neiln

Walking through Grovesnor park in Chester at the weekend i saw a couple of leaves on the ground that looked like a non-native oak. Very deep lobes. I'd still describe the lobes as rounded but half pointy..a rounded point. Don't think it was just a random odd leaf as I think I found a tree of them, but it was dusk and partner and I were in a rush to get our little girl home so I may have been mistaken. Just wondering how the park came to have some non-native oaks planted and what they are....I suspect a white oak. Does anybody know?

I'm not an expert but I'm a homeowner with subsidence due to shrinkage of clay soils caused by trees, so I know what the arborist report is likely to say. They use the general guide, closer than it is tall and it might be a problem. I had trouble from several Oaks in he region of 15 to 18m tall and about almost that far away. So 10m for a mature tree and they will probably say 'it might be a problem with roots likely to extend into the vicinity of the house'. They will probably go a little further....and note particular trees of concern, Oak and prunus for example take a lot of water, maple a lot less. However, if your soil isn't a susceptible type it matters little. I'd suggest investigating getting soil samples taken if your worried. a bore hole could be used to take samples down to 4 or 5m and these examined to determine firstly the soil type (and if it is susceptible to shrinkage) and secondly the moisture content/desiccation. If there are roots in the vicinity of the house, the soil will be desiccated to some degree (no matter what time of year, but especially now). You may even get roots in the samples. Oh and just to add, subsidence isn't a nightmare....but getting the insurance company to get its thumb out its a*** and do something about it can be!

Plastic Wrap | Hearth.com Forums Home Expeditided Wood drying / Solar Kiln | Hearth.com Forums Home

Found the guy with e diy poly tunnels, Fairbanks alaska. he hit 7% MC (claimed) drying over the summer. was hitting 128F inside in May,someone else claiming 168F summer from a shrink wrap version and claimed to get wood to 18-20% in just Feb, just one month. Softwood probably but hey. Solar cord wood kiln operation | Hearth.com Forums Home Is devon colder than fairbanks in Feb?

Oh and winter doesn't matter if sunny. A guy on Hearth somewhere very chilly...Alaska I think, biult some small poly tunnel kilns and got wood dry in a few winter months!

I've read a load about 'Hill Billy solar kilns' on a couple of american sites, Hearth and aboristsite....or was just Hearth? Anyway, cut split and stacked wood, then just wrap with pallet wrap/clingfilm. If the stack is in a sunny spot it works just as well as greenhouse and people were getting (or so they said) hardwoods down to 20% MC in just a few months! people claiming to measure temps well over 100F inside the wrap in the sun, and photos of lots of condensate and rivulets running down. So yes, a clear tarp/plastic sheet over it should have some effect in sunny spots. You'll want to cover a fair bit of the sides too to keep the heat in. IIRC those using the technique opened up the ventilation more as time went on but can't remember details. google solar kiln or hill billy solar kiln and read hits on Hearth and arboristsite

the reason though is these prices. At these costs a btu from soft wood is twice a btu from mains gas and comparible to oil, electric or propane, all of which involve less work for the householder. the buner itself is also more costly....a gas safe plumber supply and fit a new boiler for a couple of grand, a decent burner large enough to heat a whole house will be a big chunk of that, hetas installers then take the proverbial in many areas with quotes of 3 grand to do an install. I'm not saying wood is too costly, given the work involved i can't see anyone making unfair profits and more must struggle. I do think stoves are a bit costly, but that would come down if more were made and sold, and I do think some hetas installers really are taking the P but that would change if more wer going in. The big problem is gas is too cheap. If this country were serious about being green it should have a carbon tax on stuff like gas and oil, and proper incentives on sustainables like wood

I agree wood is wood, the quality comes from being properly seasoned. Soft has advantages even.

Absolutely I get that transporting, processing, seasoning etc of wood is the same, hard or soft, so any cost difference can only be cost to buy the cord, so minimal. I'm just surprised its quite so small just because as a customer it seems hardwood is so much better...less storage space needed and less handling/feeding a stove for the same heat. Cheers for the table linked - ok, looks like hard is ~ 0.75 and soft around ~0.5 so 2/3rds density.

Lol! True, stoves are the trendy must have for middle class and many get used just a few times a year.... Christmas day, new year's eve, and aunty Phyllis' birthday. But then don't those sort buy logs by the net, £25 for about 10 kilos of wet wood, at B&Q?

Wow, I'm surprised the hardwood/softwood price difference is so little. Density of most seasoned softwoods is around half most hardwoods, so around half the btus in a m3, and you end up loading stoves twice as often, ish. So as a custmoer its worth paying about (almost) twice as much for hardwood as it is for softwood. That assumes quality is equal and hardwood is available.

