IBC TOTES for FIREWOOD SUCKS!

Chris. Try a perimeter of ibc totes and fill in the middle with wooded pallets. Then make a firewood mountain. The weight of the wood in the ibc totes should keep everything together. Might be better than futzing around with the pallets for cribs.

I'm a firewood hobbyist, I cut and split about 10 full cords a year. I use the totes for my wood because I can move them to the drying area with my tractor and bring them up to the house as needed. When I sell or give away some wood, I dump them into the trailer. I have not had much issue with dumping them, being careful in that process. It's more of a roll them over than dumping them so its not bad. In your case Chris, I do agree they would not be as useful nor as productive. If you're trying to remove the touching for the loading it would be to store your wood on a hard surface that would allow you to load with equipment, but then you would probably need a different piece of equipment for that too.

Fully agree about the totes. For me, odd shaped chunks that I try to burn before the yard is covered with snow. Once its a winter wonderland, they occasionally freeze to the ground, and I need to plow another area to place empty ones.

I have a couple of OBC totes with part of the front cut out and the bladder cut into a " roof " I have my firewood loose on pallets in a wire fence. I use the tires to bring the wood to the house and leave them next to the steps. That way I always have dry firewood at hand. When its not raining or snowing I fill the empty tote and have it ready to be swapped out . Put the forks on the tractor and changing the totes out is but a few minutes. Then put the empty next to the firewood pile ready to be filled on a nice day. ...... I like totes, but use them in a different way than you do.

I see one application for totes that might make sense for you. I think the bulk of your wood should be in your pallet bins, it just makes sense for most of the year. You do have a short period in the winter where your yard is a mud pit and hard to circumnavigate. If a little bit of your wood was set aside in totes for that time of year, then maybe you could place them on the edge of the concrete to have easy access to some wood. You might have a better solution, but so far I have not been exposed to how to deal with the mud slop season more effectively.

Your system works well for you and your explanation is outstanding. Keep delivering safe 👍👍👍

We use totes mainly to throw our cookies, off cuts and anything we don't sell. My brother and divide the totes at the end of the season and use that wood in our stoves for the winter

LOVE the firewood bins. I have started using them this summer and granted its only rain but its amazing how fast and well the wood dries. Used to take about 1 hour to stack a cord of wood. That hour is now spent splitting an additional cord. I do use the IBC totes. BUT, I use them for making bundles. I can dry the wood in the IBC totes, then take the totes into my shop and make bundles from the totes. It takes time to stack the totes but at least the wood can dry in there and then I just take pieces out as I bundle. Keeps the shop a little cleaner too.

Absolutely agree. We have beat this around in chats a few times in the wood-shop up here, I imagine that they might be helpful for some scenarios on a personal burning case, but we don't use totes. We stack the splits right beside the boiler, and using totes would reduce the volume of firewood we could stack in the shed - significantly. But hey, if someone is using totes, and storing the firewood far from their boiler or heat-source, then it may make sense as you can use a tractor and forks to lift and carry it to where you need it. Otherwise, respectfully, an overly exuberant, overstated value on Youtube channels, IMHO. It's Friday - have a great weekend!!

Good morning Chris!!😀😀

Good Friday morning Chris,

I love using totes for my situation, (I’m small time) but I can definitely understand why you wouldn’t want to! I love that little “baby” dumper! Enjoyed it! GNI

Totes have their place, but for you, Chris, I agree you are well past that level that its not practical.😉👍.

I'll poke the bear a little bit. I wouldn't do firewood without them. I loathe stacking. I did it only because I was watching guys like you and did as the expert did. Once you started the no stacking trend, stacking was over for me. No stacking, into the totes...I touch it once to get the round on the splitter, then minimal touching until it conveyed into a tote where I then dump into my trailer once its seasoned and sold then dumped at the customers. So what if one breaks every now and again, we're both getting them at a good price. If you leave the totes whole, yes digging wood out of them is no fun. But if you cut a portion of the face out, it's really not bad to dig them out to make bundles or restock a roadside stand or something similar. You're other argument is valid too. You'd need 700 of them and some sort of rotation system. I have 100+ and that's a bunch. I couldn't image 700!! 😂. Good talk! Catch ya later buddy!

Bert needs to fabricate doors on the bottoms of the totes. Use the forks on the bottom of the tote for relocating the totes, Then to empty the tote you fork the top rails snd lift. Once over the trailer you pull a pin and the bottom falls away. Emptying the splits in a second.

I use IBC totes for my chunky off cuts only. Then I use them in the fall and spring when I just need a fire at night time. I stack all my wood because I burn just for myself. I probably burn about four chords a year and about 1,500-2,000 lb of coal a year. I burn Cole strictly at night time. The neighbors don't complain that way. 😂

For me personally Totes are out of the question,just give me some pallet bins and more wood its always better,more.lol thanks Chris

I agree! You feel like throwing that one birch 1/3 cord stacked into a 330g ibc and show how much doesn’t fit? lol probably not. Maybe Gavin can do it and show even the bigger tote can’t hold 1/3 cord if it’s loose.

Not a tote fan either! Then again i cant be too picky when all i need is evaporator wood for maple syrup season! Still waiting for my delivery , Chris! LOL 👍🍺🪵

Good morning Chris , your lucky hot weather, we got 2” snow ❄️ on the mountain ⛰ this morning. Polar bear 🐻‍❄️ love the cold 🥶 weather on the mountain top 🔝 for sure . Talking to my moose hunting buddy in Vermont USA 🇺🇸 this morning said there getting hot weather. Booking there hunting wk for first wk of November. 😊