Bio Bricks this season - 4 Tons!

[begreen]

:lol: I'd have thought you'd be burning cardboard like Dylan if you're cheap %-P

 

[jjs777_fzr]

Just trailered 1Ton of biobricks ($280) from dist in saugus,ma
Threw (5) bricks into stove with some wood left over from construction - didnt jam the firebox at all - left plenty of open space.

temp readings from stove top peaked at 500F
Then after 45min dropped off to 330F and after 2 hours sticking to 300F

previously been using Enviro-Log's with wood debris all around (not split lumber just leftover pine debris)
temp readings from stovetop would peak at 550F then drop off very slowly and in a more linear fashion over 3 hours with usable heat throughout.

okay now fired it up again this time (6) bricks w/ a couple scraps wood and peaked at 550F on stovetop

well at least the biobricks are clean and easy to handle and store like everyone says...I dont think they're magic or anything
I suppose I will have to time the burn vs temp curve and plot it (cause I have to know lol)

-John

ps newbie here...I do not pretend to know what I am talking about - I am truly a first timer with wood stoves,pellet stoves.

 

[begreen]

What stove jjs?

Follow the instructions provided by BioBricks to get a longer burn. The trick is to get a solid mass of them burning from one edge.

http://www.biopellet.net/instructions.html

 

[TCaldwell]

i tried biobricks in the garn, air infused they start a little slower than cordwood however when they kick, extremely hot for about 45 minutes, recorded 1 hour burn rate of 600k btu then drop off fast , cordwood seems to last longer and at a little lower temp for same weight . i supplement with biobrick when i need to get the burn chamber up to temp to gassify suspect cordwood. also check out construction sites, wood roofers and wood fence companies, the back of my truck has become thier dumpster.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

begreen

its a home depot stove by century hearth and it was 600 w/50 rebate so 550 for the 1500sq/ft capacity model (says 10k to 29k btu's)
I cant imagine paying 2k for a stove...maybe someday

Actually - now I'm on my 2nd round of biobricks and laid them out differently (yep seen the teepee thingy) and without going into detail they need to be close together to burn longer perhaps hotter too

My house is rough construction but now insulated and some drywall.
outside temp is 38F and inside first floor where stove is now 74 and the upstairs is 69F (wow since theres a room that lets air come down from attic to 2nd flr where 2nd/3rd is unheated)
first flr 25x25 and 2nd floor 27x35

I'd really like to know what yall see on dvl stove pipe for temps (simpson-duravent doublewall close clearance) - just curious

I should say..great site glad to be here - learning as I go.

-john

 

[begreen]

The teepee is just to get 3 of them burning well. Then you need to create a solid stack of bricks surrounding the teepee as shown in the link provided. Try to avoid airspaces in the stack. It's the tightly stacked bricks that give the slow burn. But don't overload the stove, that's a lot of btus.

 

[cogger]

The teepee is just to get 3 of them burning well. Then you need to create a solid stack of bricks surrounding the teepee as shown in the link provided. Try to avoid airspaces in the stack. It's the tightly stacked bricks that give the slow burn. But don't overload the stove, that's a lot of btus.

I only use the teepee lighting method for bio's if kindling wood is not available. There is a much energy that it takes to heat up a firebox. Do like Begreen suggest and build a tight burning mass. Due to the size of my stove and fall type weather I do 10 at a time and get 8 hours heat with stove top 200-250. This will increase as it get's colder.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

The teepee is just to get 3 of them burning well. Then you need to create a solid stack of bricks surrounding the teepee as shown in the link provided. Try to avoid airspaces in the stack. It's the tightly stacked bricks that give the slow burn. But don't overload the stove, that's a lot of btus.

I only use the teepee lighting method for bio's if kindling wood is not available. There is a much energy that it takes to heat up a firebox. Do like Begreen suggest and build a tight burning mass. Due to the size of my stove and fall type weather I do 10 at a time and get 8 hours heat with stove top 200-250. This will increase as it get's colder.

RingofFire - So you are seeing 200-250 at the end of 8 hours with 10 bricks ? Am I reading that correct ?


-John

 

[cogger]

[quote author="jjs777_fzr" date="1194924279"

RingofFire - So you are seeing 200-250 at the end of 8 hours with 10 bricks ? Am I reading that correct ?


