Seems like a good deal on firewood....

I started buying Kiln-dried beech last Xmas after we got a new stove. Got two orders of 450Kg for around €220 at the time. One from TJ O'Mahony's and one a couple of months later from Stakelums. Very happy with both orders. Price has gone up by €100 since and you need to add delivery on top.

I was in the Co-op in Raheen in Limerick on Sunday and they had 10kg boxes of the same stuff for €7.49 but buy 5 and get the 6th free, making the net 10kg cost €6.24. If I was to buy 450kg of it this way it would add up to €280.

Strange that the small unit price ends up being so much better than bulk. Also each 10kg comes in a cardboard box so easy to transport and less mess in the garage I would imagine. I'm thinking of buying 120kg worth as my existing stock is running out. Am I missing anything on why this is turning out to be such a good deal versus bulk buying?

Yes. I just bought 12 boxes today :-)

1. bagged wood vs stacked in a crate is not a good comparison, you are buying air in the bag because they are loaded in loosely
2. oak vs mixed wood it’s up to you but I prefer oak as I feel they burn longer and will pay extra for it and was lucky to even get some this season.

just my 2 cents worth

Thanks, longer burn time makes a difference (though would be interesting to find out the difference in burn time). Prob little between the volume given the air-gaps as you mention 👍

Any alternatives on wood , I'm open to suggestions 🙂

So with unstacked bags of firewood you can assume 30% is fresh air so the 1.4m3 is equivalent to just under 1m3 stacked for 295 euro. Pro rata that works out at 342 if it was 1.16m3 like the oak crates. So there is basically 8 euros in the difference between the two when adjusted for an equal quantity of 1.16m3. So with that in mind Id go for the oak crate everytime as it burns hotter and longer compared to being mixed in with beech and birch. You can find charts online of various hardwoods comparing their densities, calorific value etc and oak & ash are well up there in terms of heat output and how long they burn.

Plus the bag of mixed hardwoods might only be 10% oak, 10% ash and then 80% beech & birch, you just dont know because they dont say. So for me the crate of oak wins out plus you can chop up and burn the crate as well.

That's a great comprehensive breakdown - thanks for that M! Will go with the recommendations, and oak it is. -I'm presuming when the truck arrives they'll wheel it into a garage ...hopefully they'll give me a heads-up so I'll be home.

BTW, I returned the bags of softwood logs I bought to Aldi -I had white bin liners wrapped around the net bags as my car was clouding up like a rainforest with the moisture (I had 2 bags left in the boot overnight). Won't be getting logs from there again & lesson learned.

Not a bargain but some interesting comment on how wood burning in Europe is increasing and prices going up.

Re: Premium Pellets - delivery

Well, I gave them a ring today to ask whether a delivery of a crate can be wheeled into a garage from the footpath. It's a concrete drive and slight incline but a big truck wouldn't get in the gate.

The lady I spoke to said the crate is delivered by 3rd party courier. And basically it's up to the courier and the mood they're in as they may just drop it to the gate, depending on their mood. Apparently the couriers in the Dublin area can be moodier 😅 If they're in a rush they may well be in bad form and only drop the crate to the gate.

Anyway she recommended having a plan B.

Any ideas on deliveries to Dublin? Has a hand-truck been used to deliver into property or left to yourself to sort out? Any ideas much appreciated!

I carried my logs by hand from the front of the drive around to the log store at the back, only took a couple of hours to move the large crate, the logs are light and you can stack a few at a time. Bagging them and stacking them to me seems like double handling.

could be all the same I guess

There's a great machine going now called a wheelbarrow... Google it...

I got a call the day before and a text when the driver was on the way giving me 20 minutes notice, I’m sure they will swing it around the back for you, you can always give him a tip and tell them your back is in bits🤷‍♂️

In my experience the drivers are always very good BUT it depends on your drive. If you have a level tarmac or other really good flat surface a pallet truck will run on then the drivers will normally move the pallet as near to where you want as they can. If you have a gravel drive like mine everything gets dropped at the gate.

What’s difficult about walking some logs around the house and getting some exercise at the same time lol

I too have loads of old CW ovoid coal bags if they are of interest to anyone send me a pm.

show a picture of the wood and someone will tell you what type it is

last time i had trouble lighting wood was when it was sold as seasoned and not kiln dried

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Just started proper fires yesterday. Certainly spins the wood out longer for a cold winter followed by a cold spring.

I normally end the winter burning every odd bit of crap I can find. This year I'm starting on the pallets and anything else around (just cut up a decent surprisingly dry ash log that the river dumped in the garden). So hopefully I'll still have some decent timber to burn at the end of the season. I also notice a neighbor has a load of construction timber from building work thats been there since early summer so might pop by and see if that needs "moving" ;-)

I've burnt everything ;-) including a lot of chipboard. Wouldn't burn chipboard in a town but with nearest neighbor 250m away (down wind) I would if I had to. Currently there is no financial imperative or lack of better timber so not currently burning any. With any material like chipboard and plywood you are also burning the glue that holds them together, the result can produce dioxins which isn't good.

You'll never see the ones to avoid. Elder is a really bad wood to burn, firstly it doesn't burn and worse than that it smells of poo if you manage to get it going. In the country kids sent out to get dry tinder were always told not to get pick up any pooity sticks as Elder was know in some places (UK).

On the poor burning side horse chestnut is to be avoided unless its absolutely bone dry. Most freshly cut most timber will burn on a bonfire but horse chestnut won't on its own. Spanish chestnut is OK to burn but most people wouldn't know it from oak.

I'm about to burn an old upright piano. Will probably cost me in Sawzall blades more than the timber is worth but it was too heavy for me to get on a trailer to get to the tip and even then the council tip wouldn't take it, far too many hidden screws in it to take the chainsaw to it. Having a bit of a tidy up and just demolished an old caravan. All the metal and plastic went to the tip but the wooden frame (more than I expected) kept us very warm for about 5 days.

The easiest timber to come by is from old pallets. They take up a lot of room and are an effort to cut up but two or three would keep you very warm for a day. I normally cut them up with a sawzall (but a jigsaw is also useful). You will get some with chipboard spacer blocks but as you know I'd burn them as well. The nails can however be a pain getting stuck in the riddler of a lot of woodburning stoves.