Logs for the fire
Discussion
I have a log burning stove in my garage so really only use it at the weekend as opposed to daily basis.
Proud of the fact that in the five years I have had it, I have never paid a penny for any of the wood.
Old pallets are ideal for kindling and as far as logs go, once you have a stove you sort of become tuned into scanning the roads when you are driving to look out for wood.
Hurricane bawbag brought a load of potential wood and I have been fortunate to know 3 or 4 folk who were having widescale cutting and removal of trees on their land so was able to help myself!
If you see any outdoor Christmas Trees on display, offer your services for their removal when the time comes also!
My neighbour has a chainsaw which gets used to cut proper logs but much of the smaller stuff can be done on a chopsaw
Proud of the fact that in the five years I have had it, I have never paid a penny for any of the wood.
Old pallets are ideal for kindling and as far as logs go, once you have a stove you sort of become tuned into scanning the roads when you are driving to look out for wood.
Hurricane bawbag brought a load of potential wood and I have been fortunate to know 3 or 4 folk who were having widescale cutting and removal of trees on their land so was able to help myself!
If you see any outdoor Christmas Trees on display, offer your services for their removal when the time comes also!
My neighbour has a chainsaw which gets used to cut proper logs but much of the smaller stuff can be done on a chopsaw
AndrewMG,if your going to use trees felled recently they need to be chopped,split then seasoned for at least a year before burning as the sap goes up your flue as a gas but as it cools down it turns into creosote which sticks to your flue and blows up like bubble gum as heat rises usually resulting in one of the hottest chimney fire you will ever experience plus theres not as much heat if not properly dried out,should be less than 20% moisture content per log,enough of that I use this guy,see below link,96 packs of these hardwood briquettes is roughly the equivalent of 7 builder bags of logs which are approx. £60/70 quid a bag.
http://www.biohot.co.uk/html/online_shop.html
http://www.biohot.co.uk/html/online_shop.html
That Biohot looks expensive. I get a big builders sack of logs which is 1 cubic meter but piled quite high for £80 delivered. They have gone up from £50 over the last few years. The girl is based in Strathaven but delivers to me in Bothwell.
http://www.woodlogsscotland.co.uk/
http://www.woodlogsscotland.co.uk/
Jer, as I said above 96 pack of the briquettes is the equivalent to 7/8 builders bags of logs so 7 x £80 =£560 as apposed to £268,works for me,plus no stacking of logs as briquettes com shrink wrapped.
Big bags, large bags, giant bags – they are all descriptions of ton bags but they may hold different volumes – who knows?
A cubic metre loose filled bag is equal to .6 of a cubic metre of stacked wood.
A bag of 90cm cube is only .73 cubic metres so an apparently small difference in bag size can make a big difference in the delivered volume. In this case, it is equal to only .44 of a cubic metre stacked.
Full loads, large loads, heaped loads – they all depend on the size of the vehicle. Whatever they are, they are dumped in your drive for you to move and will not look nearly as big when you have stacked them neatly. Think crisps and Pringles! 1 cubic metre “loose filled” is officially recognised to be about .6 of a cubic metre stacked.
And there’s more – if it’s described as “seasoned” just how seasoned is it? Most modern stove manufacturers specify 20% moisture for efficient burning but Scottish “green” wood is closer to 60%. Careful seasoning can bring this close to 30% after about two years .
When buying fuel from a local wood cutter, you should think of buying and storing 6 months to 1 year ahead to ensure your wood is ready for burning so you need to consider extra storage space to allow for full seasoning.
Big bags, large bags, giant bags – they are all descriptions of ton bags but they may hold different volumes – who knows?
A cubic metre loose filled bag is equal to .6 of a cubic metre of stacked wood.
A bag of 90cm cube is only .73 cubic metres so an apparently small difference in bag size can make a big difference in the delivered volume. In this case, it is equal to only .44 of a cubic metre stacked.
Full loads, large loads, heaped loads – they all depend on the size of the vehicle. Whatever they are, they are dumped in your drive for you to move and will not look nearly as big when you have stacked them neatly. Think crisps and Pringles! 1 cubic metre “loose filled” is officially recognised to be about .6 of a cubic metre stacked.
And there’s more – if it’s described as “seasoned” just how seasoned is it? Most modern stove manufacturers specify 20% moisture for efficient burning but Scottish “green” wood is closer to 60%. Careful seasoning can bring this close to 30% after about two years .
When buying fuel from a local wood cutter, you should think of buying and storing 6 months to 1 year ahead to ensure your wood is ready for burning so you need to consider extra storage space to allow for full seasoning.
