Future Firewood Demand Optimism?

[Paul in the woods]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

What sort of flow and head do you have available, if any fish on the scene then archimedes screw seem to do least damage.

 

Head anything up to about 20m from the highest bit of the stream I own to the lowest, but in reality I'd use much less. Flow, I've no idea but I would not wade across the stream when it's in full flow and it moves quite large tree trunks. No fish to worry about.

 

What appeals to me most is the stream is often in full flood when I need the energy most in winter and it's 24/7 week in week out, unlike solar and wind.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Paul in the woods

[sandspider]

Another vote for Kris Harbour, he seems to know his stuff with energy from water (and wind and solar).

[Billhook]

On 09/09/2021 at 10:29, Billhook said:

Not like a farmer to be optimistic but perhaps with the current hike in gas and electricity prices, coupled with the net zero initiative and the move to all electric cars, people may find it hard to pay the increases to keep warm.  Keeping warm is the greatest cost.

I see they had to fire up a coal power plant recently as the wind power had faded. Gas being phased out and the electric demand will no doubt cause power cuts

what d’y’all think?

It has been over six months since I started this thread  and my goodness a lot has changed!  I was wrong about a hard Winter but I still believe it to be a possibility in the next few years..  Have not forgotten the Beast from the East in 2017 which cracked the block on my 14 litre Caterpillar D7 even though it was in an open fronted lean to with walls on three sides and sheltered from the East!

It will not be till next Winter now until  we see  some increased demand.  I am doing to split as much as I can this Summer as we still have a big heap left over from the storms earlier on.

Here is a summary of UK Winters

The History of British Winters - Netweather.tv

WWW.NETWEATHER.TV

 

[renewablejohn]

On 08/03/2022 at 17:49, Paul in the woods said:

Thanks for the link. Do you know of any other similar fora?

 

I want to install a hydro-turbine as I have access to a stream with a good flow (it used to have water mills on it decades ago). I'd like to start off with something small (500w) to see if it would be worth investing in something larger. Although I can find turbines for sale I'd like some guidance on what to go for, some of the turbines I've seen for sale don't fill me with confidence they'll work or last long.

 

Paul, Your biggest problem is the EA and their stupid rules etc etc. Personally stealth is your friend and for the cost of a stream engine I would JFDI. Plenty of video's on the internet. PM me if you want more info.

 

https://microhydropower.com/stream-engine/

Edited March 16, 2022 by renewablejohn
link added

[Woodworks]

On 08/03/2022 at 20:40, Paul in the woods said:

Head anything up to about 20m from the highest bit of the stream I own to the lowest, but in reality I'd use much less. Flow, I've no idea but I would not wade across the stream when it's in full flow and it moves quite large tree trunks. No fish to worry about.

 

What appeals to me most is the stream is often in full flood when I need the energy most in winter and it's 24/7 week in week out, unlike solar and wind.

Paul on Raasay used to share lots on Navitron about the Power Spout. Should be some stuff about it on his blog 

power+spout | Search Results | Life at the end of the road

LIFEATTHEENDOFTHEROAD.WORDPRESS.COM

---

the trials and tribulations of an accidental crofter

 

[Billhook]

Me here again and I have to ask the question again now that there are abundant U turns on Fracking, Nuclear, Oil and Gas .  A lot of these will take time to implement in the meantime many vulnerable people are having to choose between food and heat.  Surely  a government push for firewood is in order to alleviate the situation?  It ticks a lot of the green boxes, renewable and environmentally friendly if done correctly 

[waterbuoy]

On 08/03/2022 at 20:40, Paul in the woods said:

Head anything up to about 20m from the highest bit of the stream I own to the lowest, but in reality I'd use much less. Flow, I've no idea but I would not wade across the stream when it's in full flow and it moves quite large tree trunks. No fish to worry about.

 

What appeals to me most is the stream is often in full flood when I need the energy most in winter and it's 24/7 week in week out, unlike solar and wind.

For hydro to be a viable investment it needs to be able to operate as much as possible.  Consequently, it is not the 'full flood' flows which are important, but those at the lower end of the flow regime.  We are approaching the low flow season (hopefully) so it is a good time to start taking some measurements if it is a serious consideration.

 

How you go about measuring the flow depends on the size of the stream at the potential point of abstraction.  In an ideal world I would try and reduce it to a metre or so with an informal structure built out of stone, river bed and polythene sheet etc., and then install what is called a thin plate weir.  This can be made of plywood if you don't have any steel sheet etc available.  Again, depending on the size of the channel/stream I would usually use a 90 degree notch weir - ie a 90 degree triangular notch cut out of the plate. 

 

Flow can then be calculated using the following equation:

 

Q (flow) = 1.38 x h^2.5

 

where h is the head or height of water above the base of the notch.  Due to drawdown over the weir (arising from what is called the velocity head) it is important that the level of the water is measured a short distance upstream of the weir notch, but still in the 'flat topped' section of the channel where flow has backed up from the weir.

 

 

For example, if you measure the height of the water to be 0.2 metres above the base of the notch then the resultant flow is 1.38 x (0.2^2.5), which is

1.38 x 0.01789

which gives 0.0247 metres cubed per second, equivalent to 24.7 litres per second (which is actually quite a lot of water)

[Billhook]

29 minutes ago, Big J said:

Better insulation is key, not alternative energy sources. Retain the heat you have, rather than just pumping more and more in.

Not arguing with that, just saying that a quick fix for some people in certain areas is to install a wood stove which can be done without the big disruption of full insulation, ground source heat pumps etc

[doobin]

Well, I don’t know about optimistic, but at the very least I want to be able to process odds and sods for my own use with ease. I’m also considering starting doing a few bags for the locals again- as high oil prices will make wood much more attractive.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by doobin

[Billhook]

1 hour ago, doobin said:

Well, I don’t know about optimistic, but at the very least I want to be able to process odds and sods for my own use with ease. I’m also considering starting doing a few bags for the locals again- as high oil prices will make wood much more attractive.

 

 

Just had a look at it on YouTube 

a neat idea with the cone splitter to save on hydraulics.  And a reasonably safe way of presenting the log to be split by the cone which normally seems to be asking for trouble with loose clothing or log spinning.  Good to see the stop button in a sensible place too