Big J
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Everything posted by Big J
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Winter 20/21 - corona virus effects on firewood market?
Big J replied to Big J's topic in Firewood forum
Huge losses on the stock market, so pensions won't be too healthy I'd guess. -
As I try to figure out how to best plan work for this year, I'm wondering whether continued restrictions on movement of people, encouragement for working from home and everything else will cause an uptick in firewood sales? It's whether people tighten their belts and don't order logs, or whether being sat at home looking at the stove will cause them to order more? I hope for the latter. There is a lot of ash about that needs a productive home!
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Don't you mean a WHO deal for Brexit? ?
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I got lucky there. Just filled the tank at £0.36p plus VAT earlier this week.
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Some things you can never un-see ?
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One of my chainsaw operatives was in Tesco last night and I kid you not, the alcohol aisle was more or less cleared out, except for boxes of bloody Corona! ?
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Yeah, this seems to be the main issue. You do what you can, but you can't account for the movements of others. Anyway, I actually think that the UK policy is pretty reasonable on the delay phase. Isolate the vulnerable and the elderly and avoid unnecessary public gatherings. The fit need to keep working (to an extent), or the whole house of cards will fall down.
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I don't think that I ever paid for sequoia. I just payed to have it collected, to clear the site for the tree surgeon. It makes good cladding, but it's a lot of work to get it to the final product. The tree in the photos seems like a low quality stem, with a lot of occluded bark.
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I don't think so. I saw a clip of a chap in Lombardy comparing newspapers from a month ago to a couple of days ago. A single page of death notices a month ago and 10 from 2 days ago. A tenfold increase in the death rate of (mostly) the elderly requires a significant response, in my opinion.
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For reference, I'm just at the back of my woodstore now, with access to last years logs. So mainly larch, completely shielded from the weather, cut and split about 30 months ago. Transported down from Scotland at an average of 12% MC (the end of the roasting summer we had in 2018) and they are now averaging 21-22%. Which is why the industry needs a cut off of 25%, not 20%. The environmental damage of people burning timber at 22% is far less than getting everyone to kiln dry to below 20, and then for the logs to creep back up and over 20% anyway.
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Yeah, but that's not gone so well for you in the past though has it? ?
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Whilst I feel your pain, working on green sand near Chard at the moment, I would take Devon clay over green sand any day!
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Between us, we're compiling a comprehensive report of different types of mud in the West Country. Is a Cornish muddy shitpit (to coin TCD) different from a Somerset muddy shitpit? And how does a Devon muddy shitpit compare? We'll be sure to link a to the (no doubt, fascinating) report when it's finished, which will be in about mid August when the bloody region finally dries out! ?
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I think that the insulated boxes are about £700 now, rather than £500 when I set mine up, but you'd still do the whole thing for less than £1200, and cost to dry per cubic foot is about £2 in electricity.
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Not really suitable for drying sawn timber, unless you fancy stoking a boiler for 2 months
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Well worth setting up your own. It's not expensive, and easily pays for itself on the first run, even compared to getting someone else to do a run for you.
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Not quite. Chatting to a colleague, recently back from New Zealand, the whole logging industry there is at a standstill due to 90% of it going to China ordinarily. I know we're not in that boat, but it doesn't take much to upset the apple cart.
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I think that the corona virus disruption will cause a substantial economic downturn, which potentially combined with (worst case) an increase in availability of housing due to mortality in the highest risk groups (70+). Italy is in lockdown, and I don't think it'll be the only European country to go down that route. England is the most densely populated country in Europe and the potential for transmission is better here than almost anywhere else.
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500 Cube of Ash for sale, Petersfield
Big J replied to QuattroKev's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
If it's good quality, you'll be getting an PM from the various hurley stick makers that frequent this forum in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1........ ? -
I very much doubt it. Extenuating circumstances, act of God, whatever you want to call it. It's just one of those mildly existentially threatening ballaches. We'll get through it. On the plus side (for us), we almost bought a house before Christmas and I'm really, really glad that we didn't now. Entirely selfish I know, but you have personally have to look on the bright side of life, as a great man once said
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Good to know. Without toilet paper, it's no fun going Commando ?
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How Often Do You Clean Your Glass / What With??
Big J replied to Witterings's topic in Log burning stoves and fireplaces
I don't ever clean it. To an extent, the stove you have will determine how clear it stays (our old Jotul style stove requires cleaning every few weeks, our current Woodwarm doesn't) but mainly how you operate the stove influences it. Shutting down a fire to the point where it's smoldering will cause a soot/ash buildup on the glass. Having a stove thermometer on the flue makes a huge difference, and I'd recommend it for anyone. -
My weather forecaster friend sent me this. It shows that drier weather (the red) has been on the forecast horizon for weeks now, but just won't get any closer!!
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What is the justification for felling the timber? If it's 50 acres and 500t, it's not plantation softwood. If it's broadleaf, it's likely to be older, larger trees, in which case they aren't ideal for biomass and there is a moral question to be raised in clearing them. Forestry work entails buying standing timber and selling it at roadside to make your money usually. If you're not equipped to do the job, it's probably best to get in touch with a forestry company to help.
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The future of British timber availability
Big J replied to arboriculturist's topic in Firewood forum
That article is a year old and the prices are considerably lower now. If in any doubt as to the lack of sustainability in the UK forestry industry, the high log price caused a spike in clearfelling, and as such getting saplings for the 19/20 season has been near enough impossible, as the nurseries have been caught short.
