Firewood!

[MIGNAL]

I've been looking into the economics of fitting a woodburning stove. I suspect it will cost in the region of £2,000 complete with a decent flexi flue liner and all the rest of the costs associated with installation.
I'm seeing the cost of processed dry firewood at around £90 per cubic metre. That seems comparable (but hard to be sure) with Gas. What about the price of unprocessed logs? All I'm seeing is the price of prepare firewood. Is the difference significant? I obviously have the means to cut and chop it and LOTS of space to dry it.

 

[themackay]

I have had a woodburner for 20 years just used in the winter from my experience there is not really a cheap fuel any more I can see the price of wood rising substantially as more of these subsidised biomas heating/generation systems come on line
Alan

 

[Jacob]

All fuel prices are rising so it makes sense to be as efficient as poss. With woodburning this means a batch burner http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burn ... ilers.html which will cost a good deal more than your £2k!
We are looking at one for our place. Will have a 1.5 cu mtr heat store tank so it'll take up a lot of space.

What I'm hoping will make it viable is getting green wood cheap and drying it, and as much scrap wood as we can get our hands on. Skip diving etc.

 

[Woodchips2]

We had a Morso multi-fuel stove in our last house which could burn wood or coal. We ended up burning mainly coal but it was very economical even though we kept it going 24 hours a day in the winter. Logs churned out more heat but needed more space for drying out and our log supplier died. We are looking at putting another Morso in our bungalow next year.

Regards Keith

 

[bellringer]

logs are going up in price no end the price of unprocessed depends on how much you want if you get it from local tree surgeon that take it to the tip then you looking at beer money but if you want large amount it up to about £70-£80 a tonne then you have the haulage on top it easier to just buy them proceeded

 

[MIGNAL]

I don't need a large CH system. The current Gas boiler is running HW and 7/8 Kw of radiators. 3 Kw of that radiator energy can be done away with if the stove was mounted in the same room. The radiator in my workshop (attic space) is 16 ' x 14' approx. and it's only a 1.7 Kw radiator. Been there over 10 years and mostly it's too warm. On a severe day it's a touch too cold but I can easily live with that - and have.
That's if I decide to run CH from a stove. I haven't decided on that. In fact I haven't decided whether I'll go through with the project at all! I was a little intrigued when I bumped into an old friend who said that he had installed one around 2 years ago. He gets 75% of his wood free (building trade) so I guess that his payback time was around 2 years.
Bellringer. It's pretty easy to get dry, processed firewood at £80 -90 per tonne including delivery. Lot's of places doing that especially if you buy it as a loose pick up load.
Oddly enough I used to know a tree surgeon! Just haven't seen him in a few years. Could be a good contact though.

 

[MMUK]

Can't you just burn up untreated pallets? A lot of engineering firms and builder's merchants will give you pallets if you ask

 

[MIGNAL]

Probably but pallets aren't the thickest of timbers, which means a quick burn and refuelling often. Fine if you are stuck in front of the TV doing nothing. . . but if they are free I guess you can't complain!

 

[woodfarmer]

All our room heating and most of our cooking is wood fired. I have Villager stoves for heating (1 model a hitop, 1 model B flattop) in the kitchen we have a Nordica suprema which is fabulous.
I am lucky as I grow most of my own fuel. Water heating is by cheap rate electricity.

 

[doorframe]

Can't you just burn up untreated pallets? A lot of engineering firms and builder's merchants will give you pallets if you ask

More pallets around here than you can poke a stick at. The firm next to ours are burning them all the time. All our pallets go on their fire.

Didn't I read somewhere that the wood has to be dry stored for 12 months (with proof)?

 

[hanser]

I've got 2 woodburners in the house and in the depths of winter both burn 24x7. We use very little gas for space heating, just for hot water and cooking. I source unprocessed hardwod arisings, sometimes a bit of conifer - depending what's around. Some's free, most these days is paid for and occasionally I've had to buy coal. It takes a lot of work to cut, split, stack, season, move and finally put in the wood store in spring for the winter burn.

Given the stoves capital and install cost, one's time, transport, chainsaw costs etc, sweeping chimneys etc I don't think its hugely cheaper than gas CH but I do enjoy the chase. I guess it's the urge to be 'a hunter gatherer'

A few tips - get the biggest size stove for the space you want to heat. Think in terms of not just the room it's to be installed in but the bigger space with int doors left open. The larger the stove, the bigger the firebox, the less cutting and splitting you will have to do. Consider a flat top that can be used for cooking. Saves gas and those cheap cuts of meat are beautiful after a long slow cook in the cast iron casserole. Kit yourself out properly with chainsaw, PPE, splitting wedges, mawls with different weights. I don't possess an axe, Finally, become very friendly with the local tree surgeon community

 

[Mark A]

We burn pallets in our stove. They're don't last very long, but they produce a lot of heat and, best of all, they're free from a local printing firm! With a chainsaw and Triton SuperJaws I can cut up a month's worth of firewood in a hour or two.

Apart from pallets from the printing firm, we've also bought tonne-bags of offcuts from a local reclamation yard in the past.

A few tips - get the biggest size stove for the space you want to heat. Think in terms of not just the room it's to be installed in but the bigger space with int doors left open. The larger the stove, the bigger the firebox, the less cutting and splitting you will have to do

I agree entirely. The winter before having a woodburner installed we paid over £1000 in heating oil for three months. The following year we paid about £400 for six months. They're fantastic!

Mark

 

[xy mosian]

Mignal, I see you're in West Yorkshire. Are these people near enough to be of interest. They also have an enormous horizontal bandsaw and small stocks of end reared planked timber.

 

[ballibeg2]

Here's a great forum for firewood and woodburning stoves.

http://thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=21

I'm afraid the cost of firewood is rising with demand. There's a real shortage of hardwood at the moment for dealers to process.

I run a firewood business from my own woods.

Dave

 

[Zeddedhed]

Down here in Kent I buy my firewood by the 5 ton load. I pay about £26/per ton for 10ft lengths of chestnut. I get it delivered (all 5 tons) for about £50. Then it's all down to me for logging and splitting.
The saying goes that burning wood warms you twice - once during the processing and once during the burning. 'tis very true

 

[bugbear]

Here's a great forum for firewood and woodburning stoves.

http://thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=21

There really is a forum for everything, isn't there? :lol:

BugBear

 

[SteveF]

can u tell me where u get it zedd please ?

Steve

 

[xy mosian]

Ok! I know I should leave the hard stuff 'til later in the week. Sorry for the missing link. Ere tis:-
http://www.keighleytreeservices.com/10500/info.php?p=7
xy

 

[wizard]

I got rid of my log burner and fitted gas central heating much cheaper to run, wake up to a nice warm house, no fire to look after. Any wood i get we use for cooking on the cob oven.

 

[wellywood]

I got rid of my log burner and fitted gas central heating much cheaper to run, wake up to a nice warm house, no fire to look after. Any wood i get we use for cooking on the cob oven.

Strange isn't it? We've just gone the other way and installed a wood burner as gas was becomong too expensive. We were paying three times the cost of the gas we were using in fixed line charges. Of course, we're not short of wood here.