Steven P

How can these upset you?

My only thought about sawdust is that for a given voluum, there isn't so much actual wood n there - a lot of air - so what might look like a big pile of wood isn't that much. OK I don't have a sawduxt burner but when I burn sawdust on the wod burner I have to pretty jush sit by the burner feeding it constantly - dry sawduxt burns that quick.

Tea light holder was simple - The Boy ade one! (though I did the drilling) A og slit so it was quite thin and then 3 hles driled in to hld the candles.

Yes, less dense wood wil burn faster

Whch would burn longer? (If it will continue to burn) the single larger log will take longer to burn, split it and it will burn quicker. I think it is all to do with the surface area of the log - the more surface area, the larger area for the fire (sort of - am sure there s a technical term for this). Jotul website is probably correct, any log over 10cm in length should be split - not a translation error - 10cm long or more (so a 30cm long log should also be split...) My preference is a smaller diameter log just to get the heat output, but also thinner logs dry quicker (I tend to split mine 4 ways regardless to maximise surface drying area)

So before I start, I collect fire wood (with permission) from waste wood from the neighbouring cemetry, it helps them out keeping their site clear and keeps me warmer n the winter. So Cindy got a knock at the door yesterday "Do you take things from the cemetry", "Oh you mean the logs" (after a bit of thought) "yes do you want some" "Errr OK " which for a conversation starter is unusual. The rest of the conversation went along the lines of "Can Steven chop logs" "He has axes and saws, yes" "OK, we'll tip a load of logs off, if you can move the car we'll come down the drive as far as we can".. So the text I got was "You might get a few logs delivered today" turns out it was 1/4 of quite a long drive - I need to teach Cindy that 'a few logs' might be more than that... and I also need to teach her how to use the saw and the axe.. 1/4 of the drive... and we got the rest of the logs today (double yesterdays). So just on the off chance it was you that left me pretty much next years fire wood - thanks, much appreciated. I think. I've got a busy weekend ahead of me.

outside my wood isn't covered but if I dig down a few layers, it is OK and dry at the moment - might be worth digging out the driest, covering it well, restacking the rest and see what you get from that

Yup, I would sy the same, your cotract is with whoever phones and gives you the work - so they pay you. I'll add though that with this client you might like say that yuo will help him wth his claim to the insurers for example as an expert to confirm that the tree is dangerous etc. - which is what he might actually need

I'm no expert but lookig at the photo and coversation, if digging some soil out could be an issue, can you raise it up? If yuo had a nearly level etrance to the house, instead of of a step you have what 75mm? you can raise the soil level up by?

... cold... my typing has always been a bt fishy

How do the log supplers make a living? We all pay nothing! (same here). I guess I would have to compare wood price vs smokless fuel price (£25 a week in the winter) - but I have no idea how much wood I would use if I just burnt wood in the middle of winter, my coal man does logs for £85 for a bulk bag (Glasgow area)

I can claim 7 years now - ish

Couple of comments The charts are ore for radiators - which in turn you work out the size of voler you need - not so relevant for an electric heater wth a thermostat (got to get radiators right, a pain I guess if you have them too small an need to upgrade. and possoly upgrade the boiler too). For elctric heater ig you et it too small it is chea enough tojust buy a second one. Infrared heating to make it cheaper? Never convinced by threse tyes of claims, if you want the room to be 20 degC, or 25 deg C. then you need to put in the same amout of energy. Sure - if you arn't moving about shie an infrared heater at your desk, but as soon as you move about the room you'll feel cod again. Also in a garage, you want some warmth in the ar to stop things getting damp - so go with a fan heater One thing to note, if the office is not occupied, do make sure that the heater won't overheat anything when you leave, with a fire hazard. To answer, yes oil filled, 2.5kw sounds OK. Since it is oil filled it will take a wile t heat the room first thing but will retain its heat in the evening when yu shut up and kee the office warmer overnight

Might be way off the mark, but I had a job once climbing communications towers - and from the top of them you can see loads of stuff that needs to be climbed to maintain them. Comms twers, electricity pylons and so on, depends how much you like climbing

It was generic compatable glass. No problems with it so far.

