# Has anyone heard of Liberty Bricks



## timothyjok (Jun 26, 2008)

I contacted BT Enterprises in Bristol CT for a price quote on BioBricks. They wrote back that they do not have BioBricks but have Liberty Bricks instead. Google turned up no info


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## DenD (Jun 26, 2008)

I called BT a couple of weeks ago and they told be about Liberty Logs too.  I looked for info on them too but didn't have any luck.  I'd be interested to find out if anyone has experience with this product.


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## begreen (Jun 27, 2008)

Sounds like a renamed French product. Maybe it's from Quebec.  :cheese:


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## toonjie (Aug 12, 2008)

DenD said:
			
		

> I called BT a couple of weeks ago and they told be about Liberty Logs too.  I looked for info on them too but didn't have any luck.  I'd be interested to find out if anyone has experience with this product.




I'd like to know as well.  Anyone heard of these?


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## toonjie (Aug 12, 2008)

I just received an email from BT Enterprises and the name of them is Liberty Blocks, they are supposed to be bigger than Biobricks, but made just the same.  Anyone used these or heard of them?  A Google search turns up nothing!


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## brewerpete (Aug 13, 2008)

I'm guessing here, but theyare probably made with the same manufacturing machinary as envi blocks.... compressed sawbust like bio bricks and a tad bigger.

the real question is what they are using for sawdust?

 but I'd go for it.


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## toonjie (Aug 29, 2008)

Okay, I just ordered 4 pallets, so I hope they are good!  BT said that 90% of their customers are ordering them and not waiting for Biobricks to be available.  All feedback they have gotten so far has been good on them and a pallet of Liberty blocks is supposed to be a couple hundred pounds heavier than a pallet of Bios.  Got to store them inside though, but the same thing  for Bios.


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## BJ64 (Aug 29, 2008)

brewerpete said:
			
		

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> the real question is what they are using for sawdust?




Hmmm, and BGreen suggested they might be re-named French products.  I bet they are made out of taters!


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## blanchelola (Aug 30, 2008)

toonjie said:
			
		

> Okay, I just ordered 4 pallets, so I hope they are good!  BT said that 90% of their customers are ordering them and not waiting for Biobricks to be available.  All feedback they have gotten so far has been good on them and a pallet of Liberty blocks is supposed to be a couple hundred pounds heavier than a pallet of Bios.  Got to store them inside though, but the same thing  for Bios.




How much were they?  How much to deliver to New Fairfield?

Can anyone comment on burning these compared to real wood?


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## toonjie (Aug 30, 2008)

NF CT said:
			
		

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They were $255 a pallet.  4 pallets delivered to New Fairfield was $156


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## N/A N/A (Aug 30, 2008)

toonjie said:
			
		

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Holy smokes Whats the matter guys??? Dont trees grow in you neck of the . . . .ah never mind :bug:


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## Jay777 (Aug 30, 2008)

Cost is similar to a C/S/D cord...  The whole "no bugs, no mess" thing is a nice bonus.. I'd consider getting bricks in the future.. not that I don't enjoy carrying and stacking multiple cords


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## johnnywarm (Aug 30, 2008)

I hope someone post a pic.


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## toonjie (Aug 30, 2008)

I'll definitely post a pic when they arrive, which will be September 25th.  They are supposed to be equivalent to a cord and a half; around here a cord is going for $250 and no guarantee you won't get green or shorted!  
BT said Liberty Blocks were a mix of hard and soft wood sawdust, just like the Bios.


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## johnnywarm (Aug 30, 2008)

toonjie said:
			
		

> I'll definitely post a pic when they arrive, which will be September 25th.  They are supposed to be equivalent to a cord and a half; around here a cord is going for $250 and no guarantee you won't get green or shorted!
> BT said Liberty Blocks were a mix of hard and soft wood sawdust, just like the Bios.




Thanks in advance for the pic.


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## N/A N/A (Aug 31, 2008)

Jay777 said:
			
		

> Cost is similar to a C/S/D cord... The whole "no bugs, no mess" thing is a nice bonus.. I'd consider getting bricks in the future.. not that I don't enjoy carrying and stacking multiple cords




Maybe if thats how much wood costs up where you are at. But $255 for a pallet?? There is no way a pallet is even close to a cord. I can get a cord C/S/D around here for around $70 a cord.


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## johnnywarm (Aug 31, 2008)

FIREFIGHTER29 said:
			
		

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I think here its 200 to 250 c/s/d.Are there standard count on a pallet like pellets at 50 bags a pallet???????


