I lucked up and got three totes free (I think they are 330 gal) and I already had a couple. Took the plastic container out and chunked the wood in. Curious... how easy is it get wood out? I don't have a tractor/forks... maybe you could tip/unload one... I will have to do it by hand when time to transfer to a trailer to deliver to a customer or myself! These are at my woodlot. They sure do make good wood storage. Seems to me I am going to have to reach in and get the wood once I can't reach down and get it, lol. Or I guess I could tie a chain on it and tip it if it's hard to reach through the frame. I didn't stack the wood (just tossed it in) but I could. I had about 30 pieces shy of a face cord left on the trailer. If I had stacked carefully, maybe I could get a full face cord in there. The top part, I stacked it mounded up on top, as much as it could hold. EDIT: Hmmm... I see some of you are cutting some of the frame out so you can reach in?
The only difference between the 275’s and 330’s is about 6” of height. With the legs a 330 is about 54” tall. It will easily hold a face cord (1/3rd cord) if stacked. The easiest way to get the wood out is to cut an opening into the cage on one side. My openings are prob 24” x 24”. Some people cut the whole front out other than the bottom row. Structurally they’re pretty stout, so cutting some out shouldn’t be an issue.
I see a lot of people cut holes in them. Personally I don’t. They are hard to come by and I want them to last as long as possible. I can reach all but a foot or so in the bottom of the 275 g totes. Then I pull through the holes in the side. Totes are a great thing especially if you have a tractor and forks.
I cut the center of the cage out with a cut-off wheel.........and then the easiest thing to do is just cut the plastic bin so that you create a flap. I also had cut off the top of the bin because I use mine for kindling storage so I like to keep the top off when it's not raining. This one I bolted two pieces of wood as a latch...but the third one I built I didn't do anything and it just stays in place.
I tried the totes & they're great for seasoning & moving, but stacking & unloading them became very tedious. Can't reach the bottom, 2' splits didn't stack well etc. I wheelbarrow or loader bucket from my stacks to the boiler. I just emptied my last three totes into my trailer & sold the wood. I use them for chunks/uglies storage, but that's it. If you need totes, pm me. I've got a bunch.
I bought one a year or two ago, still haven't used it much. I found too it was difficult to load and unload, but perhaps I need to cut an opening to make that part easier. I don't have a machine to move it around once loaded either. Right now am chucking the uglies in it.
It's my first year using them and while they are heavy with green oak, beech and ash, my Kubota MX5100 will move them. For my situation, I can't see a down side. It will allow me to store wood outside the woodshed, freeing up room for equipment. I won't need to carry wood from the end of the stack inside the shed since I'll set the tote next to the stove door. We cut an opening and it seems to hold up well and doesn't flex much with oak and rough terrain.
I have used totes for about 6 years now. I try to make sure all the splits will fit thru the squares on the side. There have been times when the tractor wouldn’t work, so I had to carry wood to the house from the fence row where the totes were at. I can reach down most of the way to pull splits out, but a hookaroon helps to get the last few out: either helping to pull the cage over or To pull the splits out. Another useful tool to stack and unload totes is my son. My daughter has now outgrown the helpful stage(14) but he does a good job of keeping up with the splitter
They are great even if you don't have a tractor or a forklift. I've had to move on tote full of kindling because it was too close to the house according to the code inspector. So it took me 10 minutes to move some of the kindling into some garbage cans, enough so I could waddle the cage half full of kindling 6' away to satisfy the code. I have two in the driveway, one on the knee wall right next to other two and one in the back of the house. I have two without cages and one is used for larger cutoffs and one is used to hold my pallet wood boards.
I'd humbly suggest drilling holes in the plastic bin and use them for kindling storage. Still get plenty of airflow and if you're anal like me and like itty bitty kindling sticks then it will dry out and stay dry in no time at all. Are you talking about the actual plastic tote part or do you have just the metal cage? I wouldn't want to stack any wood in them. Too constricted for sure.
Casper How have your tote cages held up with the top bar cut out? How long have you used them like that? I just bought 20 cages and need to do some cutting for access but I don't want to weaken the structure too much. Thanks.
Very well. I'm going to stack them this year. That might be a real test. I filled a few a second time and I'm not gentle while moving them with the forks.
Seem super strong for us. Have only filled them a couple of times but not going easy on them. Use the forks plenty to drag them around so we can pick them up to move.
