Alycidon

10 years ago when I retired from the motor industry and was half looking for something interesting to do I went to a renewable conference at the Newark show ground. One of the speakers was growing big acreages of willow for biomass and had modified significantly a JD forage harvester to cut it. Looking at the show guide now and checking the companies out on line almost all have gone to the wall. In fairness there were also quite a few working in the bio diesel field. Looks like the pig industry, very cyclical. A

Nice ideas but I have no customers that buy ahead, if they did they would be looking for added discounts. I had a guy last week buying his first wood, complained that he had leaves ( about three hand fulls) in his bag and bucket full of chips from the splitter in the processor. I have not been able to source decent cord for 5 years or so hence I import kiln dried. Plenty of people have told me they can supply, I order 100 tonnes or so for delivery May- Sept and nothing appears. Having said that with the price of decent hard cord at £70 ride side plus transport at £10 plus a ton I have plenty of perople selling at £100 a cube delivered inc VAT, that is simply not on unless getting the wood for a lot less. I can see quite a few used medium size processors coming onto the market in the next couple of years. All I am currently processing is fallen trees from the farm and the farm next door. A

Pull it as fast as I can, but will try again pulling faster. I usually give it two maybe three pulls when restarting with no choke or throttle on. This problem did not exist prior to the crankcase gasket problem occurring. Cold start is perfect as is a very hot start after a two minute refuel stop. Thanks for your input. A

Only when starting cold, it pops out after the first pull anyway. A

Well I got the 560 back last week, used it today. Clear up a smallish wind blown willow still attached laying over a big ditch, and clear two big still attached Ash limbs. Took most of the day but only two refuels. Saw was exactly the same as when I took it in, stop for two mins to refuel. Pull it to restart and off it goes. But leave it for 10 or 15 minutes to load some of the timber cut and its very reluctant to start. AM I getting something wrong , 4 or 6 pushes of the bulb , 2 or 3 pulls with no choke, if no go move choke lever up to the on position then lower to the run position, then pull again. The latter sets the throttle open. Has taken 10 - 15 pulls to start, never used to have this issue. Going to take it back to the dealer who rebuilt it on Tuesday unless anyone has any advice to the effect I am doing something wrong. Got a 462 on order arriving next week. A

Husky will not cover warranty if not used with their synthetic two stroke oils. My one seized in a very short time, they blamed the 'inferior' 2 stroke mix sold to me by the dealer with the saw. That was Sthil standard 2 stroke mix. Took the threat of legal action to get that resloved. Geoff

Here you go: https://www.gerrymet.co.uk A

There is a company on Birmingham that supplied me a new TCT blade for my Japa 700. Dont have details to hand but could find them tomorrow if needed. A

Very fair comment, its something we have been saying to potential stove buyers in the showroom for some months, yet still some stove manufacturers are sitting on their hands doing nothing. A

Not enough trading standards people to enforce current smoke control regs let alone anything else fostered onto them my govt.

Nor does most of us especially given the cost, Hetas Woodsure will do very nicely out of it thank you. BUT I regularly come across 'kiln dried' logs that wont burn, dry on the outside but wet in the center. I also have several purveyors of green logs sold as seasoned. Problem is most of those sellers think the seasoning period starts the minute the tree is felled, its only once the log has been split can drying commence. None use moisture meters, most are £60/£70 a cube for back pocket money. A

Cant see any problem with that, good thinking. A

Dont think Sage software will allow this. Dont forget that the new making tax digital scheme coming in (next year ?) initially for corporation tax requires HMRC compatible software. My Sage 50 because its no longer supported by Sage ( 6 years old ) is now no longer acceptable so I have to upgrade. A

Cant see how, you will be aware of the efficiency differences on older models to new ones. Any design more than a few years old will not have terciery air to aid efficiency so is likely to be knocked on the head. Someone told me using the SIA Ecodesign label on a model is now chargeable and its far from cheap, have you heard anything about that ?. A

Big glass is a winner by miles in my experience, the ladies always love it and they make the decisions. I am now selling off my normal 7 - 8 kw traditional stoves as they are not selling. Instead we are selling Widescreen stoves rated at 5kw, same size or bigger but cleaner burning and can usually be run on a 125mm flue. These stoves are capable of delivering 8kw when pushed, some more. Just depends how much fuel the owner loads. A

In this area we are practically Police free, any one they have is manning a radar trap. But dont start me on that one. A

I would agree that at this time of year there is little to choose MC wise from my air dried products and kiln dried imported products. But my cord is stored for 2 or 3 years, then the oversize stuff is billeted for another winter, then sliced and diced in the spring ready for sale that autumn. It summers pre sale in vented bags stacked undercover. While its a few percent damper that wont be noticeable to any normal user. One major benefit of KD product is that the kiln kills any woodworm/ beetles etc in the product. A

Yes, if you cant produce that locally then they will have to be transported in by carrier from the likes od CW or Logs Direct. A

As a stove retailer I feel that not only is this a positive move but the max moisture content should be lowered to 16%. I have by far more problems with customers feeding their stoves wet wood than all the other issues put together. Some log sellers seem to think that seasoning logs starts the day the tree comes down, alas its only once the log has been split or the bark has fallen off that most timbers can dry out. However there are nowhere near enough civil servants to enforce current smoke control regulations, I cant see any way that this can be enforced other than following a complaint from a home owner about smoke emissions from a house nearby. But it gives Hetas a nice little earner !!, all suppliers to be registered, cost of initial registration plus annual costs as a per ton sold basis. Think it would have to put £10 onto the price of a cubic m of logs given my volumes. You have to keep an audit trail of where their cord comes from and are subject to annual audit to include taking at random sample of their ready for sale stock for in depth analysis. I would like to think that anyone seen with a load of logs on the back is likely to be stopped and checked but by who and with whose support. No Police any more so they wont help, to busy catching speeding motorists. Be interesting to see how it pans out, we live in interesting times !!. A

Ok thanks for that, A

Used Husky for the last 50 years, but after this 560 needing two engine rebuilds in under 300 service hours I am not inclined toward another. I used to use the mid range Huskys and usually got 10 years plus out of them. 562 I have looked at but its only 60cc and will have issues with a long bar. The 462 at 70cc I have seen buried running 25 inch and higher with no major issues. I am planning to get hands on with a well used 460 next week to see how it feels. A

Occasionally I get wind blown Ash of large proportions so was thinking of a 20/22 inch for normal use and a 25 inch for any oversize stuff. Some dealers such as Farol and Honey Bros are advertising 462s but I suppose having stock is something else entirely. Looks like its a runner if available, or 461 if not, thanks for your input. A A

Following my issues with the 560 I am looking for a new saw, ideally a bit more power full that the 560 to run a 20inch or more chain. In short does anyone have anything bad to say about the above, done a search and cant find much but its predecessor the 461 and 460 models seemed well liked. Thanks in advance, A

And you can bet he will be looking to sell them this winter, seasoned for x years etc. Unless that bark has fallen off then no way will anything be ready to burn this winter, A

Good to see on coal, as for wet wood councils dont have the staff to enforce smoke control areas let alone wet wood sales. Good idea in theory, but !!. Then you have the wood fairey, scavenging wood usually for own use from everywhere, nothing to prevent them putting in their own stove. I dont think there is any way that can be prevented other than education. A