About
Us
We are a professional operation, family owned and operated for 16 years!!!
We are so much more than your typical firewood supplier usually
consisting of a couple
of "good ol’ boys with a manual log splitter, a chainsaw and
a pick up truck"!
Why should this matter to you?
We are a professional operation committed to
maintaining a consistent supply
of top quality split, dry, seasoned firewood for our wholesale and retail
clients.
We actual have important things like commercial insurance in case something is damaged during a delivery, we pay our taxes, workers compensation and have all the proper permits ..unlike the fly by night guys that avoid all of this. This should matter to you, things can be damaged and people can get hurt at your home or business making you liable.
Our
firewood is completely dry and seasoned which means
it is ready to burn right out of the bag. Most bulk firewood must be "seasoned" for up a year before
it is ready to burn at peak efficiency.
When market demands are "burning hot" can "Billy Bob’s
Firewood" possibly
meet the intense burden of supply at short notice ..especially during
holidays, long weekends
and the busy summer camping season ? This is where the majority of small
operations start to fall apart.
Our
professionally run logistics, distribution and delivery departments
are available 7 days per week. We offer a regular weekly delivery service to our retail
clients and offer "emergency" service.
We are in the heart of Alberta’s Timber Country.
Why Buy Our Palletized Firewood ?

One Third Cord (Face Cord) Premium Seasoned Buckskin Larch
Larch is the King of Western Firewoods -Superior to Birch and Fir
Ever get a load of bulk firewood dumped on your driveway or in your truck that has so much bark, dirt, gravel and other unwanted material..Does that make you fell like you got a fair deal ?
When you buy our Palletized Firewood, it is clean because it's been hand picked while stacking the pallets, this leaves the bark, dirt and rocks out of the wood and back at our yard and not your's...
Plus the customer can always tell they're getting the correct cord measure they paid for because you can see that the wood is tight stacked and the measurement can be checked. Our pallets are slightly more than a third of a cord and 3 pallets will give more than a full cord, approximately 1.2 cords to be more precise.
"Guestimating" a cord measurement by a firewood reseller can leave with 25-30% less wood than you thought you had bought. Shopping around to save a few dollars can be a waste of time if the measurements are not accurate and in our opinion, this is more common than it should be in Alberta. Getting a "cord" of firewood for $50.00 to $100 less in savings can be negated because you actually got less firewood PLUS you also buy a load of bark and dirt along withn it.
Try our pallets just once and you'll see the difference .
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Why
a Mesh Bag ?
The Mesh bags Raven Firewood uses are the best bags in the business.
Nylon mesh is strong and easy to carry. The UV stable mesh keeps the
wood open to the air to preserve the burning quality.
Plastic bags
and feed sacks are considerably cheaper and that is why many
wood distributors use them.
The main
reason plastic bags and white feed sacks are inferior is that
they are known to trap condensation within the bag causing
the wood to go moldy in as little as 6-7 days. Bagged wood
stacked in the open is exposed to sunlight and heated during
the day at night it then cools off causing the wood to form
a layer of condensation. in a plastic bag or feed sack this
condensation (which is always present even if the wood looks
dry) is drawn from the wood and trapped on the bag surface
and can't escape. In the heat and humidity mold will grow quickly
, The wood is then difficult to burn cleanly and many molds
are quite toxic.
Dry
seasoned wood needs to be exposed to the air. It
will resist getting wet in light rain or showers due to
the fact that the seasoning process causes the wood fibres to shrink
and harden. the surface may get wet, but it will not soak in. In a short
time the wood is dry again in a mesh bag.
Your clients will
quickly complain when they open a soggy, smelly and visibly
moldy bag of wood. Your entire stock of possibly hundreds of
bags can go moldy and leave you stuck on a busy weekend with
an unsellable product. At the prices being charged for firewood
at retail operations your clients will expect a good product.
Quality Firewood vs Cheap Firewood
Quality
of Wood. Getting the right
quality firewood is important. Firewood needs to be dry
and seasoned properly to burn correctly and with the most
efficiency. When we say "dry" that means the
wood should be from 0% - 18%. This is the range where firewood
burns very well. However, too dry ( 0-6%) means it will
burn up faster.
