Shredder to stove device
Discussion
I recently invested in a document shredder. This means that as the year progresses I can, if I wish, accumulate a big bag of shreddings - 20x5mm.
They're no use for fuel as is because they will fly about like confetti - but is there a neat way to convert them into blocks? I know there's a system where you make papire mache in a bucket, then squeeze it in a big metal thingy and then wait months for the result to dry - but is there a neater quicker method?
They're no use for fuel as is because they will fly about like confetti - but is there a neat way to convert them into blocks? I know there's a system where you make papire mache in a bucket, then squeeze it in a big metal thingy and then wait months for the result to dry - but is there a neater quicker method?
I think this was the system you were referring too, but it does squeeze a lot of the moisture out of the brick and doesn't need a lot of drying.
https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-ins...
https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-ins...
Depending on what you burn (wood cut yourself or bought in coal), you could always mix some with the shredded paper and just wrap in a couple of sheets of newspaper. We use the shavings from after a session with the chainsaw, wrap them up,and after a week or so indoors, they burn quite happily. If you're concerned the newspaper won't hold, tape it together with some masking tape.
Serious answer alert!!
My wife bought me one of the metal press thingies for my birthday, and I've made a few bricks with it. I added some washing-up liquid to the water when soaking, and soaked for between 24-48 hours. Pressing them in the metal thingy is a quick and easy process. I dried the resulting bricks on the tops of radiators, occasionally weighing them to monitor their progress. By about the third or fourth day they'd stopped losing weight, so I lobbed one of them into the stove.
They light immediately, but burn in a reasonably controlled way and last for about 45 minutes. I'm not convinced that they give off a great deal of heat, and they certainly create a fair amount of ash - but hey, for free fuel I'm not complaining.
In the summer I'll dry the bricks in the greenhouse, which I think should work very quickly.
My wife bought me one of the metal press thingies for my birthday, and I've made a few bricks with it. I added some washing-up liquid to the water when soaking, and soaked for between 24-48 hours. Pressing them in the metal thingy is a quick and easy process. I dried the resulting bricks on the tops of radiators, occasionally weighing them to monitor their progress. By about the third or fourth day they'd stopped losing weight, so I lobbed one of them into the stove.
They light immediately, but burn in a reasonably controlled way and last for about 45 minutes. I'm not convinced that they give off a great deal of heat, and they certainly create a fair amount of ash - but hey, for free fuel I'm not complaining.
In the summer I'll dry the bricks in the greenhouse, which I think should work very quickly.
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