carbs for arbs

Curious as to why you recommend it should be cut to lengths under 12"? Ta

Quick reply to say we found a bit of an unlikely solution for darkening / staining the hearth.... Coffee! We used it on some of the lighter bits of mortar too and are really pleased with how it's come out. Free, no chemicals, and a couple of days buzzing my tits off from the extra caffeine

Great replies - thank you very much. I'm pleased to hear it should be good for a fair few years (if covered, etc.) @Mrblue5000 and @Dan Maynard - I don't suppose you have any photos of what you've done/what you have in mind? Actually, it would be great to see any photos of people's rough and ready shelters. We'll be building posher wood shelters nearer the house at a later date, and I'll no doubt be back asking about that when the time comes. For now though if anyone wants to share their rougher efforts I'd love to see them. Cheers

Hi Thanks for all the replies... More than I expected! Do I **need** wellies? I guess not totally, but we do have a stream that runs the length of the garden and I do find myself in it from time to time sawing fallen branches. The instructions state: "The footwear should be visually assessed for suitability after 5 years of storage". When I quizzed the makers they said that the issue would (could?) be the rubber deteriorating. I replied that I can visually inspect the rubber to tell if it's ok, but they insisted that they could not guarantee the safety of them after 5 years storage. It felt like arse covering to me tbh, which is why I thought I'd asked for more practical thoughts here. @Wonky - I'm not quite sure what to say about that animated picture! The reason I bought them, apart from the stream (and generally/usually wet garden) was: - Price. They were £25 in the end. - I'm a vegan. I'd buy leather boots if I absolutely had to and there weren't alternatives, but there were, so.... Leather style boots tend to be leather, or at least when I looked I wasn't finding synthetic ones - Frequency of use... I've got a load of felled ash trees I need to process. Once that's done, I'll only be using the chainsaw on rare occasions. It's all just personal use. I'm loving my new bowsaw and I'm even thinking of getting a crosscut saw, which would mean even less chainsaw use. If I was planning to use it more, or work in the trade, then I'd have definitely looked to spend more on something better and more comfortable. Thanks again for all the contributions

Hi Bit of an unfair question I guess, but I thought I'd see what you guys with experience think nonetheless.... I'm hoping to have my first proper go with a chainsaw soon and so I've been buying in the PPE I need. I bought a pair of chainsaw wellingtons which I did not realise until after buying are around 10 years old (i.e. 10 years since they were manufactured). Apparently they should be discarded after 5 years from the date of manufacture. They are definitely new / unused and I imagine have been sat in the original box in a warehouse all this time. Would you still follow the manufacturers' guidance and not use them, or do you think they'd be ok? Many thanks

I think the write up is clear and covers everything perfectly. Good work That's the only bit I'm not certain about. I thought I had read that the law (or official guidance) of 20% definitely is wet basis. But I can't find that now and maybe I remembered it wrong, so take what I say with a pinch of salt! Cheers

Hi all Had around 20-30 poor roadside ash taken down this week But every cloud and all that = more firewood In fact, I think we'll have enough to last quite a few years. Who knows, maybe even a decade+.... We'll do our best to get it all off the ground and under cover; even if just covered with tarps for now. But aside form that, does anyone have tips as to how best process it for long term storage? Instinct tells me to keep in long lengths and to not split it, but that's just guess work. So any knowledgeable views would be helpful. I'm also interested in whether people think it's even possible for it to last many years without rotting / decaying. It's very wet where we live! Cheers

That's all good to hear, although after the initial tests I think I would still feel more comfortable getting it checked over and/or serviced by someone who knows what they're doing (i.e. not me!) Sorry, I should have added that I removed that!

My apologies... Things got in the way! I've built a makeshift wood shelter and processed a whole load of wood which is now sitting nicely in it. All using my bow saw. But with 20 odd ash trees coming down soon it's got me to thinking about the chainsaw again and so here I am. I've not had a chance to get Aspen yet so I haven't started it. But I have taken some photos this morning. No idea whether photos are helpful but didn't think they'd hurt. If anyone in Carmarthenshire / Llandeilo area is interested in taking a look at the chainsaw and/or giving a few starter tips in using it for processing firewood, then beer tokens or return favours await Cheers

@trigger_andy - yes, I think you're right, as bizarre and daft as it sounds!

That's good to hear. I note other stoves like Clearview have a maximum of 350C. Even the small 4kW Woodwarm (the Foxfire) states a maximum of 350C. I guess there's a lot more to it than just stats, and I've learnt also how a lot more heat radiates from the glass; of which the Fireview has a nice large panel (someone also pointed out that its no accident that the new EcoDesign stoves have large windows). But even so, 230C just seemed low comparatively. And like I said above, even the thermometers show optimum burn as up to 300C. Speaking of thermometers, both are available. The Clearview thermometer is for the stove itself and is to be placed just above the door. The Woodwarm thermometer has dual readings; one for the stove and the other for the flue. And I've seen others that are designed/calibrated for the stove body... Many thanks for all the great replies.

As I understand it (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the building trade uses dry basis. And almost all moisture meters measure on a dry basis. Some great replies in here, thanks everyone.

