Eucalyptus Firewood

[Mick F]

Measured the width of our multifuel stove yesterday. 12" is about it to get split lengths in easily.
In all the years I've been cutting wood, I've been cutting them smaller - 6" maybe - so I can split them manually.
By doubling the length, I will be chainsawing half as much which gives a triple wammy.

One, there will be half as much waste as each cut produces sawdust.
Two, the chainsaw will be used half as much so will require half the maintenance.
Three, the whole process will be faster and easier.

Should have done this years ago.

I will give an initial report of this machine after getting my hands on it tomorrow.
May use it on Saturday for another report on it's performance.

[PDQ Mobile]

While I hesitate to say so at this late hour, I think a vertical splitter is a far superior machine for splitting large quantities than the horizontal type.
The position of the operator standing directly in front of the "work piece" is better.
The"work" is passed across the splitter and the standing space in front remains clear even when splitting really large quantities.

Big (and powerful, say 10 tons) "horizontal" has an advantage for splitting REALLY big heavy stuff that cannot be lifted because the rounds can be more easily got onto the horizontal bed. Rolled on in effect.
This advantage is negated by putting the spitter on a table though.

Putting it at a working height will save the back big time, as "Paulatic"says.
But it needs to be really securely done.

A vertical splitter stands on its own, the "table" at the correct height without need for raising up.

There are other plusses for the vertical type; moving the thing around is done in a nice comfortable standing stance, no bending.
And moving the piece being worked on around on the "table" is easier too. So splitting is faster.
Splitting to smaller sizes is easier.

All IMHO.

Eucalyptus is ok. It's high oil content contains loads of heat energy. Somewhat negated by burning it wet.
The dreaded (by axe splitters and wet wood burners!) Sitka Spruce also contains lots of resin.
It will melt a wood-burner, given a chance.
It makes a fine firewood.

[Paulatic]

Can’t find it now but the algorithms recently targeted me with a log splitter which fitted on a drill. It was a miniature version of the big screw one used fitted to the back of tractors.
Bit of a toy I would think unless anyone has experience of one.

[Jdsk]

This sort of thing, or a splitter in a frame that you power with a drill?

Jonathan

[Paulatic]

That’s the one, handy for someone with an odd bit of wood maybe.

[Mick F]

The beast arrived today.
Nice compact unit, and I'll be testing it out tomorrow,

DHL phoned us, as the driver was concerned about getting to us, so I drove to Gunnislake Station carpark to meet the driver in his big white van.

Big heavy box loaded into the back of our car, and I drove it home. Carried into the livingroom and unboxed. Test it out with a log or three tomorrow sometime.

Here it is, unboxed in the livingroom. The black things behind are the stuff for guard yet to be assembled ............. or not at all. The instructions say that the guard is only there to comply with EU regulations.

[ncutler]

I'm looking forward to the report on the splitter.

But I think we may have a size problem. Many of our rounds are a reasonable size and should be fine, but the rounds that challenge the splitting axe are the big ones:

Most of these are 400mm or more and I think the splitter spec quotes a max diameter of 300mm.

[Paulatic]

IME as long as I can lift it and as long as it doesn’t roll off the splitter will do something with it. Might just be a chunk or sometimes need to roll it over to do another radii.

[pwa]

You wouldn't pass a chainsaw test without doing that and you probably wouldn't succeed with an insurance claim if you had a mishap due to not using the brake

I know all of that and living in a heavily forested area I know all the experts which is why I referenced son No 2 who did receive formal training and can tell me every point. Funny thing about his rules though one time difficulty properly starting his saw it was OK for dad to drop start it.
When I was aged 17, working on a farm, the boss came back from market one day handed me a new Stihl chainsaw. Demonstrated how to start it and then left alone at a wood pile. A dangerous tool no ppe at all in those days. Never taught how to sharpen it or to keep the chain at the right tension. Frightening thought looking back to how slack that chain was at times.
Not an ideal start to using a dangerous tool I agree but that’s how things were in the 60s. We were lucky if 5 out of 10 machines had a pto guard. HSE visits were always announced and anything dodgy hidden away. Thankfully I’ve a built in preservation mechanism and a desire to learn which has stood me well.

Woodlands tend to have lots of trip hazards, and if you fall you don't want to have the additional hazard of an un-braked saw to contend with. You only need to catch the throttle and a little whizz of the chain could do terrible harm.

