djbobbins

We went from an open fire to a DRU44 earlier this year. The DRU is rated at 4.9kW but according to a few reviews I've read will chuck out more heat if cranked up. It's also approved by the manufacturer for continuous rather than intermittent use; something the installer seemed impressed by (as well as saying he thought it was a well put-together piece of kit). I know what you mean in a way about not being as good as an open fire though - even though it is much more efficient and doesn't get through anything like as much fuel for the output, there isn't the same feeling of fierce heat as there was from an 18" grate. Not sure I can explain it properly but that's just how it feels. The other big positive point is that with the vents closed down there is no big draft of air going up the chimney 24/7, sucking cold air into the house.

Stick an ad on fleabay, you never know, you might flog the odd one or two - particularly if you make a list of all the potential uses...

I got one of these about four years ago (given to me by my father, who has never got on with petrol tools). It is not a patch in build quality on my baby Husky 235 but has got enough grunt for the 16" bar (IMHO). I've done all my firewood for a couple of years, cleared some bits of roots, sawed up chunks of kitchen worktop and it still goes okay (after sharpening the chain!) Downsides: - when it was about six months old the recoil on the starter cord packed up; I opened it up and found it had been "oiled" with some kind of vegetable oil at new, which had cloyed with age - after uncoiling the chain, cleaning with petrol and re-oiling with 20/50 it has been fine ever since - it will start okay from cold and hot, but put it down for about 20 minutes and then try to get it going again and you'll be struggling - it is nowhere near as easy to start as the Husky, mainly I think because there's no primer pump on the carb Upsides: - I paid nowt for it, which makes it even more of a bargain than the Aldi version

They emailed me back, including a link so you can all check the prices out. I don't think they are undercutting prices but I've never bought or sold logs... Firewood and kindling for sale - Warwickshire Web

Just seen a printed sign on my local parish noticeboard - the county council (Warwickshire) are doing firewood. Is this something new? There is no web address, just an email address. I'm thinking of dropping them an email to see what the prices are like...

You chaps can pick Bolt or Blake, I'll go for Ennis myself ;-) Still, whatever floats your boat...

I did something similar when I cleared a piece of alder woodland that was all about 15 years old - but stacked it without splitting in about 1.5m lengths, without being covered. The joy was that when I came to retrieve, it was easy enough to cut "slices" of logs off the ends of the 1.5 lengths, so no more handling. It all seasoned well; the long lengths that were on the ground ended up a bit the worse for wear but I guess if I'd had any to hand I could have used pallets.

All done, most split very easily other than a couple of knotty bits. Got to get my behind in gear and go and saw some more up. I reckon it'll take a while to season though; stuck the meter in it last night and it was logging 39%MC.

I have just got hold of some oak rounds, all about 12 to 14". Since I only do firewood for my own use, my splitting is done by hand (maul, 14lb hammer and a pair of wedges if necessary). It is currently green - best to split now or leave until seasoned? I am leaning towards having a go at it now to help it season a bit quicker, but wondered if I am going to be heading for a hernia??

I had it done three years ago; my wife ended up in hospital having surgery after our second was born so no more kids was a definite decision. I agree that the most painful bit is the local anaesthetic; it was generally an odd sensation to be on the table with two female nurses and a male doctor doing the honours. No major after effects but I had a lazy-ish day after the op.

He is posting on a website for tree surgeons... but a tenner for a cube is hoping a bit much!

I went through the cable to one of my burglar alarm sensors when trying to get it off the wall before decorating. Does that count? It's just taken me about three hours to finally get it working again - patched in a new piece of cable, lifted the floorboards upstairs and jointed it under the floor (so hidden), then had to remove a door to get the carpet back down. All working again in the end but would have been better not to have borked it in the first place...

They have got loppers in again at the moment but I don't know if they're the same type as previously or not.

I'm curious, a spark plug will still work even when it is fouled up. But a laser is light based, so what happens when a few carbon deposits build up? Will the light be able to get through?

Is that the hospital appointment for your back surgery though?!

Just picked one up and will be seeing how I get on sharpening a chain that I last used to slice up some waste kitchen worktop... I was tempted by one of the 43cc twin handle brush cutters at a penny off a hundred sheets but had the wife with me to keep me in check!

Getting ready for 5th November?

So... my 93 reg 3.2v6 Trooper passed its MOT first time at the start of June... but has developed a clattering noise from under the RHS cambelt cover which I am told is likely to be the hydraulic tensioner. I reckon it is worth five or six hundred quid with the 10 and a half months MOT, but have been quoted 350 to get the cambelts and pulleys done - and that a new tensioner is another 200 on top. It is as reliable as reliable can be, starts literally on the turn of the key even after standing for six weeks, but only stands there as a backup and does maybe a thousand miles a year. Its a toy as much as anything else. So, do I: (a) sell it spares or repairs (b) get it fixed and keep it © drive it until the cambelt snaps and then get it towed to a scrappy. (d) weigh it in now Other??

I used one quite a bit in my youth; being near a hosepipe is a good idea! I went into one of our sheds about half an hour after "gunning" some weeds and found it full of smoke where one corner was just taking hold! Definitely agree with the comment about sticking to paraffin, that is what they are designed for. Mind you, I never had much joy getting it lit on paraffin; we used to keep a bottle of meths to hand.

Yes, alder. And it will go pale again as it dries out properly. If you want rid it'll make good firewood once seasoned, which will be pretty much done by the end of this year if my experience is anything to go by.

Maybe he was just bragging...

No boiler option (AFAIK) but the big DRU stoves will burn logs up to 60cm and handily have a side door as well as the front door for direct loading of long logs. I can understand the preference for seeing a fire in the room, however have you considered that with a stove and backboiler you won't get any RHI, whereas if you had a stove for "top-up" heat and focal point, plus a chip or big log boiler outside, you should be able to qualify for RHI payments on the output from the boiler (and maybe even a grant towards the install, at the moment).

Anyone had a 338XPT nicked in East Anglia? Looks like the police are selling a stolen / recovered one in Ipswich: Bumblebee Auctions

Here you go... Heating oil is about 40MJ per litre, so 1000 litres = 40GJ, or 11,100 kWh. Your 5000 litres per year is therefore 55,500 kWh. Dry softwood is about 400kg per m3 and has a CV of 18.5 MJ per kilo (5.1 kWh per kilo). i.e. each cubic metre is just over 2000kWh. To replace the oil you will therefore need about 28 cubic metres of chip, if my calculations are correct!

Ouch, I'm glad I haven't got your oil bill... I have done some calcs in the past on the calorific value of wood, oil, gas etc -I am pretty sure I've posted them on here in the past.