Turn Saw Dust and Coffee Grounds Into Fuel for Winter. Compound Lever Press Part 2 The Update.

[@stephenbuckley9649]

Fantastic idea! Ignore the naysayers! Jealousy is wasted energy! Great job!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers Stephen

[@gavin9278]

Happy to see that no glue is required! Thanks for making this!! always nice to have backups, and something younger or less strong people can do

[@BigFrankieC]

My cousin gets free sawdust from a local wood shop, free coffee grounds from a local coffee shop, and free pine needles from the dozens of pine trees behind his house. He dries the ingredients in trays in the oven, and runs them through a stone mill he made. He then adds some wheat flour, and mixes the powder with water. He lets the sludge hydrate for a day or so, then he makes the briquettes in a manual hydraulic press he also made. He dries the briquettes in the oven, on baking pans, and the flour really helps bind them together. He also makes firestarter sticks from paper, sawdust, dyer lint, & bacon grease. Between the bacon grease, the coffee grounds, and the pine needles, the smell is pretty good, but not overwhelming.

[@jasonwachtel3285]

Love this! In the summer when you're done pressing the pucks you can pour the waste water into the garden. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

No problem, I'm glad you liked it

[@fdort3971]

@JohnMcGrathManInShed thanks for the update. Not sure why people would be negative about this...repurposing sawdust for free, repurposing used coffee grinds for free (they are great for certain flowers like roses too!), the added bonus that burning coffee grinds in outdoor places reduces mosquitoes and black flies, you also get a free arm workout (be sure to switch for eveness...lol)....less waste in the landfill, burns better than a regular log, can be sold for extra cash (be sure to tip the coffee shop!). If you change the shape of the press...you can make plant starter cups! Make a different barrel up with glue and make wood forms for templates... Thanks again.

[@AlanMillerFencepost]

It makes sense that sawdust (or any compressed material) will burn well, once they've been burning a bit there's a lot more surface area being exposed to burn. Being round they might also work well for something to auto feed. Edit: probably really easy to set up something next to the press to just push the final product out without tightening and loosening a screw each time.

[@projectrebuild908]

Incredible. Youngsters want their 1st job but want to work for themselves this would be a great hustle for the winter

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Could be.

[@WhiteBug]

to make an even compacter brick you could add the ashes to the mixture

[@ollieox9181]

Looks handy. The only thing I would suggest is to redesign into a vertical unit. That thing takes up a lot of real estate in anybody's shop.

[@knhc1]

I used to work in a place that made fire logs.We used wood ,bran , and chaff, basically anything fibrous. We did everything dry, and when compressed the ligans in the wood would glue it all together. Our was a hydraulic screw press. When compressed, there was a lot of heat generated.

[@snteevveetns]

Excellent way to get a camp fire going as well! Especially is the center is lit, it becomes a “rocket stove log.”

[@stevewales3451]

Hi John. Great video. Re - what they are called -- It's from the French for Little-Brick "Brick--Ette" 😉 I used to live in Dublin and folks called them "Brickitts"!! You want your mix only wet enough that a hard squeeze of a ball of it only produces a few drops of water in your fist. Rather than your clips - Something like a 'Can Crusher' lever device to eject the Brickitt would be a lot less Faffy. (Mabye have half a dozen sleeves and a willing 'minion' to fill and eject for you?) I've been at this for a while now. The coffee smell completely disappears after a couple of months. Since they are all the same size, you can judge the dryness by comparing its weight against the known weight of a dry sample. This mix is an excellent medium for mould growth. I initially Air Dry in an open but covered area. Before I move them to a storage place for final drying, I spritz them with dilute supermarket bleach -- No mould on the finished product. For Compost - Put the same damp mix in heavy gauge black plastic bags tie the top and leave for 6-8 months - You get 'Black-Gold' back out (from the fungal/mould action). To answer your detractors -- All coal will inevitable be banned for home use, As will commercial wood product fuels. Also you're not going to loose an arm or leg fooling around with your press without the proper knowledge and safety equipment necessary for the job. Steve. Cork

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers Steve, thanks for the advice its much appreciated

[@jae878]

Cool idea. We heat our home with wood. It would be much faster if you could have two of the mold tubes and modify the press so that you could push the already made one out as you are pressing the next one. Like a two stage setup one spot for pressing and one spot for pushing it out and being able to do both with one pull of the lever. Anyway, cool idea and thanks for sharing.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks for watching

[@cptcosmo]

LOVE IT! You could use an electric cement mixer to mix up big batches of your slurry then dump it in to a wheelbarrow to fill your molds. I was wondering if you included paper pulp in with your mix it might help bind the briquettes together .