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## N/A N/A (Aug 31, 2008)

But then again, I am sure prices have gone up since the last time I priced or bought wood.


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## bonesneeze (Sep 11, 2008)

I just got an e-mail that said:

Good Afternoon!

Just a quick email to let you know that we are now offering Biomass Brick delivery in your area!

Please contact me here or visit our website www.pelletsales.com for a price quote or to have pricing held for up to one week.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

This is from their website:

Liberty Bricks
Liberty Bricks are made of highly compressed, recycled wood chips and sawdust from the Petersburg, Virginia area sawmills and wood processing facilities. These bricks can be burned in any woodstove, chiminea or fireplace just like regular cordwood. Liberty Bricks (per skid) provide as much heat as a cord of wood without the splitting, hand stacking, mess and bugs. Liberty Bricks also emit half the particulates (smoke) and take up half the space as compared to cord wood, not to mention they are conveniently packaged 10 bricks per bundle (22.5 lbs per bundle / 90 bundles per skid).

The least amount you can buy from them is 2 tons...with delivery by credit card the price was $740.62!! Pelletsales office is located about 20 miles from me but pickup doesn't seem to be an option on this product. I'm guessing they don't stock it there. I was going to buy a ton just to give the wood a little extra time to dry but I think I'll put a heat gun next to the wood pile...too steep for me!


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## gpcollen1 (Sep 11, 2008)

Wow - more New Fairfield folks showing their faces every day!


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## InTheRockies (Sep 11, 2008)

I'm getting a dump truck of seasoned wood, which is about 4 cords, delivered this afternoon for $175.  There's a small mill operation nearby that sells their scrap.  It's only pine, though.


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## billb3 (Sep 11, 2008)

pine burns


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## InTheRockies (Sep 12, 2008)

billb3 said:
			
		

> pine burns



True, it just doesn't put out the level of BTUs that hardwoods do.  I have the pile in the driveway now--I had hoped they could get it closer to my wood shed, but they were worried about power lines.  So, I know what I am going to be doing for a while--cutting, splitting (manually), and stacking.


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## mmmmna (Sep 19, 2008)

Hey, all!

I smell trouble and I can see the solution clear as day.

A year ago, I burned 2T of BioBricks and fell in love. I own over 70 acres of managed forest and I can no longer cut my own firewood (bad back, carpal tunnel, etc). The business that initially 'turned me on' to BioBricks was (past tense) a BioBricks distributor then, but this year... no. That company couldn't  load pallets into my dump truck, so I had to go to a place in Maine to get the 2T which I used. They too are no longer distributing BioBricks.

A few months ago, I decided to setup for the coming heating season, and I discovered the Liberty Brick situation.

Now, the only option I have is to comply with some consortium-like entity who is trying to push Liberty Bricks in place of BioBricks. Maybe I'll bite, maybe not.

I live in NH, I'm seeing that after this freak tornado, we have a surplus of wood and no place to process it into BioBricks. I know there are at least 2 closed pulp mills within 2 hours drive of me. We have the necessary pulp making machinery in the closed paper mills. We have local demand for the (BioBrick) product. We have a glut of raw materials. All we need are the brickmaking presses, some manpower, and the needed time. Anyone know of any capital investment firms?

Seriously, folks... anyone tried these Liberty Bricks??


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## johnnywarm (Sep 19, 2008)

what happened to bio bricks????


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## toonjie (Sep 26, 2008)

My 4 pallets of Liberty Bricks arrived yesterday.  (I still don't know if they are bricks or blocks since there was no brand markings either on the bricks themselves or the individual packages or the pallets.

Here's what they look like:







The guy delivering them got his pallet jack stuck on my driveway, (got to get around to paving it), and long story short, I had to get a chain from the neighbor and he pulled the pallet jack back onto the road with the truck.  In doing so, he tipped over the one pallet of bricks.  He was very apologetic and stacked all the packs and I just used the broken packs to fill my wood box.  That was the only adventure, now onto the review.  The bricks are very non-descript and have no markings and just look like compressed particle board or plywood.  The shrink wrap packaging is very skimpy so that if you try to carry 2 packs and use one hand to open the door, the pressure on the one spot of the pack with the other pack on top will often break open the shrink wrap.  I finally put them in those mail cartons you're not supposed to have to carry 2 at a time.  There are 10 bricks in a pack and the delivery guy said they are 3 pound bricks and the Bios are 2 pounds. Every row in the pallet had 1 bag of 8, I assume to fit the pallet.  He also said the guy that developed Biobricks sold the Liberty Brick guy the machine to make them, so they are made on the same machine.  He also said that his company, BT Enterprises, only made $20 a pallet.  (@$255 a pallet)

