Furze/Gorse/Whins as saleable firewood?

johngalway

Random thought of the day as I clear some mature Furze.

Would people buy it bagged for firewood? There were some hefty branches and I wasn't long filling ten bags. Mate of mine reckons it's fantastic stuff in his stove. He says it can be burnt unseasoned, I've not tried so don't know yet.

Constructive thoughts?

Baralis1

No, I don't think its much good as firewood. Its too light and burns too fast with little heat. It might be good for lighting a fire alright.

Birdnuts

I've found charcoal from this source to be excellent on the likes of BBQ's etc:)

marvsins

Good starter alright, the stuff is like petrol. Many a gorse fire when we were kids.:eek:

LostCovey

johngalway wrote: »

Random thought of the day as I clear some mature Furze.

Would people buy it bagged for firewood? There were some hefty branches and I wasn't long filling ten bags. Mate of mine reckons it's fantastic stuff in his stove. He says it can be burnt unseasoned, I've not tried so don't know yet.

Constructive thoughts?

Scan the horizon any day in the next few months and you will see plenty of it burning very well while unseasoned........uncut even!

reilig

johngalway wrote: »

Random thought of the day as I clear some mature Furze.

Would people buy it bagged for firewood? There were some hefty branches and I wasn't long filling ten bags. Mate of mine reckons it's fantastic stuff in his stove. He says it can be burnt unseasoned, I've not tried so don't know yet.

Constructive thoughts?

Have you much of it? Do you not find it hard to handle with the needles and stuff??

It will burn without seasoning, but if you do season it for the recommended 12months, it will be as light as cardboard.

I'm coppicing bog willow (black sally as its known around here) at the moment for a neighbour (a measure in his REPS 4) in exchange for the wood. Had it last year too. It burns very well in my gasifyer (much better than softwood). Most of it is 2 to 5 inches in diameter so I just cut it in lengths, stack it to dry and then saw it on the saw horse - no splitting. Its very plentyful around here anyway.

Juniorhurler

I find that if you season it and burn it in a stove it burns quickly but gives good heat. As for an open fire its too sparky, and selling it is not an option as people will expect longer burning timber from buying.

johngalway

That seems cut and dry then :pac: I'll keep it for home. I've probably got a couple of hundred bags, but access to thousands if I asked a couple of other people! Pair of gloves and the chainsaw takes care of the thin branches where the thorns are, the thick stuff often doesn't have any thorns at all.

Voodoo_rasher

johngalway wrote: »

Random thought of the day as I clear some mature Furze.

Would people buy it bagged for firewood? There were some hefty branches and I wasn't long filling ten bags. Mate of mine reckons it's fantastic stuff in his stove. He says it can be burnt unseasoned, I've not tried so don't know yet.

Constructive thoughts?

you're onto something---my line of thought as it turns out. Surely gorse can be utilised as a biofuel. its foliage burns ferociously as it has some sort of waxy content. its a shame that gorse here and there is combusting madly without an afterthought. In England, they are trialling Gorse with very encouraging results!

It would be a brilliant financial incentive to farmers to reclaim over-grown land if it were made viable here. Plus it can readily renew itself. Getting it to Lanesboro would be a problem but..Please share this with someone who will listen.

Swinefluproof

Voodoo_rasher wrote: »

you're onto something---my line of thought as it turns out. Surely gorse can be utilised as a biofuel. its foliage burns ferociously as it has some sort of waxy content. its a shame that gorse here and there is combusting madly without an afterthought. In England, they are trialling Gorse with very encouraging results!

It would be a brilliant financial incentive to farmers to reclaim over-grown land if it were made viable here. Plus it can readily renew itself. Getting it to Lanesboro would be a problem but..Please share this with someone who will listen.

http://heartofexmoor.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/biobaler-demonstration-event/

johngalway

The biobaler looks interesting - for land accessible to tractors. Such a machine would also be beneficial in this area for rhododendron clearance in certain areas.

bogman_bass

If you used the harvesting setup for willow could it be used on gorse I wonder?

Bog Man 1

A guy from Bagnalstown did well at the young scientist competition looking into using hedge clippings for biomass.
The runner-up individual award went to James Doyle (17), a fifth-year student at Presentation de la Salle College in Carlow. He assessed the potential for using waste materials from hedgerow cuttings as a biomass fuel for power plants, in the process discovering an ignored yet valuable source of energy.

He got the idea after seeing the hedges at the back of his property trimmed down and then simply left there. “I thought there has to be some use for it,” he said, so he began studying the possibility of using it as a biomass fuel. There is a plentiful supply here given Ireland has 382,000km of hedgerows.

