Making a model of firewood for an electric fireplace on your own. Manufacturing technology of fuel briquettes Strengths and weaknesses of fuel briquettes

Do not rush to throw away old newspapers, with special processing they easily turn into kindling for a fire or even into firewood. Fuel briquettes made from waste paper have been tested in field conditions one of the tourists who came up with a way to make and impregnate them. With such fuel, even in the forest you don’t have to look for dry chips or cones for yours.

A video tutorial in three parts will teach the art of turning waste raw materials into efficient fuel.

In the first video, acquaintance with firewood from newspapers. What it is?

Finally, how to make a fuel briquette at home.

In conclusion - the work of fuel in a real stove on a hike.

To the history of the issue

Pellets: what is it and how is it made

A modern type of fuel that is used for combustion in pellet boilers
Pellets are currently a great alternative to gas and other fuels, but many do not know what it is. Heating with pellets is 3-4 times cheaper than gas, but so far the manufacturing technology of such material does not make it possible to completely replace gas with it. But as an alternative to pellets, many are considering.
Content
What are pellets?
History of appearance
Environmental factor
Pellet classification
Production process
Fuel Benefits
How to choose quality pellets?


Pellets are considered an environmentally friendly fuel

Crushed wood used to make pellets


One of the characteristics of fuel pellets is the amount of thermal energy released, which affects the cost of raw materials.


Wood pellets in a vessel near the boiler create some decor in a modern interior

Pellets: what is it?

Externally, fuel pellets look like cylindrical granules. Wastes from wood and agricultural production are pressed into them. Their standard sizes are:
Diameter - 6-8 mm.
Length - from 5 to 70 mm.
Humidity - 7-10%.


“Loose” pellets are convenient when using feeders in boiler rooms
Due to this indicator, they are successfully used in pyrolysis boilers. Compared with firewood, the efficiency of boilers using such fuel is 1.5 times greater.
But the size of one pellet depends on the material used for production, the type of raw material and the scope of use.
Note! Abroad, this type of fuel is actively used, especially for automated boiler houses. Pellets have found their distribution in domestic use, as well as in the industrial. By their thermal conductivity, pellets are compared with coal. In addition, this fuel is environmentally friendly.


Well-dried pellets work more efficiently

History of appearance

Pellet boilers were first used in the USA, where the production of this material started. Although initially the idea of ​​​​granulation was somewhat different, because in this way it was planned to save space when transporting waste. But rather quickly, pellets began to be used as fuel.
In Europe, for the first time, people started talking about alternative fuels in Switzerland in the 80s. Granules are beginning to be made from wood waste. In the 90s, a real boom in the production of fuel on an industrial scale developed in Switzerland. Further development took place in Canada, Denmark, Finland, England, Italy.
At the moment, pellet production plants are located directly next to logging and wood processing enterprises. This allows fuel production to continue, and such plants often operate 24 hours a day.

Environmental factor

Buying pellets means maintaining a stable ecological background. They are the result of waste processing, which means they will not harm the atmosphere and humans. It is believed that pellets are part of the CO₂ cycle in the environment, that is, they release it exactly as much as the tree absorbed during growth.


The process of burning pellets emits as much carbon dioxide as was formed during the natural decomposition of wood
Note! Waste is used in the production, which means that each ton of such fuel keeps the trees in the forest safe and sound. BUT Environment not polluted by wood processing waste.
What is very important, emissions into the atmosphere from the combustion of such fuels are not as harmful as if coal and diesel fuel were burned.


The chemical characteristics of pellets depend on the raw materials from which they are made.

Pellet classification

The price of pellets largely depends on the raw materials used in the manufacturing process. There is such a classification:


A variety of pellets according to the raw material of manufacture
White pellets - this grade is also called "premium". They are made from waste wood without bark. The calorific value of such pellets reaches 17.2 MJ/kg. Ash content is practically zero. Such pellets make up about 95% of all that are on the market today. They are suitable for all types of boilers.


