Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: I_want_an_Omega on 25 November 2011, 16:56:40

Title: "Free" firewood
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 25 November 2011, 16:56:40
A month or so back we got a woodburner - it's fantastic.

Near our office is a pumblers merchants, some weeks back I called in there for something and asked the guy about the big pile of pallets he had outside. "help yourself mate". So I did. However, unless you want to cut them in sections before loading you can only get a few of the smaller ones in a car (saloon), so I contented myself with taking a few a day and rapidly filled up the free space in my garage.

Over the last few days I've set about "sorting" them out. Wrecking bar/saws/chopsaw all used and I now have a nice pile of timber for kindling & burning. Although not as much as I'd hoped for as pallets are mainly empty space.

However, the amount of work to do this has been quite significant, hours and blooming hours its taken to reduce a dozen pallets into something usable. Ok, it was free but that was only because of my zero cost slave labour - good exercise though and good therapy it must be said.
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: tunnie on 25 November 2011, 16:59:35
However, the amount of work to do this has been quite significant, hours and blooming hours its taken to reduce a dozen pallets into something usable.

You need a bigger hammer.  ;D

Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: CaptainZok on 25 November 2011, 17:02:03
However, the amount of work to do this has been quite significant, hours and blooming hours its taken to reduce a dozen pallets into something usable.

You need a bigger hammer.  ;D


Or Shouty in a stropp.
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 25 November 2011, 17:09:32
I can see why people buy kindling/firelighters now, but a bag of kindling costs what, £3.50 and has enough for what, 4 fires? Maybe I'm just getting tight in my old age - but to buy kindling (or sticks as they are called up this way) just seems like burning money to me.

On the other hand, I got a fantastic new saw in Screwfix today - it was a Stanley and only cost £5.10. B&Q have them on BOGOF for a tenner but not on the coarse cut blades.
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: mantagte on 25 November 2011, 17:21:37
you need a cheap electric/petrol chainsaw soon whips through them
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: cleggy on 25 November 2011, 17:30:41
you need a cheap electric/petrol chainsaw soon whips through them

I was just about to say the same :y
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: fiend61 on 25 November 2011, 17:32:10
not quite like this pile then rob  ;D



(http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m585/Roger_Short/article-page-main_ehow_images_a06_iu_th_make-overnight-wood-burning-furnace-800x800.jpg)

solution buy a bigger burner  :D :D
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 25 November 2011, 17:52:00
not quite like this pile then rob  ;D



(http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m585/Roger_Short/article-page-main_ehow_images_a06_iu_th_make-overnight-wood-burning-furnace-800x800.jpg)

solution buy a bigger burner  :D :D

I'm ok for logs themselves and have a couple of log stores full of the stuff. Who knows - I might even take a picture tomorrow and post it up  ::)
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: Turk on 25 November 2011, 21:32:55
However, the amount of work to do this has been quite significant, hours and blooming hours its taken to reduce a dozen pallets into something usable.

You need a bigger hammer.  ;D

...or a bigger wood burner.  :y   ;D


Edit: Ah, just noticed this suggestion has already been made.
Great minds think alike !!   :y     (..and fools seldom differ. ::) )
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: Lazydocker on 25 November 2011, 22:18:34
Be careful burning pallets in a wood burner... They are treated timber and can deposit "aggressive" substances inside the flue ;)
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: fiend61 on 26 November 2011, 00:21:27
Quote
and fools seldom differ
thats the one turk  :D :D :D :D
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: ninjapirate on 26 November 2011, 00:50:34
i had a massive row of trees cut down, and they nicely left me it all in fire wood, let it season for a while, but i still havnt had the burner fitted grrr.
now i wnt to move, i dont want to spend on it.
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 26 November 2011, 07:57:11
Be careful burning pallets in a wood burner... They are treated timber and can deposit "aggressive" substances inside the flue ;)

Fair point - I'll restrict it to kindling then, which is going to be a very small % of the material burnt
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: Lazydocker on 26 November 2011, 12:51:12
Be careful burning pallets in a wood burner... They are treated timber and can deposit "aggressive" substances inside the flue ;)

Fair point - I'll restrict it to kindling then, which is going to be a very small % of the material burnt
Not saying that it's not useable, just be aware ;) ;)

Putting in the wood burner was possibly the best thing I ever did, even if I haven't got access to all the free firewood I had when I budgeted it. This year I paid £180 for close to 4m3 of 8/9 year seasoned hardwood. It burns well and very hot :y We have it lit pretty much every night and it heats the whole house, keeping the central heating off until the early hours of the morning :y :y
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: bootie on 26 November 2011, 13:06:38
You lucky bugger, decent hardwood over here is extortionate! Olive or Almond (good burners) are about 60 euros a quarter tonne! >:(

And before you all go off on one :P, up in the mountains is does get cold at night, sometimes even below freezing! Our houses were built to stay cool not retain heat so any residual heat from the sun quickly dissipates when it dips below the horizon.
Title: Re: "Free" firewood
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 26 November 2011, 13:22:13
Be careful burning pallets in a wood burner... They are treated timber and can deposit "aggressive" substances inside the flue ;)

Fair point - I'll restrict it to kindling then, which is going to be a very small % of the material burnt
Not saying that it's not useable, just be aware ;) ;)

Putting in the wood burner was possibly the best thing I ever did, even if I haven't got access to all the free firewood I had when I budgeted it. This year I paid £180 for close to 4m3 of 8/9 year seasoned hardwood. It burns well and very hot :y We have it lit pretty much every night and it heats the whole house, keeping the central heating off until the early hours of the morning :y :y

I'm down in Saxmundham helping a mate for a couple of days - so how much for an Omega bootful? :D