote me.

Fighting Tao · 07-09-2022 6:59pm

Hi @Muahahaha I’d be interested in 2 if a reasonable price. Based outside Dundalk.

db · 07-09-2022 7:59pm

Hi @Muahahaha, I'm based in Clonlara, just outside Limerick also and would be interested in getting 2 crates if this goes ahead.

andrewfaulk · 07-09-2022 10:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119585901#Comment_119585901

not to torpedo your plans but your pricing is a bit off, 20ft container from Riga to Dublin is about €2K port to port, plus haulage at either end, min €200 x2.. Got rates last week off one of the biggest operators in that market.. So for shipping your looking €2500ish with 1 drop in Dublin only.. might get a bit cheaper with MSC if you aren’t in a hurry!

Also, you will struggle to fill a 20ft if the crates don’t stack neatly, and will run the risk of having a load of loose timber when you open the doors( if it doesn’t all fall out!)

and finally, you need to have some way to offload a container within 2 hours. Moving 30 crates weighing nearly a tonne a pop is a lot of work.. In the past we delivered fodder in containers to farms(that would have been used to handling bales) and not 1 of them got a full container offloaded without some issues and without incurring waiting time charges(€50/hourish)

blindsider · 07-09-2022 11:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584549#Comment_119584549

https://www.coughlanfuels.com/kiln-dried-logs.html

This any use?

OmegaGene · 08-09-2022 5:26am

I use this company ^^^ and they are very good

RainInSummer · 08-09-2022 8:05am

@Muahahaha on the Poland front the phones aren't even getting answered. Left messages and will see what happens if they get back.

Cheers so far for everything you have done!

Ardent · 08-09-2022 12:52pm

You can put me down for 2 crates as well. North Kildare.

Tony H · 09-09-2022 1:19pm

Anyone use the air dried from cork firewood , they seem to be the only ones that have stock in Cork , Coughlans are out of stock for another month and herself is going into panic mode

Muahahaha · 09-09-2022 3:41pm

@bailey99 @Heighway61 @antomack @Cape Clear @antomack @oleras @stooge @RainInSummer @db @Fighting Tao

Ok some companies got back to me and unfortunately it is not good news either for the Riga to Dublin leg or getting them onwards to peoples houses.

Of three companies for the shipping two got back to me for a 20ft container, one was 3,400 and the other 2,400. That company can also do a 40ft container for 3,750 which works out a bit cheaper per crate. Id almost think with many wanting 2 crates and some more than that we could fill a 40ft container (they are 66 cubic meters so about 30 2m3 crates would fit) but even at that the shipping would be over 100 euro per crate just landed to Dublin Port.

But then the second leg it gets even more expensive. The long and short of it is as people are spread all around the country the costs then go way up. The cheapest quote I could get was an eyewatering 150 per crate dropped, another company was 180. A third company (Pallet Express) I spoke to wouldnt quote becasue of the weight and bulk of these crates and becasue independent lorry drivers they contract dont want to be driving around dropping one or two items at a time, its vastly inefficient for them with the cost of diesel at the moment.

So sorry to get hopes up but I tried. One thing I would say is if anyone here has friends or family who work in supply chain/logistics then if you could ask them to use the search software available to them to see if they can find a better price. But I get the impression the real blocker to a group buy is distributing it to lots of places across Ireland, an idea like this would be more feasible if everyone was within a 20 or 30 mile radius and then you could find an independent lorry driver to do the whole lot on a per drop basis. Thats effectively what the fuel merchants are doing, getting large loads to their yards and then distributing them to a small geographical area in their area.

Muahahaha · 09-09-2022 4:17pm

And to make matters worse Im just off the phone to Premium Pellets in Drogheda and they are now out of stock of 2m3 crates of oak (which were 525) and she says they dont think they are getting them back in mainly becasue the prices from their wholesaler have gone so high that they would only be getting complaints at the price they would have to sell them for. They do currently have 1.16m3 crates of oak at 325 delivered and they reckon thats the only size they will be getting in from now on.

From speaking to her on the phone there is likely gong to be shortages and very high prices of firewood this winter. People have been stockpiling since July and now we're coming into a bit of cold weather everyone is trying to buy and there isnt enough to go around. Monahans fuel merchants have been out of stock for several weeks now and are only doing pre-orders so what comes in is already bought and paid for.

Its not looking great so Id advise others to get what you can while you can as prices are only going one way. Right now my plan is to likely buy one of those 1.16m crates of oak for 325 and see if I can stretch it into mid Febuary at least (I usually only burn 2-3 fires week).Im also going to have a scan around Donedeal sellers this weekend, most of them are selling air seasoned softwood which isnt ideal as it burns a fair bit quicker than hardwood but anything is better than nothing at this point.

Cape Clear · 09-09-2022 4:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595937#Comment_119595937

Fair play to you for putting the work into this. The effort alone deserved a better outcome. I'll be talking to a couple of local farmers over the weekend to see if I can source some timber from them. It looks like people have bought logs as a substitute for coal and given that the crowd in Drogheda have stopped importing the crates it puts greater pressure on supply. I've recently been looking at the below facebook group which is mainly UK based posters. A fair bit of information gets shared in terms of what woods are suitable for burning in stoves etc.

Wood Burners and Seasoning Group | Facebook

Seems like a good deal on firewood....

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