Alycidon

i'm sure if we could get a boiler big enough the other houses would pay to heat his house with a profit..and burn all softwood and willow, poplar. horse chestnut that goes on the fire in yard.. not to mention the 100's of pallets that come from the industrial units we let... it is a waste your right... A biomass boiler burning chip would cut your energy costs by 50%. CJ Grain put a Riko moving grate boiler in to burn his Miscanthus pellets, works well, loads it with a teleporter. Careful with the ash from pallets, the remnants of the preservatives are apparently in the ash, these are harmful to health. A

Easy money maybe as they deliver it direct, what happens as and when you have a fall out?, suddenly all your customers will be being supplied direct !!. Personally I prefer to control my own destiny, that means doing my own deliveries, all of them. Look at the Americans selling kilns, time in a kiln is pretty limited. I processed some softwood yesterday, felled about 3 weeks, moisture about 30% and some ash felled within the last week, moisture 27%. I could not believe they were so low. Then checked some very large poplars wind blown a year or so ago at 37-40% so the meter is about right. Kiln Dried generally is 20-22%, not sure what CW moisture level is in fairness. I took out 2 tonnes of natural air dried softwood tonight that I processed earlier this year ( May time) and kept under an open barn, moisture varied from 7% up to about 15%. CW do seem a very switched on company but given sufficient funding then there is no reason why they cannot be emulated. They do have open days sometimes but I always seem to find out to late. A

I used Bag Supplies, got those green ones that look so much less of an eyefull that the white ones. Some have done 3 trips so far, would certainly buy some more. A

Thats spot on, the Scandinavians mainly burn softwood. Last year I had a smal pile of hard and a pile of soft about 3 times as big. It all sold. This year I have the same rations but much bigger piles. I am selling Firewood and Hardwood, not had a single complaint yet but I do make ultra sure its very dry. A

Thats exactly why I started the thread !!. Looking at the replies the general opinion is train the guy yourself from scratch, give him 30 mins on and 30 mins off as concentration starts to slip after 30 mins. Closely supervise ( looking over shoulder) for as long as it takes, this may be a week or more, one chap suggested 40 hours but you may be able to cut that back a bit if they guy is good, has a chainsaw ticket etc. Make sure the guy knows how to service the machine, make sure all the guards, safety devices etc are present and work correctly. Do a risk assessment, take on board the points in the HSE leaflet on processors. Start a training register and get the guy to sign it when he has completed certain tasks competently. You are creating a paper trail that you may have to reley on in court, get it wrong and he does something stupid and it could cost you 30K in fines. One other thing to consider is what are you going to do with the lad when he has reduced your log pile to nothing. A

My brothers have a massive HC on their farm that has been showing signs for a couple of years, this is a HUGE tree, maybe 60 feet tall with a trunk at least six feet ( maybe 10) in diameter. It stands in a field hedge, grass with livestock one side, cerials the other, not on a road. Is there anything that can be done, I was not aware that there was, A

The grant the Hardwood guys got closed in Feb this year, if there is anything else about could some one pm me details please. I am in East Midlands. A

What sort of diameters ?, processor friendly or rings or a mix. Nick would struggle with rings on a timber trailer me thinks. A

Put woodturning timber into google. Quite a few specialist suppliers come up, I would send an e mail to a bunch of them and see what happens. Cant believe they wont be interested. A

Never knock a guy selling to dear, far far better that than selling to cheap. look and learn !! . I was in a DIY shed today, netted logs marked Hardwood Logs looked like softwood to me, Not Ash,Oak, Beech or Birch for sure, Forgot to take my moisture meter in for a prod. A

I read that the Hardwood Logs guys got a grant from the East Midland Development Agency to upgrade their processor to the new Pinosa. http://www.hardwoodlogsltd.co.uk/ My investigations seem to show that this line of possible funding has now been closed by the govt. Anyone care to comment on if this is correct or not and if so are their any other grant funding options. Pretty sure I am not in a development or deprived area. Thanks A

With a single roll I assume !!. I learnt on the Dexta in the rain, no cab of course, I was not allowed off until I had mastered it. Mind you I have never been able to reverse a 4 wheel drawbar set up, seen it done yes but never needed to learn as we had nothing with that axle configuration other than a bale elevator which could be moved by hand. A

Fully automatic seems the way forward to me, one operator who fills the infill load rack and removes cut logs. Cant see any point at all to have a guy pulling levers all day. Combine harvesters now have camera controlled steering systems to keep the head in the work, ( you try maintaining the end of a 30 foot cutter bar to within a few inches and monitor the machine at the same time, add in the dark as well, when your lights only show you about 30 feet in front of the machine I have had some days with a 20 foot, not easy) I therefore cant see any problem with full auto machines assuming the transition of logs into the splitting chamber is foolproof. I do like the new Pinosa but it seems some with one dont. Just thinking out loud !!. A

Agreed, I was also driving Fordson Dexta's and Super Majors at about 8 or 9 usually on thinks like chain harrowing of rolling. Then graduated to discing,ploughing etc when a bit older. Having a feel for what the machine is doing and when its just starting to struggle by the engine note is only learned by experience. A

Same here. It it sells this winter fine, if not it will be worth even more next winter !!. Got a few cube going out this week all with new stoves, I do a cube of soft and a stove and flue parts on the same load. Just a bit of a pain getting the cube into a 5 foot IFW box van. Push fit either side due to the bags expanding out. A

Dont quite know how old this lad is, 17-18 maybe, left school anyway. He would be supervised by another guy in his 30s but he would also need training on the processor. The older guy has formal chainsaw training. Interesting about working alone, I pretty well always use it alone !!. I can see the point though, both people should also ideally be first aid at work qualified. Thanks for your thoughts and input. A

I am looking to take on a lad to run my processor on a casual add-hoc basis. Maybe 10 hours a week. I am sure somewhere there are H&S requirements about young people and dangerous equipment, given that he is given proper training in the use of the machine ( JAPA 700) and associated tractors ( MF135) and loader ( JD 4400) and safety equipment is there a minimum age limit that applies?. Got a feeling its 21 but might be wrong. Thanks for your input. A

Yes almost certainly. Now softwood or poplar is perfectly OK as a fuel for your stove ( thats what most Scandinavians burn!!) so long as it has a moisture content below 16% ideally or 18% at a push. If you are a new stove owner then invest in a mositure meter. A

I had an instance last spring where another well known out of town shed sold two ladies a bag of logs for their new stove ( not one I had supplied !!). I got called in when they would not burn. The girls had paid about £7 for about 10 logs maybe 250mm long and 75-100mm dia. They thought that due to the weight they were getting hardwood, wrong, they got softwood at between 45% and 50% moisture. Problem is these sheds buy on price and price alone. They also demand 100% availability, timed deliveries, full credit on anything deemed to be 'faulty' etc etc. A

I have used Geodis for delivering stoves when they need to go a fair distance, about £45 a pallet + VAT is the rate. 10 years ago it was £65!!. A

The Morso ones I sell do look slightly different but the image on the Morso web site is the same as the one you have posted. Morso are a stove manufacturer and would buy things like this in all be it in large volumes. They would also have to hit Morso's high quality amd reliabily requirements. I have sold in excess of 70 in the last year with no returns or complaints at all. A

Morso do one, £36 inc VAT. It will do all you need. A

Pm sent. A

I would be interested, I am between Northampton and Rugby so maybe 20 miles away, would use an IFW 8' x 5' trailer pulled by my Disco, it goes most places. A

Here you are , all done for you, Energy Cost Comparison | Nottingham Energy Partnership Also includes every other energy source and has Co2 emissions per fuel type. Enjoy, A