Alycidon

Untill the RHI for domestic property kicks in and with it the requirement for these boilers to be fed fuel from RHI appoved suppliers then I cant see the point at present. The man in the street may vaugly be aware of Hetas if he has had a stove fitted recently but will not have heard of Woodsure who are running the scheme. If you look at the woodsure assured map on their web site there are not to many companies who have signed up especially in the logs area. Yes CW have but they would as a major supplier into the market. A

Nick Channor will give you a quote, he comes to south wales pretty often, A

I am a Hetas approved retailer who also sells firewood that I usually process myself. I have looked at the scheme and discussed it with the Woodsure lady at the Arb show. From what I can see the scheme revolves around an audit trail for your logs from point of felling right through to point of sale. There are also product quality standards to be met but if you are doing logs properly then you will achieve these fairly easily. Downside for me was the annual cost of the scheme and the set up costs, this would involve a visit to your processing/storage premises by an assessor who will look at your whole firewood business to make sure that you reach certain standards. If you are not selling 500 cube a year then at present I don't think its a flyer from a cost point of view unless things have changed. I cant see that I would be able to add another £10 to a cube as I was a HETAS/Woodsure approved supplier. I would be interested to here what other fairly small scale log suppliers think and the effect that joining the scheme has had on their business. A

All the suppliers I have looked at from abroad supply stacked logs in wooden cases. So 1 cube of stacked logs will equal maybe 1.5 cube of loose logs in a bag. Certainly wood supply loose in bags. A

Electric brakes are not as far as I am aware legal in the UK, no 4x4 is wired up for them for a start. Machine is fast yes but a 6 way split on perhaps a 400mm log leaves logs that my customers would reject as to large. I did see a similar machine at the arb show this year, Multiteck from memory. Not sure how smaller logs will drop into the splitter though. A

Eyepic, Bob needs the timber moved this week, I cant get my haulier in till next week so if you can shift it for him this week then its all yours. Suggest you give Bob a call. If you are also next week then Bob will deliver to me, I am M1 J18 area. A

Hi Bob, I took some Ash from your site just south of Milton keynes last year. I would be interested in this lime, what sort of diameter are we talking and what sort of weight. Could possably organise a 6 wheel grab wagon to move it. Thanks A

Give them time, take a couple of days to get any likely answers in. A

90% of stoves I sell are 5kw or less, these typically want a log of 250mm long. Yes there are a few that could use longer logs but 6 inch is the biggest diameter you should go to. Small diameters will dry faster and look better in teh stove, an odd jumbo is fine for a slower overnight burn. Suggest you talk to your existing customers but having more than one length can be a pain storage wise. A

Not immediately, be ok next winter if not oak. They would need cutting to length and splitting. Thats hard work unless you are set up for it. A

Might be as well to check the moisture content, probably around 27% I would suspect, not perfect but it will burn ok. A

Process them into vented arb bags such as those from Bag Supplies. Stack them 2 or 3 high with a teleporter. They should dry out perfectly, I think. Most use dutch barns or similar but at least one of us uses an old silage clamp. A

I am unclear exactly what you are asking. If you want 45 footer load moved in one drop then use a curtain sider and stack them 2 high, so 40 bags on a load. Strap them from the center outwards. Any haulier with a suitable trailer will do this. If you want single bags of logs delivered to private houses which I think you do then you would be best using a dedicated pallet carrier, Geodis for example. Cant see anyone here being able to help but some may offer you a steer in the right direction. I cant see many members of the public buying green logs especially as you will need to add £35 + VAT for the carriage and another £14 for the bag and pallet. You might do better to try and sell the surplus to members here as cordwood. A

Suggest you ask the importers if anyone has one anywhere near you. A

Sounds like you are close to me, please pm me price and bag size. Dont sell many but there is no real reason why I should not be selling more. Thanks A

I have had two trips on a recovery truck in 140,000 miles I have down with the TD5 ES, one from Welshpool when 2 injectors siezed, the other from the M1 hard shoulder when a bottom rad hose split and dropped the coolant out onto the motorway. The second was preventable but the hose concerned was tucked away running off the thermostat housing. A

Got on 03 plate Disco TD5 ES auto, 250,000 miles or thereabouts. needed another set on injectors at 180K and has just had an alternator. Other than that pretty good. Pulls a 2.7 ton trailer loaded with 2 cube bags, just looking at a 3 cube trailer for next winter. Heaviest I pull is 2 x 1 tonne pallets of wood pellets, trailer is 700kg, dont go above 40mph. Manual gearboxes have issues with synchro in 2nd, I have had 2 autos now and did 274k in the first one, a 200, never had any gearbox issues with either. Stick a set if Grabber AT2s on it and it goes more or less anywhere and it pretty pleasant on the motorway as well. A

I process into Bag Supplies green cubic meter bags then store under cover in a Dutch barn with 3 open sides. Works well, not lost any bags yet to UV breakdown. Had a bit of snow blow in recently as you might expect so may hang some of those mesh curtains as seen in Farmers Weekly for cattle sheds along the short open sides. I seem to recall someone said that that the black ( or was it the white ones ??) bags available from others may be better able to resist UV but no issues with the green ones so far. The white ones look awful when used a few times, they get grubby, and they are an eyesore in the country. The bags can stack 2 high easily enough and 3 high with care on a concrete floor using a tele porter, I do not use pallets between the courses as I cannot get then to sit level. A

Delivery from Bucks to Surrey, I would say thats a very fair offer. A

I thought you might, as you say £140 a cube is a bit steep agreed but better competing with that then £60 a cube. Hopefully someone local to you can help. A

What sort of cost do you call realistic?. At the end of the day there is a lot of work in a cu meter of logs not to mention covered storage to be rented for a year or so and delivery costs at £1.50 a mile + drivers time. With snow on the ground most of the arb boys selling cheap logs have now sold out so its mostly left to the dedicated firewood suppliers with bigger ( and more expensive) storage facilities. If your local estate are £120 a cube or under thats where I would go assuming the quality stacks up. A

Some machines are better than others for knotty twisty stuff. Most people doing that sort of stuff like the Dalen. A

30% will burn but it would be far better at 16% next autumn. Personally i would not sell it, or sell it as what it is, ie green, ready for burning next winter, then if the customer wants to burn it sooner then thats their decision. Remember a good reputation is easily lost. A

300-350 is a cheap chinese stove. Average life 3-5 years. A Morso has a life of over 30 years, more if you look after it. If you can find one then a used one at perhaps £500 is a good buy, you should have no problem getting any spares if a bit of TLC is needed but make sure they are genuine ones as there have been some chinese parts to fit Morso's coming in, mainly top baffle plates. There is a member here that reconditions and sells used Morso's, he will I am sure comment in due course and may well be able to help. I would recommend a better quality used stove but do appreciate things are tight. Cheaper stoves, then look at Carron, their 4.7kw stove is basic but well made at yours for about £500. If you are not in a hurry sometimes used bargins can be found on e bay etc during the summer, no bargins this time of year though. A