Branch logger on brash

[spandit]

I have a lot of willow and birch that needs removing. I like using 30mm+ stuff for BBQ/firepit fuel and currently stack the poles up in a cradle to cut en masse with the chainsaw. However, the willow especially has a lot of smaller branches that are a nuisance to handle and dispose of. Was thinking of getting a branch logger to produce my fuel but also to deal with the brash (in lieu of a chipper). I'm aware of the downsides that mean any usable bits will be buried in twigs, but that doesn't worry me as I'd separate the straighter stuff for processing separately.

 

I'd be looking for a PTO powered one, handling up to 80mm. Tractor is a Ford 6610 so power not a problem 🙂

[GarethM]

I'll be 1st to say it makes terrible fuel.

 

Save your money and chip it

[spandit]

1 minute ago, GarethM said:

I'll be 1st to say it makes terrible fuel.

 

Save your money and chip it

I like cooking with it. I don't have a chipper. This way I can get some potentially useful stuff out of it, whilst minimising the size of my ever expanding habitat piles.

 

I agree it's not the best for a woodburner although as a waste product it's better than paying for logs

[GarethM]

Everyone raves about them on YouTube, then they seem to go almost radio silence about it afterwards.

 

Personally I went pto chipper, salvage what's usable and everything else gets blasted. Prefer rocking up in a field and removing most of a tree, leaving just a stump at most, would love a grinder but I'll let nature it that 🙂

[peds]

I too would love a branch logger, also for outdoor use on campfires and BBQs. For a camp fire, kids in particular prefer putting smaller diameter stuff on, it burns up quicker so they get to put more on, which is of course part of the fun. For quick BBQ (as opposed to smoking and slow roasting), smaller diameter coals are easier to manage than big bits and create a more productive cooking area. 

 

Are jonky home-made branch loggers a thing?

[Conor Wright]

25 minutes ago, peds said:

I too would love a branch logger, also for outdoor use on campfires and BBQs. For a camp fire, kids in particular prefer putting smaller diameter stuff on, it burns up quicker so they get to put more on, which is of course part of the fun. For quick BBQ (as opposed to smoking and slow roasting), smaller diameter coals are easier to manage than big bits and create a more productive cooking area. 

 

Are jonky home-made branch loggers a thing?

A few years back I brought a few in from Poland, they used to sell the blades and gears as a kit to make your own. 

Not sure of the company is still going or not. 

They were called rebak walkova or something similar. Ill have a look and post if i find them.

at one point I had 50 ton bags of branch logged beech and ash for sale at 30 quid a bag. No one was interested so after a year of looking at them we set fire to the lot. Shame as it was great stove fuel. 

 

[PeteB]

I thought that if I had the kind of estate run with a Farm 2000 bail burner type affair, I'd have a branch logger and a load of suitable hessian sacks. They'd be stored until dry enough to burn and would get chucked in the bail burner! Otherwise, the quality of the logs poor and the length wrong for open fires etc.

[peds]

2 hours ago, Conor Wright said:

A few years back I brought a few in from Poland, they used to sell the blades and gears as a kit to make your own. 

Not sure of the company is still going or not. 

They were called rebak walkova or something similar. Ill have a look and post if i find them.

at one point I had 50 ton bags of branch logged beech and ash for sale at 30 quid a bag. No one was interested so after a year of looking at them we set fire to the lot. Shame as it was great stove fuel. 

 

 

It's a huge shame, the amount of potential fuel wasted, even if it's not as good as split rings. 

A lot of misinformation out there about what makes good fuel

[spandit]

3 minutes ago, peds said:

 

It's a huge shame, the amount of potential fuel wasted, even if it's not as good as split rings. 

A lot of misinformation out there about what makes good fuel

That's what I'm thinking. A bit of usable, albeit subpar fuel, and no massive piles of springy brash to deal with. I've been BBQing with willow exclusively for years - it's great and sustainable.

[GarethM]

Personally if I wasn't in a DEFRA smoke area I'd buy a cheap chip boiler from Poland and enjoy having my feet up.

 

I've not tried such fuel in a Eco Angus, but you'd have to size the bags or fill as you go. I've burnt firewood offcuts from emptying cages and heaped in the boiler from a wheelie bin with a shovel.

Edited August 28 by GarethM