-John[/quote] Well this temp f 200-250 is with a small Fisher stove and should point that it out that it is a average temp. The last hour is more like 150 - 175 but I top it off before or by then. In short, a full burn w/o a re lite for 10 bricks will go 8 hours in my small Fisher stove. As it get's colder I will step it up a bit.

 

[BioPellet]

The teepee is just to get 3 of them burning well. Then you need to create a solid stack of bricks surrounding the teepee as shown in the link provided. Try to avoid airspaces in the stack. It's the tightly stacked bricks that give the slow burn. But don't overload the stove, that's a lot of btus.

Guys, three bricks might not be enough. I say on my instructions that you need 4 bricks, 3 leaned together around the newsprint and one layed flat on top. The three around the newsprint provide insulation, the one on top catches all the heat and reflects it back into the ones below. Sometimes I need to blow on the newspaaper and sometimes it takes a second try but I find it to be the easiest way in general to get started

 

[begreen]

I found a supercedar worked the best. No muss, no fuss. The BioBricks were a little reluctant to get going and need a longer flame than newspaper could provide.

 

[cogger]

The teepee is just to get 3 of them burning well. Then you need to create a solid stack of bricks surrounding the teepee as shown in the link provided. Try to avoid airspaces in the stack. It's the tightly stacked bricks that give the slow burn. But don't overload the stove, that's a lot of btus.

Guys, three bricks might not be enough. I say on my instructions that you need 4 bricks, 3 leaned together around the newsprint and one layed flat on top. The three around the newsprint provide insulation, the one on top catches all the heat and reflects it back into the ones below. Sometimes I need to blow on the newspaaper and sometimes it takes a second try but I find it to be the easiest way in general to get started

Even so if done right you can catch em off with 1 ball of newspaper. To avoid blowing and getting dizzy and short breath use a bellow if you have one or rip several small strands of paper and slowly feed inside of lite paper inside of teepee seems to work also.

Even my lite teepee gets my stove top 250d. and once lite and burning well I use the poker and stack the 4 up and add freash ones rather than waiting for them to crumble and spread.

I am very happy and pleased with this product. However I will go back to wood if price goes up.

Also I was looking for the video on your site of the German press, I noticed this info was removed.

 

[cogger]

I found a supercedar worked the best. No muss, no fuss. The BioBricks were a little reluctant to get going and need a longer flame than newspaper could provide.

Not to get off topic here but where can find your supercedars?

 

[begreen]

Email Thomas for a free sample: [email protected]
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3295/

http://www.supercedar.com/

 

[swestall]

My take is the cost is a HUGE factor here, next comes the fact that many of us grew up inhaling wood smoke and we're addicted. BUT, having said that, I told my wife this morning I'd buy a ton or two of these to keep in the cellar for her to use when I am away or when it's just too cold/snowy to get to the woodpile. A happy wife can offset the cost ot those bricks, a little. And, I got her to agree that I can use all the wood I want. (we've got about 40 AC of forest for me to work on).
I would suggest that those bio brick folks could work on production efficiency and might sell more at a bit lower cost. Imagine if they were less than pellets!

 

[jjs777_fzr]

been using biobricks for a bit now and have come to the conclusion it really does matter how you stack the things!

stacking close together and flat the stove produces low temps but last a long time...then leaves a hot bed of coals that last for quite some time so I can throw wood (or more bricks) on top and it catches real quick

If I stack at an angle against the back of my stove (same # of bricks - say 8) so the short side is up/down it will produce a much hotter flame

Compare temps of 250 vs 500

Not sure how this can make THAT much of a difference but I been observing this behavior for a few weeks now and am convinced it is consistently reproducable

cost is definitely too high

stacking convenience is unbeatable (1 ton goes right under my 2nd flr stairs! and I could prolly fit 3 tons same area) is better than anything and no comparison to wood

amazing how the wife factor must be mentioned as well - she loads the stove now! with biobricks

I think the best thing is to use them w/wood
the wood gets the stove hot and the bricks keep the stove warm longer so its not so hard to get the stove up to temp next time

 

[cogger]

I am burning these in a baby bear fisher and found I have to toss in some wood in the below zero nights. They did work very well in a vermont casting intrepid coal model and where a great alternative to pea and rice coal.

