Tips for foraging for wood

highrisklowreturn

Even by my low standards.....

grahamc2003

One way of speeding up drying is to chop the wood into smaller and smaller pieces. Even in the warming oven of an aga, a foot diameter foot long lump of wood takes several days to dry (tried that one and erm, don't be tempted to dry it quicker in the hot oven!). Sliced into 8 or 16 smaller logs i bet it would dry, in a warm oven, in a day. The key is to have a large surface area relative the the volume, and no bit of wood more than say 1/2 inch away from a surface. So even now, if you can't bear to buy some seasoned wood to burn, it's probably worth slicing your wet wood into pieces not much bigger than kindling, and try to get it in the sun and wind for a few days.

I'm fortunate in that I have access to wood piles which have been stood outside for a couple of years, and are already almost dry enough to burn. I collect one log a day on my dog walk, and have to lug it a fair distance, then chop it when I get home. Today's log will almost certainly get burnt this year, after a couple of months on the woodpile (which is under the carport) to finish drying.

highrisklowreturn

Or just burn it wet - it lasts longer.

NotSoWise

if you burn wet wood you will eventually bung up your chimney or even worse set fire to it.

Swipe

Burning wet wood gives out very little heat and is a waste

Greenfires

Believe it or not one log supplier was specifically asked for wet wood "because that dry stuff you delivered last time didn't last long enough"!! Some people are just beyond help...

Andy

suki1964

Greenfires wrote: »

Believe it or not one log supplier was specifically asked for wet wood "because that dry stuff you delivered last time didn't last long enough"!! Some people are just beyond help...

Andy

That would have been highrisklowreturn

highrisklowreturn

lol.

Just started the stove and can hear the fizz - and see a little steam on the window. I take it I'm having moisture problems?

josie

I remember seeing a money saving type programme on TV about a year ago and this woman foraged logs and never bought any. I can't remember it to clearly and we didn't have a wood burning stove then, so didn't pay a huge amount of attention.

I do remember them saying something about being able to collect it from public areas. I'm interested in where I can legally scavenge to start my store for next year. Had a nice dead tree felled at work that is perfectly seasoned for this year, that I acquired!

Will come back and post on here if I find any more info about where to collect it. Like the tree surgeon suggestion tho, so will try our chap who chopped the tree down at work too.

Ken68

Years ago I sawed and chopped old furniture, wardrobes, settees old chairs and such.Settees are good once you got rid of the cloth and springs. Solid beech mostly.\Had a car and trailer those days.
Got them when doing the auction halls. Suppose you could get similar stuff from the charity shops, i.e. stuff they can't display or sell. Also skips (with permission).What you might call urban foraging.
Whatever way, a regular system is needed. Daily walks and if no car at least a shopping trolley.