arboriculturist

We have tried similar in the past - no concrete floor, leaving any logs where you drive was a disaster. Logs seem to have this habit of scuffing along the ground, digging in etc. all which makes them dirty. Why not investigate locally who the potato growers are and get some poorer lo cost boxes off them to store the dry wood in. So are you fitting a rotator to the new G machine ? Even a used one of these is not lo-cost. RT Forklift, rotator, Ibc's and potato boxes is all you need. I'm being generous with my insight as you supply one of my sisters with decent Firewood in Tavi !

Gehl pivot steer - does look the business !

Sounds a good plan apart from the fact that mould does not look good on quality firewood. What's wrong with using loader on the tractor? Maybe tied up all the time with your processing, moving roundwood from roadside etc.

Nice feedback and pleased you sell Kindling and don't give it away ! I'll pm you at some stage in the year.

I've never ever been asked for these - do they sell well? How do you encourage people to buy them? I like the idea of offering other home grown UK products.

He's not going to tell you that !

I don't need to tell you what species will go mouldy 1st - but yes, they will go mouldy. We have been through all you suggest in the early days. They dry very slowly also and you are back to manhandling and the days of endless toil that never ends. You have to think containers, containers, containers - potato boxes if nothing else. NO MANHANDLING !

Have you thought about the Tajfun 480 like gdh given the variability of loads delivered these days - you probably have, but like me I don't think you could face having, bar, chain, sprocket, oil etc, and everything associated. We have to deal with small diameters on a daily basis, which as you know kills output, which is why the 375 Turbo will be the choice. Faster cycle time is everything on the small stuff.

It's down to the timber Ash - usually not great. 8 hour working time - did 18 today 10" 2 people - but the 2nd person had spare time to do odd jobs while other processing the small 3" - 6" sizes.

No Ash has a Posch 350 - max 8 way splitter - don't know how he does average 25m3 in a day even with 2 people. We would be pushed to achieve that with the 360 which is a faster machine given the timber available in these parts. The timber up the line is nothing like that available in the SW - much of it is as straight as Softwood Bar ! The quality is now deteriorating as more upgrade to processors and regional Hardwood supplies are dwindling.

This post demonstrates how variable Output can be. With a Posch 360 and auto log deck it can vary from 2m3 / hr with hardwood beansticks which turn us on loads from time to time 3" -4" to 3m/hr with beansticks to bendy 7". Move up to 8 - 12" and it can be 12m + / day. All with 1 person loading and moving crates.

" It’s still more viable to buy it by the wagon load unless it’s on your own land! " THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE WISEST SENTENCE REGARDING FIREWOOD THIS YEAR

You already have 2 systems ???

Perfect

SIC

What happened to your plan to buy a forklift Beau ? That's all you need if you invest in a reasonable excavator as you mentioned in another thread.

Just to keep this thread busy : There is certainly no chance of sourcing Ash in the SW, Oak and Beech is about it and Oak is of course a non-starter unless you can force dry. It think it will be more of a question of who you know in future, to source the material you require. I plan to work harder on gaining contacts starting now, as that is what will make all the difference going forward. There are too many out there scrabbling for the same material. everyone has a processor. Survival of the fittest it will be and who has the working capital to hold stock. The time when you could ring up and order a load and expect a delivery in a week or so are becoming scarce. Where once if you force dried you could pretty much live from hand to mouth, holding very little stock due to the fast turnaround, now its a gamble not holding roundwood stock as now when you need loads it is not readily available. Of course those like gdh and Ash do hold a load of stock and have invested heavily - its a lot of capital tied up but it works.

We are about to do this on an Iveco tipper, but were going for coil helper springs. Any feedback on using leaf or coil helper springs on this type of vehicle would be greatly appreciated.

In order to survive you need to be retailing top of the range consistent products that others fail to achieve, with a service to match. Farmers son's never seem to produce any great volumes ( gdh being an exception ! ). I have never tried to price match others, that being a flawed business model - seeing who can sell at the lowest prices. Having your prices advertised weeds out the time wasters, skinflints etc. with a string of questions, as they don't attempt to make contact. Raw material prices are rising and this must be reflected in our pricing structure !

It looks like to be able to stay in the Woodfuel business long term, you will need to running a very tight ship!

Talking about Processing - Have you seen Timber prices creeping up like here in SW England? Combined with recent vehicle / machinery fuel price increases, labour rates etc. - our margins are reducing dramatically and trying to keep prices static is becoming a real challenge. Hard times for the Harvesting Contractors also - the've been hit by many of the same increasing overheads as us combined with one of the worst harvesting Winters on record. I can see a lot less future posts on - 'What logs have you been chopping today' !

Is that your own harvested Beech or bought in? The diameters look good for processing.

Ah Ok - Spits on open fire and takes a lot of drying out - split it as soon as you can.

Horse Chestnut - Avoid like the plague !

Thanks Matt - What exact chain components are added to lengthen the chain?