Edited by L22KMD on Monday 11th November 20:44
Over the last few years have done a mixture of source free stuff (either own trees or word of mouth) or bought some.
We can get through quite a lot in the winter so buying works out expensive but sourcing, chain sawing, chopping and seasoning is timing consuming!
The problem with scavenging any decent size stuff is transporting it - helps if you've got access to a trailer.
We can get through quite a lot in the winter so buying works out expensive but sourcing, chain sawing, chopping and seasoning is timing consuming!
The problem with scavenging any decent size stuff is transporting it - helps if you've got access to a trailer.
I am based just outside Linlithgow . the guy that fitted my fire knows a chap that works in the local Whisky distillery . For a modest fee he will bring a pickup trucks worth of pre chopped up malt Whisky oak barrels to the house.
The smell permeating throughout the house when it burns is amazing.
John
The smell permeating throughout the house when it burns is amazing.
John
There seems to be quite a lot of confusion regarding what people are buying, how much energy they get from their fuel and weight vs volume.
I find that you really need the moisture to be nearer 10% to get a really good burn out of a decent sized log.
A chainsaw is definitely on the Christmas list.....
I find that you really need the moisture to be nearer 10% to get a really good burn out of a decent sized log.
A chainsaw is definitely on the Christmas list.....
Just had two Morso wood burning stoves fitted last month after the sickness of burning through three grand of heating oil last winter (November - March).
We are only a month in so it's early days, and it's only been properly cold the last week or so. Turning the central heating off altogether and keeping one stove going flat out through the day is enough to keep the entire house at a comfortable 15-18 degrees (more in which ever room the stove is burning).
I bought 3 one ton bags of seasoned hardwood logs from a local supplier at Nile Mile Burn at £60 per bag - plus five huge bags of kindling all totalling me at about £200.
Putting a moisture meter on the logs they are averaging between 8 and 12% moisture content and I've had no problem burning any of them.
At a rough guess we are burning through 15-20 logs a day of varying sizes (some are tiny, some huge) and looking at the rate the pile is going down we would be burning around £100 a month in logs if we were in the house 7 days a week and with no heating on.
Compared with heating oil standing us in at £600/month during winter, this is a bloody good deal, although rightly enough it is bloody freezing first thing in the morning......
We are only a month in so it's early days, and it's only been properly cold the last week or so. Turning the central heating off altogether and keeping one stove going flat out through the day is enough to keep the entire house at a comfortable 15-18 degrees (more in which ever room the stove is burning).
I bought 3 one ton bags of seasoned hardwood logs from a local supplier at Nile Mile Burn at £60 per bag - plus five huge bags of kindling all totalling me at about £200.
Putting a moisture meter on the logs they are averaging between 8 and 12% moisture content and I've had no problem burning any of them.
At a rough guess we are burning through 15-20 logs a day of varying sizes (some are tiny, some huge) and looking at the rate the pile is going down we would be burning around £100 a month in logs if we were in the house 7 days a week and with no heating on.
Compared with heating oil standing us in at £600/month during winter, this is a bloody good deal, although rightly enough it is bloody freezing first thing in the morning......
Andrew[MG] said:
Don't think it would fit in the FTO 
It would fit in the trailer I can borrow from work though. 
Ps, Modus, stack the fires full with big logs before going to bed then close up the vents.
They should slow burn through the night, keeping the hose warm and the fire ticking over to morning when you can stick more in to get it going again.
Course, that depends on how big they are, the one at work can take 70cm length logs and heat 19 full size radiators...
Edited by A.J.M on Wednesday 13th November 15:02
A.J.M said:
It would fit in the trailer I can borrow from work though.
Ps, Modus, stack the fires full with big logs before going to bed then close up the vents.
They should slow burn through the night, keeping the hose warm and the fire ticking over to morning when you can stick more in to get it going again.
Course, that depends on how big they are, the one at work can take 70cm length logs and heat 19 full size radiators...
Want to go halfers?Ps, Modus, stack the fires full with big logs before going to bed then close up the vents.
They should slow burn through the night, keeping the hose warm and the fire ticking over to morning when you can stick more in to get it going again.
Course, that depends on how big they are, the one at work can take 70cm length logs and heat 19 full size radiators...
Edited by A.J.M on Wednesday 13th November 15:02
Ha ha, you always were a wee cheeky fff. I told i don't use Facebook and don't even know what friends i've got. I know i've got Av and she's much nicer than you. I obviously have trouble adding people so deleting will be way above me. Remember i grew up before computers and internet was invented.
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