arboriculturist

I oven dry to get the definitive MC of air dried logs. It is possible to ' keep logs at 20% at this time of year' depending on your region and topography of the site where you store. Basically a far larger earlier investment in timber, a much longer lead time, timber dried to below 20% considerably earlier than you have ever done before, good air circulation throughout Autumn / winter and meticulous process management from start to finish. By no stretch of the imagination is this an easy task and never a 100% guarantee of success. IMO you will always be sailing close to the wind, however hard you work at things, just need to remain positive.

Woodsure 122.40 Registration Fee 385.20 Annual audit 232.80 Point of sale checks (up to 2000m3 annual fee) Non-compliance fee should a supplier be reported or found to be not complying, likely to be circa. 130 - 230. Fixed penalty for non-compliance 300.

Perhaps fortunately, they do actually ask you to do the splitting !

When Woodsure test your logs they split up to 5 in half with an axe and test the centre of each log to give an average MC.

" 1400-2000 cube air drying is a nightmare whereas buying in or kiln drying can be more "just in time". How have others found it? " At the end of the day, I think you just have to ask yourself - Is this business giving me the lifestyle I would like. It sounds to me as though there is significant pressure and stress running that setup and unless you have run a firewood business on the scale you have it's difficult for others to appreciate what you are going through on a daily basis. Then you have the new legislation coming online, which will be in May for you. There are a few things I would never do for what its worth, as these are areas that significant labour costs are incurred at every step: Make and bag kindling Deliver firewood in bulk bags Bag any size of bag of whatever product Deliver anything less than 1m3 of firewood to a customer I expect you already take a lot of trouble in grading timber as it is delivered, so when it hits the processors the last thing you ever, ever have to do is think about a chainsaw. Our timber only ever gets moved by machine 3 times from roundwood delivery to ending up on the delivery vehicle. I don't think any of us will ever crack the problem of getting the spec. roundwood delivered that we all require. It sounds like you have worked long and hard on your business and perhaps you enjoy the lifestyle it provides.

Bought in roundwood can look nothing like what you are processing there and there is of course more to production than just timber passing through a processor, which has been mulled over numerous times on the Forum. If you step out your truck, everything is serviced, fueled up, sharp, your processor starts up, you have spare fuel on site and everything is in place ready to go with the right timber and no breakdowns, no nails/stone etc. in the timber, of course you can process 25 - 30 in a given 8 hour day. Any business that processes firewood, forgetting about delivery, for every 100 hours they step out side their front door, most would be astounded what percentage of those 100 hours they are not actually processing m3 of timber, which is why knowone can maintain 25m3 in an 8 hour day unless everything they have is gunbarrel straight large diameter, which would then give them time within those 8 hours to attend to the 101 other tasks required to be carried out relating to production. Others will disagree, which I why I rest my case now or this will become boring.

I am quantifying on the whole practical aspects of their business. Those 2 factors of moving timber and the quality of roundwood delivered looks like what is contributing to their large labour input. We have 2 of the most efficient processors going and even with those with timber as it is, we could not achieve anywhere near 1400m3 in 60 days. That is with no roundwood movement and not ever having to touch the timber. Huge amounts of labour input required in the physical tasks required in production and managing the production / storage infrastructure This is why margins are very slim as GDH has illustrated well. Anyone who leads you to believe otherwise is deluding themselves.

" As a stand alone business as we are you can either be very small with minimum investment or invest heavily to grow the business and achieve economies of scale which is the path we have chosen. We have up to 3 people full time and occasional helpers. " Given that you buy 30% of timber already processed, employing up to 3 people full time and occasional helpers is a lot of labour to produce 1400m3 annually and retail 600m3 of bought in. Sounds like you are getting a lot of low grade small timber that takes an age to process.

The 'Key' point to remember is that felling a 100 year old Oak and planting another Oak does not = 'Carbon Neutral'. After 20 years the replacement Oak tree probably will still only have 10-15 % of the foliage area of the 100 year old Oak felled. I am uncertain of the ratio of how many trees are required to be planted to = 'Carbon Neutral', when a felled tree is burnt for fuel, but I would be very interested to know and it should be common knowledge IMO. We need to have the knowledge to at least attempt to do what we can to save the planet.

Quality Mill, quality hammer, quality slabs and a quality operative ! Nothing beats having the correct tools for the job.

I have always advocated a small increase each year, if only to keep up with a 'normal' inflation. That said any published national inflation rate has nothing whatsoever to do with our industry. Look how timber and diesel prices can fluctuate. Kept prices the same this year - god knows why as decent processor grade timber seems to harder to guarantee and efficiency can suffer taking literally 10 times as long to process as correct spec. roundwood. We can all pretty much guarantee, Firewood businesses will go the same way as Farming - far far fewer, larger setups.

The net margin after tax will barely reach double figures. Many people don't factor in all their time spent on the business and that is often the financial element that when not included makes people think they are in a business with good margins. A lot are in the business because they like the lifestyle it gives them at 'some' times of the year.

Your wood is the best around in your locality already Beau, without the need for you to jump through any hoops. You are very, very fortunate however that 2/3 of your customers will take 2m3, but you realise that of course. Onwards and upwards.