You aren’t an educator are you by any chance?
I don’t disagree there are numerous trip hazards I’ve found a few. What does puzzle me though is how am I going to catch the throttle? If I was moving with a live, or indeed dead, chainsaw I hold it with one hand on the handle with blade to the rear. The other hand by my side probably at least 2 ft away from the throttle. Is there, perhaps, some combination of undergrowth that can simultaneously squeeze the safety and pull the trigger at the same time that I haven’t encountered?
Rest assured I’m fully aware of the dangers and also the extra ones familiarity brings. I’ve a friend in the village, can see his house from where I’m sitting, worked his entire life in forestry. Carried on working beyond his retirement age and befell an accident felling a tree. Couldn’t walk after the accident and with determination, after 4 years, can now walk a couple of hundred yards if he takes his time.
Yes Take Care out there.

Which brings me right back to the question I made earlier, "have I really been dicing with death over the last >50 years"?

I would always recommend anyone new to chainsaws to make full use of the brake, making its use an automatic reaction to any pause in work. That way, taking a few potentially hazardous strides across uneven ground with the right hand still near the trigger will not pose a risk. You take your hand somewhere else to avoid the hazard, which is fair enough and may well give you the protection you need, but for anyone new to this the simplest thing is the simple, easy to use device made for the job.

Like you I know a long time chainsaw user who had a mishap with one. He nearly lost an arm. I don't know how he did it but he caught one of his arms with the chain in motion. He does tree work as a profession. Personally, I used chainsaws for about 20 years, going on regular courses to remain certified for insurance purposes, but I gave my saw away when a change of job meant I no longer got free firewood or had regular practice at work. In all my years of using chainsaws I was never in any doubt that they were the most dangerous and unforgiving piece of kit I had to deal with.

I won't say your working practice is wrong, as it seems to work for you, but I think the use of the brake every time you intend repositioning your feet is the best way for anyone learning to use a chainsaw.

[Mick F]

Done four logs this morning.
A couple of them were over a foot diameter and nearly a foot long.
That's all I have cut ready for the splitter, and they were sitting on the drive near the house ready for it.

It absolutely worked marvellously.
It needs to be on a stand, but it's not really necessary, just would be better. I'll try a few ideas.

Here's the progress so far. It took me longer to get it out and find the extension lead than to split the logs!

[pwa]

I have always done splitting by the manual methods, mainly using a splitting maul. I have been reluctant to use machinery for two reasons. Firstly, I don't get many big awkward lumps to process. And secondly, one of the initial attractions of burning wood was that it reduces other fuel bills including electricity. Any lump of wood that has cost me electricity is an expensive lump of wood. That is without taking the cost of the kit into consideration.

What would change my stance on that? Having a lot of awkward bits to process. The effects of old age on my ability to swing a maul time after time. But in a way it has become academic as I now buy most of my wood at £30 a bag as my free supply ended when my job changed, so my wood is now prepared for me. Which is nice in a way.

[PDQ Mobile]

"pwa" ^^
It could only reduce your fuel bills if you used electric for simply producing heat?
Which is a poor use of electrical energy really.

Electric energy is very efficient at driving machinery.
A good electric splitter that can split quickly and efficiently, without running on "idle" for long, is a very effective cog in a low carbon heat energy cycle.

Such a machine will split around a ton of wood in an hour. (Obviously this varies with size and difficulty.)
A typical 6 ton splitter will draw at full pressure around 3 or 3.5 kw and use somewhat less at "idle".
So say (just roughly) 60p of leccy to split a ton.
A ton of dry firewood has an energy equivalent to around say 3-5 hundred litres of heating oil.
((I looked it up on the net!; (quote:-"The typical house needs 14 m3 loose volume of wood chip, or 2200 kg of wood pellets, to replace 1000 litres of oil"))

So the sum is exceptionally favourable.

There are other costs involved in large quantities of wood fuel, of course.
Fuel for saws and transport. And the cost of maintenance and repair.
The splitter is likely to require little in the way of these however, if decent robust quality.
My splitter has split hundreds of tons, over a decade or so, and once required a motor condenser.
(Three Phase leccy, if available, is even better than normal 240v at driving biggish induction motors.)

The really big advantage however comes from being able to easily and quickly process enough wood fuel to "get ahead". Therefore getting one's wood really dry and using a lot less.
It's a win/win.
It will be interesting to see if Mick now starts to store more. My guess is that he will.

