Rob_the_Sparky

Quote from the BBC: "Restrictions on the use of wood burners and open fires in homes and businesses will be introduced for the whole of Reading borough from the start of December." You look at the Reading council pages ( " What you can burn if you live inside a SCA For residents In a smoke control area you can only burn fuel on the list of authorised fuels, or any of the following ‘smokeless’ fuels, unless you’re using a Defra approved appliance: anthracite semi-anthracite gas low volatile steam coal Unauthorised fuels, such as wood must be properly seasoned, and can only be burned in exempt appliances. When purchasing wood, look for the ‘Ready to Burn’ logo as a guarantee of good quality dry wood." You look at that list of exempt appliances and and it is huge and includes MANY MANY wood burners (for England at least, different lists for Ireland, Wales and Scotland) so in fact the limitation on burning wood in these areas in a woodburner (or multifuel burner) is not really applicable to a lot of woodburners despite the slightly scary headlines. Links: Wood burners: Smoke fines to be introduced to Reading in December WWW.BBC.CO.UK Reading Borough Council say fines for breaching the restrictions would be between £175 and £300. Smoke Control Areas - Reading Borough Council WWW.READING.GOV.UK Reading Borough Council

so you got a second hand high quality stove that was a bit rough. Old design but it was quality at the time. Different from getting a rough second hand stove that was not high quality when new. Good points made above about installation though and each to their own IMHO but you need to know what you might hit to make an informed decision. If I were looking second hand I'd want to know it was a quality stove when it was new...

Putin will not risk looking weak domestically, you can hide a huge amount from your population but withdrawing after suffering huge losses for no gain, even in Putin's Russia, would not go down well. Hence. I see no likelihood of him withdrawing anytime soon.

Does anyone still use CB radios? That sounds like what you want (unless you are after location services as well but you can get that from the phone GPS already). Decent range and always used to have an emergency channel to use. Been MANY MANY years since I used it though so no idea if it is still well used. E.g. Hand Held CB WWW.KCB.CO.UK Hand-held walkie talkie type CBs, battery powered.

Best to try adding yourself to the tip site or contacting local firms.

If you talk to paving companies you can get something similar (smaller) for nothing as the Indian paving stone that is quite commonly used is delivered in them. Made of hardwood as well (rough bits but still) if they are the same as the ones I got. They were a bit small for my tastes but free is free

and getting IBCs into a back garden might not be so easy for home owners. I built something a bit more permanent using secondhand (free) fence posts (just cut off the rotten bit that was in the ground) and old pallet wood + some wood stain. Couple of blocks of concrete to keep it off the ground to stop it rotting and you have a structure that can survive many years. The above is quick and simple, if you put the base on something to keep it off the floor then the air flow is better and the base will last longer, although you may not be that bothered. Interesting alternative.

Errm, Ledbury is not in the North

I use loopers on mine (ratcheting anvil type) for heavy stuff and just a boggo electric hedge trimmer for general tidy. Used to use secateurs but for the difference in time I can put up with some sliced leaves! The hedge trimmer is no match for woody bits but if done regularly (e.g. annually) that is not a problem. Although clearly I do not always manage that, hence the use of loppers! Don't know if the OP is commercial or a home owner so unclear what best would be in his case. (I'm home owner)

I would think it would have to be but best for the OP to confirm

and/or talk to your local tree surgeons

and ask them directly, just don't ask for it for free. Everyone has a crust to make. You might be offered it for minimal cost but don't ask for it, just remember the deal has to work both ways.

Thanks both

I'd describe as something between felt and a sheet of cotton wool. It is VERY weak and will tear super easily.

Does this help? This is the back of the bar that distributes the air showing the sealing material, which as you can see is no longer sealing very much.