Here's some of the packs that fell off the pallet:






Poor guy had to stack them:






I brought 2 pallets worth inside yesterday, it took about 2 hours a pallet:











The first clear advantage is in stacking and space taken up.  If they truly are equivalent to a cord and a half, then I was able to store 3 months worth of wood inside the house in the same amount of space as usually 2 weeks worth of cordwood takes up.  On the downside, the bricks have none of the ambience of cordwood, they smell like you just cut a pice of plywood with your circular saw.  I was impressed with how well the bricks held together, no brick broke apart even under the weight of the pallet tipping over.

On to the burning:  I was very impressed!  I started a fire at 9:00pm using 6 bricks and simply put 1 brick in the stove (Quad 5100 insert) and put a Super Cedar firestarter, (thanks for the free sample guys!) and then built a tee pee over that with 2 bricks on either side and one directly over the Super Cedar.  The fire caught with no further meddling and temp rose nice and steady.  Once the bricks were fully engaged, I started damping it down and I was able to damp it down all the way and still maintain 600 degrees on the stove top.  5 hours later I added 2 bricks and 3 hours later 2 more and the stove was still on at 9:00am.  (We have a newborn and it was my night, so perfect for watching the bricks burn overnight!)  It was in the low 50's, so just a low fire to take the chill off for the newborn and wifee.  It averaged a brick an hour, I used 12 bricks from 9:00pm to 9:00am.  I'll post more as I keep burning, but so far they burn great and it is great knowing how much wood I have right in the house, no worries about all this rain on the East Coast, I can now burn until Christmas!


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## FireBurner (Sep 26, 2008)

I am curious to know if you used fire bricks at the bottom of your stove since they burn hotter?  I have already order 3 units (300 blocks) of EnviBlocks but will not take receipt till October from a place in MA (delivery $80 for all units).  

I certainly hope I have success as you did with the Libety Bricks but leave the adventure to your driveway (since mine is gravel too)!


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## backpack09 (Sep 26, 2008)

You do not need to ADD firebrick to your stove because of a certain fuel.  IF your stove originally had firebricks, they should be installed, if it did not come with bricks you should not add them.


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## High_Iron (Sep 26, 2008)

where is the pic of them burning?


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## jbroich (Sep 26, 2008)

Thanks for this report, toonjie. Please keep us up to date with further experiments in burning these.


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## sparklow (Sep 26, 2008)

From your photos I can tell you that the Liberty Bricks do not appear to be packaged with the same care that BioBricks are. I bought my first two pallets of BioBricks this year and I was very impressed with the quality of the packaging as I left them in the yard on the skid that they were delivered on from July until last week when I brought the first pallet into the house. To say that this has been a wet summer would be an understatement! They were in perfect condition with no evidence of moisture contamination. I am going to leave the second pallet in the yard until I need them this winter. I would think that the quality of the packaging for this type of product is very important.


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## toonjie (Sep 26, 2008)

[quote author="FireBurner" date="1222470624"]I am curious to know if you used fire bricks at the bottom of your stove since they burn hotter?  I have already order 3 units (300 blocks) of EnviBlocks but will not take receipt till October from a place in MA (delivery $80 for all units).  

I certainly hope I have success as you did with the Libety Bricks but leave the adventure to your driveway (since mine is gravel too)![/quote

My Quad has firebricks on the bottom already.  Last night I just built the fire on top of old ashes, but tonight I'm going to clean the whole stove out and report back about how much ash I get burning Liberty Bricks exclusively.


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## toonjie (Sep 26, 2008)

sparklow said:
			
		

> From your photos I can tell you that the Liberty Bricks do not appear to be packaged with the same care that BioBricks are. I bought my first two pallets of BioBricks this year and I was very impressed with the quality of the packaging as I left them in the yard on the skid that they were delivered on from July until last week when I brought the first pallet into the house. To say that this has been a wet summer would be an understatement! They were in perfect condition with no evidence of moisture contamination. I am going to leave the second pallet in the yard until I need them this winter. I would think that the quality of the packaging for this type of product is very important.



I definitely agree the packaging needs work!  Looks like they are just in the initial stages of development because there isn't even any kind of wrapper or identifying mark on them.  The shrink wrapping on the 30lbs bag of bricks is barely strong enough to hold them with two hands, if you grab them the wrong way, they rip open-the wrapper is weaker than the one the kids toys come in with a Happy Meal at McDonalds!