The advantage of white pellets is low ash content. Cleaning the boiler after such raw materials is necessary no more than once a month
Industrial - they contain lower quality wood. In addition to wood waste, they may contain bark and fireproof particles. In terms of calorific value, they almost do not differ from the first type, but the ash content is slightly higher. When using them, the boiler will have to be cleaned more often.


Additional elements in the composition of industrial pellets make their color a little darker
Agropellets - they are made from agricultural waste. Their calorific value is lower - up to 15 MJ / kg, ash content is more than 4%. That is, you will have to clean the boiler often. Among the advantages of such fuel is their affordable price. They are mainly used to generate heat in large thermal power plants. They are also convenient if the boilers have automatic ash removal. They can not be used in all boilers, but only those that are designed for such fuel.


Economical version of fuel of standard quality, which can only be used in special boilers

Production process

Pellet production is a multi-stage process that requires both material and time costs. But first of all, raw materials are brought to the plant. Raw materials can be:
Bark, sawdust, wood chips, other logging waste.
Agricultural waste: corn, straw, sunflower husks and others.


Pellets for heating boilers from sunflower husks
The technological process of production consists of the following stages:
Large crushing.
Drying.
Fine crushing.
Mixing and water treatment.
Pressing.
Cooling, drying.
Packaging.


Waste wood chips are used in the manufacture of wood pellets

Primary crushing

It is also called coarse crushing. In the process, grinding takes place to a size of 25 x 25 x 2 mm. This process ensures rapid drying of raw materials to the required moisture content. Since such material is stored in concrete floor to prevent mixing with sand and stones, the feed to the grinder is carried out by means of a scraper device.


Shredding of waste wood is the first stage in the production of pellets

Drying

Now the raw material has a moisture content of 15%, which is not suitable for the next steps, as it will not be pressed well. And pellets that contain so much moisture are not suitable for boilers. The optimal moisture fork is from 8% to 12%, but the correct pellets have 10%. In order to dry the primary crushed raw materials, drum-type belt dryers are used. The choice of one or another drying method depends on the type of raw material, its quality and other factors.


Raw materials for the manufacture of pellets with inappropriate moisture content require additional moisture or drying
Note! This process is energy-intensive, because in order to dry 1 ton of raw materials, at this stage it is necessary to burn 1 m³ of firewood. In order to reduce the cost of this process, bark or sawdust is burned to the furnace of the dryer.

Secondary (fine) crushing

In order for the press to work, the particle size should not be more than 4 mm, so repeated grinding is used. For this, hammer mills are used, which are excellent for crushing fibrous chips, sawdust.

Sawdust prepared for re-crushing

Water treatment, pressing

Since in the previous stages the raw material was dried and at the moment it has only 8% moisture, it will be difficult to glue it. To do this, the material is moistened with water or steam. The latter is necessary when pressing hard wood waste. If the raw material is softwood, then additional moisture is quite enough.
As for pressing, the equipment for pellets has different forms of the matrix - flat and cylindrical. The diameter of the matrix itself is about 1 meter, while the power is measured at 500 kW.


Presses of some manufacturers do not require additional steam due to their design features.

Cooling, packaging

In order to obtain high-quality pellets, it is necessary to cool them well. This process helps dry the pellets. After the press, they have a temperature of + 70-90 ⁰С. After this process is completed, they are screened and packaged.
Since pellets are loose raw materials, they are often stored in bulk, but this can adversely affect the quality of the material, as it will pick up moisture. Therefore, manufacturers pack and recommend storing fuel in large big bags. The highest quality pellets that you can buy are packaged from the factory in 20 kg bags.


