Future Firewood Demand Optimism?

[Woodworks]

The amount of call for logs I am getting for regulars who are stocking up for next winter I think its safe to say log sellers are going to have a busy 12months. Just been cutting for a near by seller and he is getting the same. 

[Big J]

11 hours ago, Woodworks said:

The amount of call for logs I am getting for regulars who are stocking up for next winter I think its safe to say log sellers are going to have a busy 12months. Just been cutting for a near by seller and he is getting the same. 

 

The parity in cost with heating oil is probably part of that. And the energy security of having your heating bought and paid for at your back door.

[neiln]

If the number of people that are asking for wood on here is an indicator then yes it'll be a bumper year.  I had a total of 6 tipper loads of wood delivered (ARB waste) and have Been shifting it out to the back garden and out of sight before it grows legs.  I've had several people ask if they could take some already.

[Billhook]

Any idea of prices now being charged for firewood 

[trigger_andy]

Any idea of prices now being charged for firewood 

Lots and lots of posts on Facebay with seasoned Hardwood at £80-90 a Builders bag round my way. I know a few who sell kiln dried and they’re now over £100 a builders bag (or equivalent)

[Paul in the woods]

On 06/04/2022 at 11:50, waterbuoy said:

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.

 

Thank you for your reply, I've not ignored your reply it but been spending most of my free time sorting out a good supply of firewood.

 

I know what you mean about this time of year being low flow season, it's not really rained here for well over a month. Stream still has a decent flow.

 

The problem I have is that I don't own both sides of the bank, I think it would be possible to get permission from the other land owner but that would make things official and I'd just get bogged down in bureaucracy. Perhaps one day I'll go down that route.

 

I had wondered if I could extract water via a pipe, run a pipe down the hill to a turbine and then put the water back. But the stream has about 1m steep sided high banks which will make that difficult. Another problem is the 1m deep 'ravine' can fill and overflow when we get a decent spell of rain so I don't think it would be wise to have any turbine right in the stream bed.

 

Also wondering about some form of biodigester to make some biogas.

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Paul in the woods said:

Also wondering about some form of biodigester to make some biogas.

What will you feed it with?

 

I think a hydro scheme is still your best bet

[Paul in the woods]

I've always thought it would make sense to recycle human waste via composting and then on to young trees, so human waste. II gather that may not produce much gas though but I can source an endless supply of cow manure, if I could be sure that was free from aminopyralid type weed killers that would be ideal.

 

Actually, I think wood backed up with solar for autumn/spring/summer use seems our best bet. Hydro more of a long term prospect for when I get fed up with processing firewood.

[Billhook]

Human waste needs a good dose of Batemans XXX to produce the amount of gas you need!

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

I've always thought it would make sense to recycle human waste via composting and then on to young trees, so human waste. II gather that may not produce much gas though but I can source an endless supply of cow manure, if I could be sure that was free from aminopyralid type weed killers that would be ideal.

Yes it makes sense but most of us are plumbed into the wet sewage system, mostly for historical hygiene reasons, which means most of the fertiliser value goes out to sea. The solids do get put back on the land but there are issues with heavy metal contamination as there is no way of separating other wastes, like run off from roads, yards etc. from the crap and piss.

 

Even cow slurry is not that rich  as a feed stock; what it is good at is supplying the bacteria that have evolved to be in the hot, oxygen free, wet stomach that live on volatile solids produced from the food the cow eats and respiring methane and water.

 

So if you want to produce biogas you need a warm, anaerobic soup of food and fibre and inoculate it with fresh cowshit.

 

Maize silage is a good start but precision chopped grass silage is good too so is sugar beet.

 

Basically the best feed for the gas production is the same as what the cow would eat. That is not to say there is no beneft in adding shit because that will produce some gas but the main benefit is in reducing the pathogens in it before returning the digestate to the land.

2 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

 

Actually, I think wood backed up with solar for autumn/spring/summer use seems our best bet. Hydro more of a long term prospect for when I get fed up with processing firewood.

yes, it looks like solar PV and battery will supply all my electricity needs for March through October but that still leaves a shortfall November through February. Wood does the space heating