Are air dried logs to be made illegal?

[Woodworks]

Yes I know it sounds emotive but that will be the reality for many of us if the government get thier way as discussed here 

So basically we will have to sell logs sub 20% moisture content and that is pretty much impossible without artificial drying if you live in one of wetter regions of the country. 

 

Do you think this is a good plan and if not follow the links in the above thread to have your say.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Woodworks

[Alycidon]

As a stove retailer I feel that not only is this a positive move but the max moisture content should be lowered to 16%.   I have by far more problems with customers feeding their stoves wet wood than all the other issues put together.    Some log sellers seem to think that seasoning logs starts the day the tree comes down,  alas its only once the log has been split or the bark has fallen off that most timbers can dry out.  

 

However there are nowhere near enough civil servants to enforce current smoke control regulations,  I cant see any way that this can be enforced other than following a complaint from a home owner about smoke emissions from a house nearby.   But it gives Hetas a nice little earner !!,  all suppliers to be registered, cost of initial registration plus annual costs as a per ton sold basis.     Think it would have to put £10 onto the price of a cubic m of logs given my volumes.   You have to keep an audit trail of where their cord comes from and are subject to annual audit to include taking at random sample of their ready for sale stock for in depth analysis.  I would like to think that anyone seen with a load of logs on the back is likely to be stopped and checked but by who and with whose support.  No Police any more so they wont help,  to busy catching speeding motorists. 

 

Be interesting to see how it pans out, we live in interesting times !!.

 

A

[Alycidon]

1 hour ago, Woodworks said:

Yes I know it sounds emotive but that will be the reality for many of us if the government get there way as discussed here 

So basically we will have to sell logs sub 20% moisture content and that is pretty much impossible without artificial drying if you live in one of wetter regions of the country. 

 

Do you think this is a good plan and if not follow the links in the above thread to have your say.

Yes,  if you cant produce that locally then they will have to be transported in by carrier from the likes od CW or Logs Direct.

 

A

[Matt Fitzpatrick]

Can everyone who sells firewood please complete the yuo gov survey online and have an input because defra is going to recommend to government restrictions on small volume sales of firewood  including dumpy bag deliveries  this  will impact on all small businesses. Don't be complacent on this because -  CPL , Whitehorse energy, fuel express ,certainly wood ,wholesale wood etc will have their way 

[Woodworks]

10 minutes ago, Alycidon said:

Yes,  if you cant produce that locally then they will have to be transported in by carrier from the likes od CW or Logs Direct.

 

A

At least you have nailed your colours to your mast. Ban all air dried logs and leave it to the kiln dried suppliers.

 

16% is pretty much unachievable anywhere in an average UK winter.

[Stere]

Don't Kiln dried logs go back to 20% after storage in uk climate after awhile  due to reabsorbing humidity?

 

Quote

Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) occurs when the MC inside wood reaches a balance with the relative humidity (RH) and temperature of the wood’s surrounding environment. This balance is crucial because wood continues to absorb and release moisture as the RH changes over time.

 

Also less eco/green than air dried.

 

I'd say the  benefit of kiln dried is for the  seller,  marketing, price bonus, and quicker turnover so less storage space needed,

 

Not much benefit for the buyer compared to buying air died logs. (properly sesoned ones).

 

 

Unless you store the bought wood in a low humidity eviroment (Say inside ther house) after buying to stop it reabsorbing any moisture.

 

 

 

 

 

[gdh]

Lower than 17% is pointless here as it goes back up anyway when stored, any decent log burner should burn up to 25% without issue, if anything they should be working on stoves to burn wetter wood and I'm saying that as someone who sells kiln dried. 

 

Encouraging the use of dry wood I think is a good thing but more paperwork and regulations is going to force up prices and help nobody, I also worry that the 20% figure is an arbitrary number without any decent research behind it and is mostly supported by the larger companies who want to take out smaller competitors. 

[Woodworks]

12 minutes ago, Stere said:

Don't Kiln dried logs go back to 20% after storage in uk climate after awhile  due to reabsorbing humidity?

 

 

Also less eco/green than air dried.

 

I'd say the  benefit of kiln dried is for the  seller,  marketing, price bonus, and quicker turnover so less storage space needed,

 

Not much benefit for the buyer compared to buying air died logs. (properly sesoned ones).

 

 

Unless you store the bought wood in a low humidity eviroment (Say inside ther house) after buying to stop it reabsorbing any moisture.

 

 

 

 

 

Completely agree but dont let common sense get in the way of bureaucracy 

Edited August 21, 2018 by Woodworks

[Woodworks]

The online survey is at the bottom of this page https://consult.defra.gov.uk/airquality/domestic-solid-fuel-regulations/

[daltontrees]

5 minutes ago, Stere said:

Don't Kiln dried logs go back to 20% after storage in uk climate after awhile  due to reabsorbing humidity?

 

Also less eco/green than air dried.

 

I'd say the  benefit of kiln dried is for the  seller,  marketing, price bonus, and quicker turnover so less storage space needed,

 

Not much benefit for the buyer compared to buying air died logs. (properly sesoned ones).

 

Unless you store the bought wood in a low humidity eviroment (Say inside ther house) after buying to stop it reabsorbing any moisture.

The last point is a good one. Is it not logical that people buying wood in small quantities are less likely to store it for long enough for it to increase its humidity, undermining the whole point of forcing people to take 2m3 deliveries?

 

And forcing kiln drying, isn't that going to use up a lot of fossil fuels?

 

The rationale for the 2m3 delivery rule is highly highly suspect to my reading. The consultation document says it is to stop occasional users buying wet bags from the garage. If they're only occasional users, their contribution to pollution is surely minimal. But that is the only rationale given for forcing big deliveries. In my experience customers take smaller deliveries because they don't have room to store large quantities or can only get volumes of wood to their back door if it's in carryable bags.

 

I'm not going to respond to the consultation, though, for 2 reasons. Firstly it only applies to England, and secondly I think the wet wood fascists at big brother HQ have already made their minds up.

 

But I do hope one of you lot down south get it on the record that wood rehydrates in storage and that larger deliveries are therefore a bad idea. Unless the govt is suggesting that all woodburning households store 2m3 in their living rooms?