The packaging of granules depends on the storage system that the consumer has: in bulk, in big-bags or in small packaging

Fuel Benefits

Pellets have a number of significant advantages:
This is an environmentally friendly raw material that does not give increased CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.
Low risk of self-ignition due to the fact that they do not contain spores, dust.
Pellets are denser than wood and their moisture content is lower, which provides more heat from combustion of the same volume as firewood.
Due standard sizes and flowability, it becomes possible to fully automate the heating process.
The most common types of pellets have little waste, which means that you do not need to clean the boiler every day. According to the reviews of those who use this fuel, cleaning is needed no more than once a month.
Only at first glance, this fuel does not seem the most affordable. In fact, if we recalculate the amount of thermal energy, then it is pellets that will be the most efficient fuel in this regard.
Ease of storage of raw materials - a minimum of space and no smell.
Ease and cleanliness of transportation.
High boiler efficiency within 96%.

An example of the operation of a pellet boiler in the context
Note! If we talk about the shortcomings of the material, then this is the need to constantly keep a stock in stock. Also, as a disadvantage, the danger of burning pellets is noted if the raw materials from which they were made are taken from areas contaminated with radiation. Indeed, there is such a risk, but manufacturers who have been working on the market for a long time will not risk their image and sell frankly dangerous material. Therefore, you need to carefully choose the manufacturer of the pellets.


Wood pellets are practically not subject to self-ignition, since dust and spores are not included in the composition. In addition, they do not cause an allergic reaction.

How to choose quality pellets?

The importance of choosing high-quality pellets is that only such pellets can give the declared amount of heat. The parameter of their ash content will also be within the presented boundaries. The use of low quality fuel leads to accelerated wear of the boiler.


Pellets provide high calorific value compared to wood chips or firewood
When choosing, you need to pay attention to:
Size. And not only the dimensions of the pellets themselves, but also the presence of broken and crumbled ones. There should be no trash in the bag, and if it is found in a significant amount, then you should not buy such fuel.
The surface of the pellet should be smooth and shiny. If the material is of poor quality, then roughness will be clearly noticeable.
Pellets should be hard and dry, only such ones should be used.
It is difficult to break a high-quality pellet; in no case should it crumble in your hands.
Another way to check the quality is to throw the fuel into the water, and if the pellet sinks, then it's good, but if it floats, then it's better to look for another fuel.


The correct shape of the granules allows them to be easily transported and reloaded, as well as poured through special sleeves.
The use of pellets is a convenient and environmentally friendly solution. It is not surprising that almost all of Europe has already switched to such fuel.

To date Special attention in the interior is given to the issue of decoration. Most of the installed fireplaces do not function as heating, but as decoration. And the usual varieties of fuel are being replaced by biofuels or electricity. Therefore, making a fake firewood for an electric fireplace with your own hands is considered a fairly popular topic.

What are they needed for

Many will ask the question - why do we need such dummies? Well, first of all, it's a matter of aesthetics. And secondly, deep knowledge in the field of stove equipment is not needed to notice the difference between a hearth with an electric heating element and a wood-burning fireplace.

Due to the absence of smoke and the rapid heating of the room, electric fireplaces are in the black when compared with a wood-burning hearth. But with all this, a certain naturalness of the hearth is lost, its charm and charm are lost. If a model of firewood is added to such a design, the picture of the fireplace changes radically.

This situation is especially relevant for a city apartment, where the installation of a real fireplace is simply impossible.

Firewood imitation options and materials

In stores you can find many options for such products. They can be plastic or ceramic. Any imitation, whether purchased or made by hand, is intended to give realism to the artificial hearth to help you feel all the charm. home comfort and warmth.

Imitation of firewood or coals, made of plastic, has a very simple principle of operation. Usually such objects are illuminated with red light bulbs.

It is also possible that the light bulb is inside each element. Of course, this is not entirely realistic, but still.

For more expensive fireplace models, a flickering pattern or imitation of artificial flames is characteristic, which occurs due to a special mechanism in which elements rotate around the lamp, with alternating transparent and shaded sectors. This type of lighting can be located either behind the firewood dummy, or inside it.

