iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

portable mill fuel effeciency

Started by jldoss1, February 19, 2012, 01:19:46 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jldoss1

Hello im new to the forum and was wondering if i could get a couple of questions answered. Im interested in buying a mill, probably a hydraulic TK or a woodmizer could anyone recommend which is the best in their opinion and advantages of each. I have my own timber and my intentions are to saw my own lumber to build a house, i thought i would save enough on my house by sawing lumber and building myself to pay for my mill from the savings on the house. I know its optimistic but thats the plan and possibly sawing after the house part time for a side income. Ive done alot of research online but havent seen anything saying how much fuel they use per thousand board feet or per hour during moderate running and comparison between gas and diesel. I would greatly appreciate anyones input.

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, jldoss1.

I use about 4 gallons of Diesel in about 8 hours of sawing and I only kill the engine for lunch.  Some of the gassers will have to give you their usage.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Larry

Welcome jldoss1.

About a gallon, or a bit more per hour with my 34 hp Kohler.  Quite painful too the pocket book.  Of course the up front cost of a diesel is also painful.  I would definitely go diesel if I sawed a lot.  Even better go electric, if at all possible.

Almost forgot...my 16 hp Vanguard on my old mill was easy on gas.  Only used about 1/2 gallon/hour.



Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

pineywoods

A tad under a gallon per hour on a 25 hp kawasaki. That will vary somewhat dependent on the species and size of logs. Pulling a blade through a dry 30 inch oak takes more power than sawing a 12 inch fresh pine. You make power by burning fuel..
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Buck

I use more than a gal/hr with both Onans. The 95 seems to be thirstier than the 88.
Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.

Live....like someone left the gate open

Jim H

My old 24hp Onan used around 8 gal in 8 hrs. My current 28hp fuel injected Kohler uses around 5 gal in 8 hrs.
2008 LT40HDG28, autoclutch, debarker, stihl 026, 046, ms460 bow, 066, JD 2350 4wd w/245 loader, sawing since '94 fulltime since '98

Dave VH

I can go 4-5 hours on a gallon. (13hp honda)
I cut it twice and it's still too short

bugdust

Ditto here on gasoline per hour. Since I saw mostly per bdft it doesn't bother me to shut down every now and then. Sawing alone means I have to be away from the mill to either load a log, haul slabs, or stack lumber. I probably would look more seriously at a diesel, if not for the fuel, (does cost about .50 per gallon more), for run  time compared to gasoline. Regardless, for now I'm well satisfied with what I have.
Since I retired I really like work: It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.

terrifictimbersllc

Quote from: Magicman on February 19, 2012, 01:26:48 PM
Welcome to the Forestry Forum, jldoss1.

I use about 4 gallons of Diesel in about 8 hours of sawing and I only kill the engine for lunch.  Some of the gassers will have to give you their usage.
Same here with 42hp Kubota diesel, about 4 gal for 7-7.5 hr engine hour time.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

cypresskayaksllc

LT40HDDR, JD950FEL, Weimaraner

dlabrie

I was wondering about this too, like- which is better on the WM LT15, the standard 18 HP Kohler Twin Cyl. Gas Engine or the $800 upgraded 10 HP Yanmar 1 cyl. Diesel Engine. Is there a power loss going from the 18hp gas to the 10hp diesel or is there something unique to diesels that makes them more powerful?
David in NH

jldoss1

Thanks so much everyone all replies had really valuable information.So what does anyone think about the plans i talked about in my first post about sawing my own lumber to build a house and possibly saveing money on the cost of building since i have my own timber. My hopes are that in this way from the money saved a mill would maybe pay for itself and my house would be built from my own timber. This would give me a great sense of accomplishment and save on the cost of building. Have any of responders done anything like this or does it sound realistic.

sawman

 Our fuel consumption on 95 24 hp onan also runs about 1 gal per hour when sawing
'14 LT40 Hydraulic 26 HP koehler ,massey ferguson 2200 forklift, Case IH D40
Wallenstein FX85

paul case

My fuel consumption on the ez boardwalk 40 with 20 hp honda was less than 5 gallons in 8 hours and the lt40hdg24 onan is just a little more than that. That is with me swing alone, meaning that I load logs, unload slabs, and stack lumber. With the ez boardwalk a big day was 1000 ft of 3x4 10' cants. with the lt 40 I am up to like 1250 bdft of 3x4 10' cants and side lumber in just less than 7 hours.
I bought the e boardwalk 3 years ago and did exactly what you are talking about. It is an all manual mill. I had a supply of logs that at the time were worth very little. I put the pencil to it and to build the 26'x58' add on to the 26x44 house the framing lumber alone would have cost about $7500. I gave less than that for the mill and started in september, with just me doing the milling and my dad, son , and i working on the house construction in time after chores and other stuff. We had it in the dry by jan 10 and moved in on april 6, 2009. We did panel it with some homegrown wood as well. I didnt dry any of the wood or plane it for that matter. Very rustic.
It worked out well and the mill has become a very substantial part time income for my farm. I work at it 4 days a week or more and last year alone it brought in 1/3 of my farms income. First pic is the exterior of the addon. second is red oak paneling, put on like lap siding. third is live edge erc paneling lapped over of course. PC

  

  

 
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

steve marek

my wm lt40hd has a 28hp kolher i go thur 5 gal in 8 hours  :)
WM LT40HD logrite ach 718 woodmaster timber framing tools 3000 ford tractor 359 395 husky chainsaw woodmizer e50 single blade edger woodmizer 260 moulder 2538 mahindra tractor kd 250 kiln

Chuck White

jldoss1 welcome to the Forestry Forum.

