Free Wood ???

muckybutt

good_advice wrote: »

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!

Not negative in any way to be honest GA.

As has been said unless it is virgin wood then in all likeliness it will have been treated with some sort of preservative, some actually used to contain arsenic. So burning any old wood is not really a great idea and can lead to quite a lot of harmful chemicals being burnt off into the atmosphere, as well as leaving residual chemicals in the chimney which down the line could also cause premature liner and brick erosion, and also the health and safety implications when its swept as then the soot would be classed as a hazardous material.

So you see there are some considerations to be taken as to what you should and should not burn.

savemoney

I doubt forest commission would allow you now, unless you get permission from who ever owns the land, it could be classed as theft. Rarely do you save money with log burner despite all the positive spin programs on tv give unless of you have a cheap source of fuel. They are nice though but they also need some maintenance and also some where to store the wood. On plus side you might given you use oil for fuel

[Deleted User]

Just as for permission, thats what I do.

Fallen branches only which is fine for me.

There is almost an unlimited supply

Only collect spring/summer/autum as is hard but fun work for cosy evenings in.

I just buy in wood for winter, four bulk bags is usually enough.

Cheers

woodsman7

hi, new to the forum.

In order to get any free word worth burning, there is one main avenue you need to explore, that is Tree surgeons. Often on jobs, we can end up being far away from base or limited for time. So taking wood back for profit is not an option. Also sometimes the customer will not have a burner and wants the 'waste the 'wood' removing. Now all tree surgeons keep a list of contacts who are willing to take wood, wood chip etc. This will often be farms and stables and friends etc. However there are many who've began to offer their numbers to us and do provide a helpful drop off point when we have several loads to shift. Your best off looking in the yellow pages or going over and asking tree surgeons whilst they are working near by. If you choose to ask, offer a tea or small tip to the guys say 20-30 for a load, take note if there's 3 guys 25 quid wont split well, make a tip simple, it's much easier to imagine tonight's beer that way. Now if you were to buy a load normally you can pay up to 70 quid. So not a bad saving really. The more willing you are to accept wood in whole lengths the more you'll get. We often say no to people who want wood for free and expect it ringing up and splitting for them ready for their fire.

Try the Arbtalk forums and offer a place to tip logs if you have a drive etc leave a address and someone may be thankyou for you taking them off their hands at short notice without a call.

Also if your a trades person offering a discounted service goes down extremely well.

PaulF81

rustyboy21 wrote: »

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

Well seasoned pine is no problem in a burner. The problem comes when you cant get decent temperatures up the flue, and cresote has chance to build.

ericonabike

Pallets. Was going to leave it there, but thread algorithm requires at least 10 characters in any post!

reeac

muckybutt wrote: »

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.

That used to be the case where I live but now I see one or two people collecting fallen wood every day whilst they're dog walking. Has a negligible impact on the environment as there's so much of it and we hardly ever see anyone from Forest Enterprises [who own the land]. Don't underestimate the amount of wood required, though, if you're planning to use it as your main heat source.

woodbutcher_2

I'm a joiner/builder and used to drop off all my wood from jobs at a mates house for his woodburner. Burning all that inferior wood clogged up his chimney and he had a horrendous chimney fire, which was very scary.

He uses proper seasoned stuff now. Old window/door frames and the like don't burn hot enough or for long enough, so you use more and exacerbate the problem. Not to mention all the nasties contained within.