Squaredy

50 minutes ago, Bustergasket said:

Have to say i have gone full circle on this, over the last 20 years each house we have fixed up i have put log burners in, always been happy, however last few years iam loving the open fires, and am seriously thinking of pulling the CBD severn out and going large open fire, chimney is 6 foot wide and 4 foot deep, thinking logs would be 3 ft long sensible diameter , slow burn and not as much heat as stove, it’s not needed as a primary heat source as we have the biomass, so it’s a toy thing really

 

I also have a love of open fires. 

I would say though if you want a cosy room a large open fire is a really bad idea.  The Victorians worked out that the ideal width of an open fire is 16 inches.  Any wider and it just gets less and less efficient. 

A six foot wide open fire will be great at extracting huge volumes of air from the room and keeping it cool and draughty.  But it may look really nice. 

If you want an open fire the best type is probably a Baxi Burnall, which is about 20-30% efficient.  I was brought up in a house with one of these and it was lovely and could get the room cosy, though not to the extent a woodburner can sadly.  They are still available though I wonder for how much longer.

11 hours ago, donnk said:

so they are in series, you could just undo 1 link between battery 4 and 5 this would give you a 24v and a 12v.

 

on the 24v use https://www.ctek.com/products/professional/mxt-14

on the 12v use https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/xs-0-8

 

these are top end chargers that will condition and not just charge.

Yes of course I could charge them like this.  In fact I have been doing them in pairs with a 12 volt charger for a couple of days.  It is quite a faff.  So I need a simple plug in system so we can charge them easily every night.

As I said I have now ordered one which will remain permanently connected and mounted on the vehicle.  So at the end of each day we simply plug it into the mains.  

Look into price of wide blades and sharpening.  I remember seeing a 4 inch wide blade struggling on two foot diameter Larch yet I know similar logs cut with a 32mm wide blade with no problem.  

Yet wide blade cost £120 each and £30 to sharpen.

29 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Tbh I looked at this thread and thought too many questions, you’ve been in business a good while and you still are unaware of some employment law issues?

 

Mick Dempsey has got a point.  You need to look into it properly if you employ someone.

And yes you can ask them to do anything (within reason) but you are responsible for making sure they are fully trained, supervised, and that everything is risk assessed.  It is true with fewer than five employees you do not need written risk assessments but you still need to consider all the risks.

And of course you need to be able to DEMONSTRATE that your employee is properly trained and supervised, so that is where the course certificates come in.

1 minute ago, eggsarascal said:

I've tried that, all I can find is flexi. Unless you know different?

Exhaust pipe?  I would guess some of it is 60mm so you may be able to scrounge some from a scrap bin at an exhaust place?

1 hour ago, donnk said:

i expect they are 6 or 12 volt batteries wired up in serial/parallel so maybe could use a ctek

You are right it is six batteries at six volts each and 225 AH.  But what is a ctek? 

40 minutes ago, PeteB said:

eBay?

Always the first place I look.  Just a couple on there but nothing worth the money.  I have now ordered one which I hope will be right.  

This is will be fourth time lucky.  First one went pop after a year or so ( only cost £15) next one a proper industrial forklift charger but turned out to be 24 volt not 36, then got one via eBay sent from America which went pop after 6 weeks and cost £160.  

So so cross fingers I have got it right this time.  The manufacturer of the truck will sell me one for just over a grand...

8 minutes ago, Ratman said:

Not sure on your brand but if its manufactured in the last couple of years then it will look to burn aggressive all time. All modern stoves burn at a faster rate than older ones, its due to new regs / rules. Mine burns on the “high” side even when shut fully down. I have contemplated taking the bar out and welding some plates over the vent holes to throttle air flow down... just haven’t got round to it yet. Will try upload a short vid of my fire running tonight in full shut down mode. But like i say it appears to be the norm with modern stoves.

Well I never knew that.  My  Morso Dove at home is nice and controllable.  I guess they are trying to minimise emissions.

2 minutes ago, Stubby said:

No idea what make its but , Has it got a vent on the back  for use in a smokeless zone ? If so might want closing a bit or all the way . Failing that is the door seal ok ?

Can’t find a vent at the back. Door seal seems good.

4 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

This log burner seems to have just two settings - super high or extra high.  Anybody recognise it and suggest how we can turn it down!?!?  

 

This is not my stove at home but in a holiday chalet I am staying in with family.  I brought some of the wood I always burn on my Morso Dove which is really dry and it is just crazy hot.  I have found a couple of levers but they have little effect.  Any ideas?

Sorry rubbish photo - lenses covered in sawdust this should be better.

This log burner seems to have just two settings - super high or extra high.  Anybody recognise it and suggest how we can turn it down!?!?  

This is not my stove at home but in a holiday chalet I am staying in with family.  I brought some of the wood I always burn on my Morso Dove which is really dry and it is just crazy hot.  I have found a couple of levers but they have little effect.  Any ideas?

With a big landowner you are never going to get the nod to pinch a few wind blown sticks.  

Stick to local small landowners like farmers so you can ask them then no-one gets upset and the police are left to collect statistics on real crooks.

I need a 36 volt charger for our little electric yard truck.  An old forklift charger would be ideal.  

It it is a long shot I know but you never know.

3 hours ago, Jackkk said:

Anybody help with what’s causing this? Already dropped a couple of large limbs.

 

Cheers.

 

If the tree is really well infected it can yield amazing timber - maybe as beautiful as burrs.

4 hours ago, se7enthdevil said:

timber is moderately durable to durable (not the sap) and if cut properly in 1" boards usually quartersawn then it is a very decorative timber as the species has fairly large rays.