The exact same lighting system can be used to achieve a burning effect, using real charcoal, which is placed in a fireplace niche.

In this case, the dummy and coals are illuminated from the bottom. Imitation of plastic firewood and coals, of course, is not perfect, and it has its own errors.

In order to hide all the shortcomings as much as possible, backlit artificial firewood is placed as deep as possible into the fireplace niche, and the hearth is decorated with a fireplace grate, which serves as a disguise for shortcomings.

In expensive models of electric fireplaces, you can find several methods of simulating fire. For realism, the paintings use not only dummies of firewood, but also mirrors, with strips of foil or ribbons in which the lights of the backlight glow, creating the illusion of flames. In addition to everything, the models are equipped with various functions, the supply of steam, which imitates the smoke from a fire, a sound device that produces sounds similar to the crackling of firewood.

If your financial capabilities are not enough for such items, then as an option, you can try to make dummies of firewood with your own hands.

Production of decorative firewood

Craft decorative firewood with your own hands is quite easy, for this you can use the materials that almost every person can find.

Shops offer ready-made firewood made of plastic or ceramics, but the cost is quite high.

Therefore, it is more expedient to make decorative firewood with your own hands with minimal financial costs.

To make a dummy, you need to prepare:

• cardboard;
• paint;
• glue;
• Scotch.

The manufacturing process can be divided into four stages.

• The first step is to prepare blanks that have different sizes. Some parts of future firewood may be longer, the side parts of the logs are slightly smaller.
• The second stage is gluing the cut blanks. To do this, rectangular sheets of cardboard must be tightly rolled up. For gluing, you can use glue or tape. Short rolls are attached at an arbitrary angle to a longer size blank, forming the remainder of the branch.
• The third stage involves coloring blanks. To do this, you can use paint of various colors, black, white or brown. The main goal of coloring is maximum realism.
  The final step in staining is varnishing the logs.
• And the last stage is the laying of logs in the niche of the electric fireplace. They can be laid in any direction, crossing or placing in a certain order.

Based on this, wood-burning imitation for a fireplace is very easy to do with your own hands, it will not require large financial costs, and you will definitely enjoy the end result.

Decorative Firewood

Placement of decorative firewood

The location of firewood in the niche of the fireplace must be given special attention. This can be done with your own hands and give the hearth a more aesthetic appearance, it will become more believable.
To place a fake log in a fireplace niche, you need to decide on the installation option.

Set the logs in the form of a "house".

Arrange the firewood in a cone.

In a chaotic manner, as your fantasy suggests.

Imitation of firewood looks quite impressive in combination with other decorative elements, such as stones or candles.

If for some reason it is impossible to place artificial firewood in the depths of the firebox, you can make a separate emphasis on firewood by placing it outside the hearth.

In addition, you can build a firewood shed with your own hands, into which decorative firewood is placed.

With a harmonious selection of stove equipment and decor for it, you can turn the hearth into an object of great attention. The combination of firewood and fire, regardless of whether they are natural or artificial, will give any interior a unique charm and comfort.

Video: How to make a fire (hearth) for a decorative fireplace

Recently, it has become fashionable to use not only traditional fuel in the form of firewood for kindling stoves, but also others, alternatives. For example, natural materials pressed under high temperature are becoming increasingly popular: sawdust, peat, straw, etc. Created from biological waste, 100% natural and environmentally friendly, fuel briquettes allow you to effectively and inexpensively drink a house, a bathhouse.

In this article we will talk about how to make fuel briquettes with your own hands from improvised materials. To do this, you will need to buy or make suitable waste recycling equipment and learn how to properly make euro firewood. Making fuel briquettes with your own hands will allow you to solve several problems at once:

• get rid of waste;
• obtain efficient and technologically advanced fuel for home heating;
• save money on wood.

