Some randon thoughts

[S.A. Boggs]

When heating season started this year I went to order ten pallets of wood blocks and discovered that the price was more then my budget would allow. I went looking for wood to have delivered, no dice. Due to the good economy I could find only one wood seller and his delivery price was $17.00 less then the wood block and he delivers. The down side is that he delivers wood that is basically used in outdoor boilers, so I have to split the wood for my wood stoves. I can't swing my maul like I use to so I went to TSC for an axe. I choose the 36" Fiskars axe/splitter and also bought the sharpener. The other axes were Chinese and wood handles and much cheaper. The Fiskars has a lifetime warranty which is a plus and the sharpener is one of the best/easiest that I have used.
In the spring I am going to order a truckload of fire logs and will buy a splitter to process the wood. I will spend about $2,000 a year on delivered wood which is not practical so I am going to do the work myself and save some dough. In the long haul I will save money on my heating cost and best of all not have to depend on someone else. There are many log haulers in my area so not problem on getting wood delivered for about $400 per semi load.
Sam

[Merc]

Firewood is in demand near my summer home in NW PA. The permanent residents love their outdoor wood burners.

I think a log splitter is a great investment for someone who heats with wood. They should pay for themselves in a few years and make the hard labor part of heating with wood a lot easier.

Get to know the tree removal companies. They are always looking for places to get rid of the wood. I just had a 60’ tall dead cherry tree cut down last month that they cut up into manageable sections and hauled it away. The trunk was about 3’ in diameter. A tree that size would have provided someone with enough fire wood for a year or two.

[Gun Smoke]

Get to know the tree removal companies. They are always looking for places to get rid of the wood.

+1

Many tree removal companies here also sell the firewood but most anyone who cuts a tree is not interested in the small limbs.

Hey, that stuff burns too and you don't need a log splitter.

The best thing overall is to find/cut/store firewood during the hot months when no one wants it.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Allow me to throw an alternative thought into the discussion. Cutting and splitting wood, even with a splitter is hard physical labor. Before investing in a splitter, you might want to ask yourself if you will still be able to do the work in a few years, or even now. That leads to the question: do you have some alternative method of heating your home? Electricity? propane? natural gas? oil? solar? I know that electric and propane are expensive and natural gas is not available everywhere but some jurisdictions have special programs for solar that might be considered. If your wood heat is a supplement to an existing system then you should be OK but if you depend solely on wood heat, you might want to consider using the money that you will spend on a splitter to install a different system (And yes, I am sometimes a pessimist)

[lyman]

Sam,

does your house have central air (AC)?

if so, you may want look at an outdoor boiler unit, you won't have to split as much or cut it smaller,

BiL had one for years, liked it,

did suck when the power went out tho, since it depended on the air handler to distribute the heat, and a pump to get the hot water to the coils

[Sunray]

"...will buy a splitter..." Those can be rented. Friggin' things are expensive to buy. Nearly 2 grand up here. Like Mark says, doing that yourself is back breaking manual labour. And it takes the same amount of 'swinging' for an ax or a maul.
"...per semi load..." That you get to unload and move wherever you're storing it.
"...ten pallets..." Might not have been enough anyway.
"...anyone who cuts a tree is not interested..." Yep. Buddy of mine sold a bunch of trees(nice great big oaks and maples). The loggers cut the tops off and only took the logs. Tops are still laying around his wood lot. He was trying to sell 'em for $5 each, 20 years ago. No takers. He made a pile of money on the logs though.

[S.A. Boggs]

@ $20/2m lbs I have decided to go with hardwood slabs.
Sam

[Vern Humphrey]

I just go through the woods and find dead trees, cut them and haul the logs out with my tractor.