Anyone else use these in place of wood? Envi Blocks - The Friendly Firewood - at Barefoot Pellet Company - Troy PA. Two years ago I found these sourced locally for the cost of 280 per ton to finish out the heating season. Due to a lack of a current three year plan, I ended up burning three tons last year at a cost of $295/ton. They are at a 7% moisture content per the manufacturer. I don't have anything to test them. One thing to note is that when I cleaned the chimney this fall, it had just about no creosote buildup. Last year I did not make any headway on my three plan. As a result, I am starting the season with leftovers, and getting ready to go pickup a ton to start the season. Obviously they are more expensive than a cord of wood. Which 1 ton is equivalent to a cord according to the manufacturer. Even with the increased cost, most local firewood companies near us simply ship wood that