Stockton 3 Wood Burning Stoves & Multi-fuel Stoves that's about the smallest stove around and if you can get a little more hieight (thinner hearth perhaps?) it will fit

As Avio says, its a pithy wood, very light once seasoned, not a great wood to burn. Rightly or wrongly I even turned down a free delivery of it.

it has a lot of resin/pitch which will spit and cause creosote IF its not well seasoned, but seasoned properly its good.

its very common rock climbing. What helps there is to push your heels down, easy on rock as your normally stood on just toe holds, but it my be possible for you to do something similar?

never a good idea to bring wood in from the pile/shed very long before it is burnt. It might look trendy to have a neat stack of uniform splits in the inglenook, but it does risk bringing the bugs in.

Ah, ta.

Stuff in the media today about the dual threat to Ash here and in Europe from Ash die back and from Emerald Ash Borer beetle. It sounds bleak. I know EAB has marched across the US swiftly and devastatingly. Is it just a matter of time until it happens here? Also we seem to have our Oaks under threat from Acute Oak Dieback and Sudden Oak Dieback. Are all our mature, native trees under threat?!

bump.

exactly. Many hob fans/hoods can be set to extract, or recirc. I meant when on extract its normal to remove the filter as it is pointless and just gums up with fat. Ahh... think i get it now... stove fitter wants the extractor removed. It can be replaced by a recircing hob fan. that's what he is insisting on. Sorry...I'm being slow tonight.

Hetas/building regs call for a vent to the room for all stoves over 5kw. some modern larger stoves have facility for the air inlet to be connected to the outside duct/vent but most just draw from the room. the regs call for the stove draw to be tested with all windows and doors to the room closed and any extractors running, and again with doors to other rooms with extractors open and those fans running (eg bathroom, or kitvhen if stove in lounge). not sure but i think the regs allow for a hot flue...i seem to recall something about heating the flue for a certain period with a blow torch before redoing the test.. if the test fails/smoke is drawn into the room, then more airbricks are needed. i dont see what difference a carbon filter in the extractor makes....it'll reduce extraction rate slightly i suppose but its easily removed....you normally only bother with filters if a hob fan is merely recirculating.

Thanks stubby, yes i know lean or rich is air/fuel ratio, I thought the problem with lean adjustment of a carb though was less fuel mix also means less lube too, and hence risks scored pistons/cylinders etc. or is it leaning making the saw run hot? muffler mods are supposed to cool a saw aren't they? anyway, i dont want to risk killing the saw if that is a real risk

Hello, this saw modding is interesting, I've got a stihl ms180, Is muffler modding this worth the effort or just silly antics? The saw is small after all and is never going to be a beast, even with porting and all sorts of work…it’s a small saw! I own one to process my own firewood, its used on the ground for an hour or 2 at a time so its not about turning this into a lightweight beast that is fantastic up in a tree, but like anyone else…if I can get something for nothing (something worthwhile) that is good. If I could do a muffler mod, which would be zero cost and minimal effort, and gain enough power/speed increase to actually notice it cutting a little bit quicker, then I’m tempted. The saw is only 6 months old, I don’t want to risk killing it, and as I understand it these saws have unadjustable carbs, so if a muffler mod would cause it to run lean then I won’t risk it. Although if I can counter a slight risk by adding slightly more oil to my fuel mix (is that possible?) I’d do that. I live in suburban London, using the saw in my garden, so also need to think of the neighbours. I know a muffler mod would make the saw noisier but assume, since it’s a small saw after all, that it won’t make enough difference to annoy neighbours? I always use PPE including foresters helmet with ear defenders when I’m running it, so not so worried about deafening myself. So, is a muffler mod to a MS180 going to make a noticeable difference to me, and if so…..how do I go about it? Is it as easy as removing the muffler from the saw, drilling a hole or 2 in the can to increase the exit hole area, and poking the drill inside the can and making holes in any baffles that can be reached? Total exit area wants to be about 80% of the cylinder exhaust port area yes? So I guess I don’t want to go very large, a couple of 10mm holes enough extra? Anybody done it?

Try it is the only way to find out. However speaking as someone that collects arb waste wood for free, a mix of rounds that just need splitting and smaller diameter stuff in 2'6" ish lengths that just needs cutting with the ms180, I realise I work hard for very little saving and the price of fully processed seasoned logs delivered to the door is very very reasonable. I quite enjoy the exercise and time spent in the garden though... Running the saw and swinging the fiskars is a nice way for an office worker like me to spend some time. Were you near me..... Maybe I'd buy your ready-2-split if I hadn't already got a chainsaw, but I'd not pay a lot for this half way product... £15/m3 delivered. Which must mean there will be nothing in it for you bar shifting the arb waste for free. Give it a little try though, a maul, wedges and sledge is cheap to buy a chainsaw and ppe a bit more, so some guys might like it.

I read that as '... All day dismantling fingers....'. That would be bad! Then I realised you missed a comma!