Homemade fuel briquettes can be of any shape

Main advantages

Fuel briquettes are modern look alternative fuel. They can be used in any stoves, fireplaces, boilers, barbecues, barbecues. Eurobriquettes are cylindrical blanks resembling firewood, or rectangular bricks. Small dimensions allow to place them in furnaces of any size.

What are briquettes made of? Most often, wood is used (sawdust, shavings, dust), but straw, paper, peat, coal, seed or nut husks, and even manure are also used. The composition of the eurobriquette can vary significantly, depending on which technology is used in the production.

At the same time, all types of raw materials from which wood firewood can be produced are natural, absolutely natural. Making fuel briquettes at home will allow you to create an environmentally friendly product that will almost completely burn in the furnace and at the same time emit a minimum of smoke.

A home-made eurobriquette can be used to kindle a sauna stove or heat a house. Since the raw material is compressed quite strongly and the amount of moisture is minimal, the fuel briquette burns for a long time, constantly releasing a large amount of heat. An interesting point was noticed by people who are already actively using such fuel: if you melt your barbecue with eco-wood and fry food on it, it does not ignite if it gets on the briquettes of fat.

Warehouse for handicraft ready-made ecro-briquettes

For solid fuel stoves, boilers and fireplaces, sawdust briquettes are an excellent option. They slowly flare up, but after burning for a long time and emit a large amount of heat. This is explained by the high density of the pressed wood product. The heat transfer from briquettes significantly exceeds the level of heat obtained during the combustion of even the driest firewood, which took at least a year.

Is it possible to make fuel briquettes with your own hands? This question is of interest today to many owners of suburban areas. And the craftsmen did not take long to wait and came up with a technology of how to make fuel out of seemingly unnecessary materials, with which it would be possible to heat a house, a garage, a greenhouse, and so on. And such materials can be found in any country house! It can be not only old boards and sawdust, but also straw, cardboard, paper, dry branches and leaves. And this is not a complete list.

Simply put, what burns can be crushed and used for briquettes. And the chopper itself in this case will not be a problem, because ready-made appliances are sold in many stores. It can be, for example, a rotary machine that grinds all materials of plant origin using a set of knives. This kind of machine is relatively cheap, but in our case it will help a lot on initial stage making briquettes. But let's not get ahead of ourselves - first, let's get acquainted with some important points.

And here we compare specifications and the cost of fuel briquettes from different manufacturers -

Strengths and weaknesses of fuel briquettes

Such fuel can be used not only for solid fuel appliances, but also for stoves or fireplaces. If we talk about the industrial production of briquettes, then they use as raw materials:

• woodworking waste;
• charcoal;
• straw and various husks;
• peat.

And all that is mentioned above is, as you know, renewable natural resources.

Attention! The main advantage of this type of fuel is its environmental friendliness, as well as excellent heat transfer and efficiency.

Moreover, if we compare briquettes with wood, they flare up faster, smoke less, so that the humidity in the air does not increase and remains at the right level. During combustion, a permanent temperature is maintained and sparks are not formed, and due to the correct geometric shape, they are convenient to transport and store.

Of course, there are also disadvantages - for example, briquettes are easily damaged during transportation and are characterized by low moisture resistance.

Nevertheless, if you make fuel briquettes with your own hands, then several problems are solved at once:

• home heating (although, rather, as an additional source, because you are unlikely to be able to prepare the amount of fuel needed for the winter);
• savings - briquettes will cost practically nothing;
• finally, by making briquettes, you thereby get rid of various garbage that you could not take to the landfill.

Attention! The most convenient form for briquettes is bricks. Therefore, further technology will be based on this.

Stage 1. Preparing the necessary equipment

There are a number of enterprises that specialize in the production and sale of equipment for the production of fuel briquettes. Moreover, such equipment is usually brought, installed and tested (for an additional fee), and sometimes even trained in proper operation.

