Reducing logs for bonfire

[fred]

I'm disposing of some rotten fencing and logs, and have decided to go the bonfire route.

There are 3 or 4 logs about 14" dia and 5' long which have been lying flat on the ground for a couple of years so are likely to be a bit wet and less than perfect burning material. I'd thought of quartering them lengthways to get an easier burn but from memory I believe this is not sensible use of a chainsaw.

Anyone care to comment on best approach.

I'm trying to avoid cutting to short lengths and chopping up, too much like hard work.

[Roger]

The message from fred contains these words:

I have been burning quite a lot of fresh wood recently including some roots or similar thickness to your logs. Provided you have a considerable amount of smaller material to provide a good heart to the fire and a remnant full of red hot charcoal the logs should burn away to nothing over perhaps several days if you tend it occasionally to keep it compact. It might help to chop the big logs in half. However large your fire is to begin with it is going to end up a good deal smaller than 5' across and unless they are well dried out 5' by 14" is going to be a pig to shift.

[Clive George]

If the logs are rotten, then they'll come apart easily. If they're not rotten, you should be able to find somebody to take them away - the world is full of middle class folk with wood burning stoves who'd jump at the chance to get a pile of wood like that. I'd suggest freecycle if you've got no suitable mates.

cheers, clive

[cupra]

Don't forget there are some of us who have a wood burner but aren't middle class (or have central heating!)

[Clive George]

:-)

We're middle class and have a wood burner, and a lot of our mates fit this description too. It does seem to be the house accessory of the moment. (Well, they don't use theirs for CH unlike us (no gas here)).

cheers, clive

[Tim Lamb]

In message , fred writes

I don't know how this affects normal householders but farmers are no longer allowed to burn treated timber.

In answer to the inevitable question the suggestion was to chip and then spread on the ground to rot! I suppose it never occurs to the desk bound that fencing and other treated timber might contain nails and other metal not welcomed by the chipper owner.

regards

[fred]

Sorry, logs are from felling of a sappy pine and should still be sound if wet, only the fencing is rotten and then probably only the bases of the posts.

In a former life I wouldn't have bonfired such a load having helped on many a logging trip with mates but this is west of scotland 'middle england' and not a log burner in sight.

Freecycle got the bums rush from me after requiring me to use IE and active X IIRC, if it doesn't open and work with Opera these days then it's toast.

[fred]

In article , Roger writes

Thanks for that Rog, I'm doing this away from home so a long, attended, slow burn will pose a problem. I can probably split it into a couple of visits, maybe propping the logs into a teepee shape for my first burn with starter material below then coming back to re-stack the remnants with fresh starter material later.

Think I might keep the logs long to start, hoping that they will reduce in girth through burning and making them more manageable for my second burn.

[Owain]

stack them up like a wigwam, put lots of burnable rubbish in the middle, and wait till November 5th

Owain

[John Stumbles]

I subscribed with Mozilla Firefox on Linux and use email

[fred]

I do use Maxthon for less compatible sites. I've just been back for a look see and you have to register even to look at what is on offer, a negative. It also appears to be a Yahoo group, requiring me to sign-up for a Yahoo ID, that, or a Google ID is not for me.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Just burn them as is

They will be fairly well dried out from being cut and lying around.

It may take a few goes, but with enough stuff around to get them warm they will eventually go.

Otherwise chainsaw into foot sections and split with a maul or bomb. And sell the firewood!

[Lobster]

Isn't internet access one of the modern badges of middle-classdom? ;-) Or maybe that's a bit of a last-century viewpoint...

David

[cupra]

Steam powered laptop ;)

[AJH]

Generally household waste is exempted but it's still not a good idea to burn treated fencing, or breathe in the fumes and depending on the temperature the ash may be contaminated, creosote is not a worry in this respect.

AJH

[Tim Downie]

Works with Firefox and Opera here.

Tim

[Tim Downie]

The registration is to protect subscribers from spammers havesting addresses. Still, if you're not prepared to subscribe it's your loss.

Tim

[tinnews]

Don't need anything like this in my experience of Freecycle, it's just a Yahoo mailing list and usable from any mail program. I use mutt from a Linux box, no browser needed at all.

[manatbandq]

Oh, come off it, it's just a Yahoo group.

MBQ

[fred]

There is no reason to require registration just to browse, contact details can be hidden to guests.