david lawrence

hi i have some oak cut into rings/ logs from limbs knocked off by september winds i want to burn them next year after only one summer how small would you split them to achieve this ? they are approx 18 inches long perhaps split them then cut in half lenght ways thanks

Living willow revetment ? only needs trimmed back once a year cheap easy and no heavy machinery required thus saving the ground could be an option

Living willo

The ash would be just about OK put thru whole as the branch tips are still quite thick the beech would really need to be trimmed or put in thick end first and whipped out as the twiggy tips enter the blades. Then of course you are still left with piles , albeit much smaller, of brash i have tried a few barrow bags full of branch logs but not convinced they dry ok but quicker i do put mine in a vigas boiler mixed with logs works fine

build a pole barn over the top plenty space for air movement condensation problems add a lean too for your logs

if i get busy is there still time to season logs for next year ? nice sunny windy spot to stack them up loosely mostly birch and willow usually cut to 18 inches and split everything at least once make much difference if i cut them shorter ? assuming of course weather gets back to normal no rain here for ages thanks

hi i have a welmac logger with petrol engine its been 100 reliable use the mini logs in the log boiler up to about 50 /50 with logs and woodburner kindling for starting the wood burner is great and to give things a boost i use a bucket full about 1/3 of a bag a night not so good for the boiler but didnt really persist as have loads of fragments from the log splitter which are a1 for kindling as mr billhook says its not as simple as feeding in whole branches too twiggy in most cases ash and chesnut are just about ok to put thru whole some of the bags fall apart as not uv stabilised ??? tried some in barrow bags which were fine but a bit awkward to empty

Hi would you recommend your splitter had it long thanks david

not really any probs with overheating the system as it is a bit undersize for the building in spring or autumn the underfloor heating is a bit of a blunt instrument and things may get a bit hot

six years on a tiny commercial set up 40 kw all good vigas boiler and 2000 litre tank door handle stuck which i cut off and replaced for about £20 and two new fire bricks so pretty reliable burning 100 percent sitka for first 4 years collected from forestry commision clearfell site so fuel cost minimal plus my time wood getting scarce up here now thou initiative will be required but not insurrmoutable i hope paper work biggest hastle but my wife deals with that

Hi a neighbour has a small Sitka shelter wood he intends to thin it or have it thinned i run a small gasifying boiler and as it's less than two miles away am interested in doing a labour for wood swap he is going on a farm woodland scheme and intends to do things by the book so timber will have paper work for rhi what do I need to know? also how much would it be worth stAnding. if anything ? when prices are quoted on here by the tonne is that actually weighted or calculated from the volume Any tips appreciated before I go for a better look thanks david

Hi i am after a shredder to chop up small brash ,hedge trimmings,strimmed vegetation and perhaps mix in wasted haylage , horse poo and leaves With the aim of speeding up composting and ending up with a good perhaps saleable compost i do not need to chip bigger stuff as that goes thru my branch logger so max size 2 /3 centimetres ? probably with its own petrol engine but electric is possible really something with a wide intake not prone to clogging fires the chopped material quite strongly rather than dropping out the bottom does such a thing exist ? alternative ideas ? thanks david

the electric firelighter is called a grenadier on there web site Many customers use their Grenadier for pre-warming problem flues before lighting the fuel. £120 thou perhaps you could track one down to try before spending all that cash

there used to be electric pokers with a fan which would light the fire from scratch bit like a super power hair dryer on legs perhaps you could find one of these to try ? just run it with no wood in to start with