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## trailblaze (Oct 4, 2008)

FIREFIGHTER29 said:
			
		

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hey man .....want to pass the phone number for a cord thats only 70 bucks!!


i like that price!


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## sparklow (Oct 5, 2008)

A C/S/D cord of hardwood is going for approx. $220 in my part of CT. You probably couldn't fill the trunkl of your car for $70!


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## jotul8 (Nov 18, 2008)

I found this site for Liberty Bricks and another article that said that they are made on the same machine as the BIobricks (bought the machine from the Tom the BioBrick owner).  Not sure if the composition of either brick is standardized but looks similar.  I can get 6 full tons of liberty bricks delivered to my door in s.maine for the same price per ton that that I have to go pick up a 1900lb pallet (one at a time from the local distributor)  I'm working with some neighbors to split the 6 tons load,  if we do I'll be able to compare them to the pallet of BioBricks that we just went through. 


http://libertybricks.com/index.html


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## rowerwet (Nov 18, 2008)

just saw an atricle in the paper about a sanford, ME company that makes "biobricks" they have eco cast right into them, big fish fence has them for sale, at ( I think) $400 a ton they seem pricey, but the maker says they can't make them fast enough.


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## asabatelli (Dec 9, 2008)

I've now burned 1 ton of these, and I have some serious concerns.  The firebox of my Hearthstone stove, for the first time in 4 years, has a layer of very hard creosote-like gunk on everything, especially the after-burn tubes on top (some of the holes are even clogged!)  I decided to chip apart several blocks to see what was in these things, and found a range of largish chunks (1x1, 1x2 in.) of material that clearly isn't wood.  (Photo coming).  Lots of pieces have a white hard shiny surface (even found some smaller pieces with red and blue hard shiny surfaces), and an underside of cardboard-like material (appears to be something like a press-wood plastic veneer cabinet piece, and I believe the woods used in these also contain glues/binders).  Other pieces are clearly varnished wood.  I've contacted the company and am waiting to hear, but I'm worried that the plastics, glues and varnishes when subjected to the hot temps. of the firebox may have damaged a very expensive stove...  I've stopped burning them because I want to do a thorough inspection of my new stainless chimney...Let's hope there's no irreparable damage!  In the photos already posted here, you can see some pieces of material that have a distinctly non-wood-like color.  I burned Biobricks last year with no issues at all.


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## radesper (Dec 16, 2008)

asabatelli said:
			
		

> I've now burned 1 ton of these, and I have some serious concerns.



Please keep us posted. I recently bought 2 pallets worth because I couldn't find Biobricks, which I used last winter and loved. I've also have concerns with Liberty bricks. They don't seem to burn as long or as hot as Biobricks, perhaps that has something to do w/ the creosote-like build-up. They also expand quite a bit so if you stack them too tight they turn into a solid mass of wood chips that don't burn. They are definitely an inferior product.

I haven't noticed non-wood or processed wood in the bricks but I'll be looking carefully for them from now on. I'm a renter and can't afford to ruin my landlord's insert! I have noticed that some darker wood on the outside as a shiny look but I'm thinking that's because it is hardwood that has been "buffed" by the machine. It doesn't look like veneer. Let us know what the makers have to say.


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## nhtodd (Dec 17, 2008)

I have some input on Liberty Bricks for those considering them. Last year I burned 4 ton of Biobricks so I have these to compare against. As others have noted before I find the packaging could use some work the plastic is very weak and must be handled carefully or they do break open. The bricks appear to be the exact same size as Biobricks but they are not nearly as dense. It seems like they are made up of larger pieces if wood rather than sawdust. They seem to burn less intensely then biobricks and find I need to add cordwood to get a good fire. They seem to burn almost as cleanly as Biobricks producing fine ash. I have not found chunks of non wood product in mine however I find they do seem to put off a non-wood smell when burning almost like burning rubber. I have checked the stack and they are burning with out smoke so I am not sure what is going on.

Inspecting my stove I have not seen any buildup or blocked tubes so again I can only assume they are burning cleanly.

The price is rather high at 336/Ton and if they were as good as biobricks I would have lived with it but at this price I will return to burning cordwood.


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## sullystull (Dec 18, 2008)

http://richmond.craigslist.org/hsh/961777686.html

Came across this ad on Richmond Craigslist.  Seems like you can get a sweet deal right from the factory on their "factory seconds". $40 per 1/2 ton.  For those within driving distance to Richmond...might be worth it.  Not sure what "factory seconds" are though.  I will be down in Richmond over Christmas visiting the in-laws...I might make a trip over to the factory and see what's up.


