Graham

52 minutes ago, herne said:

That on the A51 Graham?

Yes. Stone district match.

I've been Stihl thru and thru for 35+years.  I bought a 390 for the start of last hedge laying season and it's superb.  Don't think I'll buy another Stihl.

Around the bend at one match.

A few pics of Stafford style, winning hedge in National Champs Derby style and second in Cheshire and NW champs.

Did you do it?  Beech lays well if you know what you're doing.  You'll need to bind it well as they'll lift up if you don't.

1 hour ago, skyhuck said:

Poplar is not a soft wood.

It's quite a soft wood but it's not a softwood.  Burns well; ask all those who burn nothing but in northern climes.

Stove at my old house still good.  I installed it in '92.

43 minutes ago, Stubby said:

William Dunlop ( one of the Dunlop road racing family )  dies to day in a practice crash in Ireland . R.I.P. William .

The whole family has a passion for racing.  Sad day for road racing and NI.  RIP William Dunlop.

I have gas where I live at the moment but have rarely used it so a significant saving.  I'm moving soon to a cottage with no gas supply or oil tank.  I shall rely on a stove for heat and hot water with an immersion heater as back up.  

So that's where the old threshing boxes ended up!

If you can attract swans they may help.  I used to have the devil's own job trying to establish ordinary lilies in a lake I managed.  Every introduction was ravaged by them.

On 15/06/2018 at 23:48, daveatdave said:

did a paddock a few years ago they got a farmer in to rotavate it and not a brilliant job but the grass varieties and soil were too strong for wild flower meadow and it did ok the first year but after that not so good but what struck me was the price of yellow rattle seed you could have bought gold cheaper by weight  

Just harvested mine.  Scythed it off a few days ago but was a couple of days late as it was dropping seed like mad.  Managed to salvage enough for future project and some for a couple of mates.

A mate of mine started suffering bad and prolonged headaches.  Diagnosed as not enough salt in diet.

47 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

I think I still have a launcher for empty coke cans, the sort with a rim at both ends that needed a can puncturerer to open (two triangular holes on opposite sides of the diameter to pour for those not old enough to remember before ring pulls), it used .22 rimfire blanks.

Oh dear....I remember those!

b) MS 661 C-M

13 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

I would guess about 50% of that is air space so 1.2m^3 of solid wood. Weight would depend on basic density of the species, gum over here is eucalyptus and heavy.

 

Beech 1.2m^3 solid green wood weighs slightly more that 1.2tonnes and contains 45% water. seasoned to 25% (the easy bit) and it will weigh about 900kg

Looks well stacked in the trailer so a lot less than 50% air space I reckon.  Anyway....half of 3.4 is 1.7 :-)  See what you did though.

How high is it stacked?  If it's 3' then that's 120 cubic feet =3.4 cubic metres.  About 2 tonne?

Matches.

1 hour ago, BowlandStoves said:

Do you have a favourite brand or stove @graham

 

No.  My favourite would be the one that does the best job at a reasonable price.

I prefer the cleaner lines of more contemporary stoves; not too modern though.  The older cast stoves can be too ornate and 'fiddly'.

1 hour ago, Alycidon said:

Yes they do,  Arada and Morso both make excellent boiler stoves.  However if you have a Combi Boiler for you current hot water you will need to build in a facility to automatically dump excess heat in the event of a power cut.    ( that means the water is still being heated but not being pumped around the system,  pressure then builds up in the stove due to steam)   Usually this is vented to a cold water tank but combi boilers dont have CW tanks so plumbing costs may be significant.

A

I was looking at the Arada Stratford 16 so good to know that.  No combi.  The  hot water and a few rads are powered from a back boiler.

2 hours ago, Russell Miller said:

Looks like shaggy polypore Inonotus hispidus to me.
On ash?

Yes on ash.

52 minutes ago, tree-fancier123 said:

I can believe it - one of these centuries an exceptionally dry year will cause another famine

Possibly not so far away either.  Far fewer insects coupled with a drought and we're in trouble.

14 minutes ago, Alycidon said:

Technically I have no idea as to the internal performance,  but many boiler stove manufacturers have already discontinued boiler stoves ( Esse for example) and at least one other major player will do so shortly unless they find a way to clean up the emissions and get improved efficiency.

 

A

Do any boiler stoves work moderately well?  I'm in a real quandry as to whether to fit one or just rely on a decent size stove to heat a small cottage.

Dust bowl blues here.  Bad year for seed germination with two rows of carrots failing along with parsnip, beetroot, French beans and broad beans.