The Truth about Making fuel Briquettes from Newspapers

Mary was here for Christmas and on walking through the garden I commented how much tidying-up we needed to do when the weather improved. Just at that point we were walking by the water tub which was full of wet newspapers waiting to be processed through our fuel briquette maker. Since the tub gives off a bit of an odour in warm weather I have been in denial that this was an urgent job for about four years. ‘Well, we can start right here!’ were the fateful words which uttered forth. Not even a pre-snows bike ride would tempt our offspring away from this smelly, cold and wet task.

I opened the shed door hoping that the briquette maker would have sunk without trace among the detritus I like to place under the heading, ‘it might come in useful one day’. Not a bit of it. There it is was looking at me smugly from the vantage point of the boxes which one day will bring forth a replacement tin shed for the old bomb shelter from Madley Airfield which serves as a store. It is more like a large colander when it rains, if you get my drift.

Unfortunately the cheap folding work bench I had bought in Wilko for this very purpose was also clearly visible nearby. So I performed my last task as tool setter and left Mary to her self -imposed suffering in the cause of renewable energy. I did however find a pair of rubber gloves as I suspected that the slime, if not infectious, would have a lot of unpleasant residues which had leached out from the news print and its ink. Unfortunately some of the dates were still visible on the now sodden papers which put the founding of this rotting sump back in 2004. (Mary called it, 'the bog of eternal stench'.) I, of course, was able to remember that I had been storing dry papers for a long time before they went in the water but this seemed to be regarded somewhat sceptically by both Mary and Sian.

Enough of this. What is the truth about this instrument of torture? Having observed Mary make all the effort I can now make the following observations.

Firstly, each newspaper should be slightly shredded by hand. Using electricity seems a bit self defeating. I had put the papers in whole with a view to later mashing. Since I now see this is a very unattractive proposition it should be done at the outset. I had also contemplated putting some coal dust in but who ever suggested this may well have never done it, so be warned. In fact, it is very hard to find out whether anyone who has a paper briquette maker ever uses it apart from during the initial rush of enthusiasm. The model we have was bought via a Guardian reader purchase about five years ago.

Secondly, the process of pressing down on the two levers becomes very painful, as the angle the leavers end up at is an awkward 45 degrees.

Thirdly, disengaging the mould from the frame which holds the handles is very awkward and can take some time.
Fourthly, you have to get quite a bit of space off the ground to place the soggy briquettes on once they have been disgorged from the moulding frame. You then have to find somewhere for them to dry. Since the ground was quickly turning very wet and muddy, a bit of hard standing would have been useful.

Fifthly, it is not a quick process. After about 3 hours Mary had produced 40 briquettes and they are now stored in some old bread baskets we acquired off a dump years ago. I usually use these to dry the shredded hedge cuttings which we use as a bio-mass fire reviver. I would think we will have to wait a while for the briquettes to dry.Perhaps freeze-drying in the present weather will help! In the meantime after a cook on the hotplate of the Yorkist Stove and time in its oven, which is always slightly warm, our two samples were dry enough to burn three days later.

Sixthly, bearing in mind that each briquette takes between 3 to 5 painful minutes to produce the heat output and burn rate are important. Compared with the glow of self satisfaction that Mary was giving off, the briquettes' performance could be seen as disappointing, but our preliminary test is too small to go by. The visual effect of the briquettes glow alongside the logs in the wood burner was very pleasing, and they certainly gave off some heat. Whether or not their calorific output was greater than that consumed by Mary in their production we do not have the means to tell.

Conclusion: This is a nice idea ideally suited for the advertising gadget mags and adds in worthy papers but as a means of keeping you warm, their effect has more to do with the process of production rather than that of combustion. Now we have newspaper collection for re-cycling, and possibly energy production, I think my time will be better spent cutting the large piles of wood from our own very small orchard. Nevertheless Sian and I extend our thanks to Mary for improving a very smelly corner of our domain.

Dacier

Look out for a further post on other methods of making this type of fuel.