So, for work you will need:

• device for grinding raw materials;
• drying complex;
• a special press, which can be screw, mechanical or hydraulic.

Of course, if you produce briquettes at home, then you can do it without a drying complex, because ready-made briquettes can be dried simply in the open air. And if sawdust is used as a raw material, then a chopper is also not needed.

Also take care of a box with cells of the same shape - you can make it yourself from any box by nailing strips of appropriate sizes to divide into the same sectors. In these sectors you will fill up the feedstock!

Often, home craftsmen resort to another option - the independent manufacture of pressing equipment.

Video - Making a press for fuel briquettes

Stage 2. Choosing a room - what should it be like?

And the room should be chosen in such a way that it can not only accommodate all necessary equipment but also store raw materials and finished products. The area of ​​such a room directly depends on the scale of future production, but, for example, a minimum of 55-60 m2 is required for pressing.

Attention! During the arrangement of the premises, carefully monitor the quality of ventilation of the area where it is planned to carry out pressing, as well as fire extinguishing systems and the reliability of electrical networks.

Stage 3. Preparation of raw materials

This is the most important step in the process in which do-it-yourself fuel briquettes are created. But for work, you will need not only waste, but also components such as:

• water in a small amount - only to soften the clay;
• clay itself - it will serve as a binder; we note that no additives are used in industry, since the binding element is lignin, a substance released by wood during high pressure, but at home you are unlikely to achieve such pressure, therefore, you will use additional components so that the briquettes “keep their shape”.

Stage 4. Formation of briquettes

Step 1. First, take the prepared raw materials (sawdust, etc.) and mix it with dry clay. For a kilogram of waste, approximately 100 grams of clay will be required, therefore, the ratio will be as follows: 10: 1. Add a small amount of water to the resulting mixture, mix everything thoroughly again. Make sure that the mixture does not turn out to be too thin or too thick - ideally, it should be perfectly sculpted.

Attention! In this case, one should take into account the fact that the density of the finished product is inversely proportional to the amount of added water. Moreover, if there is too much liquid, then the briquettes will dry for a long time.

You can add some finely chopped paper to the mixture - this will greatly improve combustion.

Step 2 Pour the resulting mixture into pre-prepared molds and carefully compress. Try to make the products come out under pressure maximum amount liquids. Leave the briquettes in this form for a while.

Step 3 Next, dry the finished product. For drying, it is advisable to use a firebox, although in its absence you can do it in the sun. Make sure it dries completely! If the briquettes turn out to be raw, then they will not only not burn, but will also crumble due to their low strength. And in order to somehow increase strength, cover the products with dry leaves or paper when drying.

Step 4 As soon as the briquettes are completely dry, lay them in a pre-prepared place and then use them for their intended purpose.

And here's another one interesting option production.

Video - Production of fuel briquettes

Use of other materials

Perhaps, it is not worth talking once again about how well paper burns and how much ash remains after that. For example, a kilogram of compressed paper can burn for about 2 hours, releasing large amounts of thermal energy during this time. At the same time, very little ash remains after this - about 5 percent of the original mass.

Hence the question is: is it worth selling waste paper and is it possible to buy firewood for the money received for it? Or is it better to use it in the manufacture of fuel briquettes? In this case, everything is quite complicated, since there are a number of important nuances.

• It takes a lot of paper to make briquettes.
• The paper needs to be shredded somehow, which is extremely difficult - this is not sawdust or firewood for you! All waste paper will need to be torn into pieces measuring 20x20 millimeters. To do this, you will have to use a combine.
• Next, shredded paper should be poured with warm water. Then you need to wait until the paper transforms into slurry, and the solution becomes liquid.
• The remaining water is removed, and the resulting mixture is poured into pre-prepared molds.
• After the mass gets rid of all the liquid, the briquettes are removed from the molds and dried in the open air.

From the trash

Attention! Experienced craftsmen who used the described technology advise adding starch to the paper after filling it with water.

