Hello all, this is more of a "man" post, so sorry to all of you ladies out there...just tolerate this, as you do most of my other "man" things, (this often includes rolling of eyes, a slap on the shoulder, and often just strait up complete disinterest).
So, I have been on a kick about getting our home warm for free, or for very cheap. Also, a way to keep us warm should the power and or gas go out (part of our emergency preparedness). Granted, we all like the convenience of the gas furnace, I just hate paying that bill, with the rising price of gas, as well as all the stuff added on like taxes and fees. The first and obvious option was wood heat. So, this summer we went and got wood, cut it all, and split it, stacked it, and it is ready to go. But, all the while, I am just not so easily entreated, so I continued to search for something out there. Something that requires less work, and would be easier for my family to use.
Granted, I love the whole process of wood heat. Going out and getting the wood, cutting it, appreciating mother nature and the wonders to be seen, heard, and felt. Hauling the wood home, and finishing the cutting. Then the splitting and stacking. It is visibly satisfying, and good exercise, to split, stack, and watch the wood pile grow. I also very much enjoy the fire. The sound and the feel of wood heat is unique. On top of that great feeling, you know you are not paying for that heat. It is just so satisfying, and fun.
As my search continued, I was doing some reading and kept coming across people that use whatever is near and easily claimed to heat their homes. For example, many in the mid-west use kernel corn for heating. Many others in agricultural areas use things such as cherry pits, olive pits, grape waste (after used for juice), and so on. So, I started to think about what is available here in the Inland Northwest. We don't have any big food processing plants in our town, we don't grow corn here in abundance, no wine presses that I know of, etc. I just kept coming back to wood. There are a few saw mills around, but most of their cut offs are already being bought and sold by someone, if not by them.
So, what can I do to use wood, other than in the current way of just burning cord wood? Ah, the search continued...
I have seen wood pellets, and some of those logs that look like giant wood pellets (pressed sawdust) but I didn't want to buy pellets, buy the stove, and then have to tend the pellet stove. I have heard mixed reviews about them, and they require power to operate. One of my main objectives here is to be able to have heat even when the power is down, or the gas lines are all broken. But, the idea of a pressed sawdust "log" was a good one. No special stove needed, no power required, and they are available near here for quite cheap by the ton, if I come and pick them up. So, I went and bought a couple at a nearby store (60 cents each, which is a rip off, but I am just trying this out and only bought a couple). Well, they worked fine. No hassles. Easy to light, good burn time, no smells, no nasty smoke, etc.
So, there are a couple companies near by that I could go and buy this product from, buy the ton, drive it home and be ready to go for the winter.
But you know me, not easily entreated, especially when the solution requires me to buy something.
So, I have come across
some info about making your own sawdust logs. As I poured over that info, I become familiar with the term
Biomass Briquettes. The idea is to make "briquettes" out of whatever you have available, (here is that theme again). So, not only could I use sawdust, but I could also mix in whatever "bio" product I want, such as paper, grass clippings, straw, weeds, cardboard, leaves, whatever. Many of these things are considered waste, and I could get them for free or very cheap. The process to make them is still under review. Like should I just press them by hand, or perhaps with a modified hydraulic log splitter? The briquette making press and further info will be coming. I have a couple other projects I need to finish first.
Now we are talking free, easy heat...
So, below you will see my first attempt at a sawdust stove. It is a miniature version, but
some people have them large enough for heating entire buildings, using large drums instead of soup cans. I could have easily made a meal for two over this stove.
First, gather supplies, all things I had on hand:
Sawdust, empty can, dowel, and something to pack the sawdust with (a large bolt in this case).
Then, make a hole in the bottom of the can for airflow (I just punched thru it with my tin snips, then made it bigger to fit the dowel):
Next, pack in the sawdust. It needs to be bone dry, and nice and tight in there. This took me about 10-15 minutes, since it was my first time, and I paid close attention to getting the sawdust as tight as I could pack it. The dowel is in place to allow for the "chimney" to form as you pack in the sawdust. It is removed carefully before lighting, creating a hollow spot in the middle of the sawdust pack:
Now, put some newspaper in the hole, and light. The sawdust will sort of smolder with a lot of smoke, and then start to glow with not much smoke.
Make sure you have the can up on some spacers (waste wood blocks in my case) for the air to draw in from the bottom, and out through the top.
This is after about 10 minutes burn time:
This is after 1 hour burn time. It was about 27 degrees F. outside, windy, and snowing (you can't see the glow because of the camera flash).
This is after 2 hours burn time. Pretty much done, but the can was still quite warm to the touch. Pretty impressive, since this stove was out in the wind, falling snow, and cold temps, and it did not go out, or stop burning (you can see a 2 or 3 inch zone around the can where the snow is melted):
Conclusions:
This type of stove would be impractical for camping or hiking. It's heavy, and fragile. The sawdust would easily become loose and cave in with only the slightest movement. Also, in order to cook over this stove, some holes would have to be made around the top of the stove, or a wire rack made of some sort, otherwise the pan or pot would smother the flame.
Also, quite obviously, this would not work for whole house heating. You have to wait for the fire to go completely out before adding more fuel. I would have to again get or make a specialized stove, and then the mess of packing in sawdust every time we want heat. Not the answer I want, but quite possibly a good way of cooking if the power was out, and again, the sawdust is free, the can is already bought, and the process is easy and pretty quick.
Sam
