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arboriculturist

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Everything posted by arboriculturist

  1. arboriculturist
    Sound advice, especially as the Solar will kick in during several months of the year. I will be checking those hours and condition for sure.
  2. arboriculturist
    I have been offered a quality 38Kw Enclosed silenced diesel 3 phase Generator for 2K. So I am now crunching the numbers to assess wether it may be a worthwhile investment to make the transition to Electric, as I plan to purchase a Logosol B1001 Bandsawmill in the future and 1 of our processors is due to be replaced and it could be an electric model. Also we are installing a 16Kw solar array within 2 years and most of it's energy wont be utilised from April to September. We use a lot of diesel at present and fuel prices are rising steadily. Any views on this subject would be most welcome.
  3. arboriculturist
    👌
  4. arboriculturist
    Exmoor Woodfuel have scaled down so looking for a new supplier who can deliver cost effectively. Any contacts appreciated.
  5. arboriculturist
    If you want your piano tuned employ a piano tuner. Employ a forestry contractor with e.g. small Valtra and winch and they will extract more timber in a day than you will in a 7 day week. If you wish to do it all yourself, buy a Canadian Capstan winch with 360 degree Honda engine and skidding cone from Treadlight and you can do the work piecemeal when you have the time. I can't imagine tackling the job in any other way that would make financial and logistical sense. Good luck, sounds like a worthwhile project.
  6. arboriculturist
    Currently we record orders and schedule deliveries manually. There must be a better way to simplify this, save time and provide the delivery info to the delivery driver. We do use WhatsApp for driver. Perhaps someone has the answer to setting up a basic database and giving the driver what is needed? All the online software seems to tailored to companies the size of Tesco, not someone who just delivers Firewood. Any replies much appreciated.
  7. arboriculturist
    We pay £ 60 / hr + vat for any milling at local sawmill. Once you get known you will find that work comes flooding in and when / if you would like the work you don't need to have to say, I can't do that, because you bought an entry level mill. Way easier than making furniture or producing firewood. A Logosol with the large engine against a Woodlands is like chalk and cheese but each to their own and Woodlands is fine for low productivity situations. Others will confirm this. Our mill is stacked out with work and you can always pick and choose. I was planning a largish bulk dig several years ago and was advised by several to hire the largest, best machine you can get into the job. Turned out to be solid advice. No substitute for HP as you know. All said and done, if you like what you do and just wish to mill up some hobby timber a budget mill will do the job at a steady pace.
  8. arboriculturist
    I would get the compressor going and spray with engine oil a couple of times in very dry weather before next summer. Wear a respirator an goggles though.
  9. arboriculturist
    The difference in price is negligible, a lot of timber is not straight and The B1001 will cope with everything that comes our way. Nothing worse than having an underpowered power unit.
  10. arboriculturist
    I did a whack of research on bandsaw mills not long ago, From Mebor to Trakmet down to the smaller mills discussed here. Big J. knows far far more than most, has the track record and is generous with his advice. Basically you do get what you pay for. In this instance there would only ever be one I would consider - The Logosol B1001. The rest seemed like comparing a Zetor tractor with a Fendt. After a short time you will have forgotten the additional cost. Its a bit like chainsaws, which is why Stihl, Husky and Echo are the go to saws every time.
  11. arboriculturist
    Ha Ha - you have just eloquently set out what the larger scale producers know. Yes totally agree, objectively way too high for home heating, but fortunately firewood is an add on for a lot of customers. The overheads have risen sharply for us over last 3 years and if you actually had to physically touch the logs during the processing process then firewood production is a non starter. No turning back here though as far too much already invested.
  12. arboriculturist
    Not wishing to sound negative but to cut a long story short - NO NO NO NO NO You will need far more than a yard and outsheds to meet the 'Ready to Burn' criteria that will affect all producers from May.
  13. arboriculturist
    Firewood has been at too low a price for sometime. With the rise in oil and gas prices now is the time to follow suit. £130 for Hardwood now and it's made little difference to sales - remember it can take up to 5 times as long to grow / tonne as softwood. I suggest everyone follows suit as it's too easy to fall into the trap of being a busy fool without realising it.
