Winter Supplies...

kildare.17hmr

slowburner wrote: »

Happy days indeed to have 10 acres of forestry to log.
But, you might be better off cutting and storing them under cover this year and burning them next year. If you start burning logs from standing trees that you cut next weekend they will have a huge moisture content and this will result in a build up of creosote in your chimney flue - possibly leading to a chimney fire. Apart from that, they'll give out next to no heat.

What kind of trees are they? If they are Ash then you might get away with it.
If they are your average tree in forestry in Ireland (Sitka Spruce) - be patient and look forward to being extra toasty next year. :pac:

cheers lad ill keep that in mind

MOSSAD

Check out Clearview Stoves-understated but superb.
http://www.clearviewstoves.com/

slystallone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/75032041#Comment_75032041

I was just thinking of this today, prepping for cold weather. If the water freezes, can oil fired central heating then not be used?

Gant21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118487224#Comment_118487224

We won’t have any oil shortly. I’m stocking up on solid fuel.

Graces7

Good Irish turf here. cut by my neighbours down the lane..

Cluedo Monopoly

How come this forum has gone so dead given the upcoming winter of discontent.

I was hoping someone would help be find a good lamp for power outages. I have good torches but it would be great to get a rechargeable lamp that would light up a room well. A camping lamp I guess. Any recommendations?

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119478805#Comment_119478805

Are you into DIY and a particular tool brand? I have a lot of DeWalt XR stuff and I've found all the torches and lanterns they do in that range really affective. We use the torch for locking up the chickens every night and I have the handheld area light which will light up a good part of a room. Anyway point is most of the battery tool brands do some decent lamps to fit their rechargeable batteries.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119479812#Comment_119479812

Apologies for tardy reply. I am not into DIY but I have heard of DeWalt alright.

Would you buy online or in Woodies?

The Continental Op

The suggestion wasn't for a specific brand just that if you already had batteries say for a drill then that would be a good bases for buying a torch.

If you are not already bought into a battery system like many DIYer's would be then there are plenty of other alternatives.

First you need to decide what your needs are. An example would be waking up during a power cut in storm and being stuck with no light. I keep a small decent quality AAA cell LED light in my pocket all the time so its easy to get to it. In fact I've found some of the very small LED torches to be more use than some of the bigger ones. Main reason is I've always got one with me. No reason anyone with a bedside table can't keep a torch there ready for an emergency.

Then there are other tasks you might want to perform in the dark, that sounds weird :-(, examples are cooking, reading, getting to the bathroom etc.

First thing to do is get a couple of packs of night light candles, they burn for a few hours and are great to give enough light for basic tasks, they don't need charging and won't go off if kept for years in storage. A good tip is to store a box of matches and cheap lighter with them so you don't have to look for both in the dark. A few old jam jars make handy candle holders. Don't be mean they are dead cheap so buy a couple of packs of 50. Keep the candles, matches and lighter in sealed ziplock bags then they are always going to be dry when you need them (we have a very damp house - even floods so I'm keen to make sure stuff is kept dry and modern boxes of matches are useless even if they absorb a little moisture)?

Its also often easier to use a head torch rather than try and illuminate a large area. You can do most things including reading a book with a head torch.

Its trickier to recommend decent area lights as there is so much cheap chinese crap on the market, its not all bad but often the batteries are on the small side to make them really useful. The reason I like the drill batteries for lights is you know what size of battery you are getting and you'd be hard press to get a 5 Amp 18V battery in a cheap lantern. The cost of batteries for the big brand names means its an expensive way to buy a torch or lantern. Battery will be around €100, then charger €20 before you buy the torch/lantern itself which could be another €40 to €120, but that does give you a light that will work for a solid 8 or more hours. Check screwfix for batteries and Amazon for the actual lights.

Keep an eye out in Lidl as they occasionally get some really good quality Ledlenser torches. I've a few I've bought including a decent head torch and my tiny pocket torch. They are an expensive brand but the stuff is good.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119496184#Comment_119496184

Thanks, I have 2 good head torches (Petzl, rechargeable) because I do night treks from time to time.

I also have a good Ledlenser torch. I'll definitely getting the candles.

zg3409

I was looking to get oil recently but I see the Irish price is dropping.

One thing I found great is to get an electronic oil level gauge. These give you 2+ months warning to get oil so you are unlikely to run low or run out. It also allows you to shop around or delay for better price.

I believe the cost of wood pellets has shot up due to supply demand and limited supply. Oil/ gas is hardly cheap either.

In terms of solid fuel stove I switched an open fireplace to a stove and it was a great success. You need to be home daytime to light it and it's a part time hobby, but the amount of heat versus an open fire is night and day. The wood needs to be very small to fit in. The knack to getting them going well is full blast at the start to get the chimney up to temperature, then adjust settings for efficiency and you don't use much fuel. I bought a magnetic thermometer to attach to chimney which shows when stove is efficient based on chimney temperature.