davetaz

I got a quote from NFU just over £800 for employers (up to 2 people) and public liability, tool cover up to £10k and stock in transit up to £200. How ever they aren't sure if they can cover us for using hydraulic log splitter or cross cut saw! They want to know how often servicing takes place, training attended, safety precautions taken, safety features of the machines etc etc....... is this standard info to give to insurers? or are they being picky?

Had a quote from NFU today for just uder £900, they just need more info on the machinery as they dont cover "wood working macinery", hopefully I'll persuade them its not wood working machinery. Public liability for when out and about delivering, employers liability as I have a number of people helping out on and off. Sounds like NFU is about right price wise Thanks for responses

Trying to sort out PL and EL insurance for a firewood business Quotes seem to vary a lot as do restrictions The business is quite simple, buying in timber, processing with Thor hydraulic splitter(petrol driven) and Haaki Pilke Eagle Bench saw (petrol driven), seasoning and selling on in loose loads and bags. Two of us working on it Last quote was £2800 Which companies do other people use for insurance and what sort of figures should I be looking at? All comments/advice much appreciated

I had a conversation with environment agency a few months ago on this matter. My firewood business runs from a local farm and we had to get authorisation from EA first. After pointing out to them their own position statement as mentioned above they agreed that timber, logs etc was classed as virgin timber and therefore not waste. It's all about classing it as virgin timber, which is not a waste product..... calling it recycled material is a dodgy one as according to EA, ALL recycled materials are classed as waste. I was advised to print out their position statement and keep a copy to hand incase any one should query it! Another business operating from same farm was making all weather equestrian surfacing from sand, shredded carpet and shredded rubber. The EA inspected and decided it was waste due to it being recycled carpet and rubber, the farm owner was duly interviewed under caution and given a severly slapped wrist......he can't do anything without informing them now. They don't have a problem with logs though!

try a logging arch Rawnsley Woodland Products

We get our 0.2 cubic metre bags from BAG Supplies :: Packaging Suppliers covering the UK (barrow bags) Real easy to move on a sack truck

Thanks for all the info everyone, off to fuelwood to look at their splitters. See if they can sort out a 16T portable horizontal splitter. You never know!

These "builders" style bulk bags or what ever you want to call them vary a lot. Typical ones I've come across are 0.8m x 0.8m x 0.8m, get calculator out, = 0.512 cubic metre So a bag just less than 1m each way is a lot less than 1 cubic metre Sell my firewood in 0.2 cubic metre bags for £20 each (=£100/cubic metre), looks more as well!!!!! In the clip £90 was for local delivery in Herefordshire, hence more expensive elsewhere. I've seen their small bags selling at £6.99. I can get my fire wood down to 20% mc by air drying it too!

I'm looking at buying a portable splitter that I can use in a number of locations and so ideally needs its own power supply and can be moved relatively easily. The ones I've seen so far are from Fuelwood (woodline WL13) and Ryetec (Super Maxi DE Car) Has anyone experienced using any of these? Are there any others that I should look at? Also looking into bench saws with own power as well, any advice welcome Thank you

Totally depends on location and competition. Hoping to sell mine (mixed hardwood) this winter 0.2 cubic metre sacks for £20 each, delivered to rear of house if wanted on a sack truck. This will work out at £100 per cubic metre. A local supplier is selling (softwood) in bulk bags (0.5 cubic metres ) for £50

The more charcoal produced in this country the better. The UK imports about 90% of its charcoal. I went on a charcoal course at Bodfari in North Wales - they sell to B&Q - where they have 3 ring kilns on the go at any one time Converting small timber and branchwood into charcoal is a fantastic thing to do We currently use a couple of oil drums but would love to invest in ring kiln in the near future. British lumpwood charcoal is far superior to any imported stuff and goes a long way to promoting traditional woodland management - go for it and good luck

RE previous post I only did this as an experiment though. Firewood we sell is by the volume. All i was trying to do was figure out how long it would take to process 2 cubic metres and what weight of timber was needed. This way we can figure out how long it will take to process a 20T load and what volume it will convert in to and therefore any profit margins etc!

