How Much Wood Should i Get For The Winter

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How Much Wood Should i Get For The Winter
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 14 11:23 am Post subject:

smokeless zone or not makes a difference to both the price of the burner (exempt cleanburn burners are a grand or more)and what wood you can use(in a smoke less zone there is a maximum moisture content, no treated timber etc etc specified for exemption)

how much wood depends on how much heat you require and what type of timber you can obtain .have a look at the archives for the characteristics of various types of wood

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 14 12:26 pm Post subject:
Hi all, yes our wood is free. We get the occasional tree offered, but its usually down already. We also get sacks of joiners offcuts, old fence panels(great for kindling), and builders joists etc. 2 years ago we had wood from 3 demolished houses - big storage, but we can spensd a few days in the summer, sorting, cutting and stacking. Yeah, we have to expend energy on most of it, but so what?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 14 9:53 pm Post subject:
Still not free then. We often do the same sums. We have an oil boiler, that we try not to use. (Comes on when it is really cold for an hour in the morning.) We have a log burner which is joined to all the rads (6 bed house) which also does all the hot water, and we have 90 tubes of solar for hot water. All heat goes through a tank and feeds the house and hot water filled washing machine.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Wed Apr 23, 14 6:09 am Post subject:
We (we ) have a days work pulling it out of the wood. A day of bringing it down to the shed and two days of having it converted into logs. We need to do this about once every three years. A friend of mine goes and collects wood after the forestry have cut down and cleared areas. You can purchase the right to do this. She regards the several days of chopping it into logs as good exercise.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16006

Posted: Wed Apr 23, 14 6:52 am Post subject:

I would suggest getting a stove that will take at least 10" long logs and that will heat more than one room with doors open. The bane of our life is tiny stoves calculated to heat only one room that only take matchsticks. In fact if it takes less than 8" long we have to pass, as we can't cut them, and we charge a premium for 8".

Even if you have to buy in logs they are probably better value per calorie (joule if you prefer), than other fuels. The calculations have been done, and it is fact (try looking on the Forestry Commission website; it might be there somewhere).

Yes, log fires are a lot of work, even if you buy the wood, do make dust, but if you get a flat topped one you can cook on, you aren't stuck if you get a power cut. Solar water heating is also a good idea as this means you don't use power to heat water, particularly during summer.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Wed Apr 23, 14 1:44 pm Post subject:
Cathryn I was told the license form the Forestry people was no longer available. Is there any way of checking as we have loads here we could go and 'tidy'.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16006

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 14 6:46 am Post subject:
Try going to the Forestry Commission web site. If you can't find the information there is a page with your local office details on it so you can contact them direct. We used to have a thinning license years ago, but the 1987 hurricane put paid to that round here.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 14 9:11 am Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

Cathryn
I was told the license form the Forestry people was no longer available. Is there any way of checking as we have loads here we could go and 'tidy'.

I will try and remember to ask when I next see the friend. They might not be Forestry Commission owned woods and I know her brother in law is a timber merchant.

crofter

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 2252

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 14 12:08 am Post subject: Re: How Much Wood Should i Get For The Winter

Cam77punk wrote:

How many wooden logs would i need to see me over the wintertime.

More than you think!

Ginkotree

Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 2956
Location: south west wales

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 9:28 am Post subject:
The cost of a Load varies , my friend in wiltshire was quoted twice as much as we would pay around here...it was during the flood times so harder to deliver etc... I was told to try and avoid Leylandii as it is too sappy.

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 6:04 pm Post subject:
How well insulated your house is makes such a difference. We will soon be moving from our caravans which have about an inch of insulation to a house with a foot of insulation. Even though the house is larger we forsee using much less wood.

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 7:42 pm Post subject:
Would Leylandii logs be okay once seasoned and dry? sg

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 8:45 pm Post subject:
i have burned leylandia after a years drying,fast and ho, quite fragrant,spits a bit iirc the leafy bits burn very fast and hot if dry so beware bonfires in summer or growing annoying hedges

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 9:08 pm Post subject:
thanks dpack. It would be burnt in a closed wood burner so spitting should not be an issue. sg

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 14 9:10 pm Post subject:
How Much Wood Should i Get For The Winter? Twice as much as you think you need. Better to have more than you need than need more than you have. If you have the space you really need to get a year ahead. Then you will use less wood as it will be dryer & so give off more usable heat.

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