I'm doing a bit of maintenance on my stove (Clearview Pioneer, new insulation and baffle plate) and found that the bar at the back has a sealing material between it and the back of the stove. It is an emissions control stove so has a bar above the back board that lets in ait just below the baffle plate and feed from two square holes in the back of the burner. Anyway, there is a fine white almost felt like material used to prevent air leaks from these ports into the bar that has seen better days. It also appears to have been used to seal the cover plate for the unused chimney output in the back of the stove. Can anyone advise what this material is as no where can I see anything like this listed in the spare parts lists for clearview (or stoves more generally TBH). I suspect it is some sort of generic gasket material but not being in the industry I do not know what I'm asking for TBH. I'd guess it is 1 or 2mm thick, white, felt like to handle and clearly high temperature resistant given it is almost in the firebox.

Try the tip site and/or getting in direct contact with local firms.

"Treated waste wood and household rubbish can emit harmful fumes and toxic pollutants, such are arsenic, into your home when burnt." HT pallets are heat treated, no chemicals used and TBH it is hard to find a pallet that is not this now, there are some so you have to check but not many. Nothing wrong with burning these. Those "wood" blocks contain glue so you might not want to burn those. As above though lots of surface area, very dry softwood will burn fast. If you do not give it enough air then you will get soot (incomplete burn). I only use them for kindling TBH as it just burns too fast for much else.

What is it worth to you? If you are short on wood then pay £20. If you are overflowing with wood already then why would you?

Yep theft is free but I'm afraid that is what it is if you go down the woods with a saw without permission. The general advice is don't ask for free wood. You might get it if it benefits both sides (saves them a trip back to base for example) but don't expect it. Branches generally go through the chipper so you are unlikely to get those TBH. Best advice though is contact local tree surgeons, just don't start the conversation with "I want free stuff", it might not go well. They are running a company afterall. If it is just for garden burning have you considered pallets? Most are heat treated nowadays and companies commonly have to pay for them to be removed. They are already dry so no time need to dry out before you can burn them, just a bit of effort to cut them...

@OP Don't give up, getting started from scratch in any industry is not easy.

When we need some storage in a hurry we usually turn to pallets around here. They are used a lot by local companies who get stuff delivered on them so have piles of them they are more than happy for you to remove for them (we actually pay people at our place to get rid of them when they pile up too much!). You can soon nail a few together to produce a makeshift log store, just need a roof of some sort and if you have the time to break them up then you can again use pallets! As ever free stuff is good

Yeah, we don't see extremes like you clearly do. You have to do what works for you. Norwegian Wood (a good book) covers a shed design with doors that are removed in summer and fitted in winter to keep the snow out. I have no experience of such a design but it sounds sensible, you get air in summer and keeps snow out in winter. I built log racks out of old fence posts for the verticals and roof supports with slat walls and floor made from planks from pallets. One has a slat roof which works OK, lets a bit of water in with heavy rain but wood dries OK. Other has corrugated plastic roof. Sounds like this sort of thing would be of little use for you in winter. Even here the plastic roof is not lasting, will probably need replacing this year but the idea was to get more heat in there in summer. Not sure what I'll try next. I too keep the wood outside initially, try to keep 2 years of worth of wood on site if I can. 1 year split and under cover to burn and the rest as it arrived, in a stack with a simple cover over the top; old advertising hording (sort of material they make curtain sides for trucks out of) with whatever planks to hand to hold it down, mostly fence posts as they last and are free. In the process of building a 3.6mx3.6m covered area (put the roof up last year) and will be putting a floor in plus some slatted walls in this year. I used to dry half my wood outside in summer and then put it in the garage (then refill the racks) but that was not great with trying to get a car in there as well + made a mess. Wood was very dry as a result though despite the limited time in the racks. Aim for me is not to bring it inside now but leave it all under this new covered area. Longer time to dry but will be outside in winter so may get damp again.

To dry wood you want a lot of air flow (to get rid of the humidity/evaporating water), can't see a lot of that shed but from the photo it looks quite enclosed so drying might be a bit slower than an ideal situation, unless it is more open than it looks.

and there was me thinking you said there was lava in your logs! Now that would be impressive 😁