Sticky firewood properties?

[Steve Bullman]

you're spot on....people are soon going to have to accept the fact that they will be burning softwoods....like everything else in this country, we've been spoilt for too long, people have been brought up to believe that the only wood burning is Ash

[firewoodman]

thanks steve, nice to have some support.

 

the thing that really p's me off is all the BRITISH woodfuel advice web sites sway the public away from other woods. but don't care what wood is used for woodchip boilers. its all being burnt for heat,

 

aren't they supposed to be helping the forest, woodland and wood industry.

 

what wood do they burn in other countries where there is a lack of hardwood?

 

and as for those rhymes......... they just rhyme!!

[treedave]

To an extent I agree about firewoods point around only using hardwood as logs. Chip boilers are just efficient with softwood chip as on hardwood chip, I've even been told a local forester turned arb consultant that scots pine has the same calorific value as beech - the only difference is the rate at which it's released.

 

In the south lakes there was a historic industry that utilised coppice woodland (gunpowder, steel, charcoal, weaving, bobbins, cockling / fishing etc) for its raw materials. As a result we have a large amount of derelict coppice woodland, until the price of firewood rises enough to make it economic to work it again, it's gonna stay that way. The recent opening of the biomass plant at Lockerbie has caused a run on firewood, with a lot of firewood merchants in the north of the county running low/ or out, last winter.

 

Not quite at the clear fell stage yet, but that's only round here.

[David oakman]

i agree one of the best firewoods is blackthorn how many people can be bothered with it, they put it through the chipper. dont forget there are three warms in firewood 1 fellingand cutting 2 splitting and stack 3 sit in front of on the fire. anouther class one firewood is hazel i have got 60 year old hazel coming to the end of its life but if it was coppiced it would live hundreds of years with a supply of firewood.

[firewoodman]

i have a very basic drying kiln at my yard which is made from a 20ft container and fired by a domestic wood stove with a back boiler.

 

the wood used to fire this is mainly softwood with off cuts of hardwood (the knotty and rotten stuff or wood with metal in it). i find dry pine and spruce burn the hottest, the water over boils.

 

for the past few years i have burnt softwood at home and last year burnt hardwood and softwood side by side in the stove to see the difference in burn time. Not much in it,

 

i have never had a problem with the softwood tarring up the chimney and the glass only goes black if i shut all the dampers, overnight reducing air supply so causing the charcoaling process.

 

best way to clear the glass is to burn the fire in the stove hot and hard with dry wood for atleast 20 mins, this will burn off all the carbon on the glass and also whatever is up the flue and chimney.

 

i always give this info to my customers. i will be burning softwood at home this year again.

 

this year i am planning on selling 100 cubic meters of softwood which will be a 50% increase on last year and have already sold 30 cube already to new customers requesting it and have repeat orders from last year coming in.

i do not push softwood, i let my customers decide for themselves.

[Mr Ed]

Coppice is the oldest and best way of sustainably managing and producing firewood.

[David oakman]

yes two years ago i felled a spruce plantation the agents here said burn it where it was , so i took it home air dried it for 1 year. last year i burnt it in my wood burner just as hot as most woods burnt maybe a little quicker but because it was dry it was as good as any wood then i put a big piece of oak on and shut down and it will still be alight in the morning.I think this thread is going to be a long one more interrest in this than i thought.

[firewoodman]

more intrest is good in our industry from the professionals, but what we need is intrest from the public to understand, not just from the species point of view but also as mr ed says about coppice.

 

where i live we have a huge beech woodland which used to be coppice worked for the smelting industry. The woodland is now owend by the local council who will only do remedial and emergency work on it, but even when this takes place the public are up in arms as the natural balance of the ecoligy is being upset.

 

educate educate educate!!!

 

especially me with my spelling

[David oakman]

yes i have a one wood of coppice ash and oak with sallow hazel ect and the big boss wants it re coppiced but the game keepers are saying no, but i dont understand that because a pheasant is a bird of the margin and will only go in a wood if it is managed it needs to be able to see predators.plus you need the sunlight to produce grass and weeds which gives them insects to eat and ground cover to nest. sorry i have gone adrift to the thread. where do you live mr firewood man.

[Mr Ed]

I love the whole interest in firewood. Calorific values, sustainability, production, management, its all great stuff.

And I still maintain Alder coppice is the greatest firewood ever:)