He discovered it didn’t matter the cuttings had a 50 per cent water content given the local Edenderry Power Plant could readily burn it as fuel. He calculated the costs involved in cutting and harvesting the material, chipping it and making it available to Edenderry.

He found the material had a gross value of €390 per tonne as an energy source, and processing costs were about €182 per tonne. This meant each tonne recovered and offered as fuel left a residual profit of €208 per tonne. James received a BT perpetual trophy and a cheque for €1,200.)

Voodoo_rasher

Bog Man 1 wrote: »

A guy from Bagnalstown did well at the young scientist competition looking into using hedge clippings for biomass.
The runner-up individual award went to James Doyle (17), a fifth-year student at Presentation de la Salle College in Carlow. He assessed the potential for using waste materials from hedgerow cuttings as a biomass fuel for power plants, in the process discovering an ignored yet valuable source of energy.

He got the idea after seeing the hedges at the back of his property trimmed down and then simply left there. “I thought there has to be some use for it,” he said, so he began studying the possibility of using it as a biomass fuel. There is a plentiful supply here given Ireland has 382,000km of hedgerows.

He discovered it didn’t matter the cuttings had a 50 per cent water content given the local Edenderry Power Plant could readily burn it as fuel. He calculated the costs involved in cutting and harvesting the material, chipping it and making it available to Edenderry.

He found the material had a gross value of €390 per tonne as an energy source, and processing costs were about €182 per tonne. This meant each tonne recovered and offered as fuel left a residual profit of €208 per tonne. James received a BT perpetual trophy and a cheque for €1,200.)

Not wanting to find ourselves on a slippery slope; we all want our hedgerows though. unscrupulous bio-fuellers seeing a quick buck could totally denude the countryside! I'd leave it at willow, gorse (and rush?). Plants which don't serve any other purpose.

reilig

I think we are forgetting something here - Gorse (or Whins as they are known around here) is an uncontrollable weed. Its a hazard - if you allow it to grow on your farm, then it is sure that the wind will blow its seeds onto my farm and it will take root. Its not a cash crop. In comparison to willow it would take several years growth to produce any meaningful crop. Willow would be a far better option and far less hazardous to your neighbours.

johngalway

Sheep spread it very well too, if they are grazed in tall stuff the seeds lodge in their wool. Send them on to the next field, quick shake and out the seeds go.

Voodoo_rasher

reilig wrote: »

I think we are forgetting something here - Gorse (or Whins as they are known around here) is an uncontrollable weed. Its a hazard - if you allow it to grow on your farm, then it is sure that the wind will blow its seeds onto my farm and it will take root. Its not a cash crop. In comparison to willow it would take several years growth to produce any meaningful crop. Willow would be a far better option and far less hazardous to your neighbours.

i don't see gorse as a cash crop either. But if it were made financially worthwhile to rid farms and landscapes of it, the countryside in places would be transformed. Arguably, some land would become newly reclaimed. Its a pest, and a marker of neglect, demeaning in appearance. Thats my mere motivation to do with gorse.

johngalway

I wouldn't grow them either, been growing them for long enough to know they're not profitable

But, for people with infestations, may be something in it if they could have the land cleared for them, with a contractor taking the gorse, or make a few bob out of it if possible.

Either way the landowner would be doing OK out of it as they'd have the gorse or whatever gone and could move onto the next stage of control/reclamation.

memorystick

Hi all. Sorry for resurrecting an old thread. I'm cutting furze the thickness of my arm and was wondering if people cut them up for fuel. I've cut about 5 big loads of furze so far and was just going to let them dry and burn them. Is it more bother than its worth to chop the heavier ones? Thanks in advance

wayoutwest

Furze is great firewood -twas used for breadmaking because of its great heat - It would be worth you chopping out the larger stuff for logs and even the skinnier lengths for kindling if you have the time.
As as an alternative to burning it, you might consider selling it to local woodcarvers/woodturners ....it is a dense pretty wood.
Picture of turned gorse candlesticks GCS-2.jpeg

There's someone in Mayo thats selling these gorse walking sticks for 20 or 30 euros.GE16002.jpeg

davidk1394

We burn alk of that stuff in the stove. Wicked stuff to burn but is gone in minutes. We're mulching all that sorta stuff and branches and using it in the fire aswell

wayoutwest

Nice pic of gorse/willow sofa made by artist/designer in Leitrim.
sofa-white.png