been using biobricks for a bit now and have come to the conclusion it really does matter how you stack the things!

stacking close together and flat the stove produces low temps but last a long time...then leaves a hot bed of coals that last for quite some time so I can throw wood (or more bricks) on top and it catches real quick

If I stack at an angle against the back of my stove (same # of bricks - say 8) so the short side is up/down it will produce a much hotter flame

Compare temps of 250 vs 500

Not sure how this can make THAT much of a difference but I been observing this behavior for a few weeks now and am convinced it is consistently reproducable

cost is definitely too high

stacking convenience is unbeatable (1 ton goes right under my 2nd flr stairs! and I could prolly fit 3 tons same area) is better than anything and no comparison to wood

amazing how the wife factor must be mentioned as well - she loads the stove now! with biobricks

I think the best thing is to use them w/wood
the wood gets the stove hot and the bricks keep the stove warm longer so its not so hard to get the stove up to temp next time

 

[Codeman812]

Amen to that. I am so glad I got hooked on Dave Ramsey. Now I know better than to rely on credit, I really don't care about my credit score anymore. Too many Banks running our country perhaps is the problem, IMHO.

Yep, frugality used to be considered one of the cornerstones of patriotism. Now we're told it's our patriotic duty to go out and shop.

 

[nhtodd]

I just took delivery of my first 3 tons and I must say they are great. I am mixing them with wood that I bought earlier. I have an All Nighter mid Moe that can handle a full load.

 

[drewmo]

Not so good with maths, but how does one compare prices between bio bricks & wood? Because of this thread, I just bought a 10 kilo (22 lbs) pack for approx U$4.75 from the local grocery store for giggles. I just threw 2 bricks into the stove and find them burning nicely. Actually, I quite like these things. If I'm right, it's costing me about U$432 per ton. With those prices, you're thinking I should probably stick to wood. But wood is costing me U$110 per meter-cubed (split & delivered). So, in the end, I really don't know what is more cost-effective. What should I be looking for and how?

 

[kellog]

Drewmo,

If I am calculating it right 3.5 cubic meters is equivalent to a cord of wood. We pay about US$200 for a cord split and delivered. You are paying about US$385 per cord.

A ton of bio bricks (2000 US pounds or about 910 kilograms) is about US$250 where I am. I'm not sure but it seems people are equating a cord of wood to a ton of bio bricks. Some one correct me if this is not correct.

So you are paying US$432 for a ton of bio bricks and US$385 for the wood. That is about the same relationship of price here.

The big advantage I have is I cut my own wood so it is much less expensive for me. Bio bricks are much more expensive for me to use.

Let's see if someone has a better idea how a cord of cordwood relates to a ton of bio bricks.

 

[KeithO]

With the lower moisture content, it should be closer to 2 to 2.5 tons of biobrick or pellets to compare with 1 cord of wood

 

[begreen]

A better comparison is the btus per ton. One ton of bio bricks = 17,000,000 btus (50 pkgs x 20 bricks x 17,000 btus). By comparison, a cord of white oak = 4000 - 4500#, 25,700,000 btus or if very dry, 12,850,000 btus / ton. Bio bricks emit 50% less particulates per cord burned which is impressive. Also, in a correctly packed stove, they release meaningful heat over a much longer time. This is one of the best features, especially for overnight burns.

 

[kellog]

Begreen,

I like your thought process. So you are saying that you get 1.3 times the heat from a ton Bios than from a cord of cordwood (assuming you get the same BTU's per pound from all wood types which I think is roughly correct).

So it would make economic sense for me to burn bios if I were buying cut and split wood. Interesting. Further you say there is an enviromental advantage to bios. I cannot logically disagree with you but somehow I can't believe it can be economically and enviromentally better to burn bios.

To get the raw materials for bios you have to cut and process trees (same as cord wood). Then you have to add further processing to make bios which is capital intensive compared to making cordwood. You need a building with presses, feeders, driers, etc, etc. Even if you are using 100% free sawdust from mills, I would think the building, equipment, energy etc would add up to significant costs for bios.

I have no factual arguements against what you are saying but somehow I feel there is something wrong with this scenario. Maybe someone can help here. Biopellet maybe?

 

[fishercat]

I think 1 cord of wood is 2 cubic metres