sandspider
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Everything posted by sandspider
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What he said. I season logs for my own use in a polytunnel (no fans at all), they dry far quicker than logs stacked outside, even under cover. They do seem to reabsorb moisture over winter once the sun no longer hits the polytunnel, but that's life. Wonder if a fan might help air movement in winter...
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I thought that most wood inside a heated house would be too dry for woodworm to be happy? More risk in slightly damper outside timber?
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I take logs from my polytunnel and bring them inside for a day or two before burning. This does seem to make a good difference to the dryness, maybe 3 or 4% on my basic moisture meter. (You can also see the cracks in the ends opening up) Having said that, this is by the side of the stove - if I run short, I put them in front of the stove (where they can char from the direct heat! Do this at your own risk, don't leave logs there unattended etc.), and there they seem to dry in an hour or so...
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Looking for fresh cut coppice willow near Chepstow?
sandspider replied to sandspider's topic in General chat
Cheers Joe, will get in touch. -
Hi all. Does anyone have a source of coppice wood near Chepstow? I'm looking for about 20 fresh cut willow stakes (50 - 75mm maybe) and possibly willow binders / brash bundles too for river bank stabilisation. Not had much luck locally (waiting to hear back from local coppice group), so thought I'd try asking here? Could possibly consider alder too, or in fact anything that will root and grow easily in a shady ish area! Thanks.
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I have a 1.1m rotary topper on the back of a small (18hp ish) compact tractor. It does a pretty neat job (a really neat job when I ran it at too high a PTO speed by mistake!) and is easy on the tractor. I have a steep paddock to cut, and though I'm tempted by offset, I think a rear mount is more stable and easier for limited access. Didn't try a flail as they were a fair bit more expensive and I don't need a really clean cut (though I do use the topper on parts of the lawn from time to time!).
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Good word, like it!
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Euc grows pretty fast! Be interested to see how big it is after 12 years as I'm growing some for a firewood coppice...
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Fruit tree pruning required - Congleton
sandspider replied to BJMac's question in Homeowners Tree Advice Forum
Figs take two years to ripen on the tree, if I remember right. I'm trying to grow a fig tree in Wales, but it's not doing to well. Froze and died back the first year, and something (probably a fox after field mice) dug up the roots this year. Hopefully it will sprout again, but I'm not holding my breath. -
I was under the impression that you shouldn't put too much (or any) good stuff in the planting hole of a new tree, as the roots will stay in the lovely rich environment in the hole and not spread out of the hole into the surrounding soil and anchor your tree properly? Mulch after the first year or two, sure, but not when planting...
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I've not looked at the whole thread, so may have missed something... But - as a firewood user with space to dry wood, trying to buy unseasoned or / and unprocessed logs early last year I had great difficulty getting a) any response at all or b) a reasonable discount for the amount of work required to process the stuff. I have a bit of kit, not much, but enjoy processing and splitting my own logs - I know it's a lot of work. Eventually I managed to get a processed, unseasoned load from a local chap in April or May, at the same cost as seasoned logs the year before! They didn't season too well as it happens (north facing log store and not much wind), but should be fine for next Winter. I'm willing, but most suppliers round me seem to prefer to stick to selling their seasoned stuff, or don't offer enough discount to make it worth my time.
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My Burley specifically says not to try and burn overnight. I don't anyway as I don't like it to smoulder.
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I get ash on the glass of my Burley too. Even with a good hot burn. The occasional wipe and it's fine, but it would be nice if it stayed clear. My other stove (Heta Inspire) has a much better airwash system, or at least, the glass stays totally clean.
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Hybrid wood & electric cookers
sandspider replied to Lucan's topic in Log burning stoves and fireplaces
Looks interesting. Can't help you as I have no experience, but I would have thought there would have to be compromises somewhere to allow for two very different methods of heating...? -
Nice looking tree David. The pictures remind me that I'll need to wait a while for my recently planted trees to grow big, and also that I should probably mulch them!
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Size will still matter, and smaller is still better for more surface area. But I've seasoned wood (not oak, admittedly, but split fairly small) to about 12% in a polytunnel in ~two months over summer. It was a particularly good summer though.
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I saw somewhere that it's more efficient to have a (powered) fan positioned to blow cold air into the room with the woodburner. Cold air is denser than hot, so this will shift more air (and hence warmth) around the house than having the fan blowing from warm towards cold... Albeit at a small cost of electricity for the fan.
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I had a sloping canopy on an old woodburner (also possibly a Villager of some sort) and I managed to make a stove fan work fine on it, at an angle, supported by bits of string! But that was an ancient stove and the canopy got nice and hot...
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I've planted some Robinia from seed for a future firewood coppice. The growth is very slow, hopefully they'll take off next year. In the meantime, eucalyptus are the clear winner, shooting ahead.
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I've got a knock off similar to the ebay one linked. For the money it's a really good coat. Wife has an actual Barbour, and sure, it's a bit nicer. But it's not 10x nicer, and it cost 10x as much!
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Free, dry stuff!
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That looks like a beast, Les! I went for this one in the end: https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-brushless-drill-driver/p/082864209100600 50nm of torque, so a lot less than the one above, but a lot more than my current one. And brushless. Only a 1.5AH battery, but additional batteries can be got hold of in theory, and if this one doesn't last or doesn't do the job I need I'll upgrade. Cheers all.
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Thanks one and all. Lots of options. I don't tend to use them that regularly, so it might be that that finished off the battery in my old one. That being so, probably safer to go for a cheapy Aldi job, and if it dies of over or under use, it's not the end of the world. They Workzone drills do only come with 1.5ah batteries, and 40nm ish of torque, so about half the Dewalt options at Toolstation - but the latter do cost twice as much... Couldn't see an impact driver at Aldi at all, but will look on a proper PC rather than my phone...
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Hi all Looking at replacing my ancient 18v battery drill. Only DIY work, so not too much, but occasionally heavy- I might need to screw 6" screws into gateposts or similar. (My current drill will only get a screw about 3" in!) New one doesn't need to be 18v. So I'm not looking to spend loads of money, budget maybe £100 ish, but could go a bit higher if it'll make much difference to quality / longevity. Not looking to pay for just a name either. So many brands to choose from- einhell? Erbauer? Dewalt? Makita? Or go cheap and cheerful with worx or Aldi type thing and just replace? Might also get other tools to fit the same batteries in future. Any recommendations please? Cheers all.
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Best timber for reinforcing the bank of a large pond
sandspider replied to Bunzena's topic in General chat
Cheers RH. Just got to wait for my SC coppice to finish growing, cut it and season it!
