Logs
Author
Discussion

UTH

Original Poster:

10,774 posts

194 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
I need to look into my log options.

Now I've got my Big Green Egg set up, I'm now using my solo stove fire pit thing while I tend to the cooking.....but as I have found out, it rinses through the logs. No wonder really when the fire can look like this



I visited my local garden centre/nursery type place last weekend, and got a £20 bag of logs.....no idea how heavy or how many were actually in the bag, but it was a fairly tall bag. Got through the whole thing over two days.

Decided to try online.....and £25 got me what you see in this picture below, which I have a feeling is an even worse deal than I got from the garden centre



Are there much more cost effective options out there (bearing in mind I'm not about to go and chop trees down myself and I don't really fancy following the tree surgeons around Surbiton hoping to get some logs when they chop a tree down) or is this just the price of logs these days?

andy43

11,742 posts

270 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Aldi and B&Q do logs. They might be cheaper than a garden centre. Other option is bulk deliveries - coal merchants and arb companies sell logs around here - but anything decent value isn’t going to fit in that log store!
Never bought any personally, I’m the fool politely stood at the side of the road waiting for the tree surgeon to come down off his ladder.

chopper602

2,295 posts

239 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
If you're only after small amounts, then you're going to be paying for them. Typical log buyers (for home heating) tend to buy builders dumpy bags full of kiln dried hardwood, unless they have their own supplies.
Try 'Home Bargains' if you have one local, they sell poly bags of kiln dried logs at about £4 which is looks to be a greater quantity than you have shown in your 'store'

Cow Corner

587 posts

46 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Buying in small quantities will never be cost effective. Find a local supplier who will deliver a builders bag (circa 0.6m2) - costs seem to vary from £100-150 depending on location. We don’t buy logs but I’ve been researching costs recently as, due to ash dieback, I’ve started selling small amounts to friends.

Having said that, burning in an outdoor stove like that is always going to rinse through logs.

Freakuk

3,998 posts

167 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Probably look for a local bulk supplier, they usually supply in 1m3 builders bags, or flatbed and just dump on the drive etc.

I get mine from a local timber yard, which come on a flatbed, usually lasts 2 winters for the log burner.

Danns

383 posts

75 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
As above, going to need more storage to get the proper economies.

I usually have a 3.5 cubic meters tipped on the drive, we were lazy this time round and went for the following...

https://www.whitehorseenergy.co.uk/firewood/ecobla...

Much better value than what you've got there.

UTH

Original Poster:

10,774 posts

194 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Thanks guys, I think I'm fighting a losing battle given the the fact it's one of the bigger solo stoves, so yes, it's always going to rinse the logs.

Luckily, that small shed is just for things to be housed right where I'm cooking/using logs, we do have a 'proper' shed as well, so I think this weekend we need to have a shed clear out/reorganise and then look at getting one of those bulk orders. I'm guessing a £150 bulk order is going to be a hell of a lot more than 6 of those little bags I got!


ewanjp

456 posts

53 months

Friday 24th January
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Facebook market place tends to be ok for logs. Choose your degree of dodgyness of the seller and price will match.

ATG

22,225 posts

288 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Builders one ton sack of logs when stacked by hand reduces to about 1/2 a cubic metre, so not a massive amount of space. Costs us about £70 for seasoned hardwood out here in the sticks.

skeeterm5

4,276 posts

204 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
UTH said:
I need to look into my log options.

Now I've got my Big Green Egg set up, I'm now using my solo stove fire pit thing while I tend to the cooking.....but as I have found out, it rinses through the logs. No wonder really when the fire can look like this



I visited my local garden centre/nursery type place last weekend, and got a £20 bag of logs.....no idea how heavy or how many were actually in the bag, but it was a fairly tall bag. Got through the whole thing over two days.

Decided to try online.....and £25 got me what you see in this picture below, which I have a feeling is an even worse deal than I got from the garden centre



Are there much more cost effective options out there (bearing in mind I'm not about to go and chop trees down myself and I don't really fancy following the tree surgeons around Surbiton hoping to get some logs when they chop a tree down) or is this just the price of logs these days?
Do you have storage? We buy our logs in 2.5 cube loads and the last lot cost me £230 cut and delivered just before Christmas.



