Gav73

If you think he’s going to have more in the future, why don’t you let him process it and see how much he’s selling it for at the roadside? If it’s unseasoned, how many people would pay top dollar for it? if it doesn’t sell, he might be happier for you to do the donkey work to just get rid of it.

Reading this with interest, anyone know what’s happening in Scotland as I’m thinking Woodsure covers England only?

I’ll send you a message 👍

I started off with the smaller version of this, bought the same one you have last year and now use all six uprights in different positions depending on whether I’m using the firewood myself or selling it! Totally agree. Great piece of kit at a good price

Whereabouts are you based, I’m looking for a kindling supplier!

I’ve had two of these over time. They rust away very quickly, the tyres perish and getting spare parts is a nightmare as the axles sizes seem to change slightly from brand to brand - even though they all look identical and are probably all made in the same Far East factory! The other issue is the handles, put too much weight on and pull it up a slope and the linkage for the front wheels break. I have cannibalised my two into one and have fabricated my own replacement parts. But I still find that a good old fashioned wheelbarrow works best.

The last lot of oak I had was split into pieces no more than 3 inches at the thick end. Max length was around 16 inches. I didn’t burn them for 2 1/2 years. They were under cover with no rain getting on them, but in a nice windy and sunny spot. I also didn’t stack them as tight as I normally would to allow as much air to blow through as possible. I reckon I could have used them after 2 years of seasoning.

Got to the root (or should I say roots) of the problem! The airflow was an issue - the room the fire is in has no vents, with the internal doors closed, the fire isn’t getting enough air. second problem was the amount of wood he had stacked in it - or should I say wedged! No room for any airflow. And final problem was that he didn’t fuel the fire until it was nearly out, and again overfilled it, which just made it smoulder. Would have seen the problems if I could have gone round to watch what was happening - damn Covid! Thankfully a quick video chat helped to resolve it!

Good point 👍🏻

It’s been moisture meter checked and coming out of 15-20%. Yes, could be that smaller pieces are needed until it’s established. Cheers

Bit of a bizarre one. I’ve been burning some beech in my wood burning stove this week and it’s been fine, however I gave some to a friend for his open fire and it doesn’t burn well, it just smokes. There’s plenty of draw on the chimney (it’s recently had the a new, bigger cowl fitted giving it much more draw than it had), the wood is seasoned, he’s using plenty of kindling to get it going, but it just seems to start smoking once the kindling has burnt out. Anyone got any idea what could be causing this as I’m at a loss!

That’s why we got rid of the oil and moved on to the wood stove! no thanks to the string vest, I wouldn’t want the tan lines when I stand in front of the stove ? When the firewood I use is all free, I don’t really worry about how much we go through ?

A bit of all three! House is split over three areas with the original sandstone part of the house being the coldest as it doesn’t get much sun. The insulation isn’t great in this area, but everywhere else it’s heavily insulated. To insulate the sandstone part would mean considerable upheaval and stripping back to the bare bones. we do like a warm house 22 degrees on average and the stove is on 24/7 in the winter.

Yep. It has a back boiler that runs 12 radiators and the hot water tank. how much wood we go through really depends on the weather. If it’s mild we will go through about a cube a week, but if it’s sub zero for a while then that would double. we do exactly the same, save the bigger pieces for when the longer burn is needed.

Wow that’s a long time to season! I find that the time it takes to season depends on where I stack it. I can get some of my firewood down to 25% within 6 months if it’s in the most sunny and windy spot of the garden

That’s such a waste. I would never throw away any wood ? I’ve got a cube of it stacked that will be ready for next summer and another 2 cube of it which will be good for next winter. Really do love the smell of it on an outdoor fire

Anyone else had the joy of splitting eucalyptus? Find it hard going as the grain tends to be twisted, but the smell makes up for that and my sinuses love it!

Having tried once (unsuccessfully) to split a round of hornbeam with a maul, I can relate to the effort involved, but can also say it’s incredible firewood when it’s seasoned

I’ve been splitting my own firewood for the last 12 years. I’ve tried the log grenades - more effort than they’re worth and I actually snapped one in half, if you do go down that route get at least two of them, because they always get stuck! I’m have an array of hatchets, axes and mauls - ranging from Stihl to a massive wedge splitting head welded to a piece of scaffolding pole. Now this might upset the purists out there, but the one I always go back to is the cheapo one I bought in Aldi - the length is spot on for me and the shape of the wedge is perfect for splitting! I must also admit to being on my third splitter (current one is a 20 ton rock machinery one) and unless it’s nice and straight grained logs and I fancy a workout or feel I’m out of practice with the axe, I prefer the splitter!

We’ve been heating our house and hot water for 12 years using a woodwarm 21kw stove. We live in a rural part of Scotland in an old cottage (lowest temperature we’ve experienced was minus 17 centigrade) and find it works great. Yes it is hard work, but there’s nothing better than having a warm house. Like others have said, insulation is a priority otherwise all the effort with the firewood is just going to waste. During winter our stove is on 24/7, we stack it up before going out or going to bed and it keeps it going for when we come back. We do find that using the right type of wood at the right times is key though. For example, there’s no point using softwood to stack up the stove if you’re going out for 8 hours, but if you pick a good dense wood like oak or cherry, it will still be going. It’s also useful to split the firewood into different sizes for the same reason. Smaller pieces burn through quicker. Worth pointing out as well that when the temperature drops, we will use more firewood to maintain the warm house and fire up a small cooker stove in the kitchen to help in the mornings (very small firebox and any firewood put in it only lasts 30 mins max!)

Read this thread with interest. My cottage is heated by two wood burning stoves and I’ve been processing all my own firewood for about 5-6 years and I’ve been selling some firewood for the last three years, nothing big, Just nets to local people. I’ve built up a nice little customer base through word of mouth and the income has paid the running costs with a bit left over. I’m now in a position where the money I made last year paid for a new MS391 and rock machinery venom splitter. Both of these should help me get everything done quicker than the old MS181 and axe! what started off as a bit of a “hobby” and a desire to have free heating has just continued to grow! All my logs come from the waste of tree surgery work and I have a steady stream of new timber all year round. I’ve no intention of making this a big business as I just don’t think it would be viable, but I think there’s definitely some money in it if it’s kept small and manageable

Thanks for all the suggestions! Just to clarify, my phone decided to autocorrect decompression valve into compression value - sometimes phones just aren’t smart! ?

Hi all, looking for some tips on startIng my MS391. I bought it new a couple of months ago and am finding it hard to start. The guys I work with seem to be able to start it - but I always seem to struggle. My other chainsaws haven’t had the compression value and I don’t know whether this is causing my challenges. Any tips gratefully received!