[@ashleyhoward8926]

Hi John, Please don't dry them on top of the stove though & shift the wicker baskets too. They will not only dry, but undergo a process known as Pyrolysis & can undergo spontaneous ignition. At best, this makes a big mess of your room, at worst you lose the house. Very impressed with the compound lever press, I'll watch your other video now, with a view to making one asap. I borrowed one this year to make my own briquettes. Excellent video, thanks for posting. Ash.

[@ratdetecting4780]

Pyrolysis can only be done with zero oxygen. What John has done is ok, providing there is space between heater & briquettes drying

[@vickibahls7587]

Great idea, the coffee ground disk remind me a lot of the peat bricks used for ages in Ireland and UK for heat, thanks for the video

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad you liked it

[@planeoldme]

Great idea. My shop has a stove, and this would be great for it. I think I will duplicate what you have with 1 modification to the lower clamp using a "U" bolt toggle style clamp eliminating the use of a drill.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Go for it!

[@thelionsdencreations]

Great video! I really wish we had a fireplace right now, its getting cold! And your fireplace is really awesome! What about switching at least the lower clip to an excenter type one? At least I think that is what they are called, you know the hook and latch kind that you just flick by hand, that would remove the need for the driver and probably speed up the process even more. You could mount the hook and the latch on a, hmm direct translation from swedish would be nailing band, you know the metal strip with lots of holes in it that comes on a roll.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Great suggestion!

[@johna.9742]

Great video. I have often wondered if you could make something like that with saw dust but just figured you would have to incorporate some form of adhesive to keep them together. Thanks again for the presentation. Great idea.

[@jasonflay8818]

Very cool idea ive always hated throwing out my sawdust

[@Zippytie]

thanks again for the update and examples of burning , brilliant , will be getting cracking and get down to the local coffee shops , and the people who suggest burning firewood have just not understood , perfect thank you

[@commnavrizzo]

This is a really good idea! I appreciate you sharing! For someone who doesn't have access to firewood, it is a excellent alternative. I could also see making around 5 of the moulds so that you could make more of an "assembly line" batch process. Thanks again for the video!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad it was helpful!

[@martinoamello3017]

I'm getting along in the years for working that hard, but even if you don't produce your own sawdust there's plenty of free resources in most areas from furniture makers, other hobbyists and even contraction sites for that matter. I live right down the road from a huge milling business that makes moldings, doors and such and they sell it to the local pulp mills, but always plenty of it all over the ground outside and inside on floors. I can imagine selling these things all day long in the winter months instead of the over priced little bags of firewood sold in stores and you could always bag it up to wholesale to stores. If you feel REALLY industrious build a small fire powered kiln to speed things up from an old washing machine or dryer. Strip the wires out first. 😅

[@leeroychang]

That lever press is something else! Wow.

[@folsterfarms]

Thank you for this great information - we built the press and are using a rocket mass stove to heat our small workshop. Great video!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I'm glad to help

[@donpoirier1123]

This video and the updated video are a lot of help. Thanks for breaking it down. It's so much easier to understand. I'm wondering if you make multiple molds, filling each one and pressing a handful out at a time if would save you some time and improve efficiency for ya?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad it was helpful! the process can certainly be improved

[@michelletanner6361]

I've only just stumbled on your videos, and I am so glad that I have! Brilliant idea - thank you!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Welcome!

[@cathrynroberts7753]

Moved house and we are getting a log burner installed as we had one in our last house. This is fantastic free fuel will help balance out the fortune paid for installation. A little bit of work and it’s done, well done u. Some people just are too lazy. Thanks for sharing.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks for watching

[@dennismartin2882]

Great idea John I use coffee grounds in the garden too, win win.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers Dennis

[@zkhydro4985]

Possible improvement: once they are dry try soaking them in parafin wax to make some of them starter pucks.

