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Would you sell any of it separately? Ie the processor log deck?

Have a look at the growi x power best thing I’ve seen for splitting oversize rings.

Kilnservices.co.uk make far better kilns than glen farrow. Didn’t think they were too badly priced but we built our own in the end.

They think 30% moisture is acceptable so I wouldn’t take any notice of their advice. Any Wood is good when properly dry, never taken issue with any species.

We have an import B1701 which is a cracking little tractor. Has rice tyres on it, fantastic in the woods. Not so comfy on the road though!

Ours is a Froling t4 150kw. Not exactly been faultless but it’s still excellent.

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 Not too bad really. So looking at no more than £5 per cube per year to run the kiln at capacity. Entirely feasible.

The way I understood it originally was that it had to be for an existing use. So those drying logs had to already be selling firewood previously but I don’t think ofgem give a monkeys. Or maybe I misunderstood it. Certainly lots putting in boilers and starting out with logs from nothing. The company that rhymes with fakeland bogs that sells kiln dried wetter than an otters pocket was doing it purely off the back of the earnings off RHI because he certainly couldn’t give a monkeys about on going trade customer relations for the future!

Cheers frank. We have 3 of those running all year so I’ll do some maths on the electric they use!

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!

About 1%. People are brainwashed into think only hardwood is any good I’m afraid! Occasionally get one brave soul to try softwood and they’re usually happy with it I have to say.

You learn something new every day! Never had any issues with big pieces in my Charnwood c4 though I have to say.

Oh yeah definitely. We only use 100t of softwood roundwood a year. We also use as much arb waste, hedgerow clearings and any other fallen trees (lots of big knackered willow at the side of the streams near us) that chip up great after storing for 12 months. Saves a decent amount. We maybe use an extra 20t per year at the most due to the kiln. Not even £1000 of softwood. Still works out cheaper than putting up another steel framed building to season logs in. We’re short of space anyway so can’t sacrifice much more room for one! I’d happily sell seasoned or fresh out the stack for people to dry themselves and I’m always trying to get people to do that but they just don’t seem interested in the extra effort. They’d rather have it on demand ready to burn the second it arrives. We’ve got to supply the demand.

The fans in the kiln cost more to run than the chip that runs the kiln by quite some margin. We’ll be needing solar panels by the time RHI runs out! In our case firewood and the kiln weren’t even factored into the cost of our installation as the primary use of the boiler is to heat livestock sheds. For this reason I would like to think that our business can outlast the others in the area, given that we’re taking their business on a regular basis anyway I’m not worried. Some companies are undoubtedly based around the RHI payments but the good ones will survive.

Looks great! Those teletrucks look handy machines!

Ben we’re literally 5 minutes from Stockton. I’ll PM you my number. [emoji106]

Would say Sycamore Sycamore Oak Ash Sycamore Oak or elm maybe. Looks quite stringy. Not sure on last one from the photo. Splitting axe wise you want a fiskars x21 or the next size below for kindling making. If the biggest bits fit in your fire don’t split them, it’ll burn longer than the two halves on their own. Use any bark or little bits for kindling though, it’s all good!

A loose cubic metre bag of sub20% hardwood weighs between 275-350kg depending on species. Oak/beech being on the heavier end. On my experience at least. Wet? Maybe 500kg or thereabouts per cubic metre. I know our mustang with a 900kg lift will manage 2 IBC’s but can be a bit wobbly if there’s a heavier species in there.

Weight density? At what moisture roughly? Fresh cut or dry?

Fully agree, build a decent store and don’t mess about with some tiny thing that will only store a months wood. Get it filled up in the next few months with part seasoned and you’ll do fine for next year!

And a ‘2RM’ of 2m3 stacked crate is the external dimensions of the crate not the volume of the logs. Measured a crate a neighbour had delivered off the luxury log company and it was only 1.6m3 stacked!

So exactly the same then right? [emoji6] except you’re getting British wood and supporting more than just one business, there’s the whole supply chain to think about. Mixed hardwood is good, each species has its place when it comes to stoves. I like birch and sycamore to start with and ash/beech later on. I could do without oak entirely personally.

Logs to your door look perfectly decent for what you want. As long as it’s below 25% you’ll be fine.

I’d be buying from certainly wood if I were you. Atleast it’s British timber. Most crated suppliers are imported wood bar the odd one that are mad enough to stack their own crates. I’m sure there’ll be a supplier on here that is more local to you and could do you a much better price than these importers.

It was certainly a thought, it’s just the double handling that puts me off. if I delivered in a tipper loose then it’d be easy to cut the net and drop the logs in the back. As we deliver in bags it’s easier to process straight into them for seasoned stuff. What goes in the kiln goes into IBC’s or purpose built stillages and is tipped into bags with the excavator forks. Still it might be worth a try for the sake of an afternoons messing about!