Squaredy

Thank you very interesting. It is very difficult getting information about these matters. Someone is going to set up a company providing simple solutions and make a killing!

I am looking into getting a solar panel array to charge my electric car. I am lucky enough to have not yet been affected by the recent electricity price rises but eventually my fixed rate will end. I do not have solar panels on my house but i am building a garden room which would have space for at least ten or twelve full size panels facing due South. That would be up to about 3kw of power on a Sunny day. Even without battery storage this seems to me like a great option as my car is at home three or four days a week minimum. By the way I am looking at a simple off grid solution probably, as we use very little electricity in the house and I would simply fit them myself (saving thousands I would say). Have any Arbtalkers constructed an off grid solar array for such purposes?

I agree it is more likely to be the can that is wrong. BUT I had an experience many years ago when I filled a one gallon can with paraffin and the pump registered 7.5 litres. I went in to pay and pointed out the error and the owner said that the pump often was wrong at certain times of the year when it had not been used for a while. We estimated the correct amount and I paid accordingly!

You need better photos, ideally showing the leaves close up and if possible fruit as well.

I will speak to him, thank you.

Thank you Mr Eggs, I had a feeling you might have a suggestion or two...

My work site enjoys a private water supply - spring fed - and is shared with three houses. It was established when the Forestry Commission built the houses and the workshop originally in the fifties and then added more buildings in the eighties. What I am hoping for is help with suggestions on the way forward as two of the three chambers which help allow sediment to separate are now in a poor state of repair and ideally need replacing. The originals are brick construction on a small concrete slab and the pointing is failing and the interior render is also failing and generally they are probably at the stage where they should be replaced not patched up again. I assumed there would be an off the shelf option for a ready made chamber designed for drinking water where all we have to do is dig a hole, plumb it in and away we go. As far as I can see most off the shelf chambers are designed for above ground use or for foul water. This needs to be suitable for use mainly buried. The current chambers are at a guess about a cubic metre each, maybe a bit less. Any thoughts or pointers fellow arbtalkers?

Very interesting question for me as I have toyed with this idea also. Sorry I have no answers but I look forward to a knowledgeable arbtalker or two sharing their experience...

Have ordered the Husqy 420EL. Never thought I would go back to using a chainsaw with a cord, but for my use it makes a lot of sense! Meanwhile does anyone want a good Stihl 023C which was a great saw but won't keep running?

Thanks Dan, I may well give this a go.

Thanks Stere that sounds ideal for me. I don't care at all if it is dated, and as long as it is a half decent build quality it will last me ages.

Would that be the husky 420EL? Seems good value, but I would rather spend more and get a quality machine. There are loads of cheap corded chainsaw out there and no doubt they are all poor quality Chinese throwaway tools. I would love to think this husky is better because it is a husky but is it?

I still have not replaced my old Husqy 181, and now my little Stihl has also failed. I am really thinking I will get an electric one to replace them - the Stihl MSA300 has been recommended on Arbtalk previously - but at £1239 including battery and charger is a hell of an investment. I could actually use a corded mains saw, but are any of these actually any good? The Oregon CS1500 looks OK, but when you read a few reviews it is in fact a cheap Chinese machine. Any recommendations for a saw with a reasonable size blade (18 inch at least) and enough power to handle decent size logs? Bear in mind I operate a sawmill, so generally only make a few cuts a day!

Thank you, but they were calculations not guesses!

Always weights, straps will only work if you keep tightening them. You should still expect some cupping with wide boards, this is why until recent times tables desks etc always used multiple boards. And of course this applies to any species, all the main uk hardwoods will potentially cup. The softwoods are generally more stable.

They are quite cute really….

I get loads in my front porch. In fact I have even found woodlice spiders in my house - a striking red spider that feeds on nothing else! Woodlice like damp conditions and especially damp wood so to really get rid of them you need to eliminate all damp especially behind skirting boards. Damp in the wall behind a skirting is like woodlouse heaven. I get the odd slug as well, despite spending thirteen years gradually removing all the places where I have found that they can get in. I think they have the ability to pass through solid masonry.

I am no expert, but my understanding is deep good soil is best and poor sandy soil not as good. It is more important to have few knots, no bad shake, decent straight lengths etc, but what I was saying is that the very highest prices will be for the very best stems from the very best area. Also of course forest grown will always be far more desirable than park or hedgerow trees.

The annual hardwood auction that the Forestry Commission arrange will be in November. It might be worth entering your logs in this as that is where you will get the best buyers. If the quality is really good and if the buyers like the look of the ground where the trees grew (oaks grown on some types of soil will be worth more than others) you could get £200 per ton or more. Mixed quality oak will be more like £120 or £150. Last year due to Covid they had way less than normal in the auction (apparently covid stopped the FC from preparing the parcels for sale!) so I am guessing there was a bun fight over what actually was put up for sale.

Ooohhh yes that plastic grass is hideous I agree.

It is a little difficult to judge size from the photos, but that does not look like a very old tree to me. Either way the timber (in the UK) is worth very little in the round, and this is not a good forest grown straight tree so if you can get £50 per ton you will be doing well. I sometimes buy Yew logs for milling, and if you were to fell and deliver this one to me I would probably pay around £100, maybe £150 if it is more than I am estimating from the photos. Turners would make plenty of use out of the pieces, but it needs to be dried for years before it can really be sold to them. Realistically unless you have a use for the timber it is probably going to end up as firewood.

Pine is 430kg and sycamore 1.45 tons.

Very nice anyway, and equally durable.

That oak is sweet chestnut if I am not mistaken. And your next post in this thread about posts.

Just to show what amazing trees Cypress can be. Lots of stunning ones on Tresco, Isles of Scilly. This one I especially loved. Also scilly is full of lovely mature elms which is such a pleasure to see. This cypress is a Macrocarpa.