Woodworks

That looks good Mick. It's one of the things that put me off the MO with all that expensive and vulnerable GRP out front just waiting to get smacked. Out of interest whats, the advice for starting a MO? My Gehl says in the instructions that it should be turned on but then left for a few mins before operation or it can damage the machine. Not familiar with the hyrostatic drive so wondered if this was the norm

6x2s with joins for 6m! These tables might help http://nhbccampaigns.co.uk/landingpages/techzone/previous_versions/2010/Part6/section4/appendix.htm

I was getting new tyres the other day and apparently, the new BFGs won't last as long due to them now being made with shallower tread. Something to do with rules on noise pollution

Looks like the banking sector has woken up whats happening https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47965284?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story

Times they are a changin https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47941180

2' 9'' max. If you load it with full-length pieces I suspect it will be slower to convert. Turnaround is fastest with the woodcut fairly short and not too chunky. I did a batch of 15" heavy logs the other day and it took around 30% longer. It's why I mentioned a branch logger at the start as these size pieces convert very swiftly I presume due to the surface area exposed to the heat.

£1000 region. I had mine cut and folded by a local laser cutting place and I riveted it together. The insulation materials don't come cheap and then you need a few bits of stainless here and there. 1k is working on you doing some of the work. It's all pretty basic stuff like drilling and cutting. I intend to get costs far more accurately worked out on MK2 so don't hold me strictly to the £1000 as it's been a learning curve

Yes. I could now but as it's only plans but would be nice to have it just a bit slicker first. I am still on my heavily modified MK1 and it looks like it haha. I want to try out a few more mods and these things seem to take an age. Only asking £20 for the plans. You would get working drawing and admission to a closed facebook group to help with construction and use.

There are few upsides to the retort rout. Cleaner burn Fast turnaround. Mine you can use continuously so no waiting 36 hours for it to cool before unloading Easier handling of the charcoal and loading Better conversion rates (so I am told, never used a ring kiln myself) On the throughput. From some quick maths, a 5' ring kiln holds 1.6 m3 but due to needing 36 hours to cool can only realistically be fired every other day. Mine can do a cube a day every day so actually, coverts more (presuming similar conversion rates) even though it's small. I should add it's still in development so not really trying to flog it yet 😀

For renewable ideas and insulation Green Building Forum and the Navitron Forum are pretty good.

For us, in a wet part of Devon you would have plenty of grass left behind if only cutting once a fortnight with our Stigo pro. If we want the lawn looking spot on it needs cutting twice a week. Not knocking the mower as it's been bulletproof just with wet summers the grass grows too much for occasional cutting. Mulching aids water retention in the ground so the grass grows better.

I think you are being very generous suggesting they are not a bad company to buy from. If they are a firm who sell logs by the cubic meter who short change you I would be fuming. They must know bloody well what they are doing or be completely incompetent.

It's now done a couple of burns and seems to survive. Not having an easy life though. The expansion bar is a tube so popped the thermometer inside of it mid-burn. It was reading 550C mid hight in the retort but the bar is low down in the firebox with all the gases and reached 820C 😳

The first ever big order of charcoal for us. Made 1/2 cube in a day which was our most productive yet.

Having done a bit of googling 316 should work quite well. Expands a fair bit more than mild steel and does withstand the temps involved.