ECO Bricks, Do You use them ?

[ddahlgren]

I am going to take a try at burning coal this year and bought a used Crane 404 a well proven design not as good as an old base burner from the early 1900's but a known quantity and plenty to be found and plenty of people that gladly offer advise as to how to get the most out of them. Water is really not an issue and the better coal is washed before it is bagged or delivered bulk. You don't have to season it and contains more btu per unit in using wood by the cord and coal by the ton. Toxins are microscopic and pretty much blown out of proportion by those selling alternate fuels as opposed to actual scientific studies and checks for them. To say it all the same is like saying all wood is the same and varies by type and what vein at what mine it came from. I am going to try it to get to 12 to 24 hours between dealing with the stove and will be switching over this week. If anyone is curious in the differences I experience will be glad to report back here. I have no plans of leaving this forum when I switch as have made plenty of online friends.

 

[cheechblu]

I am going to take a try at burning coal this year.........

Good move. I burn wood upstairs in my Jotul, but when the temps only hit 30*, I'm shoveling coal into my furnace in the basement. Can't beat those BTU's. Convenient and anthracite is clean. I started last winter burning coal and it was a learning curve. Got great info from the crowd at NEPACROSSROADS.com.good luck. And let us know how it turns out.

 

[ddahlgren]

I am going to take a try at burning coal this year.........

Good move. I burn wood upstairs in my Jotul, but when the temps only hit 30*, I'm shoveling coal into my furnace in the basement. Can't beat those BTU's. Convenient and anthracite is clean. I started last winter burning coal and it was a learning curve. Got great info from the crowd at NEPACROSSROADS.com.good luck. And let us know how it turns out.

I have been on the same site as well and finally finished all the details this morning and picking up tools actually one last 5 minute task to do make and install 2 new handles for the doors if I can find the 3 foot piece of wood dowel I bought to make the. My mistake buying it a week ago and now can't find it for the life of me. Will do other things around the house and shop until I stumble across it.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I use the Eco Bricks from TSC. I put 2 north-south (front to back) in the bottom of my stove, 2 or 3 small splits on top and some kindling and a quarter of a Supercedar on top of that. The Eco Bricks fit nicely north-south, which my splits do not because of the small firebox. They give a good base for the fire and make reloading easy because they are still burning when the splits are done. They also help with less than perfectly seasoned wood.

I'm gonna try them NS like you say, that sounds like a good idea!

 

[cheechblu]

I am going to take a try at burning coal this year and bought a used Crane 404 a well proven design not as good as an old base burner from the early 1900's but a known quantity and plenty to be found and plenty of people that gladly offer advise as to how to get the most out of them. Water is really not an issue and the better coal is washed before it is bagged or delivered bulk. You don't have to season it and contains more btu per unit in using wood by the cord and coal by the ton. Toxins are microscopic and pretty much blown out of proportion by those selling alternate fuels as opposed to actual scientific studies and checks for them. To say it all the same is like saying all wood is the same and varies by type and what vein at what mine it came from. I am going to try it to get to 12 to 24 hours between dealing with the stove and will be switching over this week. If anyone is curious in the differences I experience will be glad to report back here. I have no plans of leaving this forum when I switch as have made plenty of online friends.

Welcome to the Dark Side. But like you say, you can always go back and forth.
I was just over at NEPA to check up on your CRANE 404 and what a great thread by Doug Crane, son of the owner. He posted amazing photos to go along with his amazing story about his Dad and the Crane Coal Stoves business. Those stoves are real tanks. Real interesting stuff in case you haven't already. Stay warm.

 

[NYCPrincess]

I'm out o Long Island. Just wondering where I can get them?

 

[littlalex]

That's the thing about these blocks, I can't find them either in my area.. I did find another brand that a lumber yard sells.. I should be the same concept if its a pressed hard wood product.. I'm in NW jersey .. I think the Eco blocks are more of a east New England / Long Island thing

Hi - Try Tractor Supply in Sussex. I use them for mixing and I use the larger (3 per pack) bricks for overnights some times, packed closely together.

 

[cheechblu]

I'm out o Long Island. Just wondering where I can get them?

Google ENVI BLOCKS, Suffolk County. There is an independent dealer out there. He has a website.

 

[ddahlgren]

Welcome to the Dark Side. But like you say, you can always go back and forth.
I was just over at NEPA to check up on your CRANE 404 and what a great thread by Doug Crane, son of the owner. He posted amazing photos to go along with his amazing story about his Dad and the Crane Coal Stoves business. Those stoves are real tanks. Real interesting stuff in case you haven't already. Stay warm.

Doug Crane has been my coach in rebuilding this one. There is a thread on the Crane stoves page 'Restoring my new to me Crane 404' that is me.

 

[cheechblu]

Doug Crane has been my coach in rebuilding this one. There is a thread on the Crane stoves page 'Restoring my new to me Crane 404' that is me.

Talk about going right to the source. He seems to be really helpful and down to earth. His disappearing act for 2 months cracked me up. Coal burners. Wood burners. Lotsa really nice people on these sites.
People down south miss out on all this. But man!! Would I love to be playing golf in January!!