[@timcassidy9619]

This is a fantastic idea. I'll have to make a press for myself. Turning waste into energy makes sense to me.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I'm glad you liked it

[@markschattefor6997]

I've seen a lot of this kind of videos, also using cardboard, pieces from a woodshredder, but where they make a crucial mistake is they don't make the mold a little tapered. You've solved this a little different.

[@OddusBallus]

Nice One John. I'll be doing this myself. Thanks for all of the info. Brillo job! Hoping that the Hot Whiskey helped. Paddy is the best for hot whiskey... a bit harsh neat but top notch for the hot ones. HUP!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers 🥃

[@fluxx1]

I like it. If you have that much saw dust, you are lucky in more than one way :)

[@rodharris2915]

Nice one John 👍 as a woodworker and the wife a manager of a cafe I'm now thinking of getting a wood burner👍👍

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

You are sorted 😀

[@totherarf]

I would not recommend a woodburner but rather a dual fuel type burner! The difference is the woodburner does not have draught from the bottom as it lies on a bed of ash. The dual fuel does as if you burn coal it will need the air to come in from the bottom. This type of brickett benefit from a mix of top and bottom air to get the best results. Dependent on where you are you might need to go for a DEFRA approved type (more expensive than the £50 from China cheapies you see ...... but a LOT better in the long run)! Buying my burner was the best investment I have ever made! A word of warning though ...... if you have a pet you might have to evict them from in front of it and also you may find you spend time just watching the faries (flames) rather than TV!

[@talkingbeers]

Genius - beautifully simple - love this! Get well soon slainte mhath

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thank you kindly!

[@vespamorelli7090]

Fantastic video as always John. Love that fireplace 👌🏻👌🏻

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@peteelliott1241]

Love your place John, looks excellent 👌

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@jeffruffing2316]

Awesome! Just two questions; 1) what is the approximate height when compressed? 2) What is the approximate weight both wet and dry? Coffee ones as well as just sawdust.

[@17Dusk]

You can watch some of The Worcestershire Cabinet Maker videos to help refine your recipe.

[@kenny3351]

I'm a carpenter woodworker and Outdoorsman was looking for a solution to make something out of sawdust ran across this yesterday built it on my lunch break on the job have the barrel of slurry in the basement on the job going to start pressing next week on my lunch breaks I'm My Own Boss and it's an unoccupied house on renovating this is going to work perfect thank you very much and I will subscribe

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thank you, really glad to read you found the video useful.

[@fluter1976]

If only I had the skills, space and tools to make one of those presses! I burn firewood which I scrounge and season, but also get sawdust from a neighbour which ends up on the compost heap. I buy a few briquettes too for convenience and I believe the commercial presses are strong enough to rely on the lignin in the wood as the binding agent. Have you tried a dry or drier mix with your press?

[@aaronmontgomery1304]

If you put a hole in the base plate, of the press, you could press the briquettes out of the form. It would be easier, faster and allow you to use steel pipes for the form. You could mount a catch plate under the hole to catch the briquettes and die but still allow water to drain into the bucket. Remeber to use the next size smaller hole saw so the hole in the base plate catches the cylinder wall.

[@Space_Reptile]

To dry the bricks faster simply store them next to the fireplace, they will dry fairly quickly and be right there for when you need to feed the fireplace

[@stephendaurie9344]

I make lots of sawdust from my chainsaw every year. Great idea. Planing on making one of those presses someday

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I'm glad you liked it

[@IrishEbaX2]

Great job 👍

[@Annaisineire]

Super stuff John ❤

[@microheavy21]

This is greatJohn, must give it a go.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad you liked it

[@davidh1187]

A couple of oil filter change clamps would have been much quicker to hold the form together and instant release/clamp.

[@benfarmer3981]

Thanks for the great excuse to my wife to install a wood burning stove! It also makes the dusty mess seem more tolerable.

[@ronaldgabrowne4962]

Fantastic, like all your videos they are very informative and very constructive . I enjoy watching you at work what ever the project. Keep it up

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thank you very much!

[@jahsoncole]

Great idea! Love it. We have a saw mill so there’s piles of saw dust

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad you liked it

[@mariemiller1734]

Great video, have a lot of both so will give them a try. Thanks for your hard work.🎉

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks for watching

[@totherarf]

I think you touched on a key point to success that many may miss! When you have your tub full of coffee and sawdust mixed with water you need to leave it to ferment for a while! It does make a difference! Other than that a really great video! ;0)

[@_Damian_.]

