Briquette Press

Does anyone know where I could buy a small briquette press? I'm interested in having a go at making briquettes from old newspapers, and need to get a little machine - small enough to make one at a time would do. Also if anyone else has tried this, I'd be interested in hearing how you got on......might be a mad idea, but I thought it worth a try.

I remember when I was a young lad, not today or yesterday I must add, my dad bought a press specifically for doing this. What a messy job. You pulp the newspapers up, wet them, press them and leave then to dry. Don't remember how often he did it but I am pretty sure it was a spontaneous idea that died! That having been said there was back then a press on sale and perhaps if you can't buy one new now, somebody may have one in their shed or garage collecting dust! Good luck with the mess!

Have to concur with Hansov, I too remember when I was a lad and my father got one of those presses. We would spend hours (my siblings and I) shredding the papers and pulping them. As suggested the idea didn't last long. For starters it took a lot of paper and effort just to make one log, secondly the logs took an age to dry, it's really only an option in summer when you have good drying. There was a guy on Nationwide sometime (this year I think) who had a shed full of briquettes and swore by them!

I had one of these in the early eighties. It was a real pain and I completely concur with hansov and carpenter. It took an age to pulp the paper and I could only press one briquette at a time. Drying out was really difficult and as far as I remember they never really dried properly. the mess was something else.....

Finally after about 100 briquettes the thing broke...no tears from me.

Yeah - I remember the short lived popularity of these gadgets. Apart from the hassle of pressing them they don't really burn well or give off much heat and they leave an awful mess in the grate.

Anybody remember those gadgets for saving all the unused bits of soap and pressing them into a home made bar? Ugh...

ClubMan said:

Anybody remember those gadgets for saving all the unused bits of soap and pressing them into a home made bar? Ugh...

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That's kinda up there with recycling the telephone directory for use in the loo, no? Did this gadget include a feature for extracting unwanted hairs (from the soap)?

Wasn't the briquette press feted on the LAte Late Show way back when?

Vanilla said:

Wasn't the briquette press feted on the LAte Late Show way back when?

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Yeah - but tell the young people that today and blah, blah, blah...

Ahem . . .

I have and use one. Mrs Zag got one at one of the shows/fairs/huckster stands at the RDS a few (like 3 or 4) years ago and while I was initially a bit doubtful, I now use it reasonably regularly. I think it cost something like €10 or so - it is a simple press with two big leavers which you use to squash down on the wet paper. 'Machine' doesn't come into it.

Points :
1) it takes time - I stick all the paper in a big 50l bucket, throw in loads of water, stir every few days and when I reckon it is about ready (like 3 weeks or so) I get to the messy bit.
2) it doesn't produce much - out of a reasonably large volume of papers (maybe 15 or 20 daily grown-up papers) I get 4 or 5 briquettes which could be used up on a single cold day.
3) it is messy - the compressing obviously expels a lot of water, so I tend to do it over an open drain.
4) it produces a reasonably large volume of ash - this isn't a problem in itself but if you use them too early in the fire it can suffocate the rest of the fire with ash.
5) I can dry them out easily because I stick them in a kind of outhouse where the tumble drier vents all the hot air in winter. Drying them in other circumstances can be made easier by wrapping them in dry newspaper and then rotating the wrapping every so often.
6) it's fun and keeps me happy pottering around doing messy stuff in the garden in the winter.

z

Oh yeah, they burn quickly relative to peat briquettes or coal.

I am not entirely convinced that burning them is particularly sensitive to the environment, but if the alternative is to have the waste paper shipped off to China for recycling I reckon I may as well get some benefit from them.

z

Thanks all - I certainly have plenty to think about now - except still don't have my press.

http://www.greenshop.co.uk/

Check out the Log Maker, is that what you want?

I have one. Got is from www.cat.co.uk (centre for alternative technology in Wales i think).

We spend the summer sitting on the patio making the bricks... then tey dry out in time for xmas.

They do burn, but won't retain heat like a briquette. but I think it's a good idea.

Fingalian - the Greenshop one is the one I have, but I think £30 is a little steep for what you get.

z

Thanks again everyone - I'll give it a go!

Ahem...paper briquettes are banned in Berlin. Because of air polution.

Lucky I'm not in Berlin, so . . .

z

Herr Heinbloed, ich bin...ahhhh forget it!!!!!!!

Oh dear - didn't realise they were so environmentally unfriendly. Might have to think again. Thanks Heinbloed.

Think there's one in my mum's house stashed away with a SodaStream and FootSpa.........if that says anything!
Will check on next visit.