Morris

Hope you could eventually see photos from the screen grabs posted by rapalarman (thanks for doing that!). I had to get a new iPhone and now it seems to use some .hcic photo file extension I've never seen before.

Yes. Correct on all points. I believe the willow used (Tora, Stott and A [all hybrids] - vigorous growth and ability to suck up water) are not the best type of willow for weaving but okay for fencing etc. And as they are used to soak up water, they were planted I think about 30-50cm apart to give airflow around each willow to assist with evapo-transpiration. And, I should have been coppicing a third of each willow basin each year on rotation but it's been one of those jobs that always got put off until it was too late for the year. Hence the drive to coppice the lot this year, have a reset and try to stay on top of it going forward.

That could be a possibility. Although the willow stems are only about 1-2 inch diameter at the base tailing to finger sized towards the upper half. So I imagine most of it will be more sticks than logs. In an ideal world you'd let them grow on so they'd make better logs but I need them to soak up water and I'm on the understanding that fresh shoots do that better than established stock.

I wasn't aware of that but this system is zero discharge and the EA were happy with it. We basically dug huge v shaped basins (25x8x2m). Lined them, back filled, installed pipe work for incoming waste and planted all this hybrid willow. Any waste that enters can't leave and the willow soaks it up and evapo-transpires it away. It's been working flawlessly, no smells, looks natural, good for habitat and we get this wood every 5 years or so.

Hello forum. I use willow to process waste water on my glamping site. Happy to talk about my set up in further posts for anybody interested but basically the time has come to coppice it. I'm new to this and looking for ideas on what to do with it all. I'm told I'll end up with several cubic meters of it (planted around 1200 of them). I was wondering what might be the best use for them. Am I better to try and use them for chippings, mulch, firewood etc or do they have any commercial value? Would they be something I could sell and if so who to for how much etc? They are equal plantings of Tora, Stott, and A. Any tips or advice much appreciated! IMG_0725.heic IMG_0729.heic

Hi Everybody, Thanks for all your replies so far Difflock - Yes I have looked at screw type splitters. Somebody suggested a Lasco splitter with a grinding attachment to fit on a 360. It looked effective but on the bigger stumps I think it would still take some time. Who knows, maybe there are no quick fixes. I also hear everybody's comments about the Rotor S appearing to do well on soft timber in favourable ground and question how well it would suit the conditions I have to work with. If only we had any first hand experience to go on lol. Trigger - I'm in Devon just north of Dartmoor Marne - I'll google some of the options you suggested, afraid I'm not familiar with grinder sizes, brands and power output but I appreciate bigger kit will get the job done faster but that there will always be the pay off between kit specs and site conditions etc. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out the most efficient and cost effect compromise. Thanks for everything so far guys!

Hi All New to this forum and first time poster! I wanted to ask your advice and opinions on a job I need doing. I have 200 - 300 stumps (ranging in size from 300mm to 800mm diameter) that I need to remove as efficiently and economically as possible without doing undue damage to the surrounding woodland area and remaining trees. The stumps are predominantly oak stumps 80% with the remainder being beech and willow. The woodland is an old oak plantation (approx 100 yrs old) spread over 5 hectares. The site is accessible by tractor when the ground conditions are favourable but it is a wet woodland. I've been told a stump grinding team could probably work through 20 stumps a day but I came across an amazing bit of kit called a Rotor S (made in Italy by a company called Ferrirotor) that appeared to drill its way through a stump in a matter of minutes and I wondered if this might be a more economical way of processing these stumps. The problem is I can't seem to find anybody in the UK who owns or has used a Rotor S. Has anybody on here got any experience or working knowledge about the Rotor S? I would like to learn more about this piece of kit and it's costs (aside from the company website info) and ideally I'd like to hire one or contract a company that has one to come and do the work if it turns out to be cheaper than traditional stump grinding services. Can anybody offer any advice or opinion? What are your thoughts?