Firewood Processor Forum

My 16 year old wants to start a small business delivering firewood. I found 6 tons of firewood (unsplit) for $200...can he turn a profit?

Well, how much profit he makes has to do with how much he can sell a cord for, too. Splitting and hauling that much wood will sure build character!

OK, the value of this depends on what type of oak it is, and whether its green wood or dry. Here's some information from the web with 3 types of oak, and the weight range of a dry cord, and the weight range of a green cord (the first numbers are btu's):

Oak, Black 25.8 - 27.4 2821 - 3625# 4450 - 5725#
Oak, Live 34.4 - 36.6 3766 - 4840# 6120 - 7870#
Oak, White 26.4 - 28.0 2880 - 3710# 4890 - 6290#

So, if it was green, Live Oak, and weighed as much as 7870 pounds, it's conceivable he might get as little as roughly 1 1/2 cord out of it. If it was dry Black or White Oak, he might get 4 cords. That gives you some numbers to play with, and your son can figure if this sounds worthwhile. He'll probably want to find out a little more about the wood first.

you can use these numbers to estimate how many cords you will get from the 12,000 pounds. If it is fresh green use 4,975 pound per cord. If it is good dry ready to burn use 3,700 pound per cord. so you will get somewhere between(green) 2.40 cords and (dry)3.25 cords of wood. so, green sells for less than dry. So dry 3.25 x 200=$650 approx. total, split and delivered. $200 a cord is just an example. prices very. the way to make more from that amount of wood(if it is dry)is to sell it in smaller 1/3 and 1/6 cord lots at a higher rate, you could (double) your profit by selling in the smaller lots. his customers would be people who cant or don't want a ton of wood. That is people who have fireplaces in condos, apts, townhouses and houses. I have bought 1/6 cord before myself.. he could put out fliers on those locations. See what oak is selling for in your area. a cord is 4'x4'x8' split cut 16" long & stacked a 1/3 is 16"x4'highx8'long . have fun. Even if he did not make a ton of money, he will learn some basic bisness instinks, like how t turn 200$ into 650 to 1000 dollars google" log spliters" or " rental log spliter" then he could find some more wood to sell people dont want just oak. during next summer he can pick up wood from companies that cut down trees. Prob. free. or the forest service sells wood cheap. This could be a good self employment part time job.Getting started is the hardest part. If he is no a lazy guy he will learn a lot and make some money too.

You didnt mention the type of wood or if it is green (recently cut) or seasoned (dry). So I wouldnt be able to guess as to how much of a profit could be made. If the logs are large and unsplit someone is going to have to split them at least in half if not more. Doing this by hand is hard work. Renting a log splitter is more feasible, but it will eat into your profits. If the wood is still green it can be split, but will not me of much use in the upcoming season until it is dried out enough to burn. You would have to sell it to people that have enough storage to wait til at least next year to use it. This link might help you in determining weight http://www.shodor.org/succeed-hi/succeedhi/weightree/percentWater.html

Just over 2 full cord.

1 cord of red oak is around 5700 pounds green. Less if dry.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/logweight.html

How much does wood sell for in your area? Where I live oak can be bought cut, split, delivered, and stacked for around $150 per cord. That would make him about $100. Minus the gas he uses.