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Post by rj on Mar 11, 2007 17:54:29 GMT 1
Oh no - disappointing Stanleys. I was wondering how it was going. Good luck, I hope you get a better result tonight........
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Post by wendyihts on Mar 11, 2007 23:13:08 GMT 1
Are you sure they were properly dry? We started building our Stanleys in the middle of winter too and my hubby reckons there's no way they'll be properly dry before next winter. We're going to give them the whole summer in the heat down here to dry out.
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cokey
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Post by cokey on Mar 12, 2007 8:44:30 GMT 1
It could be that they're not dry yet.... I've still got a load cooking in my greenhouse oven, so I'm going to leave those for a while longer. I just don't really want to spend all summer making stanleys if they don't actually burn very well!
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Post by rj on Mar 12, 2007 10:51:59 GMT 1
Perhaps they need 'laying down' for the best vintage!!!! Is there anyway of measuring moisture in the middle - like to test cakes are cooked, you insert a skewer & if it comes out clean they're done? If you weighed them at the point of making & again as they dried out, you'd get some idea of how quickly/well they are drying? Sorry I am so keen for this to work, but have not even started on moulds etc yet myself!
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cokey
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Post by cokey on Apr 11, 2007 14:51:25 GMT 1
Just for canadian trotter, who is apparantly following the stanley's progress with bated breath.....
My poo bricks failed to burn. I'm sure that they were dry through and through, but OH has suggested that we perhaps compressed them too well, and maybe you need some air in the middle of the bricks to help them burn? Also it may be that my bricks were just too big? Who knows..., I've still got some more drying in the greenhouse, but short of a very cold snap, I shan't be burning them until next winter. Sorry!
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Post by rj on Apr 11, 2007 16:44:57 GMT 1
This is a sad disappointment. Perhaps it's just the 'Wrong Sort of Poo' ?! Seriously, I wonder if it matters what diet the horse is on......... just a thought.
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cokey
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Post by cokey on Apr 11, 2007 17:37:23 GMT 1
Well all mine are on SS feeds, so as nature intended or as near as I can get it anyway! And the poo was picked in winter when they were on a little hay too....
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Post by gwenoakes on Apr 11, 2007 19:20:51 GMT 1
Cokey what about slicing them when they are semi dry? Or making lots of holes right through them, a bit like some engineering bricks have. Sorry if you have thought of this.
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allyny
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Post by allyny on Apr 13, 2007 15:42:18 GMT 1
I do wonder if it is the compression that is the issue. We have been burning "loose" ie not Stanlyed, horse droppings for a few years now on our woodburner. We do get a good fire going first then pop them in and they burn a treat. But, we tend to shovel them into a bag and put the bag on the fire, so there are plenty of gaps in the bulk. Horses only eat grass and hay. If the droppings are slightly damp, we sometimes add a squirt of that gel barbeque lighting gunk which gives them a bit of a whoomph. Ally
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gillmcg
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Post by gillmcg on Apr 14, 2007 18:20:22 GMT 1
I gave up for the winter - the humidity levels were just too high to dry them out properly. Did manage a couple though and they seemed to burn pretty well (not quite up to the seasoned oak promise on the website though). Admittedly I did add them to the woodburner when it had been lit for a couple of hours and was burning well. Won't be starting again until the humidity has dropped - we've had a very wet winter here. I guess this is a summer job.....
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Post by wendyihts on Apr 15, 2007 8:35:20 GMT 1
We've got a fairish pile of them still drying out under the barn. It's been pretty humid here (not complaining cos it's good to have the rain!) but we hadn't anticipated using them until after the summer anyway.
The idea of bagging them somehow in paper and/or using the BBQ gel is good, Ally! Will pass those tips on to my hubby.
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Post by gem on Jun 22, 2007 14:40:04 GMT 1
Up to say how did people get on with Making these? am watching with baited breath
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Bridle
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Post by Bridle on Jun 22, 2007 18:21:59 GMT 1
upping for Gemma.
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gillmcg
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Post by gillmcg on Jun 22, 2007 20:07:41 GMT 1
If it ever stops raining I'll have another go - at the moment I haven't anywhere dry to store them and even in the barn the damp atmosphere just stops them drying out and attracts the flies ..... Witness mother-in-law negotiating the mud wallow in the middle of the paddock!!!!
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pip
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Post by pip on Jun 22, 2007 21:44:43 GMT 1
How do you put it into the log burner? And isn't there rather a pong of stable inside the house?
This sounds a great idea, but putting the manure into logs and stacking it would take quite a long time.
I thought some of the places where manure is burnt for fuel are making the land less fertile as they are taking the manure away so it is gradually getting less nutrients back. It would be a good idea to return the ash to the soil.
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