Briquette Maker

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Suffolksteve

Forager
May 24, 2010
239
0
Suffolk
Hi Itzal,

This comes up fairly often, the general consensus is they are hard work, take a long time to dry and burn ok, but not amazingly well. The summary is they generally aren't worth the effort required unless you have a lot of space, time and steady source of paper.

Having said all that I don't have one so I can't personally comment on them though in principle it looks a great idea.
 

Miyagi

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 6, 2008
2,298
5
South Queensferry
My late Gran made briquettes for the fire for years. She used loaf tins (with a brick on top for weight) to shape them.

A lot cheaper than buying a briquette maker I'd think?

Liam
 

Toadflax

Native
Mar 26, 2007
1,783
5
64
Oxfordshire
I still have one but, as others have said, it's a lot of effort for not too much return (IMHO).

I found in particular that a lot depends on the paper you use. Anything with the 'shiny' printing on it (e.g. a lot of magazines) don't do well. Newspaper and 'normal' paper weren't too bad but, as for most paper, there is a fair bit of residue left after burning.


Geoff
 

Miyagi

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 6, 2008
2,298
5
South Queensferry
If you've got access to the shredder waste, you could make briquettes, though some printer paper just blackens and turns into fine ash quite quickly.

Add wallpaper paste, green food colouring and , et voila you have bushcraft papier mache!

Liam
 

Tetley

Full Member
Apr 21, 2008
162
1
Bremetannacum Vetenorum
I have had one (bought from B&Q) for the last three year , I work in an office and am the person that empties the shredder , I then put it all in a tubtruk add water and then make briquettes ,I make 4 or 5 at a sitting 2 or three times a week , they sit in the shed on rotation to dry out and we havent bought logs for our fire for the past two years :) it is hard graft ( especially in winter) and they take an age to dry but we really appreciate them over winter ;) Keeps us warm and stops a bit of landfill.

Bob
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Would adding scrap candlewax help or just make for really filthy smoke ?

cheers,
Toddy...............who has somehow acquired four quality street tin loads of scrap wax. It's too heavy to post but if anyone's nearby and wants some, they're very welcome.
 

Miyagi

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 6, 2008
2,298
5
South Queensferry
Scrap candle wax (I've some from Welsh cheeses) should burn hot and evaporate without too much smoke.

I use them in BBQ's to help the charcoal take.


Liam
 

wingstoo

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
May 12, 2005
2,274
40
South Marches
Better off going to the car boots and finding an old fruit press for wine making, a lot more pressure can be applied to get even more water out, you almost need to turn the papers into a pulp to get it working properly.

Candle wax is okay for small fire lighters, but adding to whole briquettes might be excessive, though adding sawdust to the pulp might be a good idea.

You would probably need a two or three year rotating stock to make sure they are dried out properly.
 

spiritwalker

Native
Jun 22, 2009
1,244
3
wirral
i used one for a year but if your using a woodburner they are not too good as i discovered...

basically they produce alot of clogging ash which blocks the grate and the draw is reduced so you have to keep poking them. But it is free i suppose i made about 50 bricks the first year but after that i barely make them at all now as once the word is out you have a burner the offers of wood come thick and fast if you can be bothered to pick stuff up. I reckon they would perform alot better in an open fire situation but havent tried to be sure
 
I'm definitely in the "not worth the effort" camp.

Bought a cheap one years ago with the intention of making briquettes for the wood burning stove, and ended up making a huge mess and trying to manage the drying of a load of soggy briquettes in our never ending damp summers.

The mess involved in manufacture, the drying problems - not to mention the amount of ash produced when they burn...nice idea in theory - but a definite no! no! no!
 

hobbes

Forager
Aug 24, 2004
159
0
Devon, UK
I have had one (bought from B&Q) for the last three year , I work in an office and am the person that empties the shredder , I then put it all in a tubtruk add water and then make briquettes ,I make 4 or 5 at a sitting 2 or three times a week , they sit in the shed on rotation to dry out and we havent bought logs for our fire for the past two years :) it is hard graft ( especially in winter) and they take an age to dry but we really appreciate them over winter ;) Keeps us warm and stops a bit of landfill.

Bob

I think that's very impressive. Good for you! I'm not convinced these things are that green, but that's some proper self-reliance.
 

spandit

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 6, 2011
5,594
308
East Sussex, UK
The ones I made burnt fine but as mentioned, it's a lot of effort for not much result. It's far more effective to get hold of an old pallet and chop it up - nice and dry immediately and burns hot
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE