Small billiet bundler

[Logan]

Huh, saw them a couple years ago and thought they looked good. Must say, those billets are very straight and well stacked, considering the low tension on the binding it doesn't sag much when grabbed. We use 19mm green strapping and buckles and use a American metal tensioner, we crank them up as far as poss to limit the bagginess that happens when rehandled. Would be interested to hear how you get on with them rope tensioners.

[briquette_seller]

I've bought a load of these

 

 

Where did you get them from?

[CHC]

Other then better seasoning of the wood what other benefits are there from storing fire wood in bundles like that??

[difflock]

Simply allows mechanical handling, incl higher mechanical stacking, therefore less covering required, plus easier, or more definitive measurement of volumes.

M

[name_mike]

Where did you get them from?

 

Knoti

[briquette_seller]

Knoti

 

Cheers fella

[Marko]

Simply allows mechanical handling, incl higher mechanical stacking, therefore less covering required, plus easier, or more definitive measurement of volumes.

M

 

And / Or bundled to boiler size so the whole lot goes in. Much more interest in this method since RHI kicked off.

 

Please don't get an £8k strapping machine; the £80 hand held unit works much better. Don't ask!

[briquette_seller]

Knoti

 

works very well

[Havelock]

Mike started this thread saying he was looking for a small billet bundler - by which he meant 700mm diameter, taking 1 metre logs that fit into his boiler. I’ve just had a Windhager log boiler installed that takes logs up to 550mm. I’ll explain why for me a small billet bundler is 800mm diameter taking half metre logs or 1/4 cu metre. No one seems to make such a small bundler so I adapted the Zurrbind design - simple and easy to tip the bundles out by hand.

 

Having been running two typical British log stoves for all our heating I am used to spending a lot of time stacking logs but the continental log gasification boilers have altogether different, voracious appetites for logs. To avoid re-handling I needed a rethink. This year the plan is to fell and move (ATV & logging arch) the trunks to the edge of our woods and and split (Super Split kinetic log splitter) and bundle there. Then transport the bundles near to the house to dry and use a sack barrow to move each bundle to the boiler - no more log stacking.

 

At about 15% mc my bundles weigh about 75 kg so moveable with a sack barrow. Using Openspaceman’s figures on difflock’s billet thread, they are likely to be about 170kg wet. So to lift them on to a trailer at the woods I will use a tractor or mini digger. I am tying them using the Zurrbind knoti cleats.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Havelock

[difflock]

Just to add, the last 6 billet bundles (at 1.0m long) I cut to length in the comfort of the dry shed, were

(i) Still remarkedly tight in their Polywotsit strapping (tensioned with the hand held tool)

(ii) Despite being tight, i was easily able to spring the strapping over the ends of a billet or 2 then wriggle it/them free, thereby "loosing" the bundle without cutting the strapping!

I do be a trifle "anal-retentive" in my bundling operation though, but time well spent to ensure sturdy, easily handled bundles.

So can at least re-use once, albeit for smaller dia bundles.

cheers

M