Hows the log sales going now

[Rough Hewn]

Freeze dried logs [emoji106]

[Bustergasket]

That makes a lot of sence, I've always found that timber left out that got snowed on is bad to burn, Maybe it's the freezing that lets more water in.

Yes you could be bang on with that, stands to reason that if it gives the water easier then it’s going to take it back on easier as well !

[openspaceman]

19 hours ago, Woodworks said:

If you get the wood over a 100c and the water becomes steam would it not be forced out of the wood through expansion?

 

Whacking a log in a microwave dries it pretty fast and guess this is because it turns the water to steam. 

 

 

Yes water in the wood will boil off just as soon as the water vapour pressure in the wood exceeds atmospheric pressure, that's all boiling is.

 

One reason a microwave works so fast is that the energy is delivered directly into the molecules of water in the wood so they heat up and vaporise. With the conventional oven you have to first heat the air and this then delivers heat to the outside of the log. The wood then conducts that heat into the log, First the surface layers dry out and finally the heat gets into the middle. Also as you approach 100C the capillary attraction water has for the vessels in the wood drops to zero.

 

So soaking a log in an oven set to 120C for 24 hours dries it from the outside in as long as it isn't too large, the maximum size would be dictated by the ratio of rate heat could be delivered to the surface to the rate the heat can be conducted through the wood (damned if I can remember the name of the coefficient).

 

Once you exceed 120C at any part of the wood it first gives off Volatile Organic Compounds and from about 330C  the wood breaks down, trouble is the  nascent char formed ignites at around 200C in the presence of air so it generally behoves one to stay under 120C as otherwise hot spots inevitably develop.

 

Most kilns work by heating air to increase its water holding capacity, this low relative humidity warm air both delivers heat to the wood to increase the vapour pressure of the water in it and absorbs the moisture as it reaches the surface. An ideal dryer warms ambient air, passes it over the logs and vents it at ambient temperature and fully saturated, in practice this is unattainable so a good drier delivers about twice as much heat as is necessary to vaporise the moisture removed.

[openspaceman]

11 hours ago, Bustergasket said:

for best results cook from frozen ! i saw a study done on drying logs and there was a section that went through and explained why wood dries quicker if it’s been frozen then thawed prior to drying, something to do with the water as it freezes shattering the cell structure so that it will give its water more readily, worked better on hardwood, it’s not really practical unless you can get mother nature’s help, otherwise think how much energy would have been expended in freeze then force dry, but an interesting thought.

It's an interesting one, it certainly works with apples but I thought one of the reasons the water content of logs went down in winter was to concentrate salts and sugars  in the sap which the act like antifreeze. Are the cells damaged in softwoods that survive temperatures down to minus 40C?

[axehaircut]

I may still go down the route of a small firewood kiln linked to my retort.
That way, I’m making 2 products without burning wood to dry wood, as the firewood kiln would use the excess heat generated during a Burn.

How does that system work? Where is the excess heat tapped off and does it involve heat transfer system to a rad or direct hot air extracted and blown into a insulated chamber. Very curious how that would work. Sounds a lot more efficient

[Little Butch]

After selling the odd load over the last few years, I really want to make a push in the firewood industry! Plan is to use this winter to hopefully pick up a few repeat customers and get a load of logs split and ready for next year.

 

What did you find worked best for advertising when you started out or even now?

 

 

[Woodworks]

1 hour ago, Little Butch said:

 

 

What did you find worked best for advertising when you started out or even now?

 

 

Website has been by far the best for us. Nothing but time wasters on Facebook and much the same with the local rag. Think our website costs less than a weeks add in our local paper.

[gdh]

1 hour ago, Little Butch said:

After selling the odd load over the last few years, I really want to make a push in the firewood industry! Plan is to use this winter to hopefully pick up a few repeat customers and get a load of logs split and ready for next year.

 

What did you find worked best for advertising when you started out or even now?

 

 

We started in local magazines then word of mouth took over. We get a few customers through our website and alot of people use it to check sizes and prices but that costs a bit to run. 

 

The last year I've been doing a Facebook page and that gets a suprising amount of messages although it's taken time to build up and it's quite a bit of work to find interesting stuff to post.

 

Signwritting the pickup also gets us a few calls.

[Little Butch]

4 hours ago, gdh said:

We started in local magazines then word of mouth took over. We get a few customers through our website and alot of people use it to check sizes and prices but that costs a bit to run. 

 

The last year I've been doing a Facebook page and that gets a suprising amount of messages although it's taken time to build up and it's quite a bit of work to find interesting stuff to post.

 

Signwritting the pickup also gets us a few calls.

Thanks! I guess it's a bit of all forms of advertising then. I'm not set up to sell much this winter but wanted to atleast sell a few loads to gauge it all. Yet to make my first sale. I've posted in a load of selling pages on Facebook, done a gumtree add and set a Facebook status but nothin yet.

[SbTVF]

Can’t beat word of mouth once you get going. It’s saved us a fortune over the years. 90% of our current customers were recommended Id say. Either by a friend or the stove shops we supply.

Had 3 excellent weeks, doing 16cube a week (our drying capacity) I’ve not had to turn anyone away yet but to expand we’ll need to be far more organised next year and we’ll be doing some location targeted Facebook advertising and probably leafleting houses on foot so I can see their chimney cowls and not waste too many leaflets.