Alycidon

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

Looking at the big US made gear on another current thread here they use integral engines of about 75hp to power hyd motors. So the old NH wont find much use there !!. On the firewood side as processing is not that critical give or take a week or two then maybe contracting may be a way forward, but you would want to see some serious work in front of you to invest 100k plus in one of those machines. A

Not sure I would want to sit in it for long the way it bounces about, reminds me of discing hard ploughing on an old Fordson Major 45 + years ago. A

That does look a good machine, similar to the American ( CRM?) one. I wonder about Health and Safety and shielding that blade. Weighs 14,500 lbs so 7 tons, need to be pulled by a tractor. Costs about $90,000 but does 9 x 128 cu feet ( so about 54 cu meters per hour, that is shifting it in anyones language. A

That would depend on a diameter of the cord you are putting through it and the length of the logs you are cutting to. The machine seems to handle up to 500mm, thats about as big as most get. If I cut all small diameter timber I only get about half the output per hour that I do cutting 200-300mm stuff. Most tests seem to be done using Silver Birch, that cuts very easily. Landmark look like a contractor, take me 4 hours with a Disco to get up there, (I am also in Northants) take 4 days with that old 4x4 tractor. A

New defenders do seem to be a nightmare but the older Landys are OK. I have a 225,000 mile Disco and a 100,000 mile Defender, both 03. Good reliable tools that work every day. Of the others I would walk away from a VW, I had a small VW (Polo?) van, the thing was a nightmare all its life and nowhere near as economical I was was assured. Once they had my money VW did not want to know. Fords and Vauxhalls are well engineered and stand the test of time, milage and driver abuse. A

Do those white brackets shown in the pics on your web site come with it?, if so then we could maybe bolt it on somehow. Thoughts are at the moment to bolt onto the underside and run the belt up and over. PM sent with e mail addy. Thanks A

Would they need CE approval?, most things do these days. A

From the link it looks like Posch have most of the equipment, food for thought. A

Sounds nice, but processors currently will only handle up to around 450mm logs at tops ( I think !!). I have 3 ash trucks to process for winter 12-13, chainsaw into short lengths, split down then process, be far easier to wack the whole trunk into a big machine. Maybe I need a bigger splitter !!. Looking at the farming side there are few farmers who use contractors for harvesting as timing of harvesting is vital but increasingly farmers are joining together and forming co operatives, this allows bigger machines, cuts labour and reduces overall costs per acre. Maybe thats the way the firewood job should go, maybe get four or five localish companies, each put in say 40k for equipment and see where you go. Works for grain farmers, no reason why it would not work elsewhere. A

This link will allow you to check and compare different energy costs, it is updates 2 or 3 times a year. Details on energy costs per type and how those figures are arrived at are on a seperate sheet. Energy Cost Comparison | Nottingham Energy Partnership I put a wood pellet boiler in to replace oil 3 years ago, at the time pellets were £130 a tonne and oil 65ppl and rising. Today oil is fluctuating around 65p.pellets are £200. There is a monopoly on pellets and the main player sets the prices to be just inside oil. Yes I can see a major expansion in wood as a fuel, thats why I am in that business !!. Customers want independence from large energy suppliers. Prices will rise of course they will, timber in Scotland that was practically worthless five years ago owing to its value against the cost of harvesting it can now all be used as it will become profitable to sell it. So investing in cord or standing timer should stand you in good stead in the future. A

Comments on Pinosa are interesting, presumably this was pre Fuelwood getting involved, they have a good reputation/ Pro companies processing in bulk, agreed, mounted on a big trailer complete with generator ( or PTO I suppose). Pull it with 120/150 BHP of FWD tractor, elevator tall enough to offload into big 18 ton bulk grain trailers. Most framing contractors already have the associated kit such as bulk handling tele-porters, trailers etc. Pull the machine onto site, process straight into bulk grain trailers and transport back to base as logs. Cost would I suppose be an issue, cant be to many folk able to sell the volumes that such a machine could get through when used day in day out. Most combine harvesters are used around 30 days a year, cost 200K + but can cut £60,000+ worth of grain a day. I suppose there might be an equivilant there, maybe I am down the wrong lane completely. A

Good solid tools those big Fords, cut my teeth on an old Major then graduated to a 5000. My brothers had a cog fitted to the gearboxc of their 2850 John Deere to give 40kph ( maybe 50?) but they usually only pull a cattle trailer at that speed. If I was driving with 14T on the back plus trailer weight then 20 mph is plenty fast enough. Need at least 100hp though, the big TW has that and FWD so it should be fine, just invest in a pair of ear muffs !. My brothers pull large grain trailers with a train weight of just under 23 tonnes loaded with 160hp JDs but not faster than about 18-20 mph. A

Thinking about the tail ramp, a bracket fixed to the sides near the back would not drop timber out of the back but simply onto the ramp, you would then have to drive forward to empty. Bearing in mind I had a guy last week complain when I dropped half a dozen bits of straw on his drive I am not sure that is a good move. Really wants a 3000 fitted to the top of the tail gate then the tailgate fixing so that it only came down to a level horizontal to the floor like a pick up. The strip is long enough for an 8 foot long body but might be a bit short for a 10 foot. Once the autumn cultivations are finished I will see what my brother thinks, he is clever designing and making things like that. A

But it costs a mint and a half when they go wrong, half shafts I seem to remember were horrific. I have a Defender and a Disco, both 03 TD5s, both good tools, both high milage. Defender is an out and out work tool, mine is a County so as posh as you can get, the wife goes everywhere in it after our daughter totalled the wifes Focus. A Disco 4 with pick up open back would be not bad, maybe re engined down to a 4 cylinder engine of about 130/150 bhp and lower ratio gears. With Diff lock and low range. A

I would be interested in one for an Ifor Williams GD85 trailer hauling firewood, appreciate that I would need to support the tailgate when unloading somehow. A

You have an accident with that and the H&S inspector is likely to be all over you. First question will be where is your Risk Assesment. No way on earth can that be assessed as safe to use. A

I used to have a brake shoe riveting machine, this has a 150mm dia cylinder and a stroke of around 3 inches. The pin punch would go through steel. Compressor wise I had the biggest I could run on single phase, think about 12 CFM. No way would you get a long enough stroke to make it viable against hydraulic without a huge compressor and reservoir. A

I use an 8'x5' x 15 inch side IFW trailer,, heaped up its just 2 cu meters. Its about 35 cu ft to a Cu meter. So level full the trailer is 52 cu feet, 1,49 cu meters approx, You cant buy the softwood for that price let alone process and sell it. A

Thats fine but multi use pallets are normally treated with preservatives which when burnt are harmful to human health. Gases given off are harmful as is the residue of the preservative that finishes up in the ash. Please do not spread this ash on the garden, if you do and subsequently grow veg in it the preservative will get into your body. Dispose of the ash in your rubbish bin having made sure its cold. the nails from pallets will also lodge on the grate making teh removal on some ash pans tricky. You have to fish around for the nails. That aside they do burn well. A

Dont forget minimum order will be around 40-50 cu meters, then add transport at about 2000 euros a load. Makes it about £120 a cu meter from memory, thats at 20-22% when shipped, alledgedly. A

Me to, sold out in 08, now running a wood burning stove business with a firewood side line. Cutting the firewood in the summer keeps me busy but once late Aug arrives stove sales go ballistic till Xmas, then zippo till August. A A