Price of coal and logs

[Brown and Boris]

Last winter we used the multi-fuel stove in the lounge for a bit of extra heat in the very coldest days on top of the GCH.

This year I thought I may try to use more coal/logs and less gas but buying odd bags at the local garage could be expensive. So......

What can I expect tp pay for a tonne of smokeless coal or a tonne of logs?

On the net I can see smokeless coal at £316 a tonne ( 40 x 25kg bans) delivered but wondered if a local merchant might do a better price.

Anybody amy idea of price?

[10 Pence Short]

Lads near us are charging about £30 a ton for logs.

[Autonotiv]

Phone a local merchant on monday?

Thats just like me writing a post about the cost of plaster board i can get it for £4.51 a sheet in B&Q but how much would my local builders merchant charge?

[schmalex]

This year, I am paying £18 per tonne of logs. In the past, I have paid roughly £50 for a transit flatbed full, which I guess is roughly a tonne. You shouldn't really be paying more than about £60 / £70 per tonne at the max. However, naturally if it is a cold winter the price creeps up....

[Flintstone]

Hmmmmm, wonder what the tree in my front garden is worth?


I just agreed to give away the logs in return for a hand in bringing it down (35ft Silver Birch, 12" trunk).

[danielgray]

Flintstone said:

Hmmmmm, wonder what the tree in my front garden is worth?


I just agreed to give away the logs in return for a hand in bringing it down (35ft Silver Birch, 12" trunk).

Not worth a lot, logging is real hard work and you have to store them for at least 6 months to allow them to season, your tree would only be a few loads worth £60/60 per load, so you can see how there isn't much money in it.

[BoRED S2upid]

Sounds as cheap as chips to me. Or maybe thats as cheap as logs.

[wiz 1]

Get round your local joinery companies see if you can get off cuts, if your lucky you might find someone who works in hardwood and will be happy to let you take their waste away for beer money.

[GreenDog]

BoRED S2upid said:

Sounds as cheap as woodchips to me. Or maybe thats as cheap as logs.

HTH

[thinfourth2]

GreenDog said:

BoRED S2upid said:

Sounds as cheap as woodchips to me. Or maybe thats as cheap as logs.

HTH

You can even get central heating boilers that run off woodchips

[Puggit]

On a similar note, we've got a couple of oaks in our wood in France. One is 1.5m diameter and one is 1m - worth anything?

[Ash-man]

hi,price you suggest for smokeless fuel soounds very high.i own a fuel company at moment our premium smokelss is selling for 12.50 per 50kg or 240 per tonne.most smokeless fuels manufactured in this country are done in south wales or immingham in the north of country.did notice op from london and coal is alot more costly in south of country due to longer haulage rates.

[Nigel Worc's]

Where in the world are you B&B ?

There is a chap on my industrial estate that has just bought himself a machine to turn his "industrial waste" (long story concerning council jobsworths, its sawdust) into small round bricks.

He's selling them at £2.50 a bag (the machine cost him £10,000)

He's on the Worcs/Hereford border

[Silent1]

Smokeless coal is useless, the amount of ash left in the fire after use is horrendous. If you keep it going for more than 24 hours it soon puts itself out as it blocks all the vents up.

[mark69sheer]

Puggit said:

On a similar note, we've got a couple of oaks in our wood in France. One is 1.5m diameter and one is 1m - worth anything?

quite a lot if its diseased and lumpy at the bottom. Thats Burr oak and makes a good show veneer.

normally sells for around £1500-£2000 per m3

if straight then still around £900 plus if kiln dried and seasoned. Thats retail price though. The tree should still fetch a good 30% of that. usable limbs are 8-10 inch plus.

[peaktorque]

I pay £50 for about a ton, delivered.

Might see if it is any cheaper this year to collect myself (in van).

I bet the prices are going to creap up though, due to demand. I know of quite a few people how have swapped their gas fires for log burners this year, in an attempt to save energy costs.

[bobt]

thinfourth2 said:

GreenDog said:

BoRED S2upid said:

Sounds as cheap as woodchips to me. Or maybe thats as cheap as logs.

HTH

You can even get central heating boilers that run off woodchips

And you can make the nastiest wallpaper in world with it, and sell it to buy-to-let landlords of student areas.

[Darkslider]

Pay? For wood? The stuff is all over the place! I always keep the chainsaw in the back of the land rover when the wind's up, you can guarantee there'll be fallen trees on or near the roads that need getting rid of

[Brown and Boris]

Got a price of £280 a tonnne for smokeless via a neighbour who buys in half tonnes. Apparently fewer and smaller summer discounts this year because they know they can sell it with the gas prices going up so much.

Finding an intial and reliable source for logs is the main problem; where to start looking? These fancy internet based companies will send it in nets or pallets buy you pay for that (plus the delivery). Might put a card in the post office.

[Fatboy]

Silent1 said:

Smokeless coal is useless, the amount of ash left in the fire after use is horrendous. If you keep it going for more than 24 hours it soon puts itself out as it blocks all the vents up.

Been a while since I had an open fire, but we always used regular coal, and it smelt lovely, and burned for ages with little ash - is there a reason the stoves have to use smokeless? (honestly asking - is it a clean air act etc?)