northernbear Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 What with the price of virtually every fuel rocketing are we likely to see a return to wood burning stoves replacing oil and gas central heating. During the last recession when money was tight my father chopped down a few trees (we live on a small farm) instead of buying oil. About two months back the fire was lit for the first time in maybe ten years, he has seen this before.... A chap near me sells logs for almost the taking away - he contracts site clearances etc and gets the wood for virtually free. I'm thinking about a hedge by buying 500 quids worth of wood - anyone an opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salopian Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Been stocking up on wood for the last few months. My eldest son his chain saws and my ancient Ferguson have dealt with quite a few fallen damaged etc trees he has been asked to clear by local farmers. Free wood for the cutting and taking. Must have 8 or more tons now and all hardwood not pine etc. Some of the decent pieces I will use for turning but the rest will hopefully reduce the oil and electricity bills. Must be worth stocking up on - mind you it is much harder work than having your tank filled. JB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griptool Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 What with the price of virtually every fuel rocketing are we likely to see a return to wood burning stoves replacing oil and gas central heating.During the last recession when money was tight my father chopped down a few trees (we live on a small farm) instead of buying oil. About two months back the fire was lit for the first time in maybe ten years, he has seen this before.... A chap near me sells logs for almost the taking away - he contracts site clearances etc and gets the wood for virtually free. I'm thinking about a hedge by buying 500 quids worth of wood - anyone an opinion You're right - the price of fire wood has shot up in France over the last couple of years (It was about 150 Euros a cord last year, 2001 price 30E). If you want to invest in wood tho I'd steer clear of hedges (great for wildlife, crap for woodburners ) , you'd be better off buying trees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deflation Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 (edited) Solid fuel burners wil be making a come-back. In the gales last month, a big tree came down at the end of my road, Within 6 hours, it was sliced up and taken away int he back of a few Landrovers and they weren't the council! I believe you have to let it dry out, the sap, etc. Not sure how long for. You can't just bung it straight in or you'll smoke yourself to death. Edited for typos Edited June 19, 2008 by Stourbridge Baggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkil Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I doubt it would be possible for even 10% of the country to switch to burning wood... well, if you want any trees left that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbear Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 burning wood (at least in a conventional fireplace fire) is really only suitable in rural areas due to the smoke. Ive no interest in 'investing' in it, just buy it now and burn later. Good point also about having no trees left, forestry would be one of those things you could hit hard for say 5 years and still not destroy the resource, my dad replanted for the trees he chopped in the years that followed last time, in twenty years time in the next cycle they shall be ready for cutting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 burning wood (at least in a conventional fireplace fire) is really only suitable in rural areas due to the smoke.Ive no interest in 'investing' in it, just buy it now and burn later. Good point also about having no trees left, forestry would be one of those things you could hit hard for say 5 years and still not destroy the resource, my dad replanted for the trees he chopped in the years that followed last time, in twenty years time in the next cycle they shall be ready for cutting! Even if you planted every hectare of the uk with coppice your annual primary energy yield would be in the region of 1000twh. To put that in perspective our current consumption is 2500twh thereabouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Solid fuel burners wil be making a come-back. In the gales last month, a big tree came down at the end of my road, Within 6 hours, it was sliced up and taken away int he back of a few Landrovers and they weren't the council!I believe you have to let it dry out, the sap, etc. Not sure how long for. You can't just bung it straight in or you'll smoke yourself to death. Edited for typos Cut to useable lengths, stack properly outside, keep dry/tarp on top - ready to burn in 6 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrGUID Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 If you're bullish on the global outlook for wood, check out iShares Timber & Forestry ETF - it's symbol is (funnily enough) WOOD. You can hold these in an ISA or SIPP. It's easier than stockpiling logs in your shed . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkil Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 And you can burn the bits of paper they send you to keep warm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 And you can burn the bits of paper they send you to keep warm? Eureka! Problem solved. Im going to put in a wood burner / gasifier. Sign up for every bit of junk mail I can and hey presto - I get a daily delivery of fuel delivered right to the door for free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blankster Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 (edited) Log fires or more sophisticated wood-burning stoves have their place in rural areas but anywhere else the smoke problem they'd cause would be a backward step. Nature produces a lot of waste wood from dying trees or ones that get blown down or branches blown off. Such waste wood is a good rural fuel source but growing trees as a fuel crop, other than the specialised coppicing techniques, is a waste of trees. Using them as a source of structural timber for building, furniture etc. is much better. Edited June 21, 2008 by blankster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Eureka!Problem solved. Im going to put in a wood burner / gasifier. Sign up for every bit of junk mail I can and hey presto - I get a daily delivery of fuel delivered right to the door for free! Better than getting fined for putting it in the "wrong bin", eh? A serious amount of bumf comes through my door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yawnIHateSundays Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Eureka!Problem solved. Im going to put in a wood burner / gasifier. Sign up for every bit of junk mail I can and hey presto - I get a daily delivery of fuel delivered right to the door for free! I believe you can get things that press old newspaper into 'logs' that you can burn in a wood burning stove. Not tried myself though as we have close to an acre of mixed oak/horse chesnut/sycamore trees out the back and usually get one down every winter. West Dean College in Sussex run their entire heating system on wood from their managed woodland - http://www.westdean.org.uk/site/about/esta...ting_scheme.