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## radesper (Dec 19, 2008)

Hello All, 
Well I contacted BT Enterprises (CT) where I got the Liberty Bricks and told them how disappointed I was in them. Apparently, there are two types of Liberty Bricks - one, which is similar to BioBricks and the other - which I got - that are less dense.  BT didn't realize that the second type of bricks were so horrible. They have received other complaints now and agreed to exchange them for BioBricks (which they just got in) or the other type of Liberty Bricks (which they swear by). I'm getting one of each. I've attached two photos - one of the "good" Liberty bricks and the other of the "bad" bricks.


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## asabatelli (Dec 19, 2008)

Ok, so I spoke with Liberty Bricks, and they insist that they use all wood in their bricks--but they also say that there is a possibility of "some contamination" since they buy their scrap wood from outside sources, and don't police everything that goes into the grinders.  They do grind pallets and he said they also use some door skins that have been primed with a water based primer (probably the white piece in the photo above).  One of my pallets were the chunkier bricks, and he suggested I try to use these since, if anything, they have more wood in them.  I've been burning just these for a few days now, and the inside of the stove does appear to be a bit cleaner--though they clearly don't burn as long as the denser bricks made from finer materials.  So it appears the "good" bricks may actually have been  the ones that led to more deposits.  I frankly don't think the denser bricks (made of more finely ground material) are necessarily as "clean" as the biobricks.  I think both styles are inferior to the biobricks.  The after burn tubes on my stove are covered in dense creosote.  The smoke smells very bad/chemical--not like wood--with both types of bricks.  I'm convinced after spending nearly an hour on the phone with them that they really don't know what's going into these things; it depends on what someone throws into a grinder and sells to them.  My sense is that quality probably varies greatly from batch to batch--so you may get a more pure, hardwood/sawdust based batch, or you may not.  It's a crap shoot.  With pellets, there is generally a label telling you exactly what kind of wood you are getting, and you pay accordingly--more for hard woods, etc.  I'm glad to hear BT is taking these back.  I'm going to have to call them next week and see if I can work out an exchange for the Biobricks.  Thanks, everyone, for your info/input.  

One last note:  the man from Libertybricks was a very nice guy, and was genuinely trying to offer helpful suggestions.  I think these kinds of companies are a good thing--for the environment and for job creation in the U.S., etc. I just think companies like this need to be sensitive to the requirements of expensive stoves designed to burn all-wood products.


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## radesper (Dec 19, 2008)

Thanks for the update. That's interesting that the build-up was from the denser Liberty Bricks bricks. I decided that I'm going to stay away from the Liberty Bricks altogether and changed my order to all BioBricks (thank God they're are back). I agree that these type of businesses need to be supported but of course only if they put out a good product. It sounds like Liberty Bricks needs to better control their inputs. Happy heating everyone.


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## toonjie (Feb 4, 2009)

Glad I checked back on this thread because I have had some of the same problems.  First, the smell of Liberty bricks definitely leads me to believe that there are either some laminates in there or plywood with glue, etc.  The smell ranged from a house fire to a chemical smell.  I also had a cracked baffle board and loads of creosote build up.  We actually stopped getting a draft and I had to climb up on the roof and the screen of the cap was actually totally blocked with soot.  I examined the liner and it already had more creosote buildup than last year and I have only burned Liberty Bricks since it was cleaned.  I haven't used Biobricks, so I don't have any other pressed wood product to compare it to, but the burn time was fairly good if the bricks were stacked very tightly and the heat output was good.  Consumption was somewhere between a cord and a cord and a half being equivalent to a pallet.  4 pallets got me from September 20 until February 1st in one of the worst winters ever.  We usually would use a cord a month for the colder months.


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## toonjie (Feb 7, 2009)

I just went to BT Pellet and picked up 10 bags of the brand new Liberty Bricks right off the truck.  I can tell you there is even a difference in the way they smelled as I drove them home in the car and there is no bad smell when burning them.  They were all smooth and no visible contaminates in them as with the old ones.  I'll let you know if the burn time is better, but just wanted to let everyone know that it seems they have vastly improved the screening process and gotten the contaminates out.  I also picked up a pack of the 8 pound overnight logs they are carrying.  They are claiming a 17 hour burn so we will see how they do tonight.


