Hi there all, I've been checking out the site for a few months and recently joined up but haven't had a chance to introduce myself until now (which I have felt a little rude about). I live in Devon (which is in the South West of England) with my wife and 2 young boys. Although we have gas central heating we have had a stove installed which we prefer to use A because we love a fire, B because of the expense of gas over here and C because I prefer to lessen my environmental impact where I can. I picked up the stove from a pub that was being refurbed and totally refurbed it myself (although we had to pay to have a registered fitter install), it's rated at 6-8 kW dependant on if you burn wood or coal (we just burn wood). I imagine that sounds like a low output to you guys but as a general rule our houses are smaller over here as land is at such a premium (about 53 million of us in England, an area the size of Alabama). Also our climate is comparable to coastal areas of Washington state with extremes of temperature rare so I suspect that our usage is around the 3 cords bracket although I'm yet to properly gauge this. I have always tried to source our logs either free or cheaply (eBay etc, which I transport in my car and split all by hand) and after having to buy some last year I realise that what others consider to be seasoned is often far from it, to this end I've already split all my 16/17 wood from seasoned rounds and should have enough unprocessed for 17/18 which I need to get on to. Anyway, I have already seen what a warm, genuine community you guys have developed on here for fellow wood burners which I look forward to becoming part of, if I can do my bit to work on the "special relationship" that Barack and David like to chime on about the all the better ;-).......Offering what little I know already and continuing to learn from you "seasoned" (pun intended) pro's. Cheers, Jim
Hi Luke, Hardwood wise, ash, beech, oak (English), cherry, birches, hazel, poplars, willows are all common deciduous species. I'll burn anything though provided it's seasoned, can't afford to be a wood snob here . We have Ash dieback in Western Europe (fungal rather than the beetle that you guys have) so I expect ash to be more widely available in the coming years...
Jim, I have been a member for only a short period and the forum is a great bunch of guys. I am sure you will find it valuable in more ways than you can expect. I am glad you outfitted your child with the right brand of saw!! Welcome aboard
Unfortunately he's the only one of us with a Stihl! I have an unbranded unit with an Oregon 16" bar and chain which I won't replace until it dies, no point upgrading while there's Stihl ;-) life in it Thanks for the welcome!
Hi Adam, spot on, do you guys not have it? It's funny, we have a few on our plot but my wife doesn't like them as my teenage crush was on a girl called Hazel. Women can be strange (but wonderful) creatures at times! Ps I see that you are on one of the British are forums, made me smile when I recognised your username & photo
Yep, I joined arbtalk but things are quite a bit slower ofer there. I havent heard of hazel in my area, but we only have the hardier trees.
Jim, welcome aboard......finally. I'm curious about the stove. Perhaps you'd share a picture (or a few), if it suits you.
Thanks Pap's I shall take a pic after I light it this evening, it's 12*C outside and 18*C inside at the moment which makes it just about tolerable with no heating
Welcomet to FHC... Glad you finally joined. Look forward to seeing some different aspect of stuff across the pond. ...
Welcome to FHC Jim. We do love pics as they give us ideas we may not have thought of. We are not so old that we can't learn from each other. Erik B
Jim, welcome to the land of BTU's. Those are some nice stacks of rounds you have acquired. Great job on starting the little guy on being a wood cutter.
Glad you are here Jim! I'm with papadave , would love to see pictures of your stove and know more about how it works. I'm a fan of all wood stoves and love to see them and learn a bit about them.
Than you, that's my oldest, a little over 3 but loves to help with the logs and kindling etc. Now I have boys of my own I understand how much pleasure it brings as a parent to work together with a son or daughter..
A welcome to you from New Hampshire, are you anywhere near "Old" Hampshire? Great bunch of guys here, Your pics show you'll already fit right in.
Hi NH MN, Thanks for the greeting, "Old Hampshire is about 70 miles from me so not that far... I guess you guys would consider that very close
Jim-- if you would be so kind as to place yourself on our member map it might help us out attracting more members from over there.
