mattplace

Saturday 5th would be good for me.

how long did they take to season inside? did you just pile the logs up against a wall but on pallets? at the moment i am packing into either net bags or barrow bags but with a delivery of cordwood on the way, i am gonna have to just pile it up and pack once dry.

Not really... i keep the chipper, splitter, trailer, etc in there too! I don't think there is an easy solution to this!

I know the best way to season is to store outside or in a well ventilated area but do any of you store inside a normal barn? My problem is that i am scared of my wood going missing if i leave it outside. As i don't live where the barn is, it could be left alone maybe a week at a time and i don't trust the locals! However, i have a large barn which is secure and have plenty of space to stack nets/ bulk bags but there is no natural light and no ventilation. What i am thinking is to get a large air mover (similar to the pic below) and have it on a timer to run 10 hrs a day. This would cost 30pence a day. Has anyone tried anything like this or do you think it would work? The other option is Heras Fencing, barbed wire, and padlocks! Any help appreciated!

I could be tempted... When are you thinking?

Report it! Royal Mail are getting worse... Just before Christmas i saw the van pull up outside and the postman posted a "sorry you wasn't in" slip through the door as if they had tried to deliver a parcel. He didn't even have it with him! He got away before i could get out the door! I had to go and collect it form the depo myself! I complained online and had a response saying no one answered the door! But if you don't complain, it will never change.

good point! i'd probably get confused though!

You got the same splitter then! Not a bad little setup is it?! Your lever is setup the opposite to mine. I pull the lever down for the ram to extend. is that intentional?

I asked my plumber this the other day! He said that you can't have a storage tank with a combi so you can't plumb the wood boiler in with it! I am now thinking of under floor heating off the wood stove and conventional heating off the boiler.

Just ordered it too! I have just finished reading 'Woodland Management: A Practical Guide' (by Chris Starr) for the second time! Highly recommend this book for basic forestry knowledge but can anyone suggest any others for forestry management which goes into more depth with coppicing, thinnning, crop rotations, etc.??

Thanks for the woodfuelwales links. They slightly contradict what the Forestry Commission state for calorific value but using their formulas and the FC figures, and alot of head scratching i came up with the following: (These are all example figures for costings) If you sold 1 M³ of Ash for £100 (seasoned to 20%MC) and you were to offer your customers 1 M³ of Larch for £80 (@ 20%MC) then they would recieve the following: Ash= 7.37 pence/KWh Larch= 10.32 pence/KWh (the above is based on 100% efficiency not the appliance efficiency) So the customer is still better off with Ash. You would have to sell the Larch for £57.14 M³ to make it comparable to Ash! I have been offered some Larch cheap so i will be giving it a go for next winter but it won't be 43% less than my hardwood prices! The way i see it, there isn't enough hardwoods to support the rate of demand so customers will have to use softwoods soon. Especially with Phytophthora ramorum, there is going to be an abbundance of Larch in my area!

Yeah i saw that on their website but its the Beta version, so its still a work in progress. I am very tempted to give it a go but don't know which one to go for? Do i need the most expensive 'Premier' version or can i get away with the 'start-up' package? My year end is coming up in February so i'm definately looking to change programs ready for the next financial year.

Thats interesting! Does anyone know the weights of seasoned wood (∼20% MC)? Larch has the highest calorific value on their table but seasoned it will be less dense than, say, Ash. But by how much? What i'm thinking is if i sell Larch at 20% less £ per M³ than Ash then the customer will be saving money, but how quickly are they going to burn it compared to Ash? E.g. If the seasoned density of Larch is 20% less than Ash, but the calorific value is higher, then the customer is £'s better off, and ℃'s better off, and happy! And my profit margin is higher because Larch is alot cheaper at the roadside! Can you see my way of thinking? (i confused myself when writing this so i hope it makes sense! )

Hi John, I have had a look at quickbooks. Which do you use: Simplestart, Pro, or Premier? As i'm on a Mac i use 'ProfitTrain' but find it hard to work with. It has certain categories which aren't applicable to my business but you can't edit them so you have to work around them. Can you just hit a button at the end of the year and it will produce your accounts, ready to email or print? Can all the data transfer to ms excel?

why not get yourself one of these: 2M TRAVEL STALKER MINI TELESCOPIC LANDING NET HANDLE on eBay (end time 10-Jan-11 11:00:41 GMT) and one of these: WOVENCREST POLE FISHING U SHAPED POLE REST FRONT/BACK on eBay (end time 30-Dec-10 14:52:54 GMT) and save yourselves £40!

i spoke to them on the phone and via email regarding their splitters. i think it was Darren i dealt with. sound like they know what they are talking about but i ended up opting for a different splitter. they are good value but the postage makes them that bit more expensive.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_h-9jhjbbY]YouTube - Log Splitter running off hydraulic powerpack[/ame] heres the video of my splitter running off a jcb beaver powerpack.

divide your litres by 4.54 to get gallons. then, divide your total miles by your gallon calculation. eg. 50 litres / 4.54= 11.01 gallons miles= 400 /11.01 = 36.33 mpg (i hope this makes sense!)

i have just bought a splitter off ebay for £445 inc postage. i'm running it off a jcb beaver hydraulic pack and works fine. the ram speed and power is good and seems to sip the fuel! i have also piped my chipper hydraulics to run it but it isn't as powerful for some reason. i have put a separate system in with an independant PRV but the hydraulic powerpack is quicker and more powerful. i'll try and get some pics / videos up if you like?

i'm on General Grabber at2's and still get on average 30mpg. i couldn't get above 28 before it was chipped!

i get 30+ mpg from mine with combined driving. gained an extra few mpg and more power from a dpt tuning chip (Home » Diesel Power Tuning - Specialists in Diesel Tuning, Diesel Power and Diesel Performance using the DPT Tuning Box)! couldn't believe the difference in performance and economy. i know people (landy owners ) take the mick out of Navaras but i wouldn't be without mine. I've done 117,000 miles in 5 years and the only things to have gone is 1 clutch and a rear prop U/J. And a set of General Grabbers last 50,000! Cheap motoring in my book!

smart looking tranny! what have you used for the greedy boards? i have got a similar ally back and have priced up ally planking to build it up, but it seems a bit expensive for what it is. mine is going into the bodyshop in two weeks time so need to get the back sorted. going for a slightly brighter green than yours. it looks too much like a gyppo wagon at the moment!

hi btw. i've been lurking in the background for a while following threads and learning loads!

the nissan navara d40 cab can be raised 40mm without any problems with looms, brake lines, steeing columns etc. Any more than this and you're opening a whole tin of worms! don't know if this will give you sufficient clearance for you? i'm going to be doing it to my truck next weekend so i'll put up some before and after pics for you!