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## zombie*mommie (Feb 9, 2009)

I wish I had found this thread and reread it before we got our ton of Liberty.  We burned Envi8 and loved them.  Unfortunatly, I refuse to deal with the local dealer I got them from ever again. (Long and short - trading post in NM are liars who don't fill preorders)

We called BT Enterprises and they suggested the Liberty. 

We are gaging on the stench.  My husband went running and could smell the smoke from our fire almost a 1/3 of a mile away.    We are now stuck with almost a full ton of this carp and don't want to burn it.


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## nhtodd (Feb 9, 2009)

I hear you. I bought four ton and my stove took a beating. Many of them were fine but there were plenty that had contaminants. I will not be buying them again.


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## toonjie (Feb 10, 2009)

zombie*mommie said:
			
		

> I wish I had found this thread and reread it before we got our ton of Liberty.  We burned Envi8 and loved them.  Unfortunatly, I refuse to deal with the local dealer I got them from ever again. (Long and short - trading post in NM are liars who don't fill preorders)
> 
> We called BT Enterprises and they suggested the Liberty.
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> We are gaging on the stench.  My husband went running and could smell the smoke from our fire almost a 1/3 of a mile away.    We are now stuck with almost a full ton of this carp and don't want to burn it.



I would call BT and have them exchange them for the new ones they just got in.  I have now been burning the new ones for almost a week and they smell fine and I can't see any contaminates in them like you could with the old ones.  They also seem to last longer than the original ones.  Now they don't smell as good as cord wood, but they are much better than the old ones.


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## zombie*mommie (Feb 10, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will be calling tomorrow.  I have to say that so far the service and personel at BT have been really nice.  Crossing my fingers that it keeps that way!


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## BioPellet (May 14, 2009)

zombie*mommie said:
			
		

> Thanks for the suggestion.  I will be calling tomorrow.  I have to say that so far the service and personel at BT have been really nice.  Crossing my fingers that it keeps that way!



I read this thread with great interest.  I want everyone to know that we have increased our production and now we are fully stocked.  Our dealers also should be fully stocked, including BT Enterprises and others found here :

http://www.biopellet.net/wheretobuy 

We use the finest quality kiln dried hardwood sawdust in making our BioBricks(R) and continue to produce the same quality product we always have.

We have our best price now so please stock up.  

Thomas Engel, Founder, BioPellet LLC


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## zombie*mommie (May 14, 2009)

Just wanted to follow up and say BT was great in the way they handled the situation.  We are sticking with the Biobricks now.  Stocked up already for next season.  No more toxic Liberty Bricks for us.  Thanks for the help everyone.


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## mmmmna (Jun 16, 2009)

To buy real Bio Bricks in Central New Hampshire (whenever they become available, IF they are available), there is a consortium in Manchester NH area that has replaced smaller distribution channels. One always hopes such a development is a good thing, but my old supplier which I formerly used (Big Fish in Sanford ME) is no longer listed as a distributor according to Bio Bricks website. The consortium has relatively decent prices and delivers, but I am skeptical about the future since this exclusivity will make competition rather difficult.

On a related note...
I went to the Rochester (NH) Fair last fall (2008), a local woodstove distributor was exhibiting. I talked to the distributor representatives there, and we talked about alternative fuels such as Bio Bricks. He had a LOT of misconceptions about Bio Bricks, and yet he took orders for wood pellets at the Fair. I told him the Bio Brick product is 100% mixed wood product that has been chipped and compressed (without binders) into block form. Despite this information, he maintained this was not acceptable as a fuel. I told him the bricks used the same formula as wood pellets, he told me I was wrong, these bricks contain straw, agricultural by-products, etc.

One VERY important thing that came from him: a woodstove manufacturer will VOID you warranty if you burn anything but a mixture of hard and soft natural wood logs such as are cut from a woodlot and properly dried (meaning not even machine processed). I said what about those color logs that are sold at the supermarket? He said one in a season shouldn't be a concern unless it damages their stove (yeah: he said their stove). He argued that if they can determine that their stove was damaged by any non-natural wood products, if their stove was damaged by OVERFIRING for any reason, if their stove was damaged by burning only pine, then they would void your warranty.

Distributor, you have lost my interest in any of the brands that you sell - if your manufacturers will only allow me to burn 3/8" diameter x 24" long 2 year old indoor dried yellow birch, you are no longer dealing with woodstoves that consumers will want. On the other hand, mister distributor, these alternative brick fuels are selling very quickly and the reasons we consumers buy these bricks include the delivery and storage convenience and for the consistent and clean burn characteristics. So, mister distributor, get off your high horse, tell your stove manufacturers to play HERE in the field where the buyers are heading, because, mister distributor, if you don't stand up for the consumer, the consumer will ignore you and you woodstove manufacturers and we will stand for ourselves by not buying your weak designs.