  14. arboriculturist
    Depends on the skill of the operator and size of aperture on gun nozzle - never ever had and issue - but like you milling timber - I know exactly what I am doing 👌
  15. arboriculturist
    That sounds effective. I have 3 of the Stihl felt bands that fit around HS2 and change them, rotating the 3, so can do 3 big cuts before I stop and airline the HS2 and the 3 bands ready for the next 3 cuts. Not sure this is as good as anything anyone else does but the HS2 stays pretty clean.
  16. arboriculturist
    Sorry to cover old ground - but is the best filter the Stihl HS2 with the felt pre-filter for milling with a MS 660 on the Panther Mill? Is everyone like me and blows the filter off after every decent cut with airline? Maybe some remove it and blow from inside filter outwards? Thanks
  17. arboriculturist
    Having been through using the standard chippers, I took a step in a different direction and recently bought the New Jo Beau M500. Even the team said - why does the average firm want anything else. Timber @ £70/tonne most of us want to hang onto it and not fire it through a chipper.
  18. arboriculturist
    Eradicate nettles only one thing for that - Grazon Pro with an adjuvant. Not the right time of year now April best or September not so good. Don’t think you are being clever adding more active ingredient than recommended, as you will just traumatise the plants, resulting in less effectiveness.
  19. arboriculturist
    I've past that stage now and accepted its here to stay and jumped through all the long line of hoops, despite there being far easier ways to make a living.
  20. arboriculturist
    However galling, Ready to burn is hear to stay. Having communicated with several other retailers and Woodsure they have most of the loopholes covered for those who had planned to rely on finding them. For instance, if you are stopped travelling with less than 2m3 loose on the back of your vehicle, they will investigate and test the timber and if not Ready to burn, £ 300 fixed penalty if 1st offence. 2m3 deliveries of non - Ready to burn has to be on the same vehicle delivered at 1 drop, no exceptions. Plus checks can made of where delivery is going. Its a shame as if they had kept with the original Hetas 25% MC for Firewood, a lot of small retailers would still be able to continue providing the great service and quality product they have done for years.
  21. arboriculturist
    There are several on the Forum with a lifetimes experience of producing and retailing firewood, combined with the latest Regulations - they will all offer their advice for free - no no no no no. If plantation woodland, sell ideally to a recommended independent harvesting contractor who will handle the Felling Licence and if it not plantation woodland it is very unlikely it is worth touching. Sorry to sound a little blunt, but that is the long and the short of it.
  22. arboriculturist
    Might want to press on and complete those works before a visit or they may decide works come under engineering works if over 600mm depth - planning.
  23. arboriculturist
    STOVES ONLINE SELL THE STIHL METER Our meter measures on a "dry basis", whereas test laboratories test on a "wet basis". What does that mean for you? Well the 20% moisture that the government is due to legislate for as the maximum will show on this (and many other firewood moisture meters) as 25%. So look out for 25% moisture on this meter, not 20%. As I have previous mentioned, most companies selling these meters have never even heard of Wet Basis and many of them are completely delusional as what they are actually selling. Some actually really believe that their meters will measure on a wet basis when clearly they do not as you have just illustrated. I highly recommend anyone who is still in doubt to make the effort to speak to a manufacturer of Laboratory testing equipment and they will explain why knowone makes hand held pin meters that measure on a wet basis. That is what I did.
  24. arboriculturist
    Veering off topic but interesting to many : Perhaps the man I spoke to at Valiant is misinformed, but I think this is highly unlikely as I I have been told by one of the largest supplied of testing instrumentation in the UK, that hand held moisture meters are only available that measure on a dry basis because there is no demand for anything else. If you have other information please let me know as I have spent a lot of time discussing this topic with manufacturers, also been looking for 18 months and the only instruments I could find were laboratory bench testing machines. Protimeter, possible the largest manufacturer of pin meters do not even make anything. In summary, if you buy a pin type moisture meter, it will measure on a Dry Basis.
  25. arboriculturist
    100% dry basis

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