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Post by JohnV on Feb 7, 2022 8:50:45 GMT
As per the title.
My stove in the saloon is a true woodburner (and not a mixed fuel like most) and over the years I have tried umpteen man made logs on it.
Most I have had some major beef with.
Some burn uncontrollably fast, some are not easy to light, some fall to bits if you look at them critically, and virtually all of them refuse to stay "in" overnight.
However when I have been short of decent logs I have been forced to use them.
I was talking to the owner of a pet shop very near the boat (an ex boat dweller and wishing to be so again) and he was saying that he had always found the same but he had been persuaded to stock some by someone he knew. He had not used them himself but his friend did and swore by them.
He had bought 1 pallet to try to see how they went. at £10 for 20Kg bag I bought one to try.
I've been very pleasently surprised by them.
They burn hot but not fast, and completely tightened down overnight, after 8 hours there were enough embers left to just be able to throw a few new bits on.
About the only real complaint I have is that the ash they produce is a lot softer and and doesn't compact into a hard layer like normal from logs.
Obviously like all compressed logs they need dry storage although the 20Kg bags are sealed plastic.
The stuff is called Hotmax and although not as good as proper logs, it's the best substitute that I have found
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2022 9:04:04 GMT
Quite a lot of wood products companies have briquetting machines for their sawdust.
I found a place in Staines on Thames that does 20kg sacks for £2 which is quite good value really.
Mainly hardwood. They do window frames.
The main issue is that the briquettes must be kept completely dry as they will soak up any moisture in the air.
In fact come to think of it they would probably work quite well as dessicants for damp areas if kept in buckets.
When dry they do burn well though. Watch the flue as they seem to like furring it up.
Of course this might only happen with small diameter flues..
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Post by Jim on Feb 7, 2022 9:37:44 GMT
They sell hotmax at my local coal merchants and at the animal feed store where I go for hen food. They are good. I break them into small slices for the initial lighting. Comes to mind that they come from north east somewhere?
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Post by peterboat on Feb 9, 2022 10:34:03 GMT
Quite a lot of wood products companies have briquetting machines for their sawdust. I found a place in Staines on Thames that does 20kg sacks for £2 which is quite good value really. Mainly hardwood. They do window frames. The main issue is that the briquettes must be kept completely dry as they will soak up any moisture in the air. In fact come to think of it they would probably work quite well as dessicants for damp areas if kept in buckets. When dry they do burn well though. Watch the flue as they seem to like furring it up. Of course this might only happen with small diameter flues.. Now at that price they are a bargain at 10 squids they arnt |
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Post by JohnV on Feb 9, 2022 15:41:57 GMT
Quite a lot of wood products companies have briquetting machines for their sawdust. I found a place in Staines on Thames that does 20kg sacks for £2 which is quite good value really. Mainly hardwood. They do window frames. The main issue is that the briquettes must be kept completely dry as they will soak up any moisture in the air. In fact come to think of it they would probably work quite well as dessicants for damp areas if kept in buckets. When dry they do burn well though. Watch the flue as they seem to like furring it up. Of course this might only happen with small diameter flues.. Now at that price they are a bargain at 10 squids they arnt just been into the shop to pick up some more of the bags already bought and paid for and was given £25 .... he had just got the invoice for the delivery and he should have charged me £7.50 each .....apparently he thought he was going to be charged a lot more than he was !!! .... nice surprise and very honest |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2022 16:07:51 GMT
So you are not a racketeer then.
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Post by peterboat on Feb 10, 2022 15:53:56 GMT
Now at that price they are a bargain at 10 squids they arnt just been into the shop to pick up some more of the bags already bought and paid for and was given £25 .... he had just got the invoice for the delivery and he should have charged me £7.50 each .....apparently he thought he was going to be charged a lot more than he was !!! .... nice surprise and very honest Andrews 2 squids for a 20 kilo bag is the right money for these things John  The problem is I only pay 6.50 squids for 25 kilos of anthracite, it could be more now but that was the last lot |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2022 20:52:58 GMT
eBay is the place Example (in London) www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203287037980£2 for 15-20kg sacks. There will be others in different areas. I found a place which were more or less giving them away in the summer. Point is that they would have to landfill the sawdust so it can, in theory, work out economical to buy a briquetting machine. Not cheap machines but it could make sense economically over a period of time. The product will build up over time and of course getting it smoke less authorised is going to be expensive. The big problem is dry storage. If you have a lot of dry storage available find someone who does these in summer and you'll probably get a tonne for a few beers. |
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Post by JohnV on Feb 11, 2022 8:32:27 GMT
One thing I have noticed about the ones I have been buying as opposed to other type, is the colour.
