Danny Boy

That's a good shout. How do they take to boggy soil?

I think all of the ideas above have crossed my mind plus bbq'd goat! [emoji1] Yes, the land is flat & drainage does need to be sorted. Won't know how much of a difference that'll make to what can & can't be planted there. I'd want to have a combination of options on there. A small portion of the area has decent solid ground which could lend itself to an orchard or have a Polytunnel. Given most of the area is covered in rushes, any ideas what will coexist well with them? The soil would be a little on the acidic side. Could put some lime down to raise the pH but I'd like to explore ways to work with the land 1st before doctoring it to suit if that makes sense.

Yes, ultimately it is a money maker. Long term view is to have something established commercially to eventually lead to planning permission

Hi all, Have seen some land I'm thinking of getting up here in sunny Scotland. Around 10 acres of flat land. Currently pretty boggy with Rushes covering a good 3/4 of it. The big question is what to do with the land? My initial thought was a woodland but not sure what the soil is like yet (apart from wet) Other thoughts were Xmas trees, willow etc for coppicing, anything considered. What thought spring to folks minds? Cheers in advance [emoji106]

I remember seeing something online around 12 years ago where the University of Bristol had worked out 4" is around the optimum diameter for a log. I don't remember what the rest of the parameters were though. Slow burn, fast burn... I tend to like a slightly smaller log. Maybe around 3" diameter. I often split existing logs again to build the fire up again if it's a bit slow or just chuck a bit of kindling in.

I see. Nice one [emoji106]

Cheers for all the replies. Yes, it did occur to me how they determined/had proof the "smell" was coming from my flue? It could have been anyone burning something in their own garden & our Wood Burner hadn't been on for almost a week. We've been a bit lazy this year with a 10 week old boy too... I am to keen to keep things amicable as I'm in touch with the planning dept & tree officer fairly regularly & keep as good a relationship as I can. I should've been keeping more evidence of the neighbours unsociable parking to throw things back at them a bit.

[emoji1] Unfortunately I've always been too friendly & honest with people, sometimes to my detrement... I'll talk to the Stove manufacturer too & see what unofficial advice they have. I don't see that I've done anything wrong, apart from stand up to a pair of wanker neighbours over their unsociable parking & now they're probably just trying to stir & be pricks....

Yes you're right. Councils love to latch onto anything you say & hold it against you

Had a 2nd visit today from a lady from Environmental Health saying there were 2 complaints about smoke from our flue. We had the same lady out with another colleague about 6 months ago saying the same. She said someone's complained about the smell from our wood burner. We do live on a smokeless zone. I told her what I told her last time which was: 1) The stove is a DEFRA Exempt stove (a Burley 9104) 2) It was fitted by a HETAS registered fitter. I did my homework before putting it in as it's a fair investment & wasn't prepared to have it removed on the whim of some complaining arsehole... She asked what I'd been burning & I replied just normal wood as it's a wood burner as opposed to a multi fuel stove. I said I was a Tree Surgeon & it makes sense for me to do so. She wouldn't say who the complaints were from but I said it's probably from my 2 next door neighbor's as we've had issues in the past over parking on the street. Basically they think they own the street & constantly take up 2 spaces in their cars so we don't really get along. I've also just finished building a workshop at the end of the garden & I said there will shortly be an identical Wood Burner going into that. It's single storey with a tall loft. Interestingly she said there may be some legislation to do with the Clean Air Act that says businesses can't incinerate or burn any of their commercial waste, which technically wood from my work is... Also the workshop being a relatively low structure might cause a problem. Anyway, the conversation was friendly & civil & I said I can provide whatever documents she wanted to show it's all above board. Any thoughts from anyone? Are there any angles I haven't covered? Cheers in advance.

They specify that being secured to a vehicle with a chain is NOT acceptable & it MUST be a wheel clamp. I did ask "what is the definition of a wheel clamp?" to which he replied: "Something that stops the wheel turning". So I said if I came up with something that fits to the chipper & stops the wheel turning would that be OK? The reply was to take a photo & send it to them so they can show the underwriter. I was thinking along the lines of the bike locks that are fixed to the frame & go thru the spokes. Or some form of axle lock....

The chipper is chained to the truck & the truck has an immobiliser with the chip in the key.

I give away most my logs I don't need on gumtree in exchange for booze. You could do the same. [emoji56]

My renewal stayed the same with Arbirisk but with some rediculous terms added. Their underwriter (Aviva) now insist with no negotiation if you're parked out front with the chipper hitched on & working in the back garden you must have a Wheel Clamp on the chipper for it to be covered. Same goes for anything on wheels which affects work in my opinion. Their argument was if you want your gear insured & covered then you won't mind. My counter argument was if I make it that un-nickable then I don't need your insurance... They said the theft of chippers is going down with their new policy. I said great so that means it'll be getting cheaper then? They said Nooooooo.... [emoji1]

I always light a loose sheet 1st as well to punch cold air out the flue. Do you use one of those swirly cowls?

Must be the photo mate but that doesn't look very usable to me... A better photo may help?

Good lord.... All hail the IQ king.

What could you teach an Afghan or Somali? The art of "how to cimplain"?

Can you name a few?

No part in making? How is it you think Britain became Great? You think all the resources & wealth was found under a rainbow or taken from Colonies? Naturally those abroad in poorer less developed countries are attracted to here & in the grand scheme of things its a sort of payback. If you were a such person in another lifetime, what would you do?

Nice setup [emoji106] I would say its misleading. Yes, they may have been dried in a kiln at some stage but then it defeats the whole purpose if they've then been left out in the rain... To me the whole point of kiln dried is the speed at which they're dried & killing off some beasties & minimising mould.

I like the axe head! You got any videos of it running?

I use waste slats from a local pallet firm for my kindling & chop it all by hand. It's only for my own use though & a days work normally sees me through a winters worth of kindling.

Try a search for pdf versions as well. You may get lucky.

That's a cracking bit of work!