Soft wood

[richardwale]

3 hours ago, Jon@CareFell said:

This is a bit off topic but I had a customer tell me our wood was unacceptable because it was uneven sizes and had some bits of bark in it (these had fallen off the logs while drying). They had been used to getting wood from a processor and riddling bucket and we are tree surgeons and only sell a bit of firewood on the side but they are Arb arisings and are not as neat as forest grown processed timber. Majority hardwood (80%) all well seasoned and 1cu bags instead of builders bags. But it was still not what they wanted because of how it looked! I take my hat off to you guys that make it work properly, I will be selling the wood unprocessed and wholesale from now on as it is a lot of aggro and we are real busy with the tree work all year round.

Makes you laugh doesn't it. You pick up the log, and nano seconds later you're burning it to death. Doesn't look right, my god whatever next

[Stubby]

Should have told them they were getting seen off by the other supplier as he was keeping some of their wood   by not giving them the bark .

[flatyre]

Thank God i'm not the only one who found educating the public on firewood like talking to a brick wall. Started selling firewood last year, advertised as "Premium two years seasoned hardwood for £50 a cube". Got nothing but headache, customers out with measuring tapes, moisture meters, inspecting every log to confirm it was hardwood (bare in mind most don't know one wood from another), these logs are too big, those are too small, I want them exactly this size blah blah blah. This year I advertised as "builders bag of mixed firewood for £50". Selling like hot cakes. The higher quality you claim the pickier they get.

[richardwale]

23 hours ago, richardwale said:

Had a customer call yesterday. I'd already sold them some hardwood earlier in the season and they were ringing for more. I told him I only had mixed wood for sale, bone dry, lovely firewood. He actually said " my stove doesn't burn softwood" . I wanted to tell him to read this thread. It's going to be hard work to convince a lot of people. Starting with the installers who must have told him his stove mustn't burn softwood. I didn't get the sale. Some you win some you lose

Just got a text saying he'd like the mixed wood. Must have looked online and realised he was misinformed!

[Gary Prentice]

Or no one else had anything dry?

[Ashes_Firewood]

Past 2 years I've burnt about 40% softwood logs. I do prefer hardwood logs to softwood. The softwood doesn't break down to leave as nice a bed of embers as the hardwood does for the next logs and it lasts nowhere near as long. They're good to get the fire going and up to temperature though.

[richardwale]

I find that some softwoods like yew and cedar last nearly as long as hardwoods. It's all about stove control as well.

[nepia]

Yew... far too good to go in the softwood pile; it goes in with the hardwoods.  It's 'better' (whatever that means) than some perfectly legitimate hardwood logs such as Sorbus.  Willow and pop - if I really have to get rid of any - go in the softwood heap.

[difflock]

Ah well some o us got bog all but conifer to burn, without complaint.

No kindling needed, a few handfuls of scrunched up newspaper and a few casually selected likely looking sticks, picked from those brought in for burning, i.e. 1/2 rotten, or thin section, or splintery or a hydraulic wedge split & "ruffelled" knotty Lodgepole pine.

A few minutes later with the door "snibbed" open, a roaring inferno.

Simples!

mth

[richardwale]

3 hours ago, nepia said:

Yew... far too good to go in the softwood pile; it goes in with the hardwoods.  It's 'better' (whatever that means) than some perfectly legitimate hardwood logs such as Sorbus.  Willow and pop - if I really have to get rid of any - go in the softwood heap.

Agreed, an excellent firewood. Takes a bit to season but hard as nails when dry.