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Green coal? reaction to $2.50/gal propane

D

dangerdoc

Member
I burn about 6 cords of firewood every winter and frankly my back is starting to get tired.

I've considered buying a pellet stove and making my own fuel pellets with prairie hay. Unfortunately, feed pelletizers are a little more money than I have to spend.

I've seen hand operated briquette machines used in the third world for compressing grass and other materials into stove fuel. That is a little too low tech.

Has anyone seen a machine that will compress grass into blocks big enough to hand feed into a wood stove.

I've been thinking about how to automate the process enough to make about 6 tons of fuel in a couple of weekends without wearing myself out or dying from grass allergies.

I've even considered a little plot of switch grass. One acre would heat my house for an entire winter. I just need a way to compress it into logs or briquettes.
 
PLANT HEMP GRASS THEN YOU CAN MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE IT UP. Or if they catch you get 3 hots and a cot.
 
Bunch of guys I used to work with got into the woodburning/heating kick about 20 years ago - bought a semi-load of 8' logs at a time, shared cutting and splitting, did it about 2 years then they all gave up - money saved just didn't cut it!
 
Is it possible to keep up the wood burning- but streamline the job of cutting and splitting? For instance, I've seen pictures of a rack a guy made that goes on his loader to move around. Put a pile of limbs on the rack, saw through the pile. (I do the same thing without the loader) A box underneath catches the pieces to be moved easily- with the loader. And, some guys use pallets with sides, dump the wood in those and leave it there til they need to burn it, use the loader to carry the container full to the stove. Sure don't like working in 90+ degree heat!
 
Around here anyways pellets aren't too bad for price. There are some cheap low capacity pelletizers available too but thats like cutting firewood to me.

Local guy has a chip burning furnace, big hopper is designed to be filled by a skidsteer. He uses a garbage can though.
 
They're talking about booting the criminals out to save money, so you wouldn't even win at the three hots and a cot.
 
I saw om TV somebody was making a round bale burner.
I saw a wood stove that burned saw dust. It had two fans, one to circulate heat and one to aerate the saw dust so it would keep burning. Never saw it burn saw dust but was great for firewood. With the fan it started easy and would burn anything.
 
I have heard of a rolling press that will roll your newspapers into logs. (Lots of newspaper all around)
If you could grow switchgrass, ? for you, How high does switchgrass grow by the end of the summer?
In Europe I have heard that grass clipping are turned into pellets.
If you could do what you suggest then you may be able to get enough grass pellets and trade for firewood.
I have 3 tons of wood pellets delivered next week.
Your right that Propane is too expensive to use.
 
I have about 15 acres of woods. I enjoy the work and the money saved is substantial. It is worth it to me and I have been doing it for years but I"m concerned that I may not be up to it in 10 or 15 years.

I also have about 20 acres that I bush hog or burn once a year. There is enough heat value to warm my house 10 times over.

It is an alternative to cutting firewood and may be profitable if energy prices remain high.
 
I have two wood stoves and no pellet stove. A way to make briquettes, logs or cubes would be much more useful for me.
 
the're just boothing out theives rapists murders and the like. guys who commit serious crimes like growing plants that the government hasn't given them permission to grow get thrown under the jail.
 
Even if I buy a cord of cut/split/delivered wood at $150 a cord I'm getting the same amount of heat as $500 worth of propane.

Though I have plenty of woods to cut, I don't have a lot of time so I bit the bullet and bought 3 cords this year. I'll keep cutting as time permits but if I need to I'll buy what I need.

Still waaaaay better than propane...
 
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