Wood for central heating/woodburners - Vocab help required!!

[Maddie]

Hi

I've just had a woodburning Rayburn installed (to replace the lovely wood burning stove that went up in smoke after a week of being here!!!).  I'm just getting to the point when I shall have to think about buying some more wood as I've just about used up the supply that was here when we arrived.  The wood I have alrady is cut into 50cm lengths but I have to cut it even smaller to fit in the Rayburn and have invested in a chainsaw so length is not really an issue.  Ooo errr!

Is there anyone who can give me advice on the various French words relating to bois de chauffage etc?  I've had a look in the small ads in our local freebie papers and am getting confused with the abbreviations and some of the words used.  I am happy to call them (with my less than perfect French) to order but don't want to appear a complete plank (!!) or be taken advantage of!

Also, can anyone give me an idea as to a reasonable cost per m3?

Thanks

Nicola

PS I have tried using the search as I am sure this must have been covered before but my PC keeps chucking me out!

[PaysBasque]

[quote]Hi I've just had a woodburning Rayburn installed (to replace the lovely wood burning stove that went up in smoke after a week of being here!!!). I'm just getting to the point when I shall have to th...[/quote]

Which words or abbreviations would you like to have translated?

[Lilly]

We've got our Aga/Rayburn arriving in 2 weeks time and I can't wait as they are fantastic, we have some woodland so wood is a fairly reasonable fuel for us however until recently we bought and the price was 30euro per metre cube/ stair for cut to 50cm, Charme and or Chene (hornbeam ? and Oak). It is easier to cut metre lengths than to cut 50cm and cheaper. You can also you cut it to a length that fits your stove

Charm burns hotter and faster than oak so is good for starting up the fire (after kindling).Oak is good for keeping the fire in at night and or when you are out during the day.

Wood needs to be at least 2 years old to be good and dry and it is better to cover up your wood in the garden so that your supply stays dry.

Incidently we bought last year 20 metre cube 10 of charme and 10 of oak but we have got 2 wood burners so perhaps we are a bit heavy on the wood, however I think Rayburns are also greedy but they do heat water, radiators and cook the diner!!

There are heaps of Aga/Rayburn fanatics out there with clubs and allsorts!! Good tips and recipes can be found on the Aga/Rayburn website (sorry don't do links)

Best wishes

Lilley

[St Bernard]

The last time I bought oak in 50cm lengths it cost €45 per cubic metre or stère. In the local freebie -Le 09 - there is someone advertising 40cm logs and another willing to cut to any required size.

 

Jan Laury

[Maddie]

[quote]We've got our Aga/Rayburn arriving in 2 weeks time and I can't wait as they are fantastic, we have some woodland so wood is a fairly reasonable fuel for us however until recently we bought and the pri...[/quote]

Why does the wood have to be at least 2 years old?  We have wood that is of an unknown age, has got damp and still burns well - far too well in fact!  The Rayburns are nice but not really all they are cracked up to be (so far, in my humble opinion, anyway).  I've had mine working for a couple of weeks (and I would never have bought it if the insurance hadn't paid for it) and find it really hard to keep the temperature in the oven DOWN!  It's nearly always well over 250 degrees far to hot to cook anything meaningful in (but boils a kettle just like that) and that's with the tiniest log in it!  Mine just does cooking and heating the room (as an added benefit), no water but does not seem to be that greedy.   I let it go out overnight and it lights really easily and quickly in the morning.

[BJSLIV]

Wood which is newly cut and/or wet does not give out maximum heat, so you will have to burn a greater volume of wet wood to gain a given amount of heat.

Mind you if your cooker is burning everything perhaps you should stick with the damp stuff!

[Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas]

http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/fuelproc.htm

gives more information about looking after your firewood

[Maddie]

[quote]http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/fuelproc.htm gives more information about looking after your firewood[/quote]

Pucette - thanks for that - it is very useful but makes me more depressed at how little I know about these things.  Should have bought earlier in year shouldn't I?  Still, I did not know at the time whether I would possess anything to burn wood on!

Time to put my terrible French into action to actually buy some now!

[Lilly]

sorry the information i gave you wasn't much help I'm only basing my experience of a Rayburn on the one I had in Scotland, it supplied us with shed loads of hot water ran 8 radiators and granted after a period of apprenticeship with regard to cooking and getting the temperature right proved to be well worth its cost. I did however use mostly pine and peat which it guzzled so may be this time I will have to re learn my techniques.

Best of luck

Lilley

[Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas]

Lol I'm glad I don't get depressed at the enormous amount of things I wish I knew more about... I'm glad just to be going in the right direction... "Perfect? I hope I am not that. It would leave no room for improvement. And I intend to improve a great deal." Apologies to Oscar Wilde.

Are there any particular words you want to know?

30€/m³ is the going rate in my part of 24.

You should check that what you get is what you understood you would be getting. It is only polite to do so; going round complaining after the event that you got three metres cubed of mouldy piquets instead of four metres cubed of split oak is not on. Easier said than done I find. Not that I've ever bought firewood, far too many trees at home.