Just to save people some time, I have expanded on the key points petercb listed: Cost are about £120 to join then min of about £385 per year plus testing costs from a quick read on Woodsure and Government websites. : It is an application process, where you need to satisfy a list of criteria before Woodsure will consider you for application to start the Certification process. 2 meter cube plus can be supplied provided info on seasoning wood is supplied. : SCHEDULE 2 Form of words in respect of wood sold in volumes of two cubic metres or more If we offer firewood in quantities of 2m3 we will be required by law to present the customer with a document that includes the following wording: This wood is not suitable for burning until it has been dried. You should not burn wood until it has a moisture content of 20% or less. Wet wood contains moisture which creates smoke and harmful particulates when burnt. As well as being harmful to your health and the environment, this can damage your stove and chimney and is an inefficient way to heat your home. Dry it in a sunny, well-aired space for at least two years, keeping rain off in the winter. Radial cracks and bark that comes off easily suggests wood that is ready for burning. Test the wood when you think it is ready for burning, ideally with a moisture meter. First calibrate the meter and then measure a freshly split surface to get the best reading. £300 fixed penalty if you are caught not complying with regulations. : The Planning Authority under the Regulations have the right to visit your premises if they suspect an offence has been committed, so we need to make sure we have ticked all the appropriate Planning Regulations for our Firewood operation. Powers of enforcement 17.—(1) An officer of a relevant local authority may, for the purposes of enforcing these Regulations— (a)enter a supplier’s premises at any reasonable time; (b)inspect a supplier’s goods; (c)make test purchases of a supplier’s goods; (d)require a supplier to produce documents or to provide information; (e)question a supplier or officers or employees of a supplier. I hope the above is helpfull to those who have not already read all the info available online.

I don't think there is any scaremongering going on. By now most people will have visited their website, after all this has been on the cards for at least 4 years now and all the legislation has been passed and can be accessed with a few clicks of a mouse - we all know how to do it. I like to be well informed, so I have been following this for years. Like I say, anyone who has any further questions beyond what is online can give them a ring, that's what I did originally.

Not that I know of - I am informed as I am on their system. Always best to give them a call for an update on the current situation, however a lot are working from home now.

I think this time it will be like CV19 - there will be no escaping, you will be found. All the Agencies will be working in collaboration LPA, VOSA , EA, DEFFRA, Police etc. etc. etc. you name it - they have got this covered. Is it still the case of supply 2 cube and say it still needs seasoning? : - Sorry, this time from what I understand, that won't cut it. Not forgetting that the legislation, now enshrined in law and on the 'Statute Books' gives the power to issue fixed penalty notices for offences without the need for a conviction, plus fines escalate for repeat offenders. Unless you are prepared to tow the line it looks like game over. Not a great start unfortunately to 2021 for some. I am sure however , that new doors will open for many as there are far easier ways to earn a living.

Your sized operation you have until May 2021. There is a lot more to becoming a 'Certified' supplier than just ensuring the timber you sell is below 20%MC. Woodsure will answer any queries you may have. They have a robust system in place to ensure no loopholes exist in case people feel like flouting the law!

Trying to keep things positive and be helpfull also, is not making it easy to reply. 2 main points come to the forefront: You need to consider the Planning aspect of running a Firewood business from any premises. In addition, wether you can guarantee that your Dry Firewood you eventually offer for sale will meet the sub. 20% MC Regulations that will effect all producers of all size scales in May 2021. When the legislation kicks in, those who are tasked with enforcing the new Regulations will amongst other things be carrying out roadside checks on vehicles carrying Firewood and be issuing 'fixed penalties' to those offenders who do not comply. A bit like VOSA roadside checks. Repeat offenders can expect escalating penalties. Rather depressing state of affairs for many I would suggest.

If only ! Yes, it will be interesting how the complete system performs. I've got a Hero 8 black, so should get some great footage when the time comes, which will be when I get some time and the rain eventually stops for more than 1/2 a day.

Anyone on here bought the 'INTERSECT' and used it in earnest - if so how do you find it and what specifically do you need to watch out for. (Sadly my Panther Mill and Intersect are still in the packaging )

Christ - 6 months in a kiln ! I suppose only experience will guide you as to how air dried (MC) any given piece of timber has to be before it can be kiln dried. You obviously have your own data recorded over the years and know the average temperature you will be drying at when you have finished fabricating yours. I have what you need here but I have always been reluctant to use it, as could see a stack of valuable timber being ruined by drying at the wrong starting MC, the wrong temperature or the wrong amount of drying time. There is just not any basic information available I trust to follow.

Ahh - so what is the use for 4,6,8" slabs? You and I may well be dead before those 8" slabs are air dried ! 😆

I would never base a capital expenditure on price, which is why a lot of Avants and Multione etc get sold - because a lot of people do. There are only 2 machines that I would even consider - One is the Tobroco- Giant and the other is yellow also.

Eucalyptus - it 100% depends on how fast it dries. Ash has a head start and Beech looses moisture quickly, then tails off. I have yet to find reliable data on MC loss over time for different species. If you can furnish us with credible data, then yes I would go for it - the jury is still out on Eucalyptus N. for Firewood. I have burnt it many times though, however being super dense I am sceptical as to speed of drying. 🤒