FJMatt

8 hours ago, BigRedDog said:

Best heat sources...?

I hope this thread is the best place to put this question... if not I can delete and re-post elsewhere.

I'm seriously mulling over building my own small scale firewood kiln this summer - similar to some of those that have already been discussed. Basic set up - insulated truck body, heat exchanger & fans. I don't have access to RHI schemes, I’m only small scale (and happy that way) and I don't own the site I'm based on, so heavy investing in an off the shelf set up isn't really an option. 

As part of the idea I'm thinking of building my own large scale rocket stove type heat source.

 

Question is do I design it to supply warm air, or hot water? 

 

The box will be fitted with a false floor so the heat can be introduced below the logs and forced up through - either directly as warm air, or as rads placed below the floor with circulation fans.

 

I'm thinking water will give more control and allow for banking heat in a store, but then again warm air will be more more direct = efficient, and I can still bank it if I use thermal mass? 

 

All thoughts welcome. Ta.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save your money and put a pole shed up, three open sides, maybe some of those mesh fencing panels plenty of draft 

Start filling it now and by back end you'll be ready to go 

9 hours ago, Billhook said:

Well I tried the first option and it took over two hours to fill a box

1.  Cut the logs into rounds, new chain on the Stihl 340

2.  Heave the weighty rounds into the teleporter bucket ( aargh! My back!)

3.  Heave weighty rounds onto splitter platform. ( aaarrrgh! My back again)

4 Operate strong but slow splitter ram, bend down pick up pieces, put them on table again for second split,  pick up all the pieces and chuck into teleporter bucket. ( now need painkiller)

5 tipbucket into box, two loads)

 

the the pieces of wood are all different sizes due to the knotty nature of the wood.  Fine for my Aarrow Stratford but generally unsaleable to the general public.

 

Now looking forward to doing the remainder with the Lucas Mill and hopefully no lifting involved!

Oooooohh 2hrs 

And look at the feeling of well being

(that might be the pain killers) 

Looking forward to option two ? 

My bets on the first option 

First saw I ever used was a Husqvarna 45 used it until it fell apart, 

Then bought a 2nd hand 254xp out of local paper, still in use today 

2 hours ago, Stere said:

I don't see the point in kiln drying apart from as a marketing exercise for firewood sellers.

 

Wood seasons fine in a shed just takes longer.

 

 

 

How big is your shed 

Has your 7600 got an external regulator fitted under the bonnet, behind the battery  in front of the diesel tank, 

As the alternator in the picture has a built in regulator, which was fitted to later models 10 series 

This is the type fitted to my old ford's 

3 hours ago, BARNSLEY BOB said:

Do the job properly and stop selling crap.

Who we talking to here 

I had an issue with one of my customers a few years ago, were he complained of logs going mouldy in the nets, 

After a few questions to try to get to the bottom of it, it turned out he had started to store them in a damp redundant farm shop which was near enough air tight with no form of heating or ventilation, 

Asked him to store the logs outside in one of the sheds, never been a problem since 

Just an observation, but the log merchant who brings unseasoned or wet firewood is unlikely to have an info card 

As above,

Round wood wanted 5" to 16" diameter, 

Price Road side or delivered to maryport area 

Cheers 

It's a pity you couldn't use the heat from the boiler chimney 

33 minutes ago, ash_smith123 said:

You could do it with a heat exchanger.only about 50% efficient but better than wasting the heat

Could a heat exchanger be fitted to the exhaust ducting from a wood drying kiln, without risk any risk from RHi rules? 

The majority of these change will apply to new and to existing RHI-supported facilities, which" ""add"" "capacity on or after the date the reforms come into effect.

Looks like it's just new for now, but you won't be able to add on to existing unit 

55 minutes ago, Wendelspanswick said:

  23 hours ago, FJMatt said:

Here's fan details Steve 

Read more  

Read more  

Edited with the crucial step added!

 

If I read that correctly at 0.79 Amps at 50Hz:

0.79 x 230V

 = 0.182 Kw

0.182 x £0.15 (cost of 1KwH of electricity)

 =2.7p per hour

0.027 x 8766 (hours in a year)

 =£237

If you have 3 fans:

 =£711

 

That's looks more realistic, 

First go was actually more than my entire electricity bill 

2 hours ago, SbTVF said:

 

If the kiln runs 24/7 365 days a year we can do approx 800 cube give or take 16 one way or the other (that’s its capacity) so the softwood and contractor chipping alone is going to cost us about £1.50 -£2 per cube.

Given that a shed to store that many bags will be in the region of 20grand, probably more once you concrete the floor slab, even though we have a building fabricator based on our yard, it’s pretty cheap to start with. Obviously a shed will last a lot longer than RHI.

I couldn’t comment on what electricity we are using for the fans though. I would have to find out their rating and calculate the cost. I can’t get at their label in their current position.
FJMatt is running the same fans I think, he may know what their usage is?

The boiler will have paid for itself in 8 years of electricity savings that are made from no longer using electric heat mats for piglets aged 0-9 weeks. It also made other welfare improvements possible that are hard to quantify but equally as important.

If it dies and has to be replaced at some point then god knows how we’ll get the thing out of where it is but it should be interesting for sure!

 

Here's fan details Steve 

95% softwood, due to selling to retailers 

When it stops 

Does motor carry on running or does motor stop?? 

When it hits something hard does hydraulic system blow off / bypass?? 

I've a ryetec 16t pto, I like it 

Sometimes new operators can take longer to get used to the twin speed 

16 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

In Lancashire nearest place that you may know of is garstang and timber located in bleasdale.

I've a customer in Garstang,

Pity, But i think Haulage would kill it :-( 

Hakki pilkes are bolted on as standard m8's, can't report any problems 

On 06/01/2018 at 23:50, spuddog0507 said:

 

£70 cube would work back to £63 per tonne for larch saw log's which is not far of the mark may be a bit steep but haulage distance will reflect on price. Where selling dry windblown spruce and lodgepole pine @ £1100 + haulage full wagon and drag weight will be around 20 tonne ish .

Where abouts are you 

2 hours ago, SbTVF said:

Roughly 3 barrows to a builders bag of around .7m3

Steve what Size of tote bag, I'm using 900x900 x900,but a couple of customers are really bad drops, Thought about moving to Barrow bag's for easy of delivery, just for one or two customers 

Anyone setting up for firewood now, should be focusing on next season, Sept 18  onwards 

Only advice I could give is let the job pay for any gear that you buy and only then when you reach a point where you can't work without it

Bottom line chainsaw and axe 

Excellent 

Thanks all 

Is it possible to get a husqvarna type fitment bar 3/8x18" but 1.6 instead of the usual 1.5, 

It for a firewood processor , 

?