Kiln dried Firewood - The future ?

[ash_smith123]

Economies of scale: those who have the resources, business nuance, etc to be in a position to hold stock can react to demand practically overnight, just like they have always done.

 

 

 

Those who are unable to meet these criteria have a flawed business model.

 

 

 

Never be in a position where you a forced to turn away business - one of the golden rules of running a successfull enterprise.

 

 

 

 

 

However, having a kiln makes life easier for some I am led to believe.

 

 

Haha that's hilarious! So I have a flawed business plan because I get £20k+ a year for burning crap wood! [emoji106] yea righto! Another instance, I supply a lot of pizza oven customers, commercial and domestic and they ask only for kiln dried wood. They don't care if air dried can be less than 20% they ask for kiln dried and will only buy kiln dried! A pizza oven restaurant chain that has 6 restaurants asked for "KILN DRIED HARDWOOD" last week and that is what they want. I now supply them 10 cubic metres worth of nets a week and they are opening another 4 restaurants. If I said no I don't do kiln dried they would just go somewhere else. As firewood is my only income it's important to find summer income. I now sell over 50 cubic metres a week to pizza oven customers in the summer! This is my first summer doing pizza oven customers so hopefully it will grow year on year. Good luck with your air drying! [emoji106]

[briquette_seller]

So you have 50 cubic metres cut to 500mm, split big and dried to under 25% in the middle for a customer that wants it in 3-4 weeks? And another 50 cubic metres every month after that for the next 4 months? What about if another customer also asks for the same or similar? Do you stock the same again too?

 

Yes, that's not a problem.

I have 1m long billets sitting under 20% (most decent merchants will)

Various other lengths and sizes in stock under 20%.

 

I also have 3m billets sitting (not tested them, but will be around the 25% mark)

 

Most decent merchants hold a variety of stock.

 

Simples really.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2015 by briquette_seller

[ash_smith123]

Yes, that's not a problem.

I have 1m long billets sitting under 20% (most decent merchants will)

Various other lengths and sizes in stock under 20%.

 

I also have 3m billets sitting (not tested them, but will be around the 25% mark)

 

Most decent merchants hold a variety of stock.

 

Simples really.

 

 

 

 

That's fair enough. I've been going for 4 years and started with pretty much nothing so would never be able to stock enough to supply my demand! I couldn't think of anything more time consuming than cutting/splitting billets and waiting for them to dry and having to cut them down again.

If I didn't have the kiln I would never have been able to go full time doing firewood either. Every business is different and kiln dried definitely works for me. And Not just for RHI purposes!

[R5log]

Yes, that's not a problem.

I have 1m long billets sitting under 20% (most decent merchants will)

Various other lengths and sizes in stock under 20%.

 

I also have 3m billets sitting (not tested them, but will be around the 25% mark)

 

Most decent merchants hold a variety of stock.

 

Simples really.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a lot of double handling with billets

 

It's the same old same old, people with out wood kilns going on

[MonsterMonster]

You're spot on there, and also I think that kiln logs are often still pretty green in the middle, so the moisture meter shows the edge is dry but not the centre, an air dried log has time for the moisture level to equalise.

 

You're spot on!

 

I bought several cubes of kiln dried softwood from BSL supplier who had just installed his chip powered kiln. I was assured the wood would come out at sub 20% m/c. I split and checked a random selection of 30 logs and found most to be averaging 35% m/c, several at 50%+. Dry on outer inch but green in the middle. When I pointed this out I got the excuse "oh well it's a low value product blah blah ... needs to be in kiln for weeks blah blah ... it's not viable blah blah ...". They're claiming the commercial RHI though for warming it up and had the audacity to invoice me for wood at sub 20% m/c!

 

And some say the BSL will improve quality of firewood ... I think not!

[R5log]

You're spot on!

 

 

 

I bought several cubes of kiln dried softwood from BSL supplier who had just installed his chip powered kiln. I was assured the wood would come out at sub 20% m/c. I split and checked a random selection of 30 logs and found most to be averaging 35% m/c, several at 50%+. Dry on outer inch but green in the middle. When I pointed this out I got the excuse "oh well it's a low value product blah blah ... needs to be in kiln for weeks blah blah ... it's not viable blah blah ...". They're claiming the commercial RHI though for warming it up and had the audacity to invoice me for wood at sub 20% m/c!

 

 

 

And some say the BSL will improve quality of firewood ... I think not!

 

 

I leave mine in lengths for about a year first

[MonsterMonster]

there is a merchant on fb refers to air seasoned logs as being 30-35% where his kiln dried is under 20% so better value. I asked him why my air seasoned logs at 15% were not as good as his kiln dried at 20% but he didn't bother to answer.

 

Sadly this is all too common. My experience as an end user is that those selling wood at 30%+ m/c and claiming it to be seasoned outnumber the decent merchants at roughly 3 to 1. This includes suppliers using kiln drying as well (see my reply in this thread)!

[Alycidon]

I have seen this, a local guy with a kiln who was inexperienced in using it was selling kilned at about 35% in the centers. In fairness to him that was put right fairly fast.

 

My last batch of kiln dried from a Baltic, I split about a dozen lumps that felt heavier than the rest, tested the first half dozen they came in at Zero, zero, 3%, 5%, 18% and 19%. Warranted sub 20%. Did not test any more. These came from the center of two crates taken at random.

 

Doing some for pizza ovens today.

 

A

[briquette_seller]

Sounds like a lot of double handling with billets

 

It's the same old same old, people with out wood kilns going on

 

Yes, double handling does occur, and yes its all time and money, but its still cost effective, for me and many other merchants.

 

You guys will spend a fair bit of time a week/year feeding your boiler, probably, depending on your set up, double handling.

 

I don't have a problem with kilns, or yourselves for having them.

 

Iam just voicing my opinion, and telling the you how I operate.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Haha that's hilarious! So I have a flawed business plan because I get £20k+ a year for burning crap wood! [emoji106] yea righto! Another instance, I supply a lot of pizza oven customers, commercial and domestic and they ask only for kiln dried wood. They don't care if air dried can be less than 20% they ask for kiln dried and will only buy kiln dried! A pizza oven restaurant chain that has 6 restaurants asked for "KILN DRIED HARDWOOD" last week and that is what they want. I now supply them 10 cubic metres worth of nets a week and they are opening another 4 restaurants. If I said no I don't do kiln dried they would just go somewhere else. As firewood is my only income it's important to find summer income. I now sell over 50 cubic metres a week to pizza oven customers in the summer! This is my first summer doing pizza oven customers so hopefully it will grow year on year. Good luck with your air drying! [emoji106]

 

That's the paradox....

 

A business plan that relies upon subsidy is not a business plan unless it can support itself without the subsidy.

 

It's only a personal view but I see the RHI as an incentive to encourage lower carbon dependent behaviour. Installing a wood burning kiln to dry firewood simply to claim RHI is hardly in the spirit of reducing CO2 emissions. A bit like the benefit fraternity knowing all the tricks to get maximum state pay-out. It doesn't quite sit right with me even if it is technically 'within the guidelines.'