Price of fire wood?

[wiffola]

Hi All,

After much deliberation and help from this board we are ditching our LPG 4x 47kg cylinders and combi boiler and plan to install a 25KW Log gasification boiler with 1400ltr accumulation tank.

Here it is: http://ecoangus.co.uk/angus_orligno_200_boiler.html

We have an 1895 cottage, no mains gas, single glazing, average insulation, 90m2 floor area.

We live just outside Cardiff in a rural location.

The manufacture of the log boiler suggests an annual usage of 10 tonnes / 14 cubic meters of firewood. I'm sure we will use less than that but lets use that as a worst case scenario.

We're going to buy in 90% of our seasoned wood. The other 10% I will collect as a hobby in our nearby forest.

Questions are:

1. How much should I be expecting to spend per tonne of good firewood?

2. What is best type of wood to buy in? i.e. tree type, soft wood, hard wood?

We havent got loads of space but I plan to store wood all over the place in our outside areas as a kind of feature.

Thanks for any help guys!

 

[DeltaT2]

Glad you got sorted mate.

I'd think soft wood would be cheaper & easier to buy. Depends really on what's available locally. Phone around & speak to the guys that are working in the forest.

 

[wiffola]

Glad you got sorted mate.

I'd think soft wood would be cheaper & easier to buy. Depends really on what's available locally. Phone around & speak to the guys that are working in the forest.

Yeah thanks for all your help DeltaT2 - it'll mean some modification of our outside area and drive but I think I can squeeze the system in!

Now the hunt for firewood suppliers begins - i'll get onto the local forestry comission and see what they say.

Any more help on wood types very welcome.

 

[DeltaT2]

Glad you got sorted mate.

I'd think soft wood would be cheaper & easier to buy. Depends really on what's available locally. Phone around & speak to the guys that are working in the forest.

Yeah thanks for all your help DeltaT2 - it'll mean some modification of our outside area and drive but I think I can squeeze the system in!

Now the hunt for firewood suppliers begins - i'll get onto the local forestry comission and see what they say.

Any more help on wood types very welcome.

Not sure speaking to the forestry commission is a good idea??? Lots of guys sell firewood for cash as a wee sideline. Speak to the guys working in the forest.

Also, the people that are selling you the boiler will tell you the best type of seasoned wood to burn.
HTH

 

[Corgigrouch]

Both hardwood and soft wood is fine as long as it is seasoned... Hardwood has a higher calorific value so you get more out of it.. Last chap I spoke to was selling hardwood for about £90 per cubic meter.... Always buy your logs by volume rather than weight otherwise the unscrupulous may well try to sell you green logs... More water in them, more weight theyare, the more money they charge you... Do an internet search for local tree surgeons, they usually have logs for sale... Build a nice covered area outside that is open to the fresh air to allow the logs to breathe and the moisture to escape.. All you need to do is keep the rain off them.

 

[Norcon]

You might find this helpful...
http://tinyurl.com/bo6ceja

 

[mcmoby69]

you could always try ebay.most of the sellers post their phone numbers so you can negotiate with them for one big delivery.

 

[wiffola]

Thanks everyone - great suggestions. I've found a few options that i'll call today.

It seems like £90 for 1m3 is the going rate for split seasoned wood 50/50 soft/hardwood.

This does sound a bit expensive if we need 14m3 a year!

What would people say to us needing 14m3 a year given our house situation?

Only thing to add we are a family of 4, 2 adults 2 toddlers and one mixer shower.

Is 14m3 suggestion a bit excessive?

 

[Agile]

The amount you use depends totally on the amount of heat you need ( or think you need ).

The cost you have calculated is virtually what a family are expected to spend on gas in a medium size of house. So I would suggest its about right.

The way to get the cost down is to increase the get your own. Dont buy too much at a time and look out for anyone selling a bit of wood and be prepared to cut it up and store it while it dries.

A friend of mine in Devon has his own 12 acre forrest and insurance as a tree cutter and has LA authority to cut and remove fallen trees on the highway that he gets to first. Obviously he does not pay for any wood and the forest increases in value like most land over a longer period.

I have some uncut oak wood in London but its difficult to sell on Ebay!

Tony

 

[Diyisfun]

Given the volume you need I would expect you to be able to negotiate a good rate especially on year two when you can get delivery in the summer.

 

[Onetap]

We're going to buy in 90% of our seasoned wood. The other 10% I will collect as a hobby in our nearby forest.

When you say "collect as a hobby", am I right in thinking that the forest is a public park and you intend to pick up any fallen timber?

If so, don't think I'm criticizing you; I really couldn't give a stuff, but the local authority/forest owner may object. I'm more interested in how timber scavenging is becoming a popular pastime, I can anticipate the New Forest and Epping Forest vanishing into the boots of people's cars over a couple of decades at this rate. Skip diving would seem to be a good source around here (London).

Car Boot sales are another source, I have been told. Someone may confirm this, I haven't been to one in several years.

ISTR that both seasoned soft wood and hardwood have a similar calorific value (J per kg) but hardwood is denser and so burns longer and less (volume) is required. It costs more too.

I think you need to pay close attention to the storage and seasoning of the wood, especially is you're collecting wind-fall timber. Damp timber will give off less heat, since a lot of the energy is spent in evaporating the excess moisture. It will also leave more tar deposits in the flue. Proper timber stores are large open-sided structures, like Dutch barns.

I'd consider keeping the combi and linking the wood-burner into the existing heating system, if practical. It would allow you to get hot water quickly in summer and to switch back to gas. A lot of people get fed up with the effort involved in cutting and storing timber.

 

[Agile]

About six months ago I posted a link on this forum to a very useful site which gives details of the heat from different types of wood.

You should find it by searching against my name and perhaps the word "wood".

Tony

 

[wiffola]

Given the volume you need I would expect you to be able to negotiate a good rate especially on year two when you can get delivery in the summer.

Well it's most probably not going to be ready until spring - although I'm very aware of the March Heat Premium Payment deadline which I need to take advantage of.

I've got some installers coming this weekend and there's lots to be done to convert this into a sheltered area for the tank and boiler. It's going to be quite a squeeze but from talking with eco angus it seems like we can just squeeze it all in.

Untitled

• wiffola
• 8 Nov 2011
• 1

I plan to retain the wall and simply add a slate roof where the timber is resting in this shot. This front wall will need to be taken down at the far end where it T's into the boundary wall to fit the oval accumulator in.

Just clearing this with the LA planning...but will probably need planning as it faces a highway

I'm a 3d designer/animator by trade so I've been whipping some to-scale 3d models on the computer of how it's all going to fit in this area. Maybe I'll post these to see what people think. Probably best to start a new thread for that.

Thanks for all the wood help.

 

[wiffola]

I'd consider keeping the combi and linking the wood-burner into the existing heating system, if practical. It would allow you to get hot water quickly in summer and to switch back to gas. A lot of people get fed up with the effort involved in cutting and storing timber.

Well we're looking to get the HPP and RHI so need to completely replace our system.

I also want to say a joyful goodbye to LPG...I hate it and the excessive prices. (not sure where that leaves our gas hob lol!)...Still deciding on that one.

 

[big-all]

have you though about the time wasted tending to the stove getting up hours early to light and warm up the house
you will have to spend around 10 mins every hour to feed and empty the stove so its time intensive way to maybe save money but also possibly loose money to waste around 10 hrs a week attending the stove plus wood collection time after you pay the land owner and get permission to remove a ton off wood a year