Home heating the old fashioned (free) way!

[johnElarue]

Sorry I'll try to remember that,

This guy in Scotland it seems, shreds newspaper and soaks it in water overnight, then adds an equal amount of sawdust/wood shavings. Then puts it into a approx. 4" pvc pipe sleeve inside a steel pipe and squeezes the mixture into a puck using a hydraulic jack

here's a manual version for the third world to prevent deforestation

http://www.continentaldrift.net/2006/03/17/briquette-press-saving-trees-and-people/

 

[enjoy the ride]

Thank you- that was very interesting.

 

[PamsPride]

The youtube video was very good. But, I am not sure that all of that work would be worth the small little pieces that you end up with. It seems like I would have to work all day making them just to have enough to use in my wood burner for a couple of hours.

 

[johnElarue]

Yeah, I agree alot of work there.

A real briquette press would be much better, I imagine lots of folks have access to sawdust, shavings, chaff etc.

A machine like this would make a good side business.

http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11140724/Briquette_Press.html

The Indian and Chinese machines cost about as much as a small car.

This would be the real deal to make a business.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/user_sea...kStar-50-Hydraulic-Briquette-Press-582182.htm

Around here we can get tons of rice husks, but it's a bulky business, dealing in tons, not to mention transport of the finished product.

 

[enjoy the ride]

Still think this is a great thing to know- around here there are more tree than you could shake a stick at - but to know this is possible is very good.
I wonder if it would be possible to make a platform with the molds for the briquette logs spaced out then put another platform with the corresponding pistons on it then put them together and walk a large animal up to stand on the platform, using it's weight to press the briquettes. I wonder if it could genterate enough pressure to make several briquesttes at a time.
Boy an Indian elephant could probably have a seasonal job standing around on the platform-

 

[johnElarue]

That's a great idea, get the animal to compress it's own dung and or something, I bet it would work. Like you said good to know.

 

[shareneh]

I was wondering if i could used my pine shavings from the chicken coop to make the briquettes. A friend of mine said not to unless it sat for a long time because of the nitrogen content in the poo. What do you guys think?

We also have plenty of leaves, cow manure, straw and saw dust. This would be something nice to do when you just want to be outside for a while.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I think the nitrogen issue is for use in the garden- if you burn whole logs, sawdust should work fine- I can't think a small amount of chicken poop per centagewise would make a difference. And I heard of chick poop piles spontaneously combusting- so maybe you could have self-igniting briquesttes.....

 

[kstaven]

Just ran across this discussion. Now here is a project I can post on later. We have been intending to do this with the manure from our dairy cows to see if it is a viable method to fire wood heaters.

 

[kstaven]

Thought I would update on this thread. We bought what is called a Kyoto Brick maker. It is normally used for making bricks out of shredded newspaper for burning in stoves. It works great! surprising how fast you can turn out bricks with the little machine and its CHEAP!!!

Once the bricks are dry there is no smell and they do burn longer then wood. This just solved our manure management problem with something that could save us a ton on heating.