My mill has a 24hp Onan and I will routinely go through 5 gallons in an 8-hour day.

I saw by the board foot and if I'm going to be away from the console (for a break or to roll another log onto the loader) more than 5 minutes or so, I'll shut 'er down!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

DouginUtah

Quote from: jldoss1 on February 19, 2012, 03:24:10 PM
So what does anyone think about the plans i talked about in my first post about sawing my own lumber to build a house and possibly saving money on the cost of building since i have my own timber.

What state do you live in? That might be important in that some jurisdictions require stamped/graded lumber when used for a house.
-Doug
When you hang around with good people, good things happen. -Darrell Waltrip

There is no need to say 'unleaded regular gas'. It's all unleaded. Just say 'regular gas'. It's not the 70s anymore. (At least that's what my wife tells me.)

---

Wintergreen Mountain

   I use about 4 gallons of diesel fuel in a 7-8 hour day with my manual Turnner mill.
   It has a 46hp vw diesel with a remote idle control an disengagment.
   Usually 350bf-550bf a 7-8 hour day alone.
   A lot better than i expected when i made the power plant.
   LEON
1920 Ford 4x4 tractor, forks & bucket. 2010 36" Turner Mills band mill. Cat-Claw blade sharpener. Cat-Claw Dual Tooth Setter. Cat D3 crawler dozer. Cat 215c excavator, Ford L9000 dump truck. Gardner Denver 190 portable air compressor. KatoLight 40Kw trailer mounted gen set. Baker M412 4-head planer.

dukndog

Quote from: dlabrie on February 19, 2012, 03:23:01 PM
I was wondering about this too, like- which is better on the WM LT15, the standard 18 HP Kohler Twin Cyl. Gas Engine or the $800 upgraded 10 HP Yanmar 1 cyl. Diesel Engine. Is there a power loss going from the 18hp gas to the 10hp diesel or is there something unique to diesels that makes them more powerful?

Unsure on the GPH but as for diesel vs. gas I was told to look at it this way. A diesel may have lower HP but usually has higher torque. If you mow a yard and the grass is wet and tall, a gas mower normally chokes down unless the restriction is removed (raising the mower) but a diesel will usually power through it with its added torque.
Hope this helps.

DnD
WM LT-15G25 w/PwrFeed, Mahindra 3510, Husky 385xp, Stihl MS261 and a wife who supports my hobby!!

MartyParsons

Hello,
Here is some information we have on Fuel Consumption
LT15:
Fuel Consumption (per hour):
Gas Kohler 18hp 0.5 gal.
Gas Kohler 25hp 0.9 gal.
Yanmar Diesel 10 hp 0.2 gal.

The Yanmar diesel is very fuel efficient as you can see.
The twin Kohler engines have good power. The 18 hp is the best selling engine we have in this area. Some other dealers sell more Diesel units  (New England dealer in Maine)
Hope this helps.
Marty
"A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

jldoss1

Thanks alot Marty that's exactly the kind of information i was looking for. Something along the lines of the lt40h with the 28 hp gas was what i was considering, from what ive heard probably around 1 gallon per hour. Still checking out all the options to see what is suitable to my needs.

petefrom bearswamp

3-4 gal per 7-8 hr day of diesel.
I saw alone a lot and shut down between logs to take care of slabs and remove flitches for edging,which I have placed on the loading arms.
I usually edge just before lunch and again in late PM, shutting down to load and turn the flitches.
Probably am not saving much fuel this way.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

rmack

It looks like the diesel option would easily pay for itself over the long haul.

7000hrs (average life of diesel eng) x $2.00 (price of half gallon of fuel) = $14000.00

if you add in the cost of a replacement gas engine at the half way point ($2000.00) the total difference at 7000 hours come in at about $16,000.00 or roughly 4x the cost of the new diesel engine.

have I overlooked anything?

current price of diesel where I live is $1.28/liter, or $4.66/u.s. gal, gas is slightly cheaper.
the foundation for a successful life is being able to recognize what to least expect the most... (anonymous)

Welder Bob
2012 LT40HDSD35 Yanmar Diesel Triple
1972 Patrick AR-5
Massey Ferguson GC2410TLB Diesel Triple
Belsaw Boat Anchor

Thank You Sponsors!