One of the craftsmen offered his own version of making fuel briquettes. If this activity does not turn into a home or family business, then as a result of this work you will certainly be able to light your stove or solid fuel boiler.
Technology for manufacturing fuel briquettes step by step
Step one is preparation.
Even some simple work in the carpentry workshop leaves a lot of sawdust. They can be prepared in separate bags to be used in the future as the main raw material. The same applies to everything else that will be part of the briquettes, especially paper.
For drying and storing briquettes, it is also worth selecting a place protected from rain.Over time, they can be stacked like a woodpile or in bags.
Step two - mold.
You can make a press yourself, for example, weld it from corners and profile pipes. There is no need for special precision here, the main thing is ease of use. The author was lucky enough to buy it ready-made.
The shape for briquettes is set individually, based on the size of the firebox of your stove. It makes the most sense to use metal, a sewer pipe made of cast iron, or steel, since pressing even by hand will affect the integrity of its shape. Its main feature is the holes for the moisture released after spinning. The interval for them is arbitrary, but the diameter must be made so that compost does not escape through them during pressing (4-5 mm is enough).
The bottom of the mold is removable and is not designed to be secured during the pressing process.
It can be made from boards 30-50 mm thick or moisture-resistant plywood. The author suggested an interesting form. Only 8-10 millimeters of plywood goes inside the cylinder, while enough thickness remains outside to easily remove the bottom by hand. After pressing is completed, the bottom is removed, and the finished briquette is squeezed out of the mold.
Another similar part needs to be made for the upper part of the mold, which will press on the compost.
Do not make the press lever short. Its length is directly proportional to the effort you apply to compress the material in the mold cylinder. The longer the lever, the less effort and time it will take to make briquettes.
Step three - preparing the mixture.
Briquettes consist of two main components: 2 parts sawdust and 1 part paper. Sawdust, paper, cardboard, etc. are soaked in a separate container.They don’t even need to be crushed, and are best left for several days, completely covered with water. It is better to use hot water.
It is convenient to mix with a construction mixer with a drill, but you can also mix it by hand.
The finished compost is placed in small portions into a mold and is ready for pressing.
He argues that for small sawdust the sawdust content will need to be increased, otherwise the briquettes will crumble.
Step four – pressing and drying the briquettes.
Pressing can be done in several stages. Once the process is mastered, on average it takes 30-40 seconds to produce one briquette. The main task: to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the compost.
After the batch of briquettes is ready, you can make a drying rack under a canopy or outdoors in sunny weather.
The finished briquettes fit perfectly into bags and are stored compactly without taking up too much space. Such solid fuel has undoubted advantages. It does not cost money, does not require energy costs during production and allows you to get rid of garbage and waste for the benefit of the household.
Use this technology for recycling materials, because it saves our natural resources!
Original article in English
