Woodworks

Logs very nearly the cheapest way to heat!

I know I have criticised the figures they use for logs in the past but looks pretty close at present 

Energy Cost Comparison – Nottingham Energy Partnership

NOTTENERGY.COM

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Visit the post for more.

Hi Steve. Having trouble loading arbtalk on desktop and kept getting a fault when uploading a picture. Oddly it has posted up the the thread I was trying to but told me it hadn't! 

Good work Paul

Thanks 

Took the engine off my processor the other day (Honda GX 390) . The engine is connected to the hydraulic pump via this. The black rubber part has perished and fell apart in my hands. Not sure what to Google to get a spare.  Thanks

Did our yard with crushed quarry stone plus old scalpings and 3/4 to dust for the top. The key was getting the surface fair and not leaving dips to create puddles. Only running a lightweight tractor and small loader. Probably wouldn't hold up to a skid stear on it but its cheap and works for us 

Most likely still be as miserable as sin making furniture as before.

I knew nothing about dying logs, required equipment and making charcoal before joining here. 

I am very grateful to the Arbtalk community for showing me the ropes 😃

So the whips are in and mulched.

Some have got fresh chip, some well rotted chip and the 4 closest have got wool with rotted chip on top to stop it blowing away

I will try to remember to come back to this in the future to see if it makes any difference 

4 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I read that the Chinese vaccines are less effective than the western produced ones.

 

True or not I don’t know.

 I think you are right and they wain quite quickly according to another article in Nature . They have new ones in the pipeline. 

Came across this which also explains Chinese government strategy

China’s first mRNA vaccine is close — will that solve its COVID woes?

WWW.NATURE.COM

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Researchers say a highly effective jab will help to avoid hospitals getting overwhelmed, but probably won’t end the country’s ‘zero COVID’ policy. Researchers say a highly effective jab will help...

17 minutes ago, GarethM said:

I'm still interested in what's going to happen in China, riots etc over the continuation of the zero COVID nonsense which has stymied buisness especially electronics and manufacturing.

 

Whilst not totally to blame for global recession, it's a big driving factor causing shortages in practically every industry.

They are in a right old mess on this. Poor vaccine take up in the older age groups and facing way more contagious variants than we did at our peek covid so could rip through the country very very fast.

Cant work out why they are happy to use draconian measures like welding doors shut on buildings or shipping people off to containment camps but not prepared to make the vulnerable take a vaccine 

4 minutes ago, Stere said:

Weed supression more important than any temporary N robbing imo. so id say fresh and if possible use layers of cardboard under also.

 

From my experience even if you use tonnes of fresh woodchip it disapears really fast. Ideal would be using something that lasts a few yrs more but is still biodegradable like felted wool or hemp sack cloth but thoose cost more.

Sorry should have said the whips came with a biodegradable weed suppression mat and pegs to hold it in place.

We do have some wool as we just chucked it on the compost heap. The value of wool is lower than the fuel used to drive in to the depot!

Following the How Much Wood do you Burn in a Week of cold Weather?  this might be of interest to some on here 

Insulation: £1bn funding for least efficient homes

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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Government announces extra funding to help those in least efficient homes in lower council tax bands.

We are planting up a shelter belt in one of our fields with some whips. They are a mix of Rowan, Oak and Birch. I have piles of wood chip from the processor at various stages of decomposition.

What would be best for the whips, fresh chip, well rotted or something in between? The advice with the pack was to mulch 10cm deep in a 50cm radius around each one.

Thanks

9 minutes ago, william127 said:

I  I'll look into this as my first option 👍

If it doesn't work out I can  just crack on with thicknessing (think I'll set it up outside😅).

 

Just an idea

Set up a wide stable board that bridges between two bunks. Could even screw it down. Then mount some cam clamps like these (could be home made) to the face of the board  to clamp your offcuts 

UJK Surface Cam Clamps (Pair) | Axminster Tools

WWW.AXMINSTERTOOLS.COM

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Based on the successful UJK Surface Cam Duck Clamp, this particular version has a 20mm dog hole slightly offset to create the cam action. Designed originally for use on a multifunction...

14 minutes ago, devon TWiG said:

must be special petrol in  Devon !!  I have the same non problem , but then it hardly ever rains here and the atmosphere is so dry I suspect our fuel does not absorb water !!😂

Yes, I dont know.

I get through a fair bit of fuel so its very fresh when it goes into the machines but the big saws and few other bits sit around for months between uses. 

The snag is with bigger planner thickeners  is the feed rollers are further part so snipe is more of a problem for short boards IME.

Should be easy enough to make a jig that holds boards safely on your bandsaw mill. 

E10 from Texaco and decent oil for the 2 stroke machines. Never had a problem even when sat in machines for months.

Used our 4stroke hand held post knocker yesterday for the first time since the spring and started first pull without changing the fuel. 

In last week which hasn't been especially cold but very wet we use a garden trugs worth every two days. estimate thats about 10kg a night. Keeps the whole house comfy and the sitting room toasty. Thats a 7kWh wood burner and not doing the hot water 

A Thor  popped up on market place the other day at Oakhampton. Not used one but always heard good things about them 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1509545872863484/?hoisted=false&ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A3919d564-da42-40bf-b23c-768b344c67b4

I guess if you can afford to stop working in a job you dont like why wouldn't you? 

If there is shortage of workers then those of us still in the job market will be in demand be able to earn more. It all goes horribly wrong if pensions go tits up as they apparently very nearly did after the mini budget. Bit of worry that pensions are that fragile! 

2 hours ago, Dawsie said:

Apologies if this has been asked before (I couldn’t find it).

so I’ve got limited space to store split logs and wondered if anyone has experimented with stacking rings vertically (in my case they will be 25cm in length), and then split as and when required.

Would I be slowing the drying out process markedly?

Logs dry fastest from the end-grain (previous test bellow) . If you stack them end on end then yes you dramatically slow the drying process. 

27 minutes ago, woody woodpecker said:

hi i think i will have to stack as we are looking at approx 350 to 400 cube , have you ever tried them stacked 4 heigh . does anyone use potato boxes as the logs would be a bit more protected from the elements .

 My loader doesn't reach to 4 high and would need a really good flat floor as the slightest angle really shows the higher you go. 3 works well enough on uneven ground 

3 minutes ago, woody woodpecker said:

Thanks i need to store outside and use without extra handling .

Then I would go for individual hats for each IBC. The top ones in our system are appreciably drier than the lower crates

Just had our lowest ever electric bill for this time of year (£67)

Combination of being tight and not using the GSHP much, running the wood burner and all the subsidisation of our bills. 

IBCs with hats on stacked in an exposed spot 2-3 high for the majority of the drying. Yes, rain will get in but most of the hard work will be done. Presuming the weather is set wet we then bring them into an airy shed for a month for the rain wetting to dry out before selling them.