HertsWood
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Everything posted by HertsWood
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They certainly are. With the operator being up to 200m from the machine if required. No risk. High productivity.
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I metracs are great up to 45 degrees. After that you need an Irus Deltrak.
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Dangerous on a slope with a clearing saw. Consider this option - available to hire with operator (me). Can work on slopes up to 60 degrees depending on ground conditions.
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Yeah love my Antonio Carraro. It does what it says on the tin. Has I get busier and go into bigger woods, keep toying with the idea of finding a used WF-trac1100..
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When I started a decade ago, first thing I did was to get a a waste carriers licence, permit to burn & exemption to store up to 100 tonnes of chip/ wood waste on the farm where I'm based, even though the farm already had a permit to burn, I got my own. Paperwork & time consuming but both free and just renewed every 3 years. Saved a lot of grief.
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I love my Defender 130 tipper, made more drivable by the JE Engineering Stage 2 remap done a few years ago - more torque, as well as power that gives golf GTR drivers a fright now and then! Only thing I'm looking at now are the Tibus Portal Hubs - the amount of woodland work we do where I need all the clearance I can get make it a no brainer, while still being cheaper than a unimog! (Sorry for swearing on the forum!)
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Or, even better than a spider that needs a winch on steep slopes - get an Irus Deltrak like mine.....
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There is a top vent on the Retort
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I try not to go above 550 degrees. Normally cap off at 520. My 3rd burn when to 570 degrees and I just vented and lit the wood gasses to bring the temp back down to just below 500 degrees. Then left it to carry on cooking.
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More info here: http://tinyurl.com/mm4u8ho
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Hi Richard, Just graded batch 2 (the photo) and got approx 40x 3kg bags and about 30 kg of graded (20mm fragments) of BioChar. Grading Single species (6kg) Ash Charcoal this morning.
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Steep uneven slopes is not a place for a ride-on mower. This is what you need....
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3rd batch.... Oak, Alder & Cherry
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Hi Richard, I had about 25 brown ends from the second batch but they've just been put back in to cook with the 3rd batch I suspect volume of charcoal will go up the more burns I do and the better the production process evolves. The Haith grader arrived on Saturday... Regarding what goes into the retort; I source the majority of my timber for either WoodFuel or charcoal from the woodland management operations we carry out for clients. I try and use as much of the tree as possible with only smaller branch wood being left as habitat piles. I'm working in woods at the moment, where we are coppicing lots of Alder, clearing Sycamore and thinning Ash. With the odd patch of Oak and hornbeam thrown in for good measure.
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Hi Woodworks, The bulk bag of ash was the first I lifted with the 520. I've got a lot of ash, alder and oak dry at the moment - I don't preselect what firewood be get, so the same is true for selecting bags for firewood. It took 1.25x 1.2m3 bags to fill the Retort. And I've 3/4 filled a1m3 cooling bin with Ash and nearly brimmed the 2nd one with the second batch. Probably getting 4:1 maybe 3.5:1 It's early days - only 3rd burn....
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Charcoal ad promised
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This was the 1st burn last Tuesday. After 2 1/4 hrs Retort temp at 475 degrees C
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Temp probe is fitted through a 7.5mm hole at the top of the door. I've fitted a stainless steel K-probe this morning which was threaded, so it's permanently attached to the door - just need to plug it into the reader as and when required.
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Temperature got to 475 in 2 1/4 hrs with just 3 old clean pallets. Got up to 525 degrees and was then controlled using the top vent and lighting off the wood gases. When I went home last night at 6.30pm if was all but over and the temp was starting to drop. Kept the firebox open slightly to ensure there was pull. This morning at 8am the temp was just over 100 and it was opened & the charcoal emptied into a 1m3 cooling bin with airtight lid.
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First burn of the new retort yesterday - used English Ash with a m/c of 14%
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Hi Woodgirl, TVI lives and works deep in rural suffolk - phone signal is poor and I think broadband is still of the windup type..... I've just taken delivery of a Pressvess retort - single barrel to a Specification drawn up and agreed with the designer of all Pressvess Retorts - the great Nick Harris. It's being commissioned next week by Nick, so once up and running if you'd like to come and look, please let me know. Matt
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Hi Richard, Steve / All, The firebox is lined with fire bricks. Insulation is 100mm ceramic blanket There is a vent hole in the the retort chamber from the firebox - on the right hand wall at the top (not in photo) I was lucky with funding, used a business loan for the match funding and got a very good rate from my business bank at a fixed rate for 7 years (fixed as you don't know what will happen to interest rates in the next couple of years. Also got an investor / business angel on board to help with the project - lots of groundwork to get but paying off now.
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Hi Steve & Richard, With delivery to my yard in Hertfordshire, the Retort was £15350 + VAT, this also included 2x 1m3 cooling bins as well. I went with standard thickness steel (10mm boiler plating) for long life; you can choose 6mm but obviously life expectancy will be reduced. My retort weighs about 3 tonnes. I got a 40% RDPE grant towards the project (this is net of VAT) - so about £7K. It gets commissioned next week by Nick Harris from 4seasonsFuels. As you can see, the right crane truck operator can site it where you want it.
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With regard to burned out retorts, I'd say talk to Nick Harris. He's just retired a retort after 15 yrs service, he said it could have gone on for a few more years if he had been desperate.