I have not got personal experience of Turkey Oak though I have been offered them.  I have read on several websites that Turkey Oak is also known as Wainscot Oak as it has such dramatic medullary rays that it is highly prized when quarter-sawn.  The best known example of what I am talking about is the house of commons - the Oak panelling on the walls.  Can anyone enlighten me as to which Oak this is?  I am pretty certain it is not native but which one is it?

I love Holm Oak and this certainly has very strong rays, but of course rarely has a decent size stem.

19 hours ago, swinny said:

Hi there,

 

I'm wanting some advice on what is there to consider? What is there to look out for? Anything to consider when looking to take on a full time employee?

 

Is there any way to safe guard your business? Probation period to see if candidate is suitable?

 

What needs to be in an employment contract?

 

Pensions etc....

 

A few people have said its cheaper and easier having full time staff... ?

 

Am I Mad? lol

 

All info greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

It is all about the person you employ and what they will be like in a year or two or ten.  If you find out it is not working out for you it is a nightmare to get rid of them.  You will probably end up paying full redundancy unless you have really good evidence of gross misconduct, because it is simply too risky not to.  Luckily in the first few years redundancy payments are not very high.  The other thing is it is simply not very nice sacking someone - no matter what the reason.

You will have to give them minimum wage of course (bear in mind this is promised to hit £10 an hour for over twenty-fives pretty soon) and a pension which you will need to contribute to, and you will have to pay 12% or so employer's NI as well as what you deduct from their wage and hand over to HMRC.  They will be entitled to 28 days paid holiday as a legal minimum, maternity pay or paternity pay possibly.

If they are unwell (or claim to be) for more than four consecutive days you will have to pay them Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) which you used to be able to claim back from HMRC, but now you cannot.  So if they develop a long-term condition, or simply decide they are not happy with the job and go on the sick for any of those reasons which are impossible to prove or disprove (depression, unspecified back or neck problems) you will have to pay them up to six months for them to not work.

You don't have to have a written contract, as a contract will be deemed to exist anyway, but you might want one to set out clearly a few rules; but take care as if your contract is all about protecting you as an employer it could fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms act.

All in all it is a bit of a minefield, which is why so many people are just employed on a part-time cash in hand basis.  If you need this person to work for you full time you may have little choice but to take them on the books.  But if the work is sporadic or part-time it might be a lot less hassle to treat them as a subby.  Even if you are having to pay 60% more per hour or per day this is probably better for you in the long run.

58 minutes ago, EdwardC said:

Employment laws aren't stupid. They're there to protect both parties.

Not sure what protection an employer gets....!

I saw some Lombardy pop being ringed up in my village a few months back.  I nearly asked if I could have them as the shape was stunning due to the fluting.  Would have made lovely table centre pieces - well maybe a bit big.  

Maybe even could have made lovely coffee table tops.

6 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

Yep, green heart and a few other tropical types on Brighton beach.
Can't remember the name but there's a purple one too.
All carcinogenic, so careful cutting or sanding.

The purple one is called Purpleheart.  

51 minutes ago, Jordan east sussex said:

Hi one and all

 

So, I've recently got in the tree surgery game, working self employed but mainly working for a local company which gets work on the railways.

 

Question is should I take out any insurance and if so any recommendations please? I've been reading a few threads on here saying how most don't bother as the many loopholes and it can work out quite expensive for something which you may never need..?? Is there any good companies/brokers people have used or other types of insurance which are relatively cheap which are worth getting?

 

 I see there is accident sickness and unemployment insurance but there is also income protection?? I imagine there are others but yeah, any advice would be great ha.

 

Maybe keep in mind I'm still living at home so no real commitments nor have I got any other tickets yet apart from my cross cutting yet, but plan to do others in near future.

Cheers

If you are an employee you do not need public liability cover as your employer should have this.  

You might want to consider sickness and accident insurance or permanent health insurance.  But first look into the cover your employer provides.  Also consider what state benefits you would get if unable to work.  

Most importantly are you responsible for others eg kids or spouse?  It sounds like you are young free and single in which case maybe you would be better off saving for the years ahead when a mortgage, partner and kids mop up every spare penny.

2 hours ago, Ratman said:

 

As title suggests really, have been using an old vax that we used to use for the cars etc but its getting tired and obviously isn’t really fit for purpose. Any one use or rate any specific types, brands etc?

 

No-one has yet mentioned the Ash Wizard.  This is not a vacuum cleaner at all but you use it with a vacuum cleaner, and it collects the ash (allegedly) so saving the cleaner from clogging

.  I was given one years ago and thought it looked like a right faff so I gave it away and stuck to a brush.  If fine ash gets in the vacuum cleaner I guess it will clog filters and bags very quickly, so I tend to think an old fashioned zero emissions brush is best really!

52 minutes ago, donnk said:

the brikkies will be up the scaff and wont be coming down to speak to joe public.

 

The telehandler will know who to ask and will be around the access to road to talk to. Drop him a £20.

Thanks Donnk, good tip.  

12 hours ago, donnk said:

goto nearest big site, find the telehandler driver. Tell him you got a £600 weekend job for a brikkie.

Thanks for the idea.  Why is the telehandler driver the man to speak to though?  I haven’t worked on building sites so I don’t know what the politics might be.

2 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

I can't help, but to give you a rough idea of what the rate is, mates' just moved off a site in Norwich, £180/day, he's gone onto a site in Littlehampton, Surrex?, £200/day. They are crying out for lads

Thanks for that, and if I can get a skilled brickie locally for that sort of rate that will be fine.

I think I am wasting my time....but here goes.... I am in need of a bricklayer for a few days work in Newport South Wales.   Anybody suggest a brickie who actually needs or wants a few days work at a decent rate???

When I say a decent rate I know brickies can be on crazy money these days, but I hope I can find one who will work for about the rate a skilled arb climber would expect.  Is this possible these days I wonder?