You Can't Get the Wood (Really!)

[kevin_standlee]

I am promoting replies to well-intentioned people suggesting what to do about the firewood here. I contacted Lignetics, who make Press-to-Logs, and learned:

Most importantly: Lignetics' log-making machine is broken and they are having difficulty repairing it. Consequently, they have been unable to fill orders to their customers.

Regarding us purchasing multiple pallets when they are available and loading multiple pallets on the rental trailer:

1. The largest U-Haul utility trailer (the one we rented) physically can hold two pallets, but it would overload the trailer's rated towing capacity. This would be dangerous and would void our towing contract, making us liable for any damage or towing failure.

2. If we can get multiple pallets delivered to the local Big R (possible if Lignetics gets their machine fixed), we can get the pallets one at a time using the small utility trailer, which we can use at slow speed for short distances. (3 km / 2 mi @ less than 40 km/h / 25 mph).

Regarding the idea of doing a direct purchase from the manufacturer:

1. A full truckload of Press-to-Logs is 24 pallets. (At retail prices, that would cost more than $9000.)

2. They do not bring a forklift with their deliveries. The purchaser must have a lift with which to unload the truck.

3. They do not sell to individual retail customers. They sell only to retailers or distributors.

So I think that's it for this season. We have to hope that we have enough wood to last until it warms up and that the manufacturer is able to get their machine repaired by next season.

There is one other type of fire logs sold through a retailer in Fallon and Yerrington. We have purchased from them in the past, and they do have a truck that can hold two pallets, and they've been reluctantly willing to deliver to us in the past, and we have been able to ask one of our industrial neighbors to use their forklift to unload the pallets in the road (they won't take the forklifts off the paved surfaces). This makes unloading harder for us (we use a wheelbarrow to shuttle logs between the unloading location to the wood box), but possible.

Paving a strip of the East Lot is possible, but not something we're considering in the short term, because we would then have to fence the property to put a gated on the pavement to prevent people from using it as a cut-through road. We know they would do so, because when we first moved here, there were signs of people doing so on the dirt surface. We dragged some concrete logs and part of a fallen tree over to discourage people from doing so.

Every proposed solution has its own complications, and so far, nobody has proposed a solution that we hadn't already considered. Owning the East Lot helps, but does not solve all problems.

Comments

Solutions

[belak]

Simple solution to the issue, you've got the lot, you're allowed some commercial production on the lot, Lisa has the technical skills, build your own log pressing factory on the lot! I'm sure you could build it so that it would easily offload 200 logs into a protected billet just outside of your door too whenever you divert the production line!

;-)

Yes, I'm kidding, but you've got the room with the lot, a pipedream is fun to consider.

It might not be a bad idea to have at least a temporary fence around the new lot to prevent gallivanters from hot footing it thru the lot or depositing trash, even if you don't build a log production line on it. Less than $1000 for supplies depending on the height and quality of the wire fencing, plus posts you choose and whatever gate system you select to give you access, plus however much to hire someone to install it. More if you want to pour a concrete pad for deliveries and a shed for the forklift you'll want to buy too! ;-)

Hey, I'm pretty good at spending your money for this project! I'll sign off before I spend thru all of your savings!

Re: Solutions

[kevin_standlee]

We may fence one or two sides of the lot when our resources permit.

[totient]

I got curious how come fire logs would be easier to get in Fallon than in Reno. Then the Washington Post published an article (gift link, anyone can follow) with a very interesting map of heating system prevalence. Some census districts near Fallon have high rates of wood heating. There are other hot spots, as it were, which might be useful in your future research into likely places to get more logs.

[kevin_standlee]

Reno (and southern Washoe county generally) have restrictions on use of wood-burning stoves because it's considered part of the Tahoe basin. Fernley is in Lyon County and doesn't have such restrictions.

There is a place in Reno that sells firewood, and after grumbling about it, once delivered three cords to us (knocking over our mailbox in the process), but the wood costs more and doesn't last as long. Pressed-sawdust firelogs are pretty efficient and thus give more calories per dollar spent.

There is a Big R in Sparks, but it's not listed on the Lignetics (Press-to-Logs) website as a location where you can get their products.

This house was theoretically equipped with a gas furnace when we bought it, but the inspector discovered that the furnace was defective (it had been scorching the wood behind it and might have set the house on fire, and the duct-work under the house was more holes that ducts. The estimate to replace the furnace and ducts was in the neighborhood of $8,000 then and would probably be considerably more now.

An electric heat system would exceed the power supply of the house and we know from previous quotes that we'd be facing in excess of $10,000 to have the electric supply upgraded to at least 200A. (We would still need to buy a new furnace and have the duct-work replaced on top of that.)

[totient]

I wasn't thinking you had a new heating system in mind -- just that seeing where wood heat was popular might be a hint about what towns might have places to sell the wood. If you ever change your mind and do go the new system route let me know because I learned some very interesting and somewhat counterintuitive things while redoing the heat in my house here in Massachusetts.

[solarbird]

Obviously this isn't for right now, but when you do get around to repairing central HVAC, Technology Connections just recently made a pretty good case for the idea that a 100amp service will support a heat pump just fine, in no small part thanks to LED lighting and modern refrigerators being so efficient.

So that might move it into plausibility sooner than you think, depending on, you know, every other thing.

[kevin_standlee]

We have only 125A total service, which would still be challenging.

We have no gas at all, as we had it removed. The three appliances that used it were the gas water heater, furnace, and clothes dryer. The first two we had removed because they were defective, and there was no dryer when we started. Hot water is on a smaller (30 gal) electric water heater. The electric dryer we bought a decade ago has never run because we never put in the 220V service and have never figured out a way to vent it other than straight under the house, which is what the previous owner did and that Lisa does not think is safe. We have a small electric dryer upstairs. There are times when we have to be careful about what appliances we run. There are several things in the kitchen, for example, than must not all be run at the same time or they will pop a breaker.

[calimac]

The idea that you should just buy a whole truckload of pallets reminds me of the time I was complaining about how hard it is to buy mutton, and someone suggested that I just buy a sheep.

[kevin_standlee]

*laughter* When I was growing up near Yuba City, my grandparents, uncle and aunt, and some cousins got a couple of cows. After they slaughtered one of them and had a butcher do the cutting-up part, all of us had full-to-overflowing large freezers full of meat. I didn't realize how good I had it until I was much older. But not many people have the ability to do that!

[solarbird]

It's such a good price holy crow. But I've never managed to have someone who would go in on that kind of buy with me.

[kevin_standlee]

It worked for us because the property that my uncle bought was 5 ac with three houses (he rented the other two to his brother and cousin) and had plenty of room to raise the cows. We also had 36 chickens (I usually collected eggs) and room for raising a garden that generated lots of fresh vegetables. Again, I did not realize how good I had it until many years later. It was just how things were as far as I knew.