Home heating the old fashioned (free) way!

[annmarie]

Okay, someone in another post joked (half-joked?) about the possibility of using goat berries in their pellet stove which reminded me of an article I read a really long time ago about using dried bricks of livestock manure in the woodstove. I love the idea and would love to try it but I lack livestock (besides my 3 chickens) and I lack a woodstove, so it's pretty much hopeless for me right now! I was wondering if any of you have ever tried this, or would be willing to try it and let us know how it works out for you? Here's the article that originally got me thinking about this:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/hooker87.html

 

[k0xxx]

Sounds interesting. As a youngster in the Boy Scout, we burned dry cow patties on several occasions. I can see me having a problem convincing my wife to go along with this, though.

If we had one of those fancy outdoor wood furnaces, and didn't have to bring the "bricks" into the house, she would probably find it more acceptable.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well, I have read books about them using buffalo chips as fuel...for years didn't know what buffalo chips were LOL My mom explained it was buffalo dung.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I saw a documentary years ago about a villge in India where they burnt patties and also mixed some with water and polished their floors with it. Can't say as I would do that though.

Burning it is interesting, and since that documentary, have always had that in the back of my mind. Hopefully Im getting a cow next year for milk--don't know if I'll collect the patties though.

 

[annmarie]

k0xxx, if you do manage to convince your wife to try it, please let us know how it goes. I knew a family years ago that did this and I never found out that was how they heated their house until years later (their house never smelled bad all the times I was there!). I guess it's comparable to burning peat, like they do in Ireland. I've heard of the buffalo chips and burning cow patties on campfires, but creating the bricks seems especially ingenious, since the bricks allow for a long slow burn, plus the super duper garden fertilizer from the ash makes it even more appealing! (I bet someone could make good money selling that fertilizer if it's as good as the article claims!)

 

[enjoy the ride]

Holy Hot Nanny Berries, Batman- them goats couldn't be more useful.

If a pellet stove didn't cost $2400,, I'd give it a try.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Holy Hot Nanny Berries, Batman- them goats couldn't be more useful.

If a pellet stove didn't cost $2400,, I'd give it a try.

Just try it in your burn barrel first--might be worth the investment.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Hmmm...so I should be walking behind those goats with a bucket???

 

[FarmerChick]

many tribes and cultures burn dung
don't the Mongolians who have Yak and such do that?

well it would be good but the smell in the home? Hmm...I don't know. In a pinch outside, yea sounds good I guess. My cattle sure produce..HA HA

 

[unclejoe]

I don't remember where, but I read an article a while back that relates to this. The author was spreading cow patties on his garden. His neighbor, a recent immigrent from somewhere in Asia, was appaulled that he would be wasting this fuel on his garden. He taught him how to make bricks for fuel. Then, and only then, use the ash in the garden! The author went on to explain how he built the brick "forms" out of wood and no longer puts fresh manure on his wasted any more of this free fuel. He said there was no smell from burning or in the ash. Apparently there are plenty of people out there living SS long before we were.

And we thought we were so special.