Does anyone make firelogs out of old newspapers?

[hwillm1977]

I saw a machine to roll old newspapers into firelogs in a magazine I get.... I thought it was a neat idea, and the ad 'claimed' that a newspaper firelog would throw about as much heat as a typical wood log... what I'm wondering is if that's really true, and if the rolling machine actually works, and if it's possible to just do by hand.

I work for a newspaper and we throw away literally hundreds of newspapers daily (they do get taken to a recycling plant)... they are free for any employee who wants to take them, so I'm thinking if I just took a pile home each week I could have a couple 'cord' of newspaper stacked in the shed by next winter... lol

 

[Blackbird]

We have one of those, the hand rolling manual type, if that is what you were referring towards.

We've only used them on our outside fire, haven't noticed any really difference as compared to real logs, they do take a bit more to stay lit though.

Yes, it is very do-able by hand; we've rolled enough that loading the paper and then unloading with the manual roller is annoying. Once you get the roll started by hand and keep it going it's pretty easy, just make sure to keep slipping in newspaper accordingly keeping it tight. We use twine string to tie it off.

Can't remember how much the silly roller cost us, but probably wasn't worth the money.

 

[inchworm]

I rolled paper logs as a kid to burn in the woodstove. You have to roll them really, really tight and tie them with string. Seems to me they burned just fine once the fire was hot. They seemed to smolder more if the fire wasn't hot yet. You have to think if it is really worth your time and the inky messy hands.

Inchworm

 

[dacjohns]

It's been a while ago and I can't place the source but I seem to remember something about don't use compressed wood logs (sawdust) or newspaper logs in a woodburning stove. It might depend on the stove though.

My parents used newspaper logs in a wood stove at one time. They didn't burn as completely as wood and left a lot of ash.

Don't use glossy paper. It is coated and doesn't burn well. We don't even use it to start the fire.