Buying wood in, especially kiln dried, with long transport and drying energy costs can reduce any favourable energy considerations regarding wood fuel.
Dubious, distant and/or unknown sources add problems to green credentials.
We import into the UK a fair bit of firewood I believe. Nuts!

[Ben@Forest]

A ton of dry firewood has an energy equivalent to around say 3-5 hundred litres of heating oil.
((I looked it up on the net!; (quote:-"The typical house needs 14 m3 loose volume of wood chip, or 2200 kg of wood pellets, to replace 1000 litres of oil"))

So the sum is exceptionally favourable.

Those figures for woodchip or pellet compared to oil are almost certainly for boiler use which are the applications chip or pellet are used for - not putting on open fires or in stoves. I'm sure there is a comparison for loose firewood in a boiler and oil but l don't think you have it.

I have oil fired heating and hot water and a 4kW wood burning stove. I have a rough idea of how many litres oil/m3 of wood l use a year, and considering the wood burner only heats one room there's no doubt the oil is more effective and cheaper as a running cost (though factoring in the installed cost of the £6,000 boiler could be interesting!)

[Mick F]

Store more?
It's difficult to store in the dry without a suitable place etc. Not easy here, but there are loads of lengths behind the bungalow on the southern side. Drying nicely.

This huge eucalyptus hasn't been fully cut up yet, but will be now that I cn split them with "ease".
Note the inverted commas.

The position this tree is in, is down a very very steep bank behind a barbed wire fence that it pulled down when it fell. Any pieces of eucalyptus I cut, has to be manhandled by yours truly ......... and it's heavy, as discussed. I have to clamber over the fence with the chainsaw and cut some, then carry the saw and the logs back up the slope, along the garden, and to the area near the house to split it etc.

Before this log splitter, I had to split manually with the maul too. Heavy hard knackering work for a chap in his very late 60s!
Should have bought the splitter years ago.

As for lecky, it's 2.2Kw with a 5T push. The thing doesn't idle. You press a button to start the motor, and then with the other hand, operate the hydraulic lever. It's only then, that it consumes power. Release the button and the motor stops. Release the lever, and the ram returns.

As a separate subject considering we're discussing wood heating, I've just swept the chimney again since December last year.

Being in a bungalow, getting on the roof is easy, especially as I can step across from the bank onto the flat roof and walk up to the chimney stack. Four 1mtr rods with the brush on is pushed down the chimney and brought back up, then down and up to polish it off.

Then, back down in the living room, I remove the stainless cover near the ceiling and drag and bits down so it falls into the firebox. Another cover just above the fire is taken off and the brushes clean out the flue. Covers back on, and then clean out the fire.
Vacuum cleaner on standby!

All done in less than an hour, and sitting here with a cuppa.

[PDQ Mobile]

A ton of dry firewood has an energy equivalent to around say 3-5 hundred litres of heating oil.
((I looked it up on the net!; (quote:-"The typical house needs 14 m3 loose volume of wood chip, or 2200 kg of wood pellets, to replace 1000 litres of oil"))

So the sum is exceptionally favourable.

Those figures for woodchip or pellet compared to oil are almost certainly for boiler use which are the applications chip or pellet are used for - not putting on open fires or in stoves. I'm sure there is a comparison for loose firewood in a boiler and oil but l don't think you have it.

I have oil fired heating and hot water and a 4kW wood burning stove. I have a rough idea of how many litres oil/m3 of wood l use a year, and considering the wood burner only heats one room there's no doubt the oil is more effective and cheaper as a running cost (though factoring in the installed cost of the £6,000 boiler could be interesting!)

I am sure you are correct.
And I couldn't find a quick figure for "straight" wood.
I did however round down.
The point was about splitter running costs really.

Dry wood is exceptionally good at heating water - given suitable appliance/ heat exchanger.
I do not doubt oil compares quite favourably money wise especially if labour costs are factored in.
(Though I doubt many run a house as cheapy as I do.)
However it is neither carbon neutral or sustainable.
And provides no fertilizer as as waste product!

My position regarding supply is fortunate.
Endless and free but sometimes very labour intensive to collect.
A waste resource that I put to good use.
And (some of it) a swine to manually split.
As long as I can draw breath I shall burn wood.
It is a love affair. And with living trees!