firewoodman

full agree buzz, experience and common sense play a big part when using it. given a choice i would prefer stabilising legs

i started with chainsaw and table top splitter £2000 to set up. 2 yrs later bough first processor and increased output. if starting again i would buy a cheap tractor and processor as there is not much to go wrong and they are fairly easy to fix. build up a good relationship with your local supplier to get help with repairs

a grinder for the price of a chainsaw, and he's retiring so there is one less person doing it. value and oppertunity................ learn to cook mate cos thats a recipie for success

good luck with that mate but dont rely on it. use the wood to fuel your own home and find something easier with more profit........B+B???? any good skiing close by???

Marko, i have 16 years experience in firewood, 8 of those as running it as a business, 9 yrs surfing the web to further my knowledge and i would never claim to know enough about the product as it is so full of variables. i experiment with different species but have never recorded results except for in my head and have always been honest with customers and dealt with complaints fairly by usually giving refunds and collecting the stock (3times in 8 yrs) which is why i allow inspection first, but always give accurate description of product i have wood in the round from4ft to 12 ft long various diameters stored outside and 1 to 5 years old from felling, most is still wet no mater the age. i do not have the luxury of owning my own farm so i have to rent a barn and am limited on space, also i am the largest supplier in cardiff but the second largest in the competion area. i sell around 1000m3 a year seasoned and more fresh "can you tell me you never run out of seasoned wood?" I can assure you that we run out of seasoned wood most years. This seasons stock sold out before Christmas. Whilst it might be tempting to dip into next seasons supply we don't. Again we are only a small outfit and I humbly request and accept input from all the guys out there with much more experience. i dont have any other income than this. i sell what i can, but i sell it honestly. i ask my customers to ignore what they have read on the web and in the fires instruction manual (except for the safety stuff) and to experiment for themselves and come to their own conclusion. 70% of those that tried now buy fresh wood off me and dry it themselves and 50% dont care about species Fully agree with your definition. Would you be happy with a change in the guuide that suggests 1-2 years from when the wood is split? i would be happy with a guide to moisture content in wood dried over certain lengths of time, each species dries differently. have a guide for species dried over 6,9,12,18 months and the actuall months the wood was split. we all know that most of the drying takes place in the warmer months and very little in the winter time. so many recommenadations are taken from other web sites and hear say without any actual trials and records done. tbh i dont know of many suppliers that actually have 1 yr seasoned wood which has been split and drying for that time or longer

did this today just for show, the lump is lifting is not that big and all the tyres are full of water

storage and drying of fresh wood will depend on location. if i could only sell fresh wood to the customers that had the ample storage then i would. the fact is many dont have space. all of my wood is split and seasoned as soon as, but i can never keep split wood for more than a year as demand is so high i always sell out. this is my only business so i have to make it work. can you tell me you never run out of seasoned wood? the length of drying time would depend on the species of wood. i am very open with my customers about how dry it is and let them try it themselves. tell us exactly your processing and drying method and time that you use to classify wood as 2-3 yr seasoned, my idea of the wood seasoning is from the moment it is split not from when it ceased to be a standing tree. i do feel that one year split is ample for firewood

nope..................mum does em. had my rebate a month ago.................yep shes good at the books

easier than footlocking then. what do you do when at the top. do you use the same rope or take one up with you to work from?

so what is SRT then?

got this one, can be unstable with heavy logs and this one bounces like a bitc# when driving down the road. we even crane load the 30 ton splitter. have also used a crane pm loader with seat and hiab with seat, both had foot pedals too, preferred those to the roof mount but not as versatile but more stable oh the tyres are full of water too

aah, not climbed for 5 years now..... oh how things progress and change

ok whats a gri gri

i would be helpful if i knew what frogging was, and what an srt was.... hang on is it Short Retarded Treesurgeon? or Sexually Restricted Treesurgeon

so how long do you season it for then? this is taken from your web site... "When buying in firewood always ascertain the moisture content. Unseasoned (green) wood will be cheaper to buy than seasoned wood but will require you to store it for a further two to three years before it is ready to burn. Have you the space to store three seasons worth of firewood? The only way of knowing if it is ready to burn is by knowing the moisture content. If you buy your own moisture meter there will be no 'misunderstandings'." i know you are pushing the use of a moisure meter, but if you recommend the customer dries fresh wood for 2-3 years before burning, then the stuff you sell should be of the same quality. cant remember where i saw it but a forest research paper online, i think from america stated there was no actual further benifit in burning a log of over 9 months seasoning. they also said that the shortest time a log should season for is 3 months during the summer where it will reach a suitable moisture content in that time. if i stored all my split wood undercover for 2-3 years in the barns i pay rent on , then the cost of the fuel to the customer would be huge.

if its like the stuff in your avatar then its pretty easy to do so, but it is difficult to get it all that diameter when you process huge volumes. i take what i can get and process as much as i can to dry in time for the winter season. i do find with the demand so high the supply becomes more difficult and customers harder to please

i thought exactly the same thing:001_tongue: does the wife know steve?

so you have the space to season the wood for 2-3 years then, if so is that seasoned split or in the round?

mind you it does help if some sites actually put the prices on in the first place. no price = shop elsewhere other wise both... suites everyone then

today i cut and split 16" diam pine, 7' long which had been stacked like stockers said, result, wet as the day i put it there. 2yr old beech, lime, willow, sycamore...the same as above, nice and dry 3 yr old poplar... same as the pine 4 yr old oak...... as above suppose it depends on diam and species, usually all mine is split as soon as it arrives at the yard or asap, but now i am very desperate for any dry wood as are my customers

just out of intrest marko, what is it that you do?

i did have a problem one one winter when the 2stoke oil had been subjected to temperatures below freezing, this made the fuel waxy and gave poor performance. i binned the oil, bought newoil and everything was fine.

what do you class as liabilities?

having spent time at home with the kids,i have found this to be invaluable. when working i spend a lot of time working for what seems not much gain, and when i get home the kids are in bed. i work 6 days a week and would lke to work less. customers this year have become a pain in the ar5e since i put the prices up. fact is they are going up again this year as i feel i still dont get enough money for the amount of work which is put in. if you look on the business for sale websites the price does not reflect the profit