Countryfile, 'Bracken' Fuel?

[Mull]

Lots of bracken about but if it starts being harvested commercially, will it regrow every year?

 

 

 

I think it would, the stuff Ive cut always comes back,

 

 

If cut early enough, it will die back, but needscut year after year, bracken only grows on good ground, infact I've heard it being called "the guardian of good ground" which I understand!

[openspaceman]

Wonder if you can turn/bale it in the rain? or did they just go through the motions for the cameras. Ingenious idea though, pity you couldn't do the same with knotweed.

 

Most plant matter has the same energy content at the same moisture content so it's just a matter of the economics of harvesting and processing.

 

Having just watched the episode on iplayer I was more interested in the clog making. I was surprised he favoured sycamore as perceived wisdom was that clogs were made from alder.

 

I could have done with some when I suffered from plantar fasciitus.

 

His use and articulation of the stock knife was fascinating and so was the variety of knives he used,

[wills-mill]

Most plant matter has the same energy content at the same moisture content so it's just a matter of the economics of harvesting and processing.

 

Having just watched the episode on iplayer I was more interested in the clog making. I was surprised he favoured sycamore as perceived wisdom was that clogs were made from alder.

 

I could have done with some when I suffered from plantar fasciitus.

 

His use and articulation of the stock knife was fascinating and so was the variety of knives he used,

 

Jeremy is a good old stick. Myself and Roger and a few of the coppice lot have spent some time with him and the clog knives (shaper, hollower, gripper bit). His opinion is that using Alder is OK but it wears very quickly, so the leather upper would have to be transferred regularly to a new sole. Sycamore lasts longer as a one-off clog.

 

Although (apparently) their lasts aren't quite the proper shape, Walkleys are still manufacturing a reasonable amount by machine. The safety clogs look pretty tidy, it sounds like clogs held out for a long time in foundries and rolling mills, much safer when you're stood on red hot plate

 

Walkley Clogs safety boots

[wills-mill]

More in depth films here-

[ame]

[/ame]

 

sorry for the derail. Back to the bracken.

[timbernut]

I used to have to wear clogs when rolling asphalt with hand roller, it was orrible!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Steven P]

10kg for £6.... I can get half a sack of smokeless coal for that, will last me 3 or 4 days, 10kg of logs lasts me 1 day. being green is great... but being skinted and green, not so great.

 

 

 

Hotter and better than oak? As far as I remember it, 1kg of wood (and I guess you could count bracken as wood for the argument) has the same energy as 1kg of wood regardless of the plant at the same moisture content.

 

So it sounds great, if you have to clear bracken from the land anyway and can dry, process and burn it great, but as a commercial product it has to compete and I am not sure it can

[Logged On]

I haven't seen country file yer but maybe they should focus on planting trees for fuel in log burners rather than weeds!.

I for one would rather see 100's of acres of woodland than bracken, then again they're usually both growing together

 

Wouldn't the bracken then give the tree harvesting a break while you wait for the trees to grow??

 

Story goes round here, they're harvesting the trees faster than they can replant them....

 

And so when the demand really, REALLY gets going, won't wood fuel just become as expensive? ?

[Little Al]

Rather a lot of machinery and processing required me thinks !! logs...saw and axe !! probably find it is heavily grant funded /subsidised ...

 

I gather Bracken by hand & use one of those presses that were marketed years back for compressing wet paper to make the briquets for burning it takes several goes to come up with a block to use & I only use it as the first start logs I have no idea what brand of wood burner was being used but mine, 14 KW " Godin" certainly burns hotter with oak on than the odd occasion Iv'e used bracken on a good burning fire, useful for me though as it's a "Freebie" gather while dog walking.bit like the doctors prescription 3 times a day after meals

[Beardie]

It would be interesting to see if the calorific value of the briquettes is greater than that of the fuel used to make them. For me, the best way of dealing with bracken is to get a professional horse-logger in with a bracken-basher in July. This is when it is least able to tolerate having its stems crushed. Mind you, there is nothing to stop you gathering it all up afterwards.

[william petts]

Thanks that's a good point about it possibly giving a chance for us to catch up on tree planting and after watching it I've actually turned to the opinion of it

I think it would be better used for biomass where you could maybe dry it and burn it in biomass boilers?? Never like the idea of burning wood to dry wood