Price of logs

[nonstandard]

Just wondering if 70 quid for a tonne of seasoned logs delivered sounds reasonable.

The woodburner is being fitted next week and we are going to need something to burn while my own logs season.

Sent from my mobile so the typing is probably a bit iffy

 

[Hivemaker.]

Just wondering if 70 quid for a tonne of seasoned logs delivered sounds reasonable.

What type of timber.

 

[nonstandard]

Not sure but certain it's not pine and birch, likely sycamore, ash etc

Sent from my mobile so the typing is probably a bit iffy

 

[MartinB]

Yep

That's exactly what we normally pay, well it was until I had three 60 foot trees felled last year!

PS Logs don't last long, depending on your burner try using wood to get it going and coal (we use smokeless because we live in a smokeless zone) to keep it going and keep it "in" overnight.
This mix of wood and coal is a far cheaper way of running the fire otherwise you will spend a fortune on wood. We also burn wood when we want it to have more visible flames, like Christmas day when we like the wood burning effect.

 

[Russel]

That's exactly what we normally pay, well it was until I had three 60 foot trees felled last year!

PS Logs don't last long, depending on your burner try using wood to get it going and coal (we use smokeless because we live in a smokeless zone) to keep it going and keep it "in" overnight.
This mix of wood and coal is a far cheaper way of running the fire otherwise you will spend a fortune on wood. We also burn wood when we want it to have more visible flames, like Christmas day when we like the wood burning effect.

There are some alternative sources:
Double glazing firms skip vast quantities of cardboard, hard and soft woods, and are usually only to pleased for someone to take it.
Hardwood should need less cleaning than painted softs.
Joiners will have a "timber skip" that they may allow you to plunder.
Also builders merchants etc have an abundance of "broken" pallets cluttering the yard.
Jar or two of honey often smooths the way.

 

[Gardenbees]

£70 is OK as long as the wood is good. I paid £60 for a pickup truck full of cut logs last year, now up to £70, and that's just over a tonne. That was mixed seasoned hardwoods from the Wildlife Trust. A mixed bag, but mostly very good, with plenty of oak and ash. Also some hawthorn, which burns very hot (doesn't smell nice though).

I'm trying Ma*semore's briquette things at the moment. They're quite good, but only economical if you buy a palletful. And they have the advantage of using up some of that nice-smelling cedar sawdust.

 

[nonstandard]

Thanks guys, I shall probably put my order in then. We are hoping to be self sufficient next winter as we have a considerably large amount of overgrown beech hedging that needs reducing from 25ft+ to around 6ft and several large fruit trees that are in need of replacement. I also hopefully will have the benefit of of plundering the broken pallet skip at work should I actually return after my extended period of sick leave. failing that I have a good friend whom is transport manager for a local haulage firm.

As a supplementary question does anyone coppice willow for burning? I realise it is not the best fuel but if it's free.....

 

[Teemore]

Willow is grand for burning in a stove as the stove contains the inevitable sparks. Just make sure it is really well seasoned. Oh, and you may have a bit of fun splitting willow into useable pieces......

 

[Luminos]

From my local farmer: 35 euros, seasoned oak, delivered and stacked

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

From my local farmer: 35 euros, seasoned oak, delivered and stacked

Does he deliver to Lincs?

 

[Luminos]

Does he deliver to Lincs?

He's such a nice bloke, he probably wood

 

[VEG]

Be care full if burning pallets on an open fire as some pallets are treated and give off toxic fumes when burned.

 

[messybeast]

Sounds good to me. What model burner have you bought. We use a Clearview inset and it's cool ...actually 5kw.

 

[rae]

Pallets seem cheap until you wreck a blade or chain on them. The trick with wood is to understand the sheer volume of the stuff that you need if you are going to get serious about it. If you can get it free, fine. If you have to get wood delivered, oil is probably cheaper (and much easier).

 

[Jimmy]

It's surprising how much time and effort it takes to cut up and split the equivalent of a load of logs. I have a free supply of wood but it's borderline in terms of the time required to get them suitable for burning against paying someone else to do it for me. My view is somewhat tainted by having spent several hours with the chainsaw and wedge producing a beautiful stack of lime wood only to look up lime on the internet to find it's a 'poor burner with little heat'. Never mind, I have some seasoned damson and hawthorn to see me through this winter.

Anyone else drive around, eyeing up dead elms in the hedgerows wondering if a nighttime raid would be feasible?!!!

Note - we only heat one room with the stove, no extra hot water or heating, so although it's very useful and we light up 4/5 days a week in the true winter we don't freeze without it.

Regarding softwood vs hardwood argument, I understood that they both produce similar amounts of soot but you need to burn the softwoods at a higher temperature (= faster consumption) to reduce the amount produced.

 

[rae]

It's surprising how much time and effort it takes to cut up and split the equivalent of a load of logs.

That is a kit...and dare I say it, experience problem. 2 years ago I had a line on some ash - great fire wood, in 3 - 4 foot lengths. I got the trailer out and was hauling 2.8 tonnes (honest officer, it is exactly 2.8 tonnes of wood, for an all up weight of 3.5 tonnes...) and it was taking me a weekend to process a trailer load. Once I got good at it, I could process the same trailer in about 2 hours. The main changes to the process:

- Making a saw buck and using a big saw. Rather than chasing branches around on the ground (slow and dangerous), load all the lengths into an X shaped buck, and cut them all at the same time - so you're cutting 10 - 20 logs in one go. The buck is also good for foraging wood - when you find a bit, lob it in, it dries off the ground, and when the buck is full get the saw out.

- have a sharp chain. Several people who have looked at me cutting have remarked "that saw is really fast". It isn't - it is just sharp.

- cut short. Easier to load and split.

- throw away the log splitter and get a decent splitting axe. When splitting straight grained wood, I am about 10x faster with an axe -the cycle time on the average splitter is awful. If wood is gnarly - saw it, don't pound away at it.

With the above process, I can cut, split and stack about 2 months supply in a morning - and we are totally wood fired - heating, hot water, cooking.

Overall I'd agree - wood is a lot of work, certainly compared to pressing the button on a gas boiler. You have to like cutting stuff up and building piles. Having a bath in "free" hot water is damn satisfying though.

Anyone else drive around, eyeing up dead elms in the hedgerows wondering if a nighttime raid would be feasible?!!!

You generally don't need to do it at night, most people are only too happy for dead stuff to be cleared - just ask! Our dog also brings back remarkably large sections of tree....

Never noticed a difference in soot production between hard and softwood, soft woods will tend to burn faster anyway, pine is the fastest of the lot.

 

[Jimmy]

Rae
I'm definitely at the novice end of the spectrum although learning fast. I have a splitting axe which is a joy to use on straight grained wood. I only opt for the wedge when I have a 35-70cm diameter log to split into smaller segments that the wood axe can tackle.

I'll check my saw is sharp, it was a present to self last winter and reduced what was a weekend's processing sized pile of wood down to a 2-3 hour session. The stacked pile it produced is roughly 1.5 - 2 cubic metres.

 

[enrico]

It's all about calorific value and which wood gives out how much heat for the amount burned!!! Ash is one of the best
E

 

[rae]

General rule on chain sharpening is to give it a quick once over with a file after every 2 - 3 tanks. The saw should "self feed", if you have to lean on it to get it to cut...it is blunt! Also it took me about 10 years to learn that files go blunt - get a pack of decent ones (about £6) and change them regularly.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Perhaps you need one of these Rae,speeds the process up really well.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhmKBDIAXd0[/ame]