StephF

FC are now only selling firewood in Kielder District to the highest sealed bid, (since October 2013) this is a small limited quantity, 20 loads every 6 months of which your company is individually allocated a quantity you are allowed to bid for, this was a fraction of our normal purchased quantity!! This new policy we are told, is due to the massive demand from biomass etc etc...on the limited available timber crop. We end up paying as much or more than chipwood prices from FC,for firewood, the price has nearly doubled in past 6-7 years, Plus big increases in haulage costs means the raw product is now very expensive. We have no choice but to pay the going prices, our log sales make up a good part of company turnover. After nearly 30 years of working in arboriculture/ forestry and firewood, I cant see how Firewood/biomass has a sustainable future if the number of stoves and heating systems continues to increase, especially as FC planting programmes have been decreasing in size, with no increases planned, and felled areas often re-planted with slow growing and almost always, very sad looking hardwoods that fail to thrive to appease 'public', which simply dont thrive in the wet peaty conditions up here.

I agree have come accross this so often,sadly this is a typical attitude encountered all over UK. As a firewood producer and realising the pressure on us to obtain this dwindling resource I am angry/sad to see so much waste eg: from arb arisings I see in the green waste centres that will go in landfill, windblow left to rot or burn on farmland after recent storms, FC harvesting sites the harvester has been through leaving huge amounts of perfectly good logging material etc. etc. Dont get me on the foreign imported stuff!!!

Peeerfect today for cutting firewood!

£66 per cubic m mixed seasoned and dry delivered loose (£100/1.5m3 truck load)

Been using a Haglof vertex all day to measure heights of Sitka, idiot proof, no idea how much they cost though!

Arb Ass site has a form on it that you can use, did the 'Survey and Inspection' course recently so got told about it.

I did see it, 'What was your 1st one?' and a pic of chainsaw underneath. got my attention when she mentioned the word 'arborist' !

Around £10/tonne at the moment.

Both us us from WFL, really glad we came to the workshop in Durham Wednesday last week, now motivated and ready to get on and prepare for the assessment sometime this year hopefully! thanks for a good day Paul.

Blue sky and sun turning to grey and wet, wind is icy, blasting staight through you!

The processer is set to c.9 inches, this size seems to fit most stoves. I've had some years of getting a lot of orders for larger logs eg: 15-18" but at the moment only 1 customer asks for 18", no 2 years are ever the same so I find planning ahead pointless, no orders at all this year for 'dolls house 'size logs, other years have had lots... most of our loads contain logs of various widths, smaller logs start a fire, and larger ones keep it in, I think most people appreciate that.

No regrets buying these 2 yrs ago, would not be without them for hedgecutting now, we have largest size and medium ones.

Hysterical laughter here!

Dry here today, no frost as forecast and grey overcast, but NO rain!!

As it does not get planted this far north we've only had a small amount come our way, but it made very good firewood! was much like oak.

Send her up north for a few days, I'll soon have her stacking like a pro! Steph (The Log lady from North Tyne)

Light the stove!!! or bath in cold water:biggrin:

Good to see you are getting on with that job Mat! we had 3 massive poplars to fell in Gateshead before Christmas and there were lorry loads of timber taken away! makes decent firewood once it is well dry,

Hi Gildas, we have worked in France quite a bit, it is a great country. Good luck with your training and career in arboriculture Steph

(So do we John,) plus a large Arrow for rads (23)& hot water all run through a dunterly boiler thing, all run very well with no problems, and do what they are supposed to. I have supplied logs for a long time to customers with log burners, main feedback is; avoid anything cheap from places like machine mart. Clearview seem to be the very popluar up here with log customers. Get the stove properly installed, and only use well seasoned dry wood to avoid problems! Steph

We're looking at this machine, any more feedback from owners?

:lol:1, I'm not the only one who thinks 'what a stupid design' everytime I'm trying to fuel up a Sthil in a hurry, Lost count of number of times I've seen a saw sent up to a climber and a sthill fuel cap coming loose and fuel everywhere (not just after my filling!!) Huskys have a very easy screw cap that is 100% fast and easy to use...

Have yet to get aquainted with the GPS stuff! hate to admit it but we are still managing with pen and paper etc, I have looked at mapping software it would make the mapping side easier! Although we are using calipers and other gadgets supplied by FC which record data when doing mensuration work. Requests for inspections and surveys have definately been increasing over past 2-3 years, with pressure on landowners to get trees inspected regularly to get insurance, schools etc as well. Rare to have to do a climbing inspections.

Just done an Arb ass survey and inspection Lantra course which was very good, and recommended what we have been using for many years, which is tapes, increment borers(rarely needed), basic stuff like compass, binoculars etc, this is all you need to do basic hazard identification surveys, never needed to use anything more comlicated and we do quite a bit of inspection / survey work. If the problem needed more scientific instruments then would call in someone else, but never needed to yet in over 25 years.

Bet its going to a Bio mass plant making electricity somewhere, they have to secure HUGE quantities of timber to burn, and they are so subsidised they can afford to pay through the nose for it!!!