In addition, paper can be used as a binder when fuel briquettes are made by hand from wood chips (we already mentioned this above). But there are a number of other materials that can perform a similar function - for example, husks from seeds or needles. To be honest, not the best options, but in the absence of an alternative, they are quite suitable. Although they have their drawbacks:

• if the needles of the needles are very large, then they will have to be chopped with ordinary scissors, and this is very difficult, and takes a lot of time; and the needles in finished products will constantly prick your hands;
• there are even more troubles with the husk - yes, it is quite convenient during the manufacturing process, only mice love the finished briquettes made in this way, so in winter you will have a lot of them in the warehouse; rodents will begin to "feast" even at the drying stage, therefore, a large number of products will be hopelessly spoiled.

industrial production

If we talk about industrial production, here fuel briquettes are made using one of three possible technologies:

• through hydraulic presses and at high pressure - as a result, products are obtained that look like small bricks;
• by means of screw presses under pressure and heat treatment - as a result, briquettes come out having the shape of an empty polyhedron;
• by means of hydraulic or mechanical presses at high pressure - as a result, products of a cylindrical shape.

To learn more about this process, watch the thematic video.

Video - Industrial production of briquettes

Let's summarize a little

Do-it-yourself fuel briquettes are inexpensive and at the same time quite effective!

They can be used for heating not only household buildings, but also a residential building. But does self-production make any sense if briquettes can be purchased in specialized stores? Of course, it has, as always, when it comes to making something with your own hands. After all, a little effort and desire - and in the winter you will save a lot!

Warm winters and good luck in your work!

The fuel briquette belongs to alternative species fuel that is used to speed up the ignition of the stove or replace wood in the fireplace. In addition, briquettes are widely used for heating greenhouses, garages, country houses or garden houses for temporary residence.

Modern technologies make it possible to obtain briquettes from unnecessary materials and waste.

The main advantages of fuel briquettes include:

1. Possibility of making fuel briquettes with your own hands, and if you have simple devices, their production can be organized as a way to run your own business.
2. Compared to wood– longer burning time, with minimal sparking and smoke formation.
3. Ecological cleanliness, as in the production of briquetted fuel, vegetable waste is mainly used.
4. Profitability of briquettes compared with coal or firewood, it is explained by the use of waste and the use of its muscular strength and the simplest devices;
5. Waste-free use- the ash formed after combustion can be used as fertilizer.
6. Practicality, unpretentiousness and profitability during storage– stacked briquettes take up less space than loose firewood or coal.
7. Can be used in any heating systems and devices, ranging from a country fire to an individual boiler heating system operating on solid fuel.

Features of use

Sunflower briquette

Before you begin to dispose of waste on your backyard or garden plot and deploy production, it is necessary to determine the scope of the use of briquetted fuel and calculate the need for the source material.

If briquettes are supposed to be used as an alternative, additional fuel for burning in a stove or fireplace in a country house building, then any plant waste can be used as a starting material:

1. Sawdust, shavings, wood chips, chopped small branches remaining after pruning trees.
2. Agricultural waste- dry plant stems, straw, seed husks.
3. garden waste, which are usually burned or composted - dry grass (weeds), fallen leaves, tops of root crops.
4. Household waste- cardboard, paper.

Some gardeners use plastic wrap as an additive to the plant mass. However, there are no official recommendations on this matter and the use of plastic waste is carried out at the own risk of the manufacturer and consumer of briquettes.

Clay or starch is used as a binder.

Preparation of source material

Briquette press

The main problem with self-manufacturing fuel blocks is the need for grinding raw materials. Of course, when using sawdust, small chips, cereal husks, this operation is not required. But small branches, shavings, cardboard waste, before briquetting, must be crushed to obtain uniform particles.

For grinding, you can use any household agricultural crusher, in which hammers are replaced with cutting plates. In the rural backyard, these devices are usually available and used for the preparation of feed for pets and poultry.

