Steven P

I've never assumed that splitting wood with an axe is safe, ever since I dented the car with a pieve of wood. So far.. lots of shin bruises and cuts, bruised foot a few tmes when logs fall off the chopping block onto it, black eye once (log caught me on tne bridge of my nose), couple of cuts on my hands at the moment where I rubbed them along the edge of the axe blade. No scars yet and the golies are still safe.

Reading this a thought ocured to me, but I am no expert here. As a new start your costs are ging to be lower so perhaps you can afford to spend more time on a job but charge the same. For example, a second hand van and trailer for start up, but upgrading later as you get better finances - but buying or leasing a new van is going to cost more than buying a second hand van (as an example). Similarly the amount of kit you own will be less.. you have less invested in the business and it owes you less to make a profit. Buy a chipper and suddenly you will need to thnk about replacing it and putting money aside for another and probably better model, you now need to save for a new van, new trailer, new chipper, new saws and so on. New start just needs to save for van and saws.

I'm alway of the opinion to split it as soon as you can. it will start drying now rather than in 6 months time, get the job done and out the way. If you get bits that are tricky to slit you can always put them aside and have another go in 6 months (but you can't go in revese, and split tricky bits 6 months ago when green)

Logs all going in 1 direction - I leanrt this years ago (in the Scouts I think) - put each layer at right angles to each other to let the ar through. The secondary school physics of the fire triangle where yuo need heat, air and fuel, bt if the bed of embers won't let the air to the fuel it's not going to go. Similarly if I mss adding fuel and the fire nearly dies, smaller pieves in a pyramid over the embers is often the best way to get it back to life again (for my stove).. alltips you will pick up as you go. Just to note, I don't have the option at the moment of what type of wood to use except the free stuff, so it all goes on and just got to learn heavy and dry = hard wod, light and dry = softwood and each produces a different type of fire. Heavy and wet.. it goes outside again to dry off for next winter

Did anyone see Singapores new year 'fireworks' - all done by drones. Still got to work out if it is a true thing or not, some internet sites say not

OK so it's new year and you're probably not going to get an answer til next week but it might be worth getting in touch with the manufacturer and asking them. Might be that there are the manual online or somewhere to that might give you a clue. Its a very even hole - meant to be there at some point and for some reason just got to work out why. I would consider the washer and bolt and see what happens (would the baflfle plate go back again if there is a bolt in it?)

This might be a very very long shot (and if it isn't would have been suggested a lot earlier)... but give your household insurace a quick call - you never know, you might get lucky

The finances of a wood burning stove don't really add up to the promises you might hear. It is probably not cheaper than gas, or coal (If you have a multi-fuel stove), but it is cheaper than electric heating to buy in seasoned logs ready to go. Like everything you can rduce your costs by doing more yourself. Buy green split logs (ie a tree that was cut down this week, split and dumped on your drive) - this is cheaer than kiln dried logs since there is less work, and storage sace required by your suplier. Get a full unprocessed tree dumped on the drive - cut and split yourself and that is cheaer again (how cheao depends on the tree surgeon).. but you ned tosoend few hundred ££ on saws and axes. Scavage wood and you are likel to get it free but you are adding time and effort to your fuel (plus Christas beers if you scavange from the same land owners all year). Like time and effort you are going to see differences in costs depending on the wood type, everyone wants well seasoned kiln dried oak - and that is a premium. Get air dried leylandi and your cost is massivly reduced (even considering the heat output of each) And somewhere in all of this is where we are happy to be - paying cash to get the wood and the offeort we are adding to process and dry it. Personaly I quite enjoy splitting logs so am hapy to get the cheaest - scavanged logs colected through the year in the back if a Fiesta - takes time but it keps me out f trouble

Tie up with the local coal man - they are used tomaking multiple deliveries and might be happy to diversify, are likely to pass by you once a week. Mine started doing logs last year,

It suprises me you need heating with som eof these amounts - by the time you are up and down feeding the stove, then in and out to bring more fuel in I'd be knackered but also roasting. My 5kw stove, 100sq m 2 storey 1940s semi d I tihnk I will use3 cubic m of sftwood this year, but also about 1000kg of smokeless coal (I woud us moe coal but it is getting wet again, only so much covered storage for it)

Noisy saw.. the neighbour gets her log store filed up so doesn't complain too much.

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