Alycidon

Nick only does timber when he is not busy on the farm. Give him another three weeks to get the autumn cultivations done. A

Not difficult, possibly inexperienced in buying logs in but not inexperienced in timber as such as most members of the public would not be able to tell Pop and Scots from any other woods. Almost everyone here who sells logs sells them loose as you have bought hence the reaction. There are one who two who buy in stacked crates from Eastern Europe and sell those. Price you paid is frankly cheap. I sell by the arb bag, with no bulging it holds 1 cube loose when level full, having measured the bulges etc when newly filled I recon I have about 1.1 cube in the bag. After going into store for a year or so to dry out the contents have shrunk by about 10%, now I have a bag filled to about 100mm from the top with sides bulging about 300mm, so about 10% on average in all directions. So I currently sell my logs as a loose bag at 1.1 cube when filled, when delivered there is about 1 cube in there. A

Almost zero ash as well. A

Thanks for your reply, you sound like a guy we can do business with. A

Green Delta Limited Not an awful lot on your web site about firewood, but quite a bit about other areas of expertise you have. New company yet to file its first years accounts although these are not yet overdue. For most people bringing it in they use 2 cube pallets, then tip the logs out to form a bulk tipped load. It is reassuring to know that you are actively taking steps to ensure that the timber is disease free, what is the moisture content inside a log on the freshly exposed face of a newly split log?. This is critical if a user is to obtain optimum results from a stove. Last year I came across an instance of a crate bought on line by a customer, outside MC about 25% but inside about 35%. So if that has seen the inside of a kiln then it was not for very long. Currently my own air dried is going out at about 7%-10%. Has anyone here bought timber from this company?, if so how is it?. I ask as I may need 2 + containers this winter the way things are going at present. A

Not much, logs rolling forward under their own steam are a pain. My Japa rack is about 2m long and has a rise of about 225m approx. from memory but using the multiple holes in the legs this can be adjusted, Put plates onto the bottoms of the legs to stop it sinking if not on hard standing. You can always fine tune the angle using bits of scaffold board under the feet. Build additional front to back beam (s) to allow the loading of short ( say 5 foot) logs. A

Sparks etc then this may help. http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/forest-products/wood-heating/ heat output, there was a FC chart on Wilsons or Caledonian forestry showing that the six hottest burning timbers in the UK were all softwoods. Pine is used by Morso to temperature test their stoves. A

What make and model trailer are you using, delivering 2 cube at a time will weigh 900/1000 kg, + trailer. So trailer U/L weight would need to be about 800kg which is a lot for a single axle trailer, with a weight capacity of 1.8t all up. A

As I understand it no. You adbide by drivers hours when needing to use the Tacho, ie when pulling a trailer for hire reward. When I am not doing that, so using just the Landrover alone on business or doing private miles then no disc is needed. A

I suspect that Vosa are currently looking at ag tractors at 24 tonnes with a view to needing some sort of test/licence. Bit like HGV was, so up to 7.5 ton you used to be able to drive on a standard car licence, above that its a separate test. A

VOSA and the Police view Hire and reward as delivering goods or equipment for which you will be paid ( rewarded) for. Moving your own goods and selling them is hire and reward, regrettably. The 30 miles only comes in if you are moving tools and equipment to a job and the driver will be employed on site to operate that machinery on site. Movement of logs for which you will sell and be paid for is Hire & Reward, taking them home from site for you own use might be arguable but if you have a firewood business then I would suggest you are on dodgy ground. If however you have something from Vosa that contradicts this please advise as its costs money to have a tacho installed and checked every 2 years. A

As I understand it if the driver of the 130 is operating the chipper as his main job then no you don't, but otherwise you do. Be a good idea to talk to Vosa about that one though. Over 30 miles then you do anyway. A

You do. If you had a say BMW 5 series saloon and pulled a trailer for hire and reward with a total train weight fully loaded to the trailers capacity of over 3.5 tons including the BMW you are in Tacho territory. Ironically this was exactly the scenario that the Police used when explaining the regs to me. A

If delivering firewood that you are being paid for then that is classified as Hire and reward, you DO need a tacho. Taking tools and equipment to site providing its for your own use and within 30 miles then it is arguable that you dont. I got pulled of the M6 by the Police for a Vosa check and did not have a tacho, I do now though. I could have been fined £400 for a first offence. At the time I had a twin axle box trailer on the back with stoves in it and was more than 30 miles from base. All you need is the Tacho, abide by drivers hours regs, keep your records for six months, nothing else. No CPC, no operating center, no six week checks. A

I had three of these stores delivered today, as per the ones on the back of the Transit. I have this evening been through them fairly closely and I have to say I am well pleased. I am pretty fussy when buying things to go alongside some of the worlds finest stoves and these do fit the bill nicely. I could not have made them anywhere near as well myself and I tend to over engineer most things. Treated timber, all double screwed to the ajoining piece, nice thick feather edge on the roof, no splits anywhere, none. There must be £50 in timber alone there. In short highly recommended, the blokes a decent guy as well !!. A

I cut 240mm long which is shorter than most, nothing over 125mm diameter, most around 75mm/100mm. I hand filled about 10 bags from the bottom of a bulk pile last year, about 450/500 per cubic meter bag. A

What weight limit is this coming in at?. I run a Discovery and IFW trailers, max gross weight is around 5.2 tonnes, I need a tacho, have one fitted and use it but nothing else. A

Friend of mine has a Lasco and a Posch 30 ton splitter. He finds the Lasco easier and faster to use, he attaches it to the end of a 3 ton excavator and breaks timber down to processor size. Especially handy for pop that looses it bark easily, the barks then stays on site. A

Way to go boys, thats 130 and 150 a cubic meter assuming your dumpy bags are half a cube. A

Does look like big bags for sure. A

Ash wont be much higher than 35% fresh felled. The guy that does the milling BigJ probably knows more about this than most. He would be worth talking to. A search or two may also throw up some answers. Certainly the heat in a container in summer can be pretty hot, I was spraying a stove a special colour early this week in a container, paint did not take long between coats at all. A

At this time of year everything is being cut for sale, suggest that in April May time timber would be more readily available. Suggest you contact the local arb boys and see what may be available but a lot of them either do logs themselves or sell their timber to others that do logs. Might be a better bet to consider ready cut and dried logs, there are a few of us that cover Moulton including me, all mine are cut at 240mm and 200mm. A

Heard of one old lady that used to float her logs in her pond for s few weeks as they burnt to quick otherwise, then she complained that her new stove was not producing much heat !!. Been a dry summer by and large, even cord that I had arrive in May would I suspect be ready to go at a push by February, My two summer old Ash and Sycamore cord, processed in March is currently going out at 7% - 11%. Stove manufacturers recommend a MC of 14% - 16%, dryer logs does ideally want mixing with some at say 25% to balance things up a bit. A

Sounds do able, did think of the chains idea using standard 5 ton ratchet straps. Have found a couple of poles as suggested earlier so will give that a whirl first, space is not to much of an issue. Dont have huge volumes to move, 200-250 over the winter, my firewood store is in a barn away from the main farm buildings. I usually go out with 2 bags at a time so it saves time and fuel if I can bring 2 bags up at a time on the teleporter. A