willow as fuel

[Rainy]

Happy New Year
Does anyone have experience of growing willow to use in their woodburner? Weve always had an open fire[s] and are thinking about installing stoves instead - seems VERY expensive so far!
We already grow willow for craft and general uses on the smallholding but were wondering how it burns and how much space we'd have to plant up to grow a realistic amount?
Rainy

[John Headstrong]

willow can burn quite well, not the hottest of wood and burns quickly, but does provide a nice fire, and the fact that you can heat your house with wood you have grown is a fine heat indeed.

the trick is leave it for has long has you can to dry out.

has for "how much space?" how long is a piece of string ?

[Annpan]

The heat and control that you have over a woodburner makes a comparison with an open fire laughable. Also it is cleaner, safer and the flames are much more interesting to watch as the second combustion makes the flames dance around.

Should you get one, you will find it uses less fuel and gives more heat than an open fire, and also will run a backboiler much more effectively.

It has taken me a few months, and a few cold snaps to get used to mine (a clearview 650) but I am now absolutely in love with it.

We don't have our own supply of wood but we have found that there is an enormous difference between wet and dry wood - 2 years seasoned is the best we have found, but we have used 1 year seasoned and it burns too quickly, and does your chimney no favours.

I vaguely remember on INEBG they were talking about 3 acres of willow to make them self sufficient. But bare in mind you can always get bits of free wood from builders, we just cut it to size (18" in our big boy) leave the nails and screws in and pick them out of the ash.

Sorry for rambleing on a bit. HTH

[Rainy]

thanks for that.
I suppose the amount of space required was a bit vague. But the 3 acre self sufficiency thing gave me an idea. I suppose it depends how often its used, size of house etc.
At the moment we have oil as there is no piped gas here so Im looking for a long term alternative that is renewable so were are not at the financial mercy of the oil barons.
We havent got three acres but may have the option of expanding our plot at a later date [we live next to a farm]. I wonder if you are allowed to grow willow on allotments? probably not.

[caithnesscrofter]

depends on the type of stove too. In a rocket stove u would use a fraction of the wood of any woodburner out and willow pollarding produces the perfect size u need. So. Maybe 1 acre, possibly less. I will be putting in a rocket mass heater when we build and have already planted over 1000 willow and will double it this year. We also have several hundred meters of mature gorse that can b pruned back every year which is great, hot burning kindling. We also have an acre of peat so, we hope near selfsufficiency in fuel might be possible.

[Rainy]

whats a rocket stove then? do you have a pic?

[caithnesscrofter]

rocketstoves.com has plenty of photos. Don't be put off by the oil barrels, u can use masonry or mud to enclose the chimney. There are several other types of mass heaters u can build too if u have a google. Fleming Abramson has some good designs too.

[Jez]

Happy New Year
Does anyone have experience of growing willow to use in their woodburner? Weve always had an open fire[s] and are thinking about installing stoves instead - seems VERY expensive so far!
We already grow willow for craft and general uses on the smallholding but were wondering how it burns and how much space we'd have to plant up to grow a realistic amount?
Rainy

Hi, check out this thread. There's some stuff there you might find relevant! :)

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... php?t=4791

[frozenthunderbolt]

I vaguely remember on INEBG they were talking about 3 acres of willow to make them self sufficient. But bare in mind you can always get bits of free wood from builders, we just cut it to size (18" in our big boy) leave the nails and screws in and pick them out of the ash.

Sorry for rambleing on a bit. HTH

Just to note, the preservitives used in the timbres used by most builders are toxic. they are not great for the life of you fireplace and are definately not great for you if burnt in an open fire or if you are spreading the ash on your garden, or if the fire is going while it rains and you collect the water off your roof!

Healthy ishers are happy ishers

[marryanne]

Growing Willow the environmentally friendly bio-fuel. Its material is then used as a furnace fuel,
with the environmental benefit of being carbon neutral,

[Green Aura]

Hi marryanne, welcome to Ish. I'm really interested in your reply - it never occurred to me that willow grew in the Phillipines! What types do you get there - presumably different to the British ones

[Millymollymandy]

Do you use willow to cook your spam Maryanne?

[oldjerry]

My mate works for the enviroment agency so gets his willow for free(clearing riverbanks etc.)He seasons it for 2 years and runs a multifuel rayburn on it,chucking half a bucket of anthracite in last thing to keep it going.It provides cooking ,hot water and heat for a 2 bedroomed bungalow.