How long do you think is good fermenting time?

[@totherarf]

@@_Damian_. At least a couple of weeks. Best to start one off before filling your next then when that is full press the first. Ideally! ;0)

[@_Damian_.]

@@totherarf thank you mate.

[@MrBertstare]

How does it make a difference?

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

Looks good John, nice burn and a good use of saw dust and coffee waste, I think it's a great idea. Now get your self a whiskey and keep warm, great video Take care

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thank you

[@joshuamoore1322]

I may give a try 🤔! Maybe they will burn in my home made rocket heater 🤔

[@peterbyers2357]

Great idea, John. Good to see you back doing videos. 👍

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks Peter

[@gregm312]

nice , thanks for the update

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

No problem 👍

[@MattMiller-d6n]

what about using coffee grounds and wax like the heat, the cooking ones are wax,cardboard,kiln dry wood ground in powder or dust,but I think you can use some semi green wood for flavor if used right away or shortly after being pressed

[@SandyMasquith]

Great stuff, John! Hope you’re feeling better soon.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks

[@RuffStuff420]

I'd be using a 5g bucket, and an actual scooper not a trowel. Fill that thing in one shot, and not have to reach so far into the dirty nasty barrel. Save a lot of time and cleanup right there. I'd also make a mini greenhouse outside in the sun to put these to dry them out in days instead of weeks. Idea, is there some kind of a binding agent you could acquire cheaply and mix in with the water to make these more solid so they don't fall apart? At the same time if they are more solid they'd also likely burn longer.

[@davidpratt427]

Cool , great job 👍

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@jamesbang5690]

I think it would be beneficial if you made a larger rectangle mold instead of small cylinders. That way you can get more brick per press. You can also add a hinge and latch for quick release.

[@Adam-e8h9e]

Great idea

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Glad you think so!

[@williambuckley1185]

Thanks for the video John, good information.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Any time!

[@darrendempsey3190]

Great set of vids brother!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers Darren

[@andrewchapman261]

Great video! What ratio of coffee to sawdust did you use?

[@markduggan3451]

They look great.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks

[@DamianDArienzo]

John :). Great stuff mate :)

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@ApolloWoodwork]

would a cam clamp work for the bottom clop save you needing the driver to loosen and tighten ?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

It would

[@jamesmanning4786]

can you build with the bricks?

[@TheKlink]

ever thought about adding (or making) a "recoheat" to your flue?? also, a hours burn for 2-3 minutes work? doesn't seem bad to me!! speaking of dust, you could put your hoover dust in there too.

[@vanblindguy4600]

What purpose does them stem up the middle of the press/briquette serve? air drying assistance?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Yes it helps it dry quicker

[@joannegerrard9414]

Excellent idea! Have you ever tried making each one say double the size in length? Like two stacked high? If so, do they compress and stay formed?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I have not, the size they are now works well

[@robertberger8642]

Nice!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks!

[@docghines]

Did you try any made of just coffee grounds?

[@brianhamalainen8817]

Could you please make a time-lapse of a few burns; lighting to out, with a clock next to the stove?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

That's not a video anyone will watch and not something I have time to do. I laid out the rough burn times in this video

[@jeremyscott6641]

What kind of temperature are you getting in the stove pipe, 400-600F?

[@shawnwolf856]

Instead of going through the hassle of tightening and loosening that clamp, why not just build a seperate press with a cylindrical " Cut Out " in the base so you can just " Press " the plug " Out " with the same ease as pressing it " In ". That would streamline the process a lot I think. Make several of the Press Cylinders themselves, Get the wife and kids involved and damn near " Manufature " them all Summer long ?? Better yet, Make it how the kids earn thier Allowance every week. Or Maybe source it out to some neighborhood kids. I can see this as an EXTREMELY viable way to almost free heat a home in the winter. Not only will Coffee shops give you their waste but I would think that cabinet shops and the like would be happy for you to keep their sawdust bins empty on a regular basis. Honestly I think I'm going to investigate this further in my home town. Thank you very much !!

[@joshmustian335]

I dont make nearly enough to use the as fuel, but I could use these to start fires

[@akbychoice]

You can use shredded paper the same way.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

You can

[@leonmccarty9430]

It would help to use a solar dryer, even for the winter.