Im not up to speed on the regs these days, but... so long as you arn't adding to certain tyes of circuit, or altering its protection (the fuse / RCD) then you're OK. Like everything its all for safety - get the cooker wiring wrong and it will just trip the RCD - get a fuse box wrong and it might never trip and then kill you. Cable - B&Q fr about £10 when we got ours, or reuse the old one. Nor here that when ours was deliered we paid for the old ome to be taken away.. and the old cable went too (to be fair we inherited the oven with the house and 10 yers of it no tbeing cleaned I canunderstand why they left it it was worth it to get it take way). I did wonder how self cleaning ovens worked. But... 500 deg C and its clean? so how come my wood burner glass doesn't self clean?

Massive problem with toads is they look like bark. Had a mouse nest in the garage logs one year - nice and cosy and dry for them (no food in the garage so it was just bed for the) -mice were long gone by the time I got to it. Squirrels and seeing the lead flashing - they gnawed through the wheelie bin ld and starting living in it one year, I tipped it up so the squirrel cold get out then took it in the garage to patc hit with mesh and fibre glass, next day got a text "The squirell is in the bin" - sneaky thng must have been sat in the there hiding and watching - and then high as a kite all morning from th fumes. Kind of glad it did keep still rather than jumpng out. I ddn't have the heart to let the bin men take it with them.

I have one living in my freshly cut log pile ( am wanting to stack these for the year so toad will be homeless soon) Couple of questions, does aonyone else have interesting wildlife in their wood piles? (we also had a wood wasp the other year too -huge ad scary looking) Second question, has anyone left any wood piles to atract wildlife and any tips like just throw them in a pile, stack tem, stack them on pallets or bricks or rocks? part bury them? (Mr Toad eats slugs, slugs eat my vegies, mr Toad is good)

Looking back 12 months, I was getting my stove ready for the winter. I put in screed fire brcks (see quote) a year ago and so far so good, they appear to be harder wearing than what I was using before. The one at the back has cracked...but I put that down to the grate falling apart and warping last easter. The faces of the bricks are still in good shape. They even came out and went back in again without breaking - thats a first after being in for a year. So far so good. Just to uodate for the thread, the stove is 7 now, had 3 or 4 sets of fire bricks, a new grate (ny fault for not clearing the ashes out) and ew glass (Cindy fault for slamming the door shut oto a log) [ just needs a new baffle plate (next winter i think) and the internals have all been changed.

Ahhh, yes, the garage, I live in Scotland so fully expect it to rain for 90 days in the next 180, the logs have to get under cover somewhere One thing I forgot to mention before, I make my log piles in sections - so for example tonight I movd some inside and took out a section - but because of this the logs either side didn't fall into the hole that made. Got mine on a palet in the garage, but outsde I just raise them up on bricks - its a space thing that my log pile is longer andthinner rathr than square

OK so I am moving my dry logs ito the garage this week (don't worry, the car has never got close to the garage, doesn't know what it's missing), and the part dried and fresh logs are to be restacked to dry where the dry logs were. I know this sounds like a lot of hassle but it frees up some drive space. Just womdering if anyone has any fool proof ways that dry the logs quickest. I am considering stackig them in rows against the wall, with an air gap of 5 - 10cm between the row, and using longer logs as a roof. In the past I have made hollow circular houss withe the walls a couple of logs thick, plus a roof - the boys played in them in the sumer and the inside walls of the logs were always dry. Sowhat are your top tips?

Looking at it from ther point of view to play devils advocate, its a domestic property.. and how many domestic properties have tipper trucks r grabbers parking up round the back? So when it was installed, above car height, it was suitable and that might their reply - its suitable height fr a domestic property but if you want it raised because the proerry is changing use (they will see it that way if you park plant there) then thats something yo uwill have to pay for.

I must remember to say hat next time I get out my wish list of 2 stroke toys

I was looking at them just now, they also have a chain sharpener for £20, and was going to ask on here what people thought consdering the price of the machine

In glasgow and in the winter it will be on most of the day, obviously building up to that as winter starts and ends. Iver he summer probaby a coupeofhours a month to move the air around the house and remove damp