UTH

Original Poster:

10,774 posts

194 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
Do you have storage? We buy our logs in 2.5 cube loads and the last lot cost me £230 cut and delivered just before Christmas.
Yeah we'll clear out our main shed this weekend and see what space that gives us

cossy400

3,361 posts

200 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
We ve just paid £120 each for 2 bulk bags delivered, i gave him a drink on top as he managed to get his trailer up to my gate and lift them both over the gate so i didnt have to move them all at once. Ashbourne Derbyshire if it matters

Dog Star

17,011 posts

184 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
I’ve never paid for wood, but when I see these little bags that townies buy it astonishes me.

Most of what we burn I can source from our own garden, but I’ve not bothered this year - I’ve been using coal. It’s amazing how little coal you need compared to the amount of wood. Dirty as hell on the glass front though.

Turtle Shed

2,124 posts

42 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Dog Star said:
I’ve never paid for wood, but when I see these little bags that townies buy it astonishes me.

Most of what we burn I can source from our own garden, but I’ve not bothered this year - I’ve been using coal. It’s amazing how little coal you need compared to the amount of wood. Dirty as hell on the glass front though.
We're currently burning only (eco) coal on an open fire. Want to use it all up and then swap for a second log burner. So much more efficient and better to look at IMHO.

I've probably got 2-3 winter's worth of wood I could chop down, but here in the wilds of Somerset I am pretty sure that even with a bit of effort I could source tons of the stuff. plenty of space to season it too.

Aim for this summer is to get three year's supply in place, and then add one year's supply each year.

Dog Star

17,011 posts

184 months

Friday 24th January
quotequote all
Turtle Shed said:
We're currently burning only (eco) coal on an open fire. Want to use it all up and then swap for a second log burner. So much more efficient and better to look at IMHO.

I've probably got 2-3 winter's worth of wood I could chop down, but here in the wilds of Somerset I am pretty sure that even with a bit of effort I could source tons of the stuff. plenty of space to season it too.

Aim for this summer is to get three year's supply in place, and then add one year's supply each year.
I’m not doing any more as in spring we are putting the house on the market. No point me splitting years worth of logs.

UTH

Original Poster:

10,774 posts

194 months

Sunday 26th January
quotequote all
Main shed cleared out, and I've found a deal of £140 for 7 of these, hoping this might vaguely good value, given I got through over £25 worth of my last order yesterday!!

https://www.homefire.co.uk/kiln-dried-hardwood-log...


DonkeyApple

63,217 posts

185 months

Sunday 26th January
quotequote all
To be honest, buying wood in any matter such as that is going to be a very costly means of heating the planet. biggrin

It's not until you're buying one ton bags from local merchants that it begins to make sense.

Ultimately, you don't need some enormous log store and can just have the bags dropped on pallets out front which you then cover and just take from as you need.

Cow Corner

587 posts

46 months

Sunday 26th January
quotequote all
UTH said:
Main shed cleared out, and I've found a deal of £140 for 7 of these, hoping this might vaguely good value, given I got through over £25 worth of my last order yesterday!!

https://www.homefire.co.uk/kiln-dried-hardwood-log...
Respect where it’s due, even we’re not sat outside round the fire in this weather biglaugh

That sounds like reasonable (but not great) value - from my maths it equates to roughly a builders bag for £140, but guess convenience has some value.



UTH

Original Poster:

10,774 posts

194 months

Sunday 26th January
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
To be honest, buying wood in any matter such as that is going to be a very costly means of heating the planet. biggrin

It's not until you're buying one ton bags from local merchants that it begins to make sense.

Ultimately, you don't need some enormous log store and can just have the bags dropped on pallets out front which you then cover and just take from as you need.
Well, I'll see how much wood 7 of those bags actually turns out to be vs how much room I have in my shed, and then will know how much bigger my order can be next time.
But my £50 last week got me f**k all really, so I'm fairly confident this £140 is already much better value, so I'm heading in the right direction.

Cow Corner

587 posts

46 months

Sunday 26th January
quotequote all
If you’re using that much wood and buying it all in, it might be worth considering getter a more efficient stove - you can get outdoor wood burners, which would be significantly more efficient. That stove looks spectacular, but not surprised it’s burning through fuel like the QE2 biglaugh

I don’t really know much about them, or how much they cost -as we’re lucky (or unlucky - due to ash dieback)to have so much wood that we just use all the odds and sods in our fire pit.