[@MrZhootSe]

Wonderful! Just thinking loudly, I wonder how those would perform in a blacksmiths forge.... Know any blacksmith ? xD

[@Thomllama]

I SOOO wanted to do this out in the shop for heat, till I talked to the insurance company, almost tripled having a fire!!!! cheaper to run electric because of that! 😥

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Insurance companies are no fun

[@alanhenry8877]

Hi John, will definitely have to give this a go!! As a woodturner there tends to be plenty of shavings!! 😂 What kind of ratio of shavings to coffee do you go for?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

HI Alan Its about 60-40 coffee to sawdust but its all a bit of experimentation

[@woodandwheelz]

Could you use a star knob for the bottom bolt so you don't need the drill? I've also thought of making a press but with an old hydraulic bottle jack that I'm not using for anything else.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

That would work

[@benholroyd5221]

A star knob for your bottom sounds painful.

[@woodandwheelz]

@@benholroyd5221 If it's too small or too many points I would agree. There are options that wouldn't be painful.

[@benholroyd5221]

Why dont you extend the arm out the other side of the (left) upright, and set up an extractor thing?

[@peewee3ie]

Would this work with woods chipping from a wood chipper after chipping tree branches

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Depends on the size of the chip, you might need sawdust to help bind it all together, but its worth a try.

[@williammaxwell1919]

Just a thought. Have you considered splaying the joint so that the cone is very marginally smaller at the top than at the bottom, potentially avoiding loosening & tightening the straps. May be some loosish material to the top edge.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

You could flare the pipe with a heat gun, but you will have conical briquettes, and they don't stack very well. But it is something you can do.

Did you try not re-tightening the lower clip? I'd imagine a conical shape should still press just fine.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I did but it just squeezed the mixture out through the split, you could flare the pvc pipe with a heat gun, but a cone shaped briquette won't stack to good.

[@ryanyoutube7315]

is that Americano at 5:51? :>

[@josmith4741]

Question, do these briquettes leave more or less soot in the fireplace flue?

[@stevewales3451]

Very little Ash. You can put this into your compost mix or use directly onto the soil around fruit trees.

[@stevewales3451]

Your question was about fire place flue. I would guess mire than coal , less than wood - carbon build up in chimney flue can be affected by burn temperature-- hotter the fire the less unburned carbon goes up.

[@josmith4741]

@@stevewales3451 Yes, am aware of the temp effect. I was wondering if you have burned enough of them to have an opinion on the soot build up.

[@torche72]

How tall do you think you could make those brickettes?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I wouldn't make them much taller they won't dry as quickly

[@myerscok]

Hi John, what is your ratio of grounds to sawdust?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

It's roughly 60-40

[@christophersherratt7299]

PUT A CAP FULL OF PVA GLUE IN GALLON OF WATER THAT YOUR GOING TO USE

[@vancewilkins192]

Those baskets seem to be very close to the heat. Arn't you afraid they'll catch fire?

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Not at all.

[@bigpete4227]

A little bit of elbow grease results in free heat. Nothing wrong with that.

[@hammeredanvil7377]

Maybe your press mold should be slightly tapered?

[@d.k.1394]

Great

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks!

[@christophersherratt7299]

Use a bottle jack rigged up to a compressor it's very easy to do lot's of videos on KZbin for that and you could do more with using a jack make a video for yourself at least 6 a time 2 tone jack

[@christophersherratt7299]

Instead of water use old cooking oil remember to catch waste oil in a bucket make a chute from cheap old washer panels or even better of a fridge that usually Aliminum very easy to bend just need one on each side going into a bucket a cheap plastering bucket works very well above £3 then in the summer months give it a clean great for using in the garden for the weeds for green bin hope this helps you

[@christophersherratt7299]

IF YOU GET ONE OF THE CHEAP GROW TENT/GREEN HOUSE PUT A FAN ON THE TOP TO A SOLAR PANEL YOU CAN HAVE IT PULLING MOISTURE OUTSIDE OR BLOWING AIR DONW ON THEM SEE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE COUPLE OF HUNDRED IN IT 8×4×3 THIS TIME OF YEARS BEST TIME TO PICK ONE UP OR OCTOBER BEFORE THEY TAKE THEM OF THE SHELFS