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Post by jill on Dec 7, 2012 17:07:18 GMT 1
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Amanda Seater
Grand Prix Poster
Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
Posts: 3,866
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Post by Amanda Seater on Dec 7, 2012 17:15:39 GMT 1
Its keeping it from sucking the damp back into itself that is the issue.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2012 17:22:53 GMT 1
I've only skimmed the H&H thread but it doesn't seem to answer the problem I found. We have a briquette maker (not a smart £100 jobbie I'll confess). We also have solid fuel (wood) central heating only, so the idea of converting poo into fuel was really appealing. But... despite experimenting I didn't ever really find a way of getting them to hold together. The best was to wrap them in newspaper. If the wall mounted ones do compact more and so get more solid briquettes, then I'd look at it again as it would save us loads. For anyone tempted, they don't smell at all, even when burned on the open fire. And newspaper ones burn very well too, although they do create a lot of ash which can clog up the Rayburn a bit. I wouldn't be able to say whether they burn hotter than wood as I don't think I have a way of comparing. I'd love to hear if you try though, Jill. Or anyone else of course. eta - I didn't have that problem, Amanda. Was that when they were stacked waiting for winter?
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Amanda Seater
Grand Prix Poster
Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
Posts: 3,866
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Post by Amanda Seater on Dec 7, 2012 17:29:15 GMT 1
yup - I got them dry and they stayed together but then got damp again despite being in a huge barn. Maybe it was just the humidity of the area.
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Post by jill on Dec 7, 2012 17:32:16 GMT 1
They seemed to find that you ADD water first to make a slurry before pressing the water out again in the press, then the bricks don't fall apart so much. My problem is the muck heap is at the yard, 300 yds away from the house, so I would have to transport loads of poo brickettes in the car. But I have a lovely warm boiler room which doesn't open into the house so might be able to dry them in there. Will ponder, especially where to have a press, needs to be at the yard. Peeps on H & H are doing it with fresh stuff just mucked out as well, including straw and shavings although they did say that reduces the thermal value. It is well worth a read.
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Post by donnalex on Dec 7, 2012 18:21:28 GMT 1
Wonder if you made the brickettes then stored them for winter in between wood pellets would that keep them dry enough for burning? Sort of like silica gel effect. A few bags of pellets wouldnt cost much and are made for burning anyway.
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Post by K8 on Dec 7, 2012 19:39:30 GMT 1
Well that's mums christmas present sorted!! Thank you!! (Liz.. Don't tell her!)
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Post by specialized on Dec 7, 2012 22:41:52 GMT 1
Whenever I have seen this discussed there is always the problem of drying and storing. Those with most success seem to just burn the poo as is, but how to dry it in large enough quantities? The briquette users found the best way was to mix with water in a cement mixer then form briquettes, but again how to dry in suitable quantities?
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Post by Dragonmaster on Dec 7, 2012 22:49:53 GMT 1
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2012 9:39:11 GMT 1
Drying and storing wasn't a problem, but then we have unused stables that are perfect for the job. We stored them on pallets, with space between each brick, and that seemed to do the job well.
I'll have a look at your/Jen's sometime, Kate. It might be a better design as I struggled with straight poo mixed with water - too much ran out all over the place!
I'm sure it's one of those things that, once you've got the nack, it's easy. I just didn't manage to get that nack!
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Post by lawyerbunny on Dec 8, 2012 11:27:07 GMT 1
Very interesting, thanks for the link Jill. I'd love to see someone doing this on a commercial basis. Once you get the formula right the method sounds easy enough to scale up and if you could design the storage unit right, a decent business could be in the offing. Cheap fuel out of what almost every horse owner can't wait to get rid of has to be a winner! Now, what was I thinking about that change of career again.....?
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Post by jill on Dec 8, 2012 11:32:36 GMT 1
Now I can see someone from here on Dragons Den....................
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Post by donnalex on Dec 8, 2012 11:35:23 GMT 1
Another big plus is the fact that the ash is also valuable for the garden providing it has not been burnt along with coal. If only wood, poo and maybe wood pellets is burnt the ash will be good for reducing the ph of land.
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Post by jill on Dec 8, 2012 12:15:52 GMT 1
Before I invest in the heavy duty mould thing I think I will see if anyone on Freecycle wants to rehome a standard one, and give it a go. But first I have to remove the worms from the top layer
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Post by mandal on Dec 8, 2012 14:39:11 GMT 1
Wonder about the effect on the chimney? Must read the thread.
I've just had to have a chimney removed due to tar ingress from years of burning peat. Be very careful burning wet fuel of any sort.
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