 

[ddahlgren]

I think he has some family things to take care of but has made a couple of post. He is having a few shaker handles made up and waiting for one the vice grips work ok for the time being. Lost my first fire after 2 days but did get to sleep 8 hors without dealing with heat or burning fuel oil either. I have learned in the process is I should have been poking from the underside of grates and never did actually see burning embers in the ash pan or that much ash either. Making some up today and will relight this afternoon after bringing in some coal to dry. For me they both have there place wood is fast heat and if I had a hunting / fishing cabin that I used on weekends it is defiantly the fuel of choice or if I had a supply of wood younger and stronger to split and stack myself. Buying wood then paying someone to stack it is not much of a bargain in my situation. A bigger better stove would help to. I have under 300 in buying and repairing the stove not counting my time and sold the Pendleton Avalon for 375 so a net gain in my eyes. I will have to count up all the stuff for fun to see the actual amount.

You are right about the people and why I am not leaving here just enjoy the cyber friendships I have made.

The only other thing I might add is burning coal is a very patient man's game as nothing happens fast and any change made might take as much as 45 minutes to make a visible change other than the cardinal sin I committed in poking coal bed from the top. I also have to be persistent enough to shake and poke from the bottom until I see burning coal. Live and learn the first few wood firers were pretty much disasters and no claims to be a grand master at either but warm most of the time and no fires or smoke / CO monitors going off.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I've got a Russo wood/coal stove myself. I'd like to try coal as well but I can't find the coal basket I need. Russo doesn't have it either. My search continues.

 

[Winnermom2]

Does anyone know where I can buy ANY type of compressed wood/bricks in the Northern Virginia area? The closest I've found is Tractor Supply in Manassas but they are kind of expensive and they are sold in small bundles.

 

[BrotherBart]

Nope. Been looking for them in NOVA for years. And TSC is the only place I have seen them. Liberty Bricks are made down by Richmond but they don't send them up here for some reason. And I ain't gonna haul them a hundred miles.

 

[spirilis]

Fwiw my local vendor is selling Liberty Bricks (although marketing them as WoodBrickFuel, which they sold a few years ago, thought this year's bricks looked different until I drove over there and saw their pallets) but I don't see any retailer mentions on the liberty bricks website. It might be worth calling them up to ask about retailers. They're pretty good (very tightly compressed, coal up nicely) IMO.

 

[BrotherBart]

After five years of contacting them every year I just gave up on'em.

 

[prezes13]

Not to piss any body off but I just got one ton of Eco Bricks. One skid 96 packs 6 bricks each $260.

 

[The Cank]

I've burned a couple tons of BioBricks and ENVI bricks. If you want a ton of heat fast these will do it. If you want a long, steady burn with decent heat output, they will do that too. Much of how they burn is based on how you place them in the stove. Put in a bunch, loosely packed and you'll have an overfire. Stack them tightly and you'll have coals in the morning for an easy restart. And in most all cases, a single brick or three will not impress from a cold start.

Many evenings on coming home to a cold stove and house, I loosely stack six 8" envi blocks in three layers alternating EW & NS. I put one quarter of a super cedar on top, light it, and then leave the door cracked for five to ten minutes and I'm good for several hours of good heat. When the flame is gone, I open up the primary and get another hour out the fast burning coals.

If the price were comparable to firewood I might burn these exclusively.

My two cents on the subject,
PJ

Im going to try this right now

 

[mass_burner]

I use the Eco Bricks from TSC. I put 2 north-south (front to back) in the bottom of my stove, 2 or 3 small splits on top and some kindling and a quarter of a Supercedar on top of that. The Eco Bricks fit nicely north-south, which my splits do not because of the small firebox. They give a good base for the fire and make reloading easy because they are still burning when the splits are done. They also help with less than perfectly seasoned wood.

I picked up a few packs at tsc and burn this exact way. I put them diagonally so they don't block the air inlet. I was surprised they burned pretty well. Lit the fire at 7 am and still had a few red coals and a warm stove at 7pm. Put the last load of splits at 9:30.

 

[NYCPrincess]

Not to piss any body off but I just got one ton of Eco Bricks. One skid 96 packs 6 bricks each $260.

Where? And did you pay for delivery? How much?

 

[dyerkutn]

Was checking these out because a member on the forum had told me to throw one in with my higher moisture wood that I have when I burn. My question :

How many of you use it and what type of application do you use it for ? an all night burn to keep the coals going ? maybe you use it like I will and add it to my" not so dry" dry wood. or maybe you simply use it exclusively. Was just wondering how everyone else uses it and if you like the product or not.

If you can't find EcoBricks, try BioBricks. They are quite good. Look up on line to see if there is a dealer near you.

 

[prezes13]

BT enterprises in bristol on broad street. No delivery charges I picked it up with my truck. I believe they charge$20 for local delivery.

 

[cheechblu]

I've got a Russo wood/coal stove myself. I'd like to try coal as well but I can't find the coal basket I need. Russo doesn't have it either. My search continues.

Which model stove do you have?
Wait till my family finds out that an Italian made a wood/coal stove. They're gonna be squeezing my cheeks all nite.