OT: Woodland for firewood (and as investment)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Makes more sense to understand that crime has always paid. Wealthy parasites are YOUR protection racket.

When they fail to protect you, you get rid of them,

Hence brexit

[Fredxx]

The French sorted their country out circa 1790. Perhaps not such a bad idea after all?

[Ray]

But you lot are too stupid to get rid of your royal parasites and have far too many MP parasites too.

[Tim Streater]

In fact they didn't. Their governmental system has been characterised by instability ever since. We're lucky that we've managed to avoid that. We've also been lucky in that we got rid of the Catholic Church, then the Puritans, and had that German bloke persuade Queen Vicky to keep her fingers out of government, and then had monarchs who, for the most part understand they service and duty to the nation are what they area bout. And when there was one who didn't get it, he could abdicate in favour of one who did. About our luck with the current monarch, nothing need be said.

[AJH]

10,000m2 in one hectare

which can grow X m3 of green wood per year.

grows 4m3 of oak stems on moderate to poor land

4m3 of oak timber is about 2.2 tonnes of bone dry wood

with a calorific value of Z J/kg.

1 kg of bone dry hardwood contains about 18.6 MJ or 5kWh so each hectare would yield 11,000kWh

Of course you have to harvest the whole wet weight and when you burn wood even at an ideal moisture content below 20% by weight you have to use a bit of that energy to send steam up the chimney.

[AJH]

Don't then because it is a good firewood, just needs more water removed (which it yields quicker than many hardwoods), has a higher calorific value on a dry mass basis but is less dense so you need to stuff the fire more frequently.

[Theo]

Thanks :)

So that means the average house (10-20,000 kWh of gas) would take a couple of hectares to break even.

Are there any flue systems that use waste heat to dry out fresh logs? Beyond simply stacking them next to the stove.

Theo

[David]

I understand the temptation. :-)

One thing to consider when cropping for firewood (if you have the time) is pollarding or coppicing.

Once a tree is reasonably well grown, it is cut back and then allowed to grow numerous shoots. The new branches grow quickly and then can be harvested.

I understand that you can get more productivity for firewood from a coppice than by cutting down whole mature trees.

As already mentioned you have to have a plan for access, harvesting, keeping any cut wood secure whilst seasoning, keeping the woodland secure against pilfering etc.

Helps if you have a chainsaw and a large trailer.

One thing about land; they aren't really making any more of it.

Cheers

Dave R

[AJH]

Possibly, I have a small semi and burn about 4m3, which with a 150W fan keeps the house warm (aided by a radiator on the central heating that comes on for 2 hours a day in winter because the 3 port valve on the Y plan leaks water between DHW and CH). The TRVs on other radiators and the house thermostat very seldom trigger the central heating.

I was using the lowest yield class figures in my example, softwoods will produce more and poplar and willow can produce 10 tonnes of dry weight per ha on good ground.

Mine all comes from trees removed from peoples gardens.

Also a neglected woodland will have a build up of growth over and above current increment.

I don't know,it shouldn't be necessary as wood cut, split and stacked in a covered air place will get below 20% mc from May to September. Winter felled wood has less moisture than summer felled.

Actually we find that the RH in the house falls to around 40% with the stove running which is a bit too dry so I do bring in damper logs and set them a distance from the stove.

I experimented in the run up to Xmas 19 and found a free standing 1kg green oak log lost 86 grams of water each day initially and was below

20% mc in 15 days.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Course they are. Loads of Holland is man made

[harry]

Green wood for burning is stacked in a well ventilated store for at least a year, ideally two. A polytunnel with through ventilation is ideal. Sun gets it good and hot.

I bring wood from the outdoor store and keep it in our conservatory prior to burning. I can get the moisture content down to less than 5% by this means.

You need far too much to pile it by the stove. That would only be a few days worth.

[PeterC]

What man taketh the sea taketh away.

[T i m]

Ah, so just pulling up the gangplank will improve that in your (simple) mind will it?

Or will you be supplying all the foreigners rubber dinghies and setting them free to 'go home' as well?

Cheers, T i m

[alan_m]

But it may only be valuable in your own lifetime if you can build houses on it.

[T i m]

It can also be valuable if it allows access to land that people can then build on.

A mate owns a couple of stand-alone garages he rents that, had they been demolished would have provided easy access to a new (smallish) housing development that was being built alongside.

They offered quite a bit for the land (well over it's straight value) but not quite enough for my mate to let it go, so the developers had to provide access the car park and rear of said buildings via a passage under one of the buildings.

That limits the height meaning that owners can't have full height removal lorries to the back of their properties.

Cheers, T i m

[charles]

"Highway access" is about 1/3 of the cost of a development.

[stephenten]

There are just four asset classes that are exempt from inheritance tax.

Working farms AIM Shares held for more than 2 years Businesses Woodland/forests.

So if you have an estate value of over the IHT threshold, investing the excess in any of the above four asset classes can reduce the tax bill and means your heirs get more of your estate.

[Tim Lamb]

In message [e-mail], [e-mail] writes

Farmland exemption is a little more complex than that....

1. Relief is only obtained on the agricultural value. Any development hope value is fully taxed.
2. In hand farm land and land rented on a *farm business tenancy* is

100% relieved. Land farmed under an *agricultural holdings tenancy* is relieved at 50%.

[alan_m]

Is this true of a piece of woodland just held for personal use or does it have to be managed commercially or effectively being run as a business?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Thought I hadn't heard that much of Moggie recently.