Logburner

Hi Whoppa Choppa Thanks for responding but what do you mean by a 'cube' of firewood? How does this relate to a cubic metre? Are you talking about loose fill or tight packing? W

I checked the prices of firewood very carefully in the winter of 2021/22, so I know exactly how those prices looked at that time: differing woods, differing packaging, seasoned/part seasoned, etc. Percentage-wise, what would you say is the general level of increase since then? Any further thoughts? Like particular viewpoints on this subject special shortages, great opportunities? ...... And what do you think is going to happen in the next 12 months or so? It's not an essay question !!! Just interested to know your thoughts on any part of this.

Hi Guys Well, what do you think of this load, just dropped off for me by one of my local tree surgeons? It's 7 tons, he says, all oak, from a tree that died some time ago, and therefore already part-seasoned. Delivered as 2 x 3.5 tons (but no delivery charges). He knows I like to receive wood already part cut-up so my handyman can easily deal with the rest with a chain saw, and a pretty good log-splitter that we bought for about £600. That's paid for itself handsomely after less than a couple of years. This load cost me £300 from the tree surgeon. I was thrilled with it, but you may think differently.? All comments welcome! Oak delivery 21 Dec 23.docxOak delivery 21 Dec 23.docx

Hi Gareth. Thanks for your comments. I take all comments on board. I am familiar with Norwegian Wood, which is indeed a great book! My book, too, is a serious book, covering many topics which I found puzzling at the outset and which I noticed confused others, too. Some of those topics I have had to research quite closely. It's been enjoyable and I am hopeful that it will help others.

Hi again all, Huge thanks to those who have already offered to review this book! I'll post a copy of the pre-publication version to you immediately after Easter. Now, anyone else, please? I still have 6 copies available for you, and I really will value your opinion. If you do some reviewing for me, your name/firm's name will definitely appear in the credits section with an indication of the expert help you have provided. It doesn't have to be the whole book. You can choose the sections that most interest you once you see the book! Cheers Woodburner (Shez)

Page 1 - 4 Introductions and Contents List.pdfHi All ... ... And no this is not an advertisement, but I have written a book about firewood and am looking for people who would be happy to go through it (or bits of it) and let me know of any errors, or otherwise comment. This is PRE-PUBLICATION, when I still have time to make changes !!! I'm not an expert in the same way that many of you are, but I have been buying and burning firewood in quite large quantities for more than 12 years now, and I have certainly learnt a few things! My book is 108 pages long, with a very attractive cover, lots of photos, a few cartoons, and friendly good-humoured text. I've included some files so that you can get a good idea of what's in it and how it looks. I'm hoping that some of you will contact me and let me know you'd be a good reviewer. If so, I'd be really happy to send you a copy. The deal is that you check out the bits that interest you most and respond with comments or corrections. I have to make sure that I haven't made any horrible errors! (Of course, you then get your name/firm mentioned in the credits, with grateful acknowledgement of the help you provided). So do please take a look at the attached and get back to me. You can respond by Private Message, or email [email protected], or just reply right here. Hoping to hear, and all the very best. Logburner (Shez) PS I can only send the book as hard copy, so I would need your address. I have just 15 of the 30 proof copies allocated to send to Arbtalk experts , so please don't delay! Book Cover-With Crop Mark.pdf Page 1 - 4 Introductions and Contents List.pdf Page 15 - 17 A few sample pages.pdf

That's so rude! Can't we be courteous and constructive?

Hi All I've been looking at the Biomass Suppliers List in connection with the Renewable Heat Incentive. The 10 suppliers that come up as being near me are really at quite a distance and several of these just don't look right. For example a tree surgery firm that is listed had great information on its website regarding its tree surgery work, but nothing on sale of logs, let alone BSL. Another that came up under my selection of 'Firewood' (ie Firewood selected, not Chip, Pellets or Briquettes) seems from its website to be selling Chip only. It does say that it is BSL registered I'm puzzled. Is this a scheme that is not working well, or not working much at all? I know one of my local suppliers of logs recently left the scheme because it wasn't doing him any good, he said. I think it raises questions in any case if buying from BSL suppliers causes a long journey for the wood. What are your thoughts? I'd really appreciate your advice.

Erm, this was MY topic a while ago! How come we've got onto politicians??? Are any of those named guys blowing up a good lather, or just a couple of mini-bubbles, like my 'dry ash'?? Anyway, some useful thoughts on the bubble test and thanks for those. I'll check this out further.

Interesting thought , Woodwizzard, and that would be why the bubble blowing dryness test didn't work either. I looked it up re cell structure. Chalara fungal spores attack the leaves first, before the disease moves up the leaf stems and into the branches and trunk, eventually blocking the water-carrying xylem vessels, starving them of moisture and killing the tree. The biology behind 'ash dieback' (saps.org.uk) Thanks from Logburner.

