Making Paper Bricks / Logs

Alfietinker · 17 January 2006 at 10:17AM

moggins wrote:

Boohoo, I'd love a real fire but the people I got in to clean my chimney told me it would need lining before I could use it or fit a wood burner

Obviously you shouldn't do anything that is potentially hazardous, but it might be worth getting a second opinion, especially if your chimney-sweepers are affiliated with selling fires too.

We've got 3 open fires, and use 2 of them regularly. We wanted to fit a wood-burning stove, but were told that we would need the chimney lined if we wanted an exclusive wood burner. However, we can continue to use it as an open fire, or we could get a multi-fuel stove and burn smokeless fuel only. He did explain the reason but I didn't really understand. However he did say that many shops like to line chimneys over 70 years old whether they need it or not.

Our ex-neighbours used their open fire regularly, our independent chimney sweep used to care for it and said it was fine. New neighbours moved in and put a new fire in, paid nearly £1000 for a chimney liner, supplied and fitted by the fire-shop!

Alfietinker · 17 January 2006 at 10:18AM

SueRob wrote:

I've made fire lighters by rolling a newspaper diagonaly (sp) flattening it out, folding in half then sort of plaiting it.

Ooh! My nan showed me how to do this once - i've tried since but never with any success!

Can I ask a question? Are these firebricks to burn once the fire's lit - like chucking another log on, or are they just firelighters? I must admit I tend to have more success lighting the fire with a little kindling wood, but if they can be used like logs, we get through a bin bag of newspaper a week at work, so this could be putting to much better use!

halloweenqueen_2 · 17 January 2006 at 11:38AM

It says on the gadget blurb on the website they give about an hours burning time, so I would say they are for fuel.
I remember doing the newspaper fire lighters! The bigger newspapers were the best, rolled across diagonally then we use to bend them in half and twist the ends around each other.

make_life_easier · 23 March 2006 at 9:13PM

Has anyone been making any paper bricks lately? I have and will be using them in my chimmley burner on cool summer nights. :j :j I can't wait for the nicer weather as I am now sick of this variable winter. oopps it spring now!!!!

MikeAndHisLovelyPlant · 23 March 2006 at 10:21PM

I'm too mean

to buy a brickmaker without some idea of the value of the bricks so I has a go by hand. It was quite a bit of hassle to soak the paper, squeeze it into 'logs' (about 8-10 inches long, 3 inches diameter), and move them around to dry. I imagine with a machine, it would be easier and I'd have an occasional 'production line' day.

When dry, I lobbed them onto the coal fire when it was already going and it was a little disappointing - they did burn but didn't appear to be doing much more than smoulder, I can't imagine that they would be a complete substitute for coal.

Has anyone compared the 'professional' ones with handmade ones? Would I get better results from a more compressed version?

Cheers

Mike

halloweenqueen_2 · 23 March 2006 at 10:51PM

Well I managed to slice my finger quite nicely on the brick maker! I made 3 bricks with shredded paper and they are taking ages to dry! but they are quite hefty and pack in a lot of paper!

Zed42 · 23 March 2006 at 11:40PM

I got all excited about making logs from paper when I saw this thread last time ... I made some test "balls" by soaking paper and forming by hand. DH thought I was completely mad (well, more mad than normal) ... however he conceded defeat when he actually burnt one and declared it a success, LOL. Since then I ordered my brick maker from Scotts, but as of yet have not received it.

They wrote to me a while back to say that they had had unprecedented demand and would not have supplies until the end of April .... how many of you actually ordered one!!!!!!

Can't wait until I receive it, could be a fun job during the Summer!

As for the paper twist things, my mother always takes it upon herself as her chore when she comes to stay to sit and make those ... no idea why, but hey, keeps her out of mischief

equine_induced_poverty · 24 March 2006 at 12:33AM

got the briquette maker from scotts of stow and have tried so many variations of shredded, strips, squares, compressed hard, compressed soft etc and nearly wept with disappointment. The bricks take forever to dry, and even when they appear dry, i.e. singed on the outside from sitting on the wood-burner, they fail to do much more than smoulder. (I was using a wood-burning stove, maybe thats the problem ). The looser packed ones burn better, but take longer to dry. have had some sucess using them a bit broken up to start the fire though. I wouldn't recommend making them unless you have somewhere to dry them out properly. I did make them by hand which was actually more sucessful from a burning point of view, using a colander. bit of an odd shape but worked ok.
for those of you not put off by my pessimism then have fun!

albacore1854 · 24 March 2006 at 9:55AM

I have one, and they are ok, however, Ideally you should make the logs in the summer, and dry them for a long time ready for the winter.That gives you the issue of storage.

As a long time fire user, I find that rolling up any paper really tightly has the same effect, you get a longer burn time, the larger the ''log''If you want to store them tie them up tightly with string, and then dribble candle wax over the string.This will stop the long ''springing apart'' on the fire.

halloweenqueen_2 · 24 March 2006 at 10:41AM

I'm only making a few at a time and drying them on a tray in the conservatory, obviously summer time they will probably dry in there in seconds, I just turn them occasionally.

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Making Paper Bricks / Logs

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