All the other types I have seen and tried are very pale in colour and seem to be made from mostly very pale wood particles.
I suspect those are made from the waste from factories using prepared wood.
These are darker in colour and have a resinous smell.
I suspect they contain a lot of bark and needle brash and are made from a different kind of wood waste to the others.
Certainly in use they seem different.
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Post by peterboat on Feb 11, 2022 9:48:52 GMT
I lit the wood burner last night as I had been away at Jaynes then the daughters wedding, I start it with half a heat log then put two logs on it, by 10 last night I had opened all the windows! the Rayburn was on tickover so me dying from heat exhaustion was down to the wood stove.
Its an amazing beast most of the ash goes up the chimney I suspect, I want the ash for the allotment but at the moment I aint doing well at all
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Post by JohnV on Feb 11, 2022 10:07:09 GMT
I lit the wood burner last night as I had been away at Jaynes then the daughters wedding, I start it with half a heat log then put two logs on it, by 10 last night I had opened all the windows! the Rayburn was on tickover so me dying from heat exhaustion was down to the wood stove. Its an amazing beast most of the ash goes up the chimney I suspect, I want the ash for the allotment but at the moment I aint doing well at all I find if I am burning actual logs (not manufactured ones) that the ash compacts into a fairly solid cake in the bottom of the stove and it only needs cleaning out after several weeks of constant use, whereas with the made up ones, it seems to stay soft and loose and needs removal every week. Up to now I have not had enough logs to be able to run a mix of the two so I can't comment on that.
I'm not really sure of why there is such a difference, but it is definitely there. It's the main downside I find with the manufactured ones, because the ash in the stove is so loose I find the general dust mess you get round the stove is worse.
Does seem that is the downside of all solid fuel heating, they all do seem to cause a mess.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2022 10:53:18 GMT
Had a few burns on the new stove made by James the battery man and have to admit it works very nicely. I can occasionally get a blue flame, and once up to temperature the porthole can be left open and no smoke into cabin. With a 70mm flue!! The draw on it is incredible. I was a bit surprised but of course with the preheated secondary burn tubes on the sides once it's hot it burns very efficiently anyway. The cooking top gets well hot too. It is a masterpiece.  Chucks out heat like it's going out of fashion and I haven't even filled it up yet ! The blow torch/bellows/poker hole, which was my idea, has worked wonders. Rwally handy extra bit of air onto the fire bed as well. Threaded with a lid for it. Not DEFRA approved  but I bet they would give it the thumbs up if it were offered as a product. Did take a while to knock it all together though to be fair. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2022 11:03:54 GMT
preheated secondary burn tubes on the sides More detail desired. Also what was the cost? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2022 11:08:11 GMT
No money changed hands on this transaction.
The tubes are angle iron welded up the sides of the fire with 20mm holes cut in and triangles on top of the tubes. Air drawn up and ejected into the flame to burn the volatiles.
It does work well.
The amount of work needed it's not really economical to produce these as a consumer product.
I suppose you could do it but it would not be a cheap fire.
Also I just happened to have a couple of little opening portholes which were the right size for the 8 inch box section. They are not all that common.
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Post by Jim on Feb 11, 2022 11:46:23 GMT
I've considered puttind a secondary burn/air wash into my stove, a piece of scaff with a slit along it, open at one end, with a restrictor plate to control it. Drill an appropriate hole at the top of stove, fit tube and point slit at the glass.
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The problem is I only pay 6.50 squids for 25 kilos of anthracite, it could be more now but that was the last lot
but I bet they would give it the thumbs up if it were offered as a product.