American business wants to be all about the income, so they design unique, niche market, one of a kind but inflexible items; the consumer doesn't ask for those unique, niche market, one of a kind but inflexible items. It is not just the money to us, it is 'cost for performance + cost per value', and the consumer decides what performance and value they want (business CANNOT force us to buy anything, so they will have to come back to what we want), the decision of what we want to buy is not made by the woodstove manufacturer.

Woodstove distributor, send these weak, inflexible woodstove designs back to the manufacturer and make the manufacturer see that they failed to reach these consumers; on the other hand, if you stand on the manufacturers side in support of woodstoves that fail to work for the consumers needs, see if that helps you any repeat buys.


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## mmmmna (Sep 1, 2009)

Getting ready for the heating season. My woodstove is 2 seasons old, I see it is already crapping out. The woodstove distributor is coming by tomorrow to install a new upper baffle, mine has split into several pieces.

They sure don't make them like they used to, and I'm not so sure that Bio Bricks were the cause of the failure.

When I went in to ask about getting that baffle plate replaced, the service man said he had to order them, they had run out. I immediately realized that meant they had to have been stocking them! I asked if these were a big issue, he said no, not that he knew of. I asked how many he replaced in a year, he said I have no idea (that sounds reasonable, right? The guy that services stoves has no idea if he replaces a lot of them. Right.). Since he did not have the baffle plate in stock, we agreed he would call me when he got the replacement plate (upper baffle) in the coming week. That week came and almost went by so I called him at the end of the week. "Oh, hi! They are on backorder, we'll be getting our allotment Monday". I'm thinking... allotment? That sounds like they are planning on going through a few of these.

Anyone want to buy a slightly used Heathstone Bennington? It isn't TOO hard to light.... and it really IS rated for 1800 square feet of Ranch style house (cough cough). More like 1000 square feet, in my opinion.

By the way, if Liberty Bricks have ever contained remnants of counter tops, plywoods and glues, I believe the EPA needs to hear of it, since (as I understand it) construction materials are not supposed to be burned in consumer heating appliances (air quality issues, combustion deposit issues).


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## bbc557ci (Sep 1, 2009)

Maybe you should order a few face cords of fire wood and see if that works out better for you?


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## Laserman88 (Nov 14, 2009)

I used liberty bricks all last winter, and I'm not going back to wood--even though my neighbor just started a wood business!   i love a number of things about the bricks over using wood:

1.  it's dense, stackable and clean:  I can put 1/3 ton in my hall closet below the coats.  This means I go to the woodpile to get more wood every 5 days and can pick my time based on weather and how busy i am.  This means I'm not tracking in mud and leaves when it is raining.  This means no more bugs and dirt in the house that fell off the wood.  i bring them into the house with a handcart.

2.  it's consistently dry:  a friend told me that i would freeze if i tried  to heat with unseasoned wood and they were right.  the only consistency from local wood vendors is their willingness "to be mistaken" about when their wood was split.

3.  no more stockpiling 2 years of wood (see number 2 above) to make sure it is seasoned.

4.  if my back goes out, it is nice to know that i can lift as little as 2# (one brick) at a time to fill the stove.  

does everybody know you can burn the plastic wrapper?  it is a kind of plastic that is like candles burning.  it even smells like candles. 

this year the bricks are better--they hold their shape until they are done burning, which makes for a more complete burn.    

enjoy the global cooling!

johnny


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## btuser (Nov 14, 2009)

The thing that scares me about processed firewood is the eventual corporate ownership.  Thigs are fine now because the industry is growning, but once the market stops growing, pellet and biobrick manufactures will begin to demonize their cordwood competition.   I'm not kidding.  What happens when we are all brought to the understanding that trunkslamming rednecks moving raw forest products from one location to another results in the death of our forests?  Outlaw small firewood operations.  Make it illegal, akin to bootlegging.  Evil, like growing your own dope.

Its bad enough everything we eat is processed.


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## tickbitty (Nov 14, 2009)

One of the proprieters of this product (liberty bricks) has been visiting "the wood shed" forum within the last week or so and in addition to explaining and defending the product he seems to be trying to get more conversation going regarding these and what his customers want.  I was wondering about these myself since I live close to where they are made and the craigslist price for picking up a ton is pretty great.  And we don't have as much seasoned wood around as I think we might end up needing this year.