This is the other video I have seen. How to check the moisture content of your firewood - Soap test - YouTube

Can anyone tell me more about the 'blowing bubbles' test to confirm well-dried firewood.? I have seen two wonderful videos on this but I cannot get the same effect. I had some ash logs which were less than well-seasoned and put them in an oven at 100 degrees C for 24 hours. At the end of that time, and when cold, they passed every test for dryness: substantial loss of weight, radial cracks, bark lifting a little, clacking sound when knocked together, previous resinous smell gone - and moisture meter reading at 10%. (I've only measured the moisture externally for the time being, with a pin meter) . But when I try the washing up liquid test, I only get one or two tiny bubbles after blowing very hard - nothing like the videos showing apparently effortless blowing with a thick layer of bubbles emerging at the end of the log. Any thoughts gratefully received!

I agree there's definitely an impact of end of season, particularly this year when everyone has been at home. One load I received was soaked through and was obviously overspill that had been dropped on the ground and picked up as a last resort. Individual logs even had wet mud sitting on the one side or the other. Supplier was reasonably reputable (in the local area). After agreeing a discount I had the chance to see how easily wood like this dries out (in my warm environment where the burner is). In just 4 weeks it was dry. That's the difference between sap and water, I guess! You're right 'Carb for Arbs'. This sort of happening makes you study everything much more closely!

A great demonstration, Billhook, and thank you. I am trying to replicate this bubble test with three pieces of wood of differing measured moisture content - and one grandchild to do the blowing! Just for the fun of it and a bit of photography! Seriously, though. you don't actually say what you think is the highest moisture content acceptable in your stove, but you are clearly indicating that 21 - 22% is too high. A kiln-dried supplier I purchased from recently promised all logs in the range 15 - 20% moisture content. I had difficulty getting the delivered logs to burn in my stove, however, and when they did burn the combustion chamber of the stove only reached half the usual temperature level. I tested the moisture level of these logs by various methods, including the oven-drying method. I found that all the sample logs were between 17 - 20% moisture content on a dry basis measure, so that fits with the supplier's spec. But from your video I think I understand that this was most probably still too moist. I have noticed that few kiln-dried suppliers promise the 5 - 12% level that you mention. What would you say is the ideal range to use (or the highest acceptable for most stoves)? Many thanks from Logburner.

Hi Stillburning I'm a buyer not a seller but I buy an awful lot of wood to be the sole heat source for a large Victorian house, so I'm very interested in these things. In fact, the whole thread here has been amazingly interesting and informative. But does your comment mean you will sign up as a Ready to Burn supplier but not register for the Woodsure assured quality woodfuel scheme? Any comments on how a supplier might make that choice and what it means for the buyer?

AndyChalmers, your 0% on the outside and 30% on the inside is a little worrying, though as you say there would most likely be an overall moisture content below 25%. I can see that drying on the outside and leaving rather too moist on the inside could be a real temptation for kiln-dried suppliers - greater throughput, lower cost etc, especially in a month such as February when most seem to have run out of their seasoned wood. Some suppliers, are clearly very careful and have truly impressive descriptions on their websites, including the splitting of samples right across each batch to be sure that the internal moisture levels are low. As we speak, I have my kitchen oven filled (well not 'filled'!) with my 'kiln dried ash that won't burn', testing for overall moisture percent in the manner recommended. I see splits emerging that weren't there before, but have yet to do the second weighing. It's a great learning process!

Thank you, Paul in the Woods. Really helpful. It's amazing if moisture meters don't tell you which basis they are using. Also there seem to be wildly different readings for different moisture meters as I mentioned in my entry last Thursday on Moisture Meters and Kiln Dried Wood. I wondered if you could add any comments on the different readings I was getting. Thanks Logburner (Shez)

Hi all you knowledgeable guys! I thought I knew quite a bit about firewood - I buy lots of it for a large wood boiler which basically heats my whole house. But now I have got really confused! I bought some kiln dried ash and discovered it burned with considerable difficulty, heating my wood- boiler combustion chamber up to 350 degrees at best, when it normally burns at between 600 and 700 degrees. I have never bought kiln dried before but after all that is said about it on various websites you would have thought you could trust that process completely (at least I thought so). All the same, I became, well, a little bit suspicious after getting back to the supplier, who at this point was uncooperative. I started wondering if the wood was still wet inside - it certainly felt rather heavy. So I used a newly purchased ExTech moisture meter, and on the outside of the logs, using the pin method, it was registering 12 - 15%, but when I used the scanning method it registered 30 - 35%. That measurement, as I understand it, takes account of moisture up to 1" deep. I knew I needed to split the wood to check properly, and this I did. This time, testing several split logs, I found that the inside was consistently around 22% using the pin method, but using the scanning method the moisture meter almost took off, bleeping like fury, with three water droplets displayed, and gave readings of 50 to 70%, shifting a bit as I moved it around because of needing a flat surface. All this raises many questions in my mind - about the faith one should have in kiln drying, as well as the strange differences in the moisture readings (I set it correctly each time for either the pin method or the scanning method) and I got results (as above) that I find incomprehensible. Not least, what I do with a cellar full of tightly stacked kiln-dried (probably wet) wood that came down via a shute and cannot easily be got out and a supplier who's not interested to know what the problem is. Any answers you can give to any part of this query would be so much appreciated. Cheers all! Have a nice day!