Firewood moisture content above 18-20% means that the wood burns less effectivly but is still considered dry, 28% and higher means the wood will not burn well and will produce more chimney clogging creosote. You need to be especially careful with Birch as it is a sap wood and contains a lot of moisture, birch requires well over a year to season and even then will be less than ideal. Locally most firewood resellers are not to careful about this and often sell seriously underseasoned firewood harvested that same year.
It is not possible to dry or season firewood naturally (without a kiln) beyond what the relative humidity of any given area is, meaning if the average ambient natural humidity in an area like southern Alberta is 15-18% ..the firewood is going to equalize at that moisture content.
Raven only
uses standing dead trees for our pine firewood, this is the
best wood to burn as it is often been drying for 5-10 years
or more and because it is still standing, it is off the ground
and does not retain moisture in our dry Alberta climate. We
do not cut or use viable living trees or use green
wood for our firewood.
Birch can be a serious problem if it is not dried and seasoned properly.
Birch has a high sap content and requires seasoning for a least a year
or more before it is good for burning. Raven strives to obtain only dry
birch for our clients so it is ready to use as soon as you buy it.
There are
many people in the firewood business whom scavenge fallen trees
from the forest floor, use mill waste and other lower quality
species of wood such as poplar and black spruce to mix in with
their product. Often much of this wood is "punky" (dry
rot) or riddled with insects and has very little BTUs left
for providing heat.The same problem occurs if the wood is too
moist.
If it's
too dry like lumber waste it can burn up too fast. This type
of wood may be OK for some people, but Raven only uses high
quality wood as our market demands the wood be ready to burn
right out of the bag.
Our bulk firewood is the same quality as the bagged product and our prices
reflect that, we are not a "bargain" or so called economy firewood
provider, our prices are fair when compared to other operations.
Our Raven
Brand selected and properly aged firewood provides good economy
for both heating and firepit enjoyment as the better quality
provides long and hotter fires.
Birch
vs Pine Firewood
Please note
that birch firewood can cause problems for some people with birch specific allergies when used for
campfires or backyard fire pits especally if you intend to cook marshmallows
or meat over it. Birch smoke, primarily smoke from the bark (bark contains Furans) is mildly toxic and
can contaminate your food, however it is not dangerous to most people, birch is used for cooking in many places around the world with no known ill effects.
Pine can be the better choice for campfires
when cooking is involved.
Pine also provides that wonderful
crackling sound and birch doesn't. However birch will not pop and shoot out embers and sparks which this makes it the firewood
of choice for outdoor use if you are concerned about sparks around small children or dry conditions that can lead to a wildfire.
Birch is
a good choice for fireplaces as it tends to burn longer with
more BTUs. Birch also does not contribute to the creosote build-up
in your chimney. Many people also enjoy using pine in their
fireplaces as well, for the same reason as campfires, that
wonderful crackling sound. Most people still use pine as the
firewood of choice due to the lower price and good availability
in Alberta
Other Firewoods
Cedar - Great for firepits and fireplaces. Cedar has that wonderful aroma and burns with a fierce crackle..if you want a real roaring fire, use cedar. Cedar is easy to light and burns very hot, it has a medium burn time similar to pine.
Larch - Simply one of the best all around firewoods we have in the west. Larch is long burning with high heat output. It does produce a high flame with lots of loud snaps, crackles and pops..it will also shoot embers like pine. Good for cooking over and produces excellent long lasting coals. Superb in woodstoves and fireplaces, but also great in the firepit.
Benefits
of Burning Wood
Burning wood facilitates the environment. The best way to assist the
environment
is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil & gas. Burning wood is carbon neutral and a very natural process, the same amount of carbon will be released if the wood is left to rot.
Wood differs from fossil fuels because it is regenerative. Trees and
plants absorb carbon dioxide and store it in the wood as carbon. When
the wood is burned the carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere
much the same as if the tree or plant died naturally. Our forests provide
a never-ending fuel supply if they are managed and processed properly.
Wood ashes are great for your plants and gardens. The ashes help neutralize
soil acidity. You may also use ashes as traction for icy sidewalks and
driveways.
Delivery
Area
We offer regular weekly delivery
service to our regular clients and arrangements can be made for
home deliveries by request for the following areas
Calgary,
High River, Okotoks, Cochrane, Airdrie, Didsbury, Crossfield,
Carstairs, Strathmore, Canmore, Banff, and Bragg Creek .
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