SbTVF

Anybody in Firewood land ever used the posch pack fix style netwrap log Baler systems? Using IBC's to season and kiln dry in but I'm sick of the sight of them around the yard empty and moving the damn things when empty is the most frustrating thing in existence ha! I'd love to pack split Logs up straight off the processor and stack them away to season or kiln. Could potentially even deliver in the form still... Any opinions positive/nuetral/ negative? The plastic waste bugs me a bit but I think I'll probably end up using a lot less fuel moving cages about on balance.

Where in North Yorkshire and do you want it to go in one lot or happy to sell a load of two roadside?

An entirely valid point. Piglets grow best at around 30° from newborn down to 20° ish by 9 weeks old. They also need ventilation to keep the air fresh. So that's a trade off for a start. The buildings are super insulated and after 9 weeks they generate enough heat from themselves to keep the heat up in the sheds with straw to assist.

We looked at heat recovery, it only really works when temperatures are below 6° I think and even then it only would recover 10% of the energy lost. I'd rather dry in summer, the kiln runs better, less cold air to heat up and dryer timber to dry in the first place. Just not far enough ahead yet to fully do that.

Only in that the system is almost entirely paid for by the savings we make on electricity now. The RHI helps make it more affordable and pays for all the wood to chip but the savings would have paid for the system and installation. We'd have another without RHI if it dies after the payments stop. Still cheaper than gas or electric heating for the pigs. I'd say its only 3t of chip per 25t load of hardwood if you apportion it out of the overall usage. We'd never be in a position to turn all the rest of it to use the kiln on its own so I'm not sure how it would affect the usage. I know in summer that sometimes, the kiln holds and builds so much heat that the water temp going back to the boiler is higher that it came out and overheats the boiler if we're not careful!

I'll bite. We use approx 350kg of sub 30% moisture softwood chip (seasoned in the round then chipped as demand dictates) to run the 150kw boiler for a day. 2 farm houses, 3 pig buildings and the kiln. We estimate our boiler uses approx 25% more chip when the kiln is in use. The kiln dries 16cube of logs in 7 days from fresh felled/processed. So less than a ton per cycle if you said the kiln ran 365days a year. I prefer if at all possible, to season in IBC's for as long as possible but if we can get 4 months of good weather on them first it can reduce kiln time to 3 days. We also dry using an AD plant on a Lauber Lenz system in 40yard skips. It's not a 'kiln' but it does a fantastic job and that heat would be wasted if we didn't use it. We use an insulated sheet and vents to save as much heat as we can and speed it up too whereas many just leave the top off on these systems because they're trying to keep the heat meter going round for RHI. The 500mw plant is powered by grass silage, straw based cow manure and a small percentage of vegetable waste from chip/crisp manufacture. We needed our kiln to be as efficient as possible so we didn't use heat we needed for the pigs. The boiler was put it for the pigs and saves 10k of electricity bills from heating a year as a result. Monetarily speaking the outlay for a shed or storage big enough for the volume of dry wood we sell each winter would cost a considerable amount and take up space we do not currently have. Our farm is changing system this year though so hoping to be able to season and kiln where required once we have the space to do it. It'll take us to a level of output where it all makes a lot more sense and can be done more effectively too.

Give Kilworth machinery a shout. They always have loads of second hand machines in stock from exchanges for new tajfuns. The oh27 hakki pilke is worth a look new if its just thinnings you want to do. Might be in your price bracket. On the log side of things, doesn't get much easier than ash thinnings for getting dry quick. As long as you're selling under 20% or in volumes of over 2m3 loose then there's nothing to worry about!

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if certain enterprising people bought them with the intention of selling further down the line. Or intended to use them for farming RHI but couldn't get planning or some other rubbish. Notice how most if not all of them are Glen farrow. Poorly designed kilns and system on the whole. Very inefficient.

That's first sharpen on a rotatech chain. I took next to nothing off. It cuts very well I have to say, feel there's too much beak done with a 55° angle on the disk but will see how many cube it lasts for tomorrow. Will try some different angles on another rotatech and see what happens!

Thanks, I've watched them before along with many others. I understand the method and aim particularly with hand filing, it's just the grinder wheel is a different kettle of fish from working from the side with a file.

Full chisel I did today. Certainly looks and feels sharp enough. Will go test now!

Have we any experienced chainsaw bench grinder users on the forum? Just bought an Oregon 620 for doing our processor chains and the manufacturer guide might as well be non existent, YouTube is vaguely useful but there are some real idiots on there too! I'll probably buy a CBN disk for it though, they seem to leave a better finish and make a quicker job. First chains I've done are cutting OK with nice even chips but not as quick cutting as when I hand filed. Using semi-chisel (oregon 73DPX)mostly as we've got a fair bit of dirty timber currently after it's been chucked about by the harvester and forwarder. I'm hoping my lack of skill with it is the reason for the slowness not the nature of the method! I know how a sharp chain needs to be to cut well, I can do it well by hand even without a guide but the processor likes precision and can't be done on the machine so it's an old bar in a vice job and it's just nothing like doing it on a saw. Apart from the fact it gives me cramp holding a file after more than 1 chain. I'll add some pictures of cutters I've done tomorrow. Here's hoping for some advice!

Leave it in decent chunks if I were you, like 5" Square chunks. It burns quite quickly but plenty of heat and a good flame.

Alder.

Any 18". 058 bar with a little adjustment of the stopper on the bar ram. Best off going for a cannon if you want longevity! Semi chisel chains also last considerably longer and grade your timber and only put full chisel on for stuff over 12" even then the benefit of cut speed probably isn't beaten by the need to change chain slightly more often. If its clean timber though its worth it.

Will send you a PM shortly. Got a contact.

Yes on closer inspection I'd say that too. The stringy bark made me jump to conclusions.

I'm going Elm.

The son of the owner of paradise farm tea rooms at the top of boltby Bank has a big mobile diesel bandsawmill but there's every chance its still not working even though its 3 years since I last saw it. Tried to buy it but he was certain he was going to get it running to use it himself...

That's the way to do it! Brilliant idea! Need me a d7.

Fully agree. I prefer Larch over anything other than beech or hawthorn actually. It absolutely belts out the heat! And christ its so much better to process! Starting to shift a bit this year, it dries so much better in the kiln even from fresh felled too.

Where are you based? Would kill for one of those!!

Yep same issue. It was the pipe from the oiler to bar the first time. Then the part of the oiler where that pipe goes in had been over tightened and had cracked, replaced with the cheaper one Kilworth offered but it's still leaking from somewhere in there. No idea where. I just put up with it. Too busy cutting to worry right now. Just don't leave the tank topped up if you're not going to use it quickly.

We put diverters on the bucket crowd ram to run the rotator on our takeuchi. The hammer line is double acting though so that runs the grab function.

That's £55a ton roadside all day long without even trying if there's a full load.