Why do most firewood sellers save their best quality wood for bundle wood? I always hear people talking about “bundle quality” or “bundle grade”. And making perfectly uniform splits for bundle wood. My experience has been that the consumers that purchase bundle wood wouldn’t know quality firewood from rolled newspaper. What am I missing here???
All about appearance. American consumers are gluttons and extremely susceptible to marketing. they have this “image” that has been created for them what things SHOULD be. And they fall for it hook, line and sinker.
Makes sense I guess, but if they really want consistency why haven’t the sawmills picked up on this and started making bundles from reject boards. They could make a fortune doing this as a sideline instead of selling dump trailer loads of lumber for $25 or giving it away just to get it gone.
Because it will look like bundles of scrap lumber and not firewood. Who the heck would buy that to prove what a serious outdoor person they are 3-4 weekends a year in their suburban backyard
I think it is all about looks. For sure retailers don't want it to be "dirty." Chips and sawdust and loose bark would be a problem for them. And, of course they would want a uniform length and same sized bundles. Not too big on the splits; more splits to them means more fires and therefore a better buy for the customer.
Casual burners are a different breed from those of us who burn for heat. It’s a different mindset. I’m part of a Solo Stove group on Facebook. Folks there have no problem paying for wood that looks nice and/or is already dry. Furthermore, many have discovered pellet fuel and will dump an entire bag in there for a 40-70 minute burn. Different strokes for different folks.
Ever see those "factory made" bundles? The wood is nice and clean. Once folks get used to those they dislike "dirty" weathered wood. For me its a presentation thing. If i used bags instead of wrapping id use "lesser quality" splits. Plus when assembling bundles i pack them in tight too. My 2c
Assembling bundles is a PITA. Unless you have a machine and do vast quantities. I sell roughly 2000 a year all wholesale. For sawmills its in the way. Time is money. And they'd have to pay someone to assemble them. Local convenience store/gas station has real crappy bundles. Gnarly logs and hastily assembled. The splits dont even look dry either. I just shake my head. Ive offered to sell to him but price is everything to them.
I understand the visual appeal aspect of it, but if I was in that business I think I would have a hard time assembling high btu quality hardwood into bundles knowing that the customer likely doesn’t know what quality wood is. I would try to use lesser grade of wood like poplar, red maple, etc., unless I was targeting a market aimed at cooking/smoker wood.
I use mostly lower end btu/SS wood including the above mentioned. Im at the mercy of the score too so i do have to mix higher btu woods into bundles. My main concern is the weight. Too many oak or sugar maple splits and it gets too heavy. Locust, mulberry and hickory have never found their way into bundles. I tried selling smoker wood around here with no success.
I just wish we had some good quality hardwood around here. Elm is pretty much the mainstay with the VERY occasional, honey locust, mulberry, or hackberry. Those definitely get sorted and put aside for the coldest weather…although I really can’t complain about the elm. Most of what I get is bark less standing dead stuff and really isn’t too bad to split. Puts out plenty of heat and coals actually too much. Have to keep a little pine, cedar, or cottonwood on hand to keep the coals down when we are running the stove hard. Easily get 12 hour relights on a coal bed.
I find elm to be a better firewood than hackberry, at least in my situation. I have plenty of both as it’s the most common decent trees around here. I like ash better than hackberry but don’t get as much of it.
Bundle delivery i made yesterday. .60 cubic ft. 8x8x16" Mix of sugar maple, black birch, cherry, black walnut and TOH. Some soft maple in the mix too. Warmer weather has me using more weathered splits than in the cold. I figure they are used outdoors. My simple jigs full and ready for wrapping. Have another order going this week.
Most of my bundles sales are mid-April through Thanksgiving. Knowing that it's getting burned for looks and not heat, I don't use the high end wood. Right now it's all silver maple, cottonwood and ash. Straight as an arrow, splits great, dries fast. My "bundle grade" is the straight splits, mostly without bark. It stacks very neatly in the bundler and is easy to wrap. And presents nicely (and very clean) in my stand. Light enough that anybody can pick the bundle up and carry it to the backyard.
