Newspaper logs - anyone experimented w/ these?

[RedShift42]

Sacrilege! I know...

But here on Alaska's Kodiak Island wood is a scarce commodity, we mark the far-west advance-line of sitka spruce growth plus some pockets of scrub alder and occasional wet cottonwood. Demand for burning & lumber wood always far outpaces supply.

I'm on the board of our local recycling organization. We need to find something practical to do with newspaper now that it has become a financial liability (no market value and expensive to ship off-island).
The idea of converting newspaper to fireplace logs has been raised.

I've done quite a bit of reading, I'm aware of the limitations people cite: best used as a supplemental fuel, ashey, and not particularly hot. Still, when burning options are as limited as ours, it may be worth exploring.

So, do any of you burn these?
I'm interested to hear experiences, ideas for volume production, and tips for making the most efficient burn log possible.

Thanx!

-Eric.

 

[046]

only have use newspaper for starting fires... but LOVE burning phone books. they burn hot and long.

if newspaper was bundled to same density as phone books... betcha they would burn excellent!

 

[RedShift42]

Yeah, the density will be an issue.
The 'log' style we're looking at involves soaking the paper, getting it pretty sloppily pulpy, compression forming it, then drying out.

 

[Techstuf]

I am at this moment envisioning a double barreled wood stove modified to accept bundled newspapers shot into the stove via a gravity fed, modified chipper/shredder machine. Install a one way valve in the back or side of the stove, load the hopper, and let her feed in intermittent bursts until time for a reload. Less smoke, big flame, more btu's....that's one hot fire you got there. Couple a hot, efficient fire with a good thermal mass and you've really got something.

http://www.rocketstoves.com/


I'm sure somebody could easily engineer a safe setup for you.


TS

 

[whiting-5]

just did search on ebay some ideas on there including book did not see anything to mass produce. might try google

 

[Austin1]

I have seen logs made from Recyled coffee grounds I am going to give it a try just to find out if they smell like coffee As to the paper logs They are expensive I cant see it as a option if you heat with wood. How much would the machinery cost to manufacture them?

 

[Metals406]

You could build a hydraulic press w/ die... Wet the paper in a big mixing tub, and add a natural binder (like white flour)... Put in press and compress.

They could then be kiln dried, or dried over a long period of time.

 

[FIRESMOKE]

When I was a kid I remember friends of ours had a small roller type thing that they used to roll newspaper up into log form. This was at there cabin and alot of the time when we got there the firewwod was damp or wet and took along time to get burning. They started using these newspaper logs to start the woodstove and for alot of quick heat to dry out the real firewood. They seemed to work OK but they did not last real long.

 

[JONSEREDFAN6069]

my grandfather had a roller, you wood insert the newspaper in it and just wind it up took about 4 complete news papers to make one log then he'd use mechanics wire to hold it wound. throw about 3 or 4 in his stove and it almost forced ya outa the house, burn times was about 1.5 to 2.5 hrs was about 27 years ago now not sure what happened to it. i remember cause my punishment was always on the winder. i had to make 20 to 30 logs a day. he worked at the local newspaper at the time so we never seemed to run outa papers.

 

[Wet1]

Paper burns hot and fast. I would think the key to making this viable is log density, which usually means high pressure. Although it might not be ecologically friendly, I would also explore the use of binders as well.

Taking a look at how bio bricks and wood pellets are made might be a start in the right direction.

 

[Techstuf]

Given your lattitudinal constraints, Redshift, I might consider testing the good will of the folks at:

www.hydrodynamics.com

I hear old Joe Griggs' (founder of hydrodynamics) invention really took off after installing a unit at a local fire department in Georgia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh_-DUKQ4Uw

Then there's the frenette oil friction heater.....haven't heard of very many replications:

http://www.energeticforum.com/renewable-energy/2878-my-replication-fuelless-oil-heater.html

I Imagine either a conventional or wind powered Hydrosonic pump could help to make your sometimes enviable 'twilight zone' a little easier to cope with...


TS

 

[Mike PA]

I store newspapers month to month for recycling. I experimented with rolling the paper into logs and burning them. Worked ok, but plugged my chimney. Maybe I did not burn them hot enough, but I stopped doing it.

 

[Metals406]

Over-Unity devices are really cool!.. A guy in AU made this one...

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[Techstuf]

I experimented with rolling the paper into logs and burning them. Worked ok, but plugged my chimney. Maybe I did not burn them hot enough, but I stopped doing it.

Yes, anyone who's tried to burn rolled paper, has perhaps experienced the least efficient method by which to recoup it's latent energy. By delivering all the btu's one is able to extract in the most efficient form, into a thermal mass, one can recoup much energy that is otherwise lost.

Pulse heating a large thermal mass with the hottest, most efficient burns, is a great way to burn safe, lean and green.


TS

 

[Philbert]

Had a friend who heated with newspapers. He rolled them around a hollow core made from a heavy wire mesh. Collected and re-used the cores after the burn.

Philbert

 

[Mike Van]

Eric, just get everyone on the island to stop buying newspapers, nothing but B.S. in them anyway.:hmm3grin2orange: The $$$$$ thats saved could buy some real burnable wood -

 

[Coldfront]

My experience has been real newspaper burns good, but the magazine type shiny paper is no good. Paper is made of wood so if you roll it tight enough there is no reason it would not burn good. Of coarse the paper is made from pulp wood (poplar, pine) and most of us won't burn that type of wood, doesn't burn real hot and leaves a lot of ash. But if that's all you got, burn baby burn.

 

[RedShift42]

Update

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info and advice offered.

Just a quick update...

I borrowed a newspaper-log press from the recycling facility and played w/ making my own in various configs.

Essentially this simple device is a press that produces a small brick slightly larger than a traditional red construction brick. Soak your paper until it's good and squishy, drop it in the press, compress, remove, dry, burn.

While at the facility I hacked the newspaper down to 1/2" strips in the commercial shredder, and then, to make things interesting, I also shredded a waxed cardboard produce box.

I made a brick of just newspaper, then one w/ the newspaper & waxed cardboard combined, then to make it really interesting I mixed some spruce sawdust into the next paper/cardboard bricks. Finally, in a recycling frenzy, I also added the grounds from this morning's coffee into the last 2 bricks b/c I've heard coffee beans burn even better than hardwood.

Right now they're drying out in the oven, using the residual heat from cooking tonight's dinner (nothing gets wasted around here).

I'll test them out in a few days and report my ongoing results.

-Eric.

 

[avalancher]

make sure you come back and give us an update!
What kind of press are you using?

 

[Scootermsp]

Back light

These are all very interesting uses of newspaper. I get the local paper and Wall St Journal daily so they would really build up if not burned. I don't have a light that shines into my OWB so at night when I go out to load it, I take a couple sections of newspaper and throw it in the back. It burns just long enough so I can rake out the coals and see what is going on in the back of the firebox if the fire is not burning.