What I would like to know from folks here, if any of the folks who posted on this are still around, is whether there is any difference in burning this kind of thing in cat stoves vs. non-cat.  Nobody really seems to have addressed that, and the stove I am getting is catalytic.


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## fossil (Nov 14, 2009)

Lots of information if you do searches for "Liberty Brick", "BioBrick", or whatever name they're sold under.  Moving this old thread over to the Wood Shed, since it's really about fuel for stoves, and the Wood Shed forum didn't exist as a separate entity when this thread was started back in June of 2008.  Rick


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## Fuelmaker (Nov 15, 2009)

btuser said:
			
		

> The thing that scares me about processed firewood is the eventual corporate ownership.  Things are fine now because the industry is growing, but once the market stops growing, pellet and biobrick manufactures will begin to demonize their cordwood competition.   I'm not kidding.  What happens when we are all brought to the understanding that trunkslamming rednecks moving raw forest products from one location to another results in the death of our forests?  Outlaw small firewood operations.  Make it illegal, akin to bootlegging.  Evil, like growing your own dope.
> 
> Its bad enough everything we eat is processed.



You don't have to worry about corporate ownership of processed firewood.  It is not nearly lucrative enough to attract financiers. 

With regard to us trying to corner the market by restricting woodcutting, I would never waste my time making trouble for the woodcutters, I spend far too much of my time dealing with regulation as it is.  I think we need to defend each other's freedom to manage our own property and fight to continue using public lands without intervention by absentee do-gooders.  No current brick producer has a dryer so we can't use cordwood and we are not going to compete for it.  There are pellet producers that have started using pulpwood, but to make a premium pellet, you have to debark the logs first so they cant even use whole tree chips.  So there is very little risk of competition from pellet mills.  Pellet mills are the woodcutter's allies regarding access to public timber, because they need the lowest cost stuff like beetle kill or fire salvage timber.

I look forward to the time some suit shows up at your property and tries to tell you you can't cut down a tree without a permit.  I think with the power tools and firearms around, that some of those regulators would end up as cordwood.  The better fed might lend a new meaning to "fatwood"


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## Hunderliggur (Dec 27, 2009)

I look forward to the time some suit shows up at your property and tries to tell you you can't cut down a tree without a permit.  I think with the power tools and firearms around, that some of those regulators would end up as cordwood.  The better fed might lend a new meaning to "fatwood"

I guess you haven't been to Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  I have 44 acres of woods and cannot even get the county forester to return a phone call or an email.  I finally got a State of Maryland Forestry Department "Forest Stewardship Plan" for my property.  It includes processing up to 10 cords/year from my forest.  If the suits come by (they don't actually wear suits, but do drive white cars) they can take a look at my State plan.  I did get reported twice by a neighbor for cutting down trees along the road for a 1/4 mile to bring in the utilities (15 feet wide from the pavement edge by 1500 feet long).  I did have a county permit for that operation so the county deep sixed the complaint (twice).  I did get fined $250 for digging out the stumps with my own backhoe instead of paying the utility to do it since I did not have an approved engineered grading plan for stump removal.  Of course, the approved plan would have cost me more than $250 so I guess I came out ahead on th deal ;-)


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## nojo (Dec 30, 2009)

Just picked up 6 bundles of Liberty Bricks today. The first bundle I used the bricks looked a little shaggy (not like the "bad" bricks in a previous post, just a little shaggy less fine material) and when they burned they flaked away in layers... I wasnt impressed by the heat output or burn time. The second bundle was very fine material like MDF.  I put a 7" round in the back of the stove (maple??) a small red oak split(a little wet) ontop of that. Then 4 liberty bricks two on bottom long way (e/w) then two stacked the same on top of those in front by the intake and put a smal 2-3" round ontop of that. After about 20 minutes I was up in the 500deg stove top range and that was two hours ago. Its in the 450 range now. Flue temps are only about 300-325. (magnetic gauge). I had the Pipe Damper shut as well. When I shut the pipe damper I notice the stove holding a lot more heat, otherwise it just goes right out the flue. Anyway these bricks are burning nice, especially with other wood in the stove. Its a little just over 1cbft Trailblazer Classic 1700 stove thats supplementing my 1800 sqft 1880's colonial thats only partly insulated right now. Our heat bill last month was like 280 before I installed the stove.. and it wasnt this cold (its about 4 deg f right now).


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## whotheguy (Dec 30, 2009)

InTheRockies said:
			
		

> billb3 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You said it was "scrap", how much cutting and splitting do you need to do? Are we talking Noah's Ark here?!!


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