Hi First up a confession - I have asked this on other forums... But I'd be interested in some more opinions on the matter and there seems to be a lot of knowledgeable folk 'round here I'm curious as to what temperature the body of your stoves get to (anyone use a thermometer on the stove itself?). And/Or - if you've read the manual that came with it - what the manufacturer species as the maximum? The reason I ask is because we've narrowed our search down to the Woodwarm Fireview. I was reading through the manual online and it says the maximum stove body temp is 230C. That seems quite low to me. A quick glance at some of the stove thermometers out there and I see they show an optimum burn range. One has this at 150-300C, another at 200-350C. The Woodwarm made thermometer shows up to 300C as optimum! For the record, the manual I was reading refers to the whole range of Fireviews, which has models up to 20kW. So the 230C max. applies to them all. And the manual goes on to say "...avoid continuous running at the maximum..." Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether a maximum 230C body temperature is low and whether that will affect performance? I appreciate a lot goes into the design of wood stoves and there's a lot more to them than the statistics. And I've also read many glowing reports on Woodwarm; often mentioned in the same breath as Clearview. Nevertheless, this surprised me. Ta

Hi As per the post in my other thread, I thought best to start a new thread for this rather than bury it in that one. I can't remember exactly where I read it - might have even been within this forum - but I think more than once temperature has come up as something to consider when measuring moisture content. In fact, I'm sure I read that this can cause far more variance than wood species selection. I've had to send the first meter I bought back as it stopped working properly. But when I get a replacement, I'll have a play about with measuring the same log outdoors and indoors and seeing how much of a difference it makes, then report back. I the meantime though I wondered if anyone here has found that temperature makes a big difference in readings, and/or has any thoughts on whetehr logs should be measured outdoors, indoors, etc.? Cheers

I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on how much temperature plays a part, but I'm going to start a new thread on that otherwise it might get a bit buried in here and would need four pages of reading for anyone to get to it! Hope that's within forum etiquette... Cheers

Thanks @Woodworks - that's very helpful

Well, the Amazon MM I got (link in first post) has started conking out already, so think I'll be sending that back and trying something else. I have been wondering whether a table exists that shows different species of wood and what adjustments to make to the reading for what species is being tested. Does anyone know of such a table? I guess it would be quite useless if you don't know what type of wood the meter is set-up/calibrated to in the first place, but it would be interesting to see nonetheless... @difflock - the only GEM meter I found was for testing grain and cost around a grand!

Funnily enough, I was reading an article earlier which said exactly this. Made so much sense and seemed obvious once I'd read it, but I'd never thought of it like that... I guess there is sacrificial and sacrificial though, and in the case of pointing it is quite a long terms sacrifice! We're not actually pointing though, just filling a few gaps, and the main reason - which may or may not seem daft - is to stop the heat going into the gaps (would prefer it to come into the room!). Thanks Yes, they're on our radar for several potential jobs, like when we do the full repointing, and also if we have to lime externally once the concrete render comes off. But because this is such a small job, and won't be seen, I'm not sure if that's necessary tbh. So long as a standard mortar will handle the heat and not fall out after a few weeks, then we're good with that; although still not sure what mix to use, what sand, whether to use plasticiser, etc. Thanks for the post

Thanks for replying @slim reaper You must have been well chuffed uncovering all of that. We really enjoyed uncovering our fireplace, and look forward to removing the rest of the plaster. Aside from that and some beautiful old floorboards that we beneath carpet tiles (!!) there's not so much discovering to be done here. Very exciting though. @Peasgood Aside from the thin upright gap - which is small and minimal - the others will all be hidden by the woodburner, so looks aren't so important... Just want to make sure we get it right so that it sets and is functional. And still not totally sure whether to use sharp or soft sand, plasterciser or no plasterciser, ready mix, etc. For the actual pointing of the whole wall we'll definitely be using lime, but for these repairs we just need a quick, easy, strong fix. Cheers

What a gorgeous looking room. I love it! We have a near identical layout with the window and the recessed wall beneath. Ours is still plastered, but seeing your has made me feel even more that I can't wait to get the walls back to original stone. Looks great. In the first photo, are they flagstones? Can't quite make it out... As for the lime, the stove is going in soon so I don't think we can use that. For the rest of the room though I'll definitely look into it. We're not far from Brecon either. I've not heard that expression before and google isn't helping much either! Do you mean just slap anything in them? I can't work out if the ready made mortars in tubs are literally just cement and sand mixed, or if there's more to it?! If instead we mix our own... - What's the best ratio? - What type of sand? - Do I need to use a plasticiser or any additives? Also, would it be best to ram bits of stone or similar into the gaps so that they're not as deep? Many thanks, you've all been a great help

Wet basis, no less

But only if the firewood is less than 20%....

Hahaha! Burn them at the stake!

Some fantastic replies in here, so thanks to all. And big thanks to @openspaceman for addressing my musings one by one. There's some other things I've been thinking which I'll write up when back from the night dog walk. But aside from saying thanks, I was going to add that we don't have a microwave and I'm not sure I'll be allowed to cook a log in our newish range cooker for 24 hours! Back soon

I've been reading the other threads on this forum RE MC and meters, as linked above. They're very helpful *thumbs up* Interestingly, having been in touch with someone at Brennenstuhl he seems to think their meter measures on a Wet Basis. But then his explanations seem rather confused and without wanting to sound like an arse, I'm not sure he knows the difference between WWB and DWB and is quite muddled as a result! Likewise the Amazon answers; some of them miss the point completely. But do you think it is safe to say that that meter is definitely dry basis? I've also been chatting with someone at StovesOnline, who - contrary to the above - totally gets it. In fact, it was the StovesOnline page for their meter that put me onto this whole topic in the first place. The meter they sell is one of the (or maybe just "the") only ones that explains the difference, explains what their meter is, and tells you why it matters: https://www.stovesonline.co.uk/firewood-moisture-meter.html So credit to him/them I must say. I have been thinking though. If part of the calculation is based on the wood weight, how does the meter determine this? Is it because wood has a consistent weight? And if so, is that why some meters allow you to select what type of wood you are measuring, so it can adjust the weight accordingly? Or is there more to it than that? Not sure if this is a case of 2+2=7, or if I have fumbled way my towards understanding something! Cheers