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I believe you can get things that press old newspaper into 'logs' that you can burn in a wood burning stove. Not tried myself though as we have close to an acre of mixed oak/horse chesnut/sycamore trees out the back and usually get one down every winter.West Dean College in Sussex run their entire heating system on wood from their managed woodland - http://www.westdean.org.uk/site/about/esta...ting_scheme.htm I was told by someone who had tried them that it's a good way to get a hernia or a heart attack. Anybody else tried them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) I was told by someone who had tried them that it's a good way to get a hernia or a heart attack. Anybody else tried them? tried them Years ago. I agree they require a lot of work. You then have to dry the logs. I would rather build a gasifier and just chuck the stuff straight in. Edited June 28, 2008 by Kurt Barlow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Years ago. I agree they require a lot of work. You then have to dry the logs. I would rather build a gasifier and just chuck the stuff straight in. WTF??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 WTF??? http://journeytoforever.org/at_woodfire.html#woodgasstoves http://the-goodlife.blogspot.com/2007/01/w...ier-update.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 http://journeytoforever.org/at_woodfire.html#woodgasstoveshttp://the-goodlife.blogspot.com/2007/01/w...ier-update.html Fascinating. Thanks for the links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Fascinating. Thanks for the links. Im looking at making a wood gasifier out of redundant 15litre and 12 litre diving cylinders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusset Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I was told by someone who had tried them that [burning old newspaper blocks is] a good way to get a hernia or a heart attack. Anybody else tried them? Yes. I did a couple of hundred last year after reading about the machine in an innovations-type catalogue. I concluded that overall it was not worth persevering with on a cost-benefit analysis. The newspaper must be soaked through to be re-formed, then dried out, which takes a few weeks/months. The machine compresses the blocks. Using your body weight by standing on it rather than using your arms reduces the risk of hernia but increases the risk of a toppling injury. Making the blocks is time-consuming. You have to take the soaked newspaper (smelly) and dump some into the machine by hand, compress then remove. I could make about 50 in an hour. The blocks burn for quite a long time, perhaps 30 minutes each, but need a hot fire to ignite and they leave a large amount of ash, so they won't replace wood entirely. Fun, though. The question I have is whether it is more environmentally-friendly to burn the blocks or to recycle them conventionally. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Yes. I did a couple of hundred last year after reading about the machine in an innovations-type catalogue.I concluded that overall it was not worth persevering with on a cost-benefit analysis. The newspaper must be soaked through to be re-formed, then dried out, which takes a few weeks/months. The machine compresses the blocks. Using your body weight by standing on it rather than using your arms reduces the risk of hernia but increases the risk of a toppling injury. Making the blocks is time-consuming. You have to take the soaked newspaper (smelly) and dump some into the machine by hand, compress then remove. I could make about 50 in an hour. The blocks burn for quite a long time, perhaps 30 minutes each, but need a hot fire to ignite and they leave a large amount of ash, so they won't replace wood entirely. Fun, though. The question I have is whether it is more environmentally-friendly to burn the blocks or to recycle them conventionally. Any thoughts? Well - think of it as a 'free gym' then the economics become more viable. Also if you do it over the winter months the exertion will negate the need to have any heating on! Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happy? Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Solid fuel burners wil be making a come-back. In the gales last month, a big tree came down at the end of my road, Within 6 hours, it was sliced up and taken away int he back of a few Landrovers and they weren't the council!I believe you have to let it dry out, the sap, etc. Not sure how long for. You can't just bung it straight in or you'll smoke yourself to death. Edited for typos The sweep who does my chimney attended a house who'd had a chimney fire the night before caused by using unseasoned timber. Unseasoned timber doesn't so much smoke you to death but leaves a tarry residue in the chimney if the wood is not properly dried before burning. Apparently, the wood doesn't reach the correct temperature, the additional soot/tar in the chimney quickly builds up and if not removed poses a fire risk as it's still combustible. A chimney fire is not a good idea, it bears a strong resemblance to a fire-storm - large amounts of combustible fuel being fed oxygen up a draught-inducing flue, which then feeds the fire which then drags in more oxygen to burn. At some point in this process the brickwork starts to burn as well. If you're lucky the fire brigade come round and dowse the fire in the grate and rake-out the embers onto an asbestos blanket on your living-room carpet. They then shove a stirrup-pump up the chimney (which has a rose like a watering-can) and dowse the fire in the chimney. The problem is that the water is subject to gravity and basically washes all the soot down from the chimney back into the room - great for fitted carpets. A chimney badly damaged by fire will need re-lining. Better to season the timber for a year (chop it and stack it somewhere dry) and pay the man to sweep the chimney regularly. LEt's hope those cheapskates who drive the 4x4s and who took this wood know what they're doing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) If you're lucky the fire brigade come round and dowse the fire in the grate and rake-out the embers onto an asbestos blanket on your living-room carpet. They then shove a stirrup-pump up the chimney (which has a rose like a watering-can) and dowse the fire in the chimney. The problem is that the water is subject to gravity and basically washes all the soot down from the chimney back into the room - great for fitted carpets. LEt's hope those cheapskates who drive the 4x4s and who took this wood know what they're doing... According to my mother, back in the old days (I'm talking 1920s-ish) if the fire brigade came round they deliberately made as much mess as possible, because people used to fire their chimneys on purpose to avoid having to pay a sweep, and if they got it wrong and had to call out the firemen, a bit of discouragement was thought in order! Edited June 29, 2008 by cartimandua51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yawnIHateSundays Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The sweep who does my chimney attended a house who'd had a chimney fire the night before caused by using unseasoned timber. Unseasoned timber doesn't so much smoke you to death but leaves a tarry residue in the chimney if the wood is not properly dried before burning. I'm surprised - unseasoned timber is pretty difficult to burn. you need to leave it for 6 months, better still a year, after felling for it to dry out and burn well enough. Now what would cause problems is burning softwoods like pine or fir, they really do make a mess of your chimney quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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