Why is wood chip not a saleable commodity?

[Kenty]

One of the problems with using arb wood chip for small domestic units is it has to be graded, so the chip has to be uniform in shape & size. As a lot if us use small towable chippers, they don't have the function to grade the chip during processing & also produce slivers on certain timbers which can jam the feed screw on the boiler unit. Also leaf in wood chip can also cause problems to domestic units.

[Woodworks]

Im looking for a wood chip boiler that will run on 'arb waste' chip and run 2 houses. If there is such a thing

 

Visited a chap that was using a basic PTO chipper for his fuel. It was a fairly expensive Austrian boiler that was not fussy about the chip size. Could track down the make if that would help.

[gensetsteve]

I genuinely don't understand the biomass thing e.g. Stobarts. Can any one explain why they come for it?

What I mean is; they come to collect a 20 ton load for £60 in a lorry which would probably cost £60k, driver on £30k never mind other running costs; £60 of diesel would take the lorry about 50 miles.

How much do Stobarts customers pay them in order to make it worth while?

Presumably woodchip is indeed a very saleable product but even so sometimes you cant give it away.

 

Stobarts will have their margin worked out and they wont be worried about yours. As long as you load it they will offer £3 a tonne. I think some of the grants have disappeared thats why the power stations are shutting. Our local business recycling centre is charging £110 a tonne to take it so getting £3 a tonne is better even if you have to load it.

[big chris the log]

Hi shendy looked at this in 2004 all the chip boilers in the smaller range need constant size wood chip not wood leaf and other dirt in it it will block the auger and then the boiler has no fuel.I went for a log boiler and it has worked realy well is comming up for 10 year old next year and no troubles.For arb waste and log suppliers surely this is the best option and they are available with a grant, but don t get me started on that.

Unless you sort all you arb waste invest in a chipper that will produce boiler grade chip and dry it store it then market it I would just keep on flogging it for mulch or whatever.

Cheers Big Chris.

[Up the Road]

I genuinely don't understand the biomass thing e.g. Stobarts. Can any one explain why they come for it?

What I mean is; they come to collect a 20 ton load for £60 in a lorry which would probably cost £60k, driver on £30k never mind other running costs; £60 of diesel would take the lorry about 50 miles.

How much do Stobarts customers pay them in order to make it worth while?

Presumably woodchip is indeed a very saleable product but even so sometimes you cant give it away.

 

Was speaking to a biomass installer last week and good chip is at £160 dried ready to burn. He also said pellet stocks are available but because of the lack of delivery lorries new customers are struggling to get supplies.

[rovers90]

Wood chip as a fuel even for commercial boilers has to conform to particular sizes, eg. G30 or G50, and moisture content so arb waste is not suitable. To buy a chipper that could produce the correct grade you would be looking at spending upwards of £80,000 plus a power source. Also as some have mentioned, the dirt, grit, leaves, etc on arb waste make it unsuitable - if you had a contract to supply biomass fuel to a commercial boiler it would usually state the chip must be made from virgin timber. The feed augers most of them use are quite temperamental at the best of times.

[rovers90]

Was speaking to a biomass installer last week and good chip is at £160 dried ready to burn. He also said pellet stocks are available but because of the lack of delivery lorries new customers are struggling to get supplies.

 

I would seriously doubt the figure of £160; going rate for dry, G30 spec woodchip is about £35 a cubic metre.

[Up the Road]

I would seriously doubt the figure of £160; going rate for dry, G30 spec woodchip is about £35 a cubic metre.

 

Fuel Price Comparison - Forest Fuels - Wood fuel, wood chip, biomass supply in South West England, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire

 

I would say prices on here are on the cheap side.

 

Edit: I have no connection with the above site, it was just one of the first that popped up in google.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Up the Road

[benedmonds]

I would seriously doubt the figure of £160; going rate for dry, G30 spec woodchip is about £35 a cubic metre.

 

If a cubic m of dry chip weighs £250 kgs then a ton will be 4 cube so £140..

[Breezeblock]

One of the problems with using arb wood chip for small domestic units is it has to be graded, so the chip has to be uniform in shape & size. As a lot if us use small towable chippers, they don't have the function to grade the chip during processing & also produce slivers on certain timbers which can jam the feed screw on the boiler unit. Also leaf in wood chip can also cause problems to domestic units.

 

the one that i looked at had a valve box with a blade that cut thru the long strands