An urban dweller who has a garden or country cottage area, you will have to find a suitable model in a garden supply store. Today, special devices are also produced for grinding household waste and garbage.

By purchasing this crusher, the summer resident will be able to use it not only for the preparation of briquette starting material, but also for other purposes.

Production

For the production of briquetted fuel for heating cottages or garden house, you will need crushed waste and clay. They are mixed in a ratio of 10: 1, adding a little water until a pasty mass is obtained.

The quality of combustion will depend on how evenly the initial components are mixed, so mixing is best done using a household construction mixer (concrete mixer).

From special equipment for the production of small batches, it is necessary to make a cellular form. For test batches, the form can be knocked together from boards. The size of the cells is chosen arbitrarily, based on the desired form of obtaining briquettes.

Some summer residents press the mixture in old pots, drawers and other unnecessary household containers. However, a rectangular shape is preferred because rectangular fuel blocks are easier to store.

The wet mass is placed in the cells of the form and rammed. The quality of homemade fuel depends on the degree of compaction.

In order for the briquettes not to crumble and crumble in the hands, it is advisable to lay several layers of newsprint on the bottom of the mold (or under the mold when using cells without a bottom).

Drying is done naturally in the air. On sunny summer days, this process does not take much time. After removing the briquettes from the mold, they are placed under a canopy, in a stack with gaps, where they are dried in a draft.

Waste briquetting device

homemade press

In the event that heating briquettes are supposed to be used for winter heating country house in winter or as an alternative fuel in an individual home, it is quite laborious to make them by hand.

In this case, it is advisable to make the simplest machine, which will speed up and facilitate the work. Today, various modifications of machine tools are commercially available. They differ in functionality, the number of cells in the forms, the type of drive - manual or mechanical.

All models have one thing in common - they allow you to mechanize the most laborious process - the compaction of the wet mass in the cells of the form.

The simplest machine is a metal frame welded from a corner, on which a wooden tabletop painted with moisture-resistant paint is fixed. A “P” is welded to the frame - a shaped bracket, between the uprights of which a swinging lever is fixed - a rocker arm, the compression force depends on the length of which.

A punch is pivotally mounted on the lever, the dimensions of which are slightly smaller sizes cells. The form filled with the briquette mass is placed on the countertop and pressed with a punch until the briquettes are given the desired density. Moving the mold over the tabletop, the compression operation is repeated for each cell.

In order for the press to serve long enough, after each pressing operation, it should be cleaned of adhering mass.

If the gardener has the opportunity to get or make a vibrating plate, then a press is not required. Compaction of sawdust-clay mass is carried out due to vibration.

The use of paper in the manufacture

paper briquettes

Waste paper can also be used to make fuel briquettes. At the same time, it can play not only the role of fuel, but also act as a binder for sawdust, replacing clay.

Paper and cardboard contain a lot of adhesive mass, which, when swollen, will be an excellent binder when using sawdust. However, briquetted and dried paper and cardboard are themselves an excellent combustible material.

Unfortunately, when preparing the initial mass, paper and cardboard waste cannot be crushed in a crusher. They will have to be torn or cut into small pieces, no larger than 2.0 × 2.0 centimeters in size.

Many summer residents, after a single cutting procedure, curse everything in the world and prefer to return to clay. Non-fast "homemade" use a food processor cutter to grind.

The paper pulp preparation sequence is as follows:

1. Shredded pieces of paper waste pour warm water and wait for them to completely soak.
2. The resulting slurry after draining excess water briquetted or mixed with sawdust.
3. Further pressing and drying operations similar to the processing of a clay-based mixture.

By experimenting with the percentage of paper and sawdust, you can create your own recipe for briquetted fuel. For example, some gardeners add starch to increase its strength. Of course, you don’t need to buy starch on purpose, but in the country there will always be old stocks that survived the winter or a bug wound up in them.