I recently had 2 cubic metres (mixed hardwoods, not seasoned) on the trailer, went to local weigh bridge and it came out at 860kg. By my calcs this means 1T (1000kg) will convert in to 2.3 cubic metres. This was fresh cut green timber.

We are selling logs in "barrow bags" from BAG Supplies :: Packaging Suppliers covering the UK . They work out to be 0.2 cubic metres and selling them at £20/bag (£100/cubic metre). The good thing is they can be moved on a sack truck and so can easily be tipped closer to where the customer wants them - or they can keep the bags until next time for a small deposit. This might sound like a bit of a faff but when there's a bit of competition about these little extras go a long way. I reckon we are getting the equivalent of 8 or 9 nets per barrow bag (if nets are retailing at £4 each, £32-£36 worth) and so saving our customers a few quid, also free delivery up to 10 miles when an order is for £60 or more. Doing it this way means I can use my IW trailer with loading ramp to deliver up to 12 bags at a time

try BAG Supplies :: Packaging Suppliers covering the UK huge variety, give them a call, really helpful I've just bought some barrow bags approx 0.2 cubic meter and can be moved on a sack truck, depositing the logs where ever you like!

The red kite in first pic is outstanding, how long you been carving for?

There does seem to be a huge variation in prices and sometimes quality within a relatively small area But there again I guess most suppliers have regular customers who just keep coming back and don't shop around for a better deal May be as the recession hits more and more people there will be a bit more competition pricewise...... who knows?

On my travels have come across a firewood supplier selling split softwood in a bulk bag (non-vented) for £50. I measured the bag and it is 80cm x 80cm x 80cm.......which in my books works out at 0.512 cubic metre!!! So this equates to £100 for slightly over 1 cubic metre (if the bags were full!) This seems rather on the pricey side..... any opinions?

Try http://www.chantlertimber.co.uk, based in staffordshire but import from all over including europe. The other option is to get it planked on site if you can, worth about ten times as much!

Came across this website http://www.calu.bangor.ac.uk look under technical notes and go to woodland. a couple of interesting pages to read on woodfuel energy cost calculating and drying firewood

came across some kiln dried logs (in plastic bag) in local farmers store, aimed at the bbq/chiminea market. Seems rather pointless spending energy forcing out that little bit extra moisture when you don't really need to. just about any wood dried down to a moisture content of 25% or less is perfect for burning any way

Villager stoves - nothing wrong with ours! Had it 13 years, in 3 different properties, now with boiler giving us plenty hot water. Burns very efficiently, gets cleaned out about once a fortnight, ash goes straight on to garden

Split it and stack it ASAP. Left outside uncovered in stacks I reckon oak is ok to burn after 18 months, dries quicker and therefore ready to burn quicker if covered providing the wind can get to it - the more surface area there is for moisture to escape the better. I'm burning some now that was left split in a pile outside for 12 months and then put in the logshed for 4 months and it's doing ok. As far as moisture content goes if you can get it down to 20 - 25% then that's about as good as it gets - you'll be doing well if you can get it below 20% without putting it in a kiln

Sorry Ed, didn't mean to sound negative about softwood. Totally agree as well btw. I reckon the firewood buying public are going to have to get used to taking what ever is available Any way, aspen would be good How much do you have? Where and what costs? Send me a pm if you can with details thanks for the response Dave

Part of the issue is whether the path nearby is a public right of way. The owner of the woodland has a legal duty to maintain access for the public along a public right of way. A fallen tree blocking the path may result in members of the public reporting it to the authorities, who may then clear it away and bill the owner of the woodland for the work carried out! This may not sound terribly important but should be considered along side any risks of trees or limbs/deadwood hitting a member of the public. I have heard of some woodland owners having to pay out cosiderable sums of money to have trees (considered dangerous or diseased etc) removed due to their proximity to PROW's. Hope this is of some use