Sawdust Briquettes - Free heat

[@coachgeo]

curious.... do paper briquettes need to burn as hot as wood .... when it comes to Creosote creation in flu.. also for secondary burn. As in, am wondering if there is way less ignitable gas in the smoke compared to wood burning, that can even be burned? If not then the flu temps are not as important except for enough draft creation to push carbon monoxide out the flue, maintain the fire and enough heat production to add an value in warmth?

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

Yes you're correct and as far as drafting I have a reburner stove so it's a sealed system but if you had a standard older style stove draft would be very important

[@coachgeo]

@@thefrugalhomestead7873 it's a Drolet and does have a so so reburner as you call it. Im trying compressed paper in the stove via weights instead of all the mess with shred, wet ,compress, dry etc.. so far wont go above about 80 f and keeps going out.. with a draft fan sucking air thru. AKA- total fail thus far.

[@darrengale1520]

How long do the briquettes take to dry out before you can use them? Is it the same length of time as green wood drying out? Or quicker? And do they retain their shape integrity if you dry them in a kiln? Thanks, nice video!

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

They actually generally hold their shape better in a kiln. As far as drying that varies based on climate moisture etc. On a hot summer day this size briquette if flipped can be dried in a day or two obviously you won't have the same effect in a garage that's super moist in the winter. But yes they dry way faster than greenwood

[@kkarllwt]

Keep things simple. Put down a 4 inch layer of sawdust, chainsaw cuttings, or ground up wood chips and build your fire on top . One year I had 7 -30 gallon cans of ground up dried tree chips, It all went thru the woodstove and burned just fine.

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

👍

[@michaelcarbone6101]

Proper test👍

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

👍

[@jeffganoe9066]

can you use sawdust , paper and coffee grounds together .

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

Yes you can we are currently working on experimenting with compost even

[@bobbydee1187]

@@thefrugalhomestead7873compost works great

[@julianlennon5312]

im here in the tropics and coco lumber saw dust is abundant.. i wonder if its good for this purpose?

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

I would think so I don't know the wood that well but I'm betting it would work for a lot of things

[@julianlennon5312]

@@thefrugalhomestead7873 i will try it and will let you know how it went

[@mel1654]

Is it necessary to add the paper and cardboard? Can you do just straight sawdust?

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

That is the binder there is talk that if you let it soak long enough in water that it will slightly bind if it's more like chips when you compress it. But the biggest thing is the paper in the water becomes almost like a glue. I also have seen others use just sawdust and add flour kind of like paper mache. I have not had any luck without adding some kind of paper or cardboard

[@DanielOlivierArgyle]

Just to add to this, I've read that potato starch is a good binder.

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

@DanielOlivierArgyle that actually probably would work

[@mel1654]

Thank you for both of your replies!!

[@zachlloyd9392]

@@DanielOlivierArgyle but if it smelled like a baked potato, that could be a bad thing and make ya hungry.

[@julianlennon5312]

how long does it take to dry the briquette?

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

Probably the most asked question.... It depends are you trying to dry them in a damp garage in the middle of winter or out in the sun in the middle of summer. I've had it in the beating sun flipping it a few times a day I usually takes about 48 hours but that's on a 90° day

[@julianlennon5312]

@@thefrugalhomestead7873 thanks.. appreciate the reply

[@robertfoy6494]

Is really forth all the trouble

[@thefrugalhomestead7873]

Well we have people watched from all over the world. For example in India firewood is almost impossible to get so they do things like these and charcoal to heat their houses and cook over. There's many third world countries that way. Or a couple say that on a fixed income that is too old to go out and cut and split firewood this would be a good option. But really for us it is a fun hobby.