Free Wood ???

Ebe_Scrooge

I'm toying with the idea of getting a wood-burning stove installed to help reduce the amount of oil we use ( rural Scottish village, no mains gas, VERY cold winters !! ). Now, I've read a lot on here that seasoned wood is not cheap, and all-in-all you wouldn't save much by the time you've paid for a stove, installation, bought wood, etc.

But there are acres and acres of wild woodland locally. Of course they must be owned by someone ( forestry commission or such-like, I imagine ). My question is - can I go and collect fallen logs myself ? Every time I go walking, there are literally tons of fallen branches and trees lying around - I mean naturally fallen, not those which have been deliberately felled, of which there is also a lot ! Could I just collect these ( the naturally-fallen ones ) to burn ? If so then I would would have a limitless supply of free wood, and the amount I could use would not even make a dent in what's lying around. Of course I'd need to collect, transport, chop and season them myself, but it would still be a much cheaper source of heat in the cold weather that lasts from September to May !!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

gardner1

you need the landowners permission and most will say no because all the fallen wood rots away and helps maintain wildlife etc

Ebe_Scrooge

OK, thanks for the reply - that probably scuppers my plans for free heat !!

muckybutt

You used to be able to purchase a license from the forestry commission to collect wood....until their health and safety police put a stop to it.

rustyboy21

It would also depend on what wood it was.

Some wood doesn't give off much heat, so you will be wasting time and energy in collecting that type, if it won't keep you warm.

Also is the factor of the resins etc from certain trees. Look at below link, and see what Pine will do to your stove, if you burn it.

http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5426072_can-burn-pine-fireplace.html

good_advice

Ebe, our free wood for our open fire comes from the neighbours. We let them know any wood leave by the front door or toss over back garden. From DIY jobs or they pick it up on work travels. We just have to chop it to the size that will fit our coal.wood fire.

Ebe_Scrooge

Now there's an idea, GA. Thinking about it, I see loads of people taking wood to the local tip ( sorry, "Recycling Centre" ) - if I told them they could dump it in my garden it would save them a trip .....

I still need to do the sums to see if it would be worth the initial outlay - I'm fully aware that I'm not going to be able to switch off the central heating totally, and there are lots of other factors involved, but it's an idea. Plus I do like the thought of sitting in front of a "real fire" on a cold winter's evening :-)

Funky_Bold_Ribena

Most wood that goes to the tip has been treated in some way so isn't suitable for burning.

good_advice

That is a very negative out look Funky Bold Ribena. If people look for the bad in every thing first we will live in a very sad world!

macman

Why it is 'negative'? Processed 'wood' such as chipboard, MDF and plywood, or treated fencing and posts, is full of resins, glues and chemicals that you most definitely do not want to release into the air by burning.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

macman wrote: »

Why it is 'negative'? Processed 'wood' such as chipboard, MDF and plywood, or treated fencing and posts, is full of resins, glues and chemicals that you most definitely do not want to release into the air by burning.

Looks like s/he has been burning lots of processed wood