# leaf log maker



## jkupcha (Oct 26, 2009)

Hey,  This gentleman has a pretty good idea. Would like to see one of these burn


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSVtJbpHF8&feature=related


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## Slow1 (Oct 26, 2009)

i agree - would like to see how well they burn.  Wonder what the moisture content of those logs would be - dependent on how dried the leaves are of course, but I have no idea how dry leaves really are.  There certainly is a good supply of them around.


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## GaryS (Oct 26, 2009)

There's a lot of BTUs in dry leaves.  I don't think his logs are packed dense enough though to make them useful as fuel.  Good logs for heating up the stove though.  A little more engineering and I don't see why they wouldn't work.


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## theheatelement (Oct 26, 2009)

I like the video to the right of it...  "breast feeding at 8"  I thought it was a joke until I watched the video.. I guess, when in rome, do as the romans do... LOL


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## ckarotka (Oct 26, 2009)

At first I thought he was going to use the piston from the log splitter to create a high-density log. Could be used for sawdust also, that's all MDF board is exclude the flammable glue and replace with four and water.


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## theheatelement (Oct 26, 2009)

Have you ever tried to cut through MDF board, that is some tricky stuff if your using a router or jig saw.. Almost have to use a table saw.





			
				ckarotka said:
			
		

> At first I thought he was going to use the piston from the log splitter to create a high-density log. Could be used for sawdust also, that's all MDF board is exclude the flammable glue and replace with four and water.


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## ckarotka (Oct 26, 2009)

MagnaFlex said:
			
		

> Have you ever tried to cut through MDF board, that is some tricky stuff if your using a router or jig saw.. Almost have to use a table saw.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I like using MDF for painted projects because it's easy to shape, and cheaper than poplar or pine and has no knots to fill and sand out.  Hard to paint, you have to use a very good primer to seal it including all the edges or it will suck up moisture. The smooth surface and all that glue hinder normal primers from sticking well.

I use either a guide or a bit with a bearing for the router or your right it will run on you. I used to make speaker boxes for cars with it because it would reflect the low frequency bass waves better than plywood.

Also tricky to join, must use course thread screws and glue.


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## afblue (Oct 26, 2009)

The tube its getting stuffed into is a piece of PVC, so there is no way they are packed in there tight enough to make any usable heat logs. For it to ever be effective they would have to be pressed as tightly as compressed logs and I would imagine based on weight, a 50gal yard bag weighs about 10-12 lbs so you might get 1-2 logs out of it. So unless you have alot of trees and alot of patience to let the leaves dry, completely and stay dry, a compost pile or a town public works that processes them and not go to landfill is still going to be better for the greater good.


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## littlesmokey (Oct 26, 2009)

We need to step back and look at history here. During the Westward Expansion, folks homesteading in the midwest, didn't have wood to burn. Yes, they did burn buffalo chips, when and where available, but 19th Century innovations created "grass packers"

If this works, here's a pic: XXXXXX  Well, guess I can't take it off the background of my laptop and send it to the post. I will get it here though.

These little (some over 500lbs.) heated a lot of Nebraska. They were a little scary, depending on how sweet the grass was (that's moist). They would start to bio-heat and fire off like a compost pile might do if not turned. 

I had the opportunity to buy one a few years ago that had been cobbled into a sausage press according to the seller. It was intreging, but asking price was more than a stove, and it would not function without a lot of guesswork rebuilding.

The concept is solid as a fuel source. There are sites on the net that legitimately are investigating this. Take for example switch-grass pellets or ones made from brewing waste. Stoves are not tuned to use them, but it is not far off.


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## littlesmokey (Oct 26, 2009)

Check this article:

http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?ID=6788&method=full


Here's the pic I was looking for:


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## ckarotka (Oct 26, 2009)

littlesmokey said:
			
		

> We need to step back and look at history here. During the Westward Expansion, folks homesteading in the midwest, didn't have wood to burn. Yes, they did burn buffalo chips, when and where available, but 19th Century innovations created "grass packers"
> 
> If this works, here's a pic: XXXXXX  Well, guess I can't take it off the background of my laptop and send it to the post. I will get it here though.
> 
> ...




That's really neat, I thought I watched a program on Discovery about burning sod in Ireland because of the high amount of coal in it.  I might be wrong though, can't remember.


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## littlesmokey (Oct 26, 2009)

[
That's really neat, I thought I watched a program on Discovery about burning sod in Ireland because of the high amount of coal in it.  I might be wrong though, can't remember.[/quote]

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread.

Are you thinking of "Peat"? Many countries in Europe have peat bogs. Germany, Ireland and those other Islands around there use peat extensively. Inexpensive, but very smokey and dirty to burn. I have stayed at a cabin in the Idaho panhandle that heats with it. Imagine someone burning tires to heat in an open fireplace. Even I found it distasteful.


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## ckarotka (Oct 26, 2009)

Yep that's it the correct name just escaped me.


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## firefighterjake (Oct 27, 2009)

Interesting . . . I suppose it would work, but I'm thinking a) the amount of leafs it would need to make enough leaf logs for a winter would be astronomical, b) your time to "harvest and process" the leaf logs is a fairly narrow window since you can cut wood and make firewood or pellets pretty much year round vs. waiting for the leafs to drop in the Fall and getting them before the snow comes, c) the moisture content in the leafs could be an issue, d) I'm thinking (as others) that the density of these leaf logs would not be all that high so the logs might be more appropriate as starter type of logs.

That said, you never know . . . at one time people may have scoffed at the idea of taking sawdust, branches and "junk wood" and making pellets into them . . . "Burning pellets? That's crazy talk . . . who would burn pellets when you can burn these big chunks of firewood?"


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 27, 2009)

Looks like a total waste of time to me. The buffalo chips and cow patties would work much better.


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