conifer for logs?

[Saw-sick Steve]

There is a reason for that.......so there is your own answer.

 

Nope, still struggling here. I know I can get more money selling hardwood, thats a given! Thats not to say there's NO money in softwood - quite the opposite, I make good coin selling Larch, just more selling hardwood. Hence I sell ALL the higher value product first, then the lower. I certainly wouldn't advocate giving it away, which is what you seemed to be implying.

Savvy?

[Mick Stockbridge]

Nope, still struggling here. I know I can get more money selling hardwood, thats a given! Thats not to say there's NO money in softwood - quite the opposite, I make good coin selling Larch, just more selling hardwood. Hence I sell ALL the higher value product first, then the lower. I certainly wouldn't advocate giving it away, which is what you seemed to be implying.

Savvy?

 

Hahahaha, we seem to be going round in circles here, lets leave it at that:001_smile:

[David oakman]

We have all been here before but if you go to Norway that is all they burn softwood. Willow if dry is as good as any wood i should know i waste nothing.

 

A friend of mine felled a large poplar and thought what am i going to do with it he sold a load to a customer and they phoned him up and said it was the best wood they had used and could they have another load:001_smile:

[Arran Woodfuels]

Birch is what we all burn in Norway, is that softwood?

[David oakman]

No oops:blushing:

[s.varty]

Birch is what we all burn in Norway, is that softwood?

 

As far as i know softwood comes only from any tree that bears a cone as its fruit, which strangely makes poplar&willow as hardwoods.

[Saw-sick Steve]

Hahahaha, we seem to be going round in circles here, lets leave it at that:001_smile:

 

Story of my life.

[Johny Walker]

we yoused class it as a softwood when cutting pit props ie, soft chocks:001_smile:

[Arran Woodfuels]

No oops

 

No I wasn't being sarcastic, David it was a genuine question.

[dave28]

I'd be glad to see conifer softwood become more accepted as fuel for woodburning stoves,if only because I have access to around 150 acres of the stuff which when offered as standing thinnings makes the owner next to sweet FA.

If I were buying as a retail customer I would expect to pay less for it than hardwood otherwise I'd probably keep phoning around. As a log supplier I would be able to offer softwood cheaper if I buy it at around a quarter of the price of hardwood even if it might take the same amount of work to process.

It's probably worth mentioning that not all softwood burns the same. I've been burning it myself mixed into the hardwood for the last 30 years and have found Douglas fir to be the best with spruce and pine still good although the pine does seem to soak up any wet that it gets near to. You could expect a solicitors letter if you sold somebody Larch to burn on an open fire as it spits like hell.

I guess it would be fair to say that it does put out less heat than hardwood but then you don't always need that much heat anyway.

I was always under the impression that the Scandinavian stoves were built with softwood in mind as there isn't much else to burn, I'd have no hesitation in selling any dry softwood to anyone that wants to use it in an enclosed stove.

The sooner some "authority" states the definitive view on this one the better for all of us as surely there are not enough plantation hardwoods available to keep up with this new demand.

One last thing,can anyone tell me how well softwood thinnings will go through a processor?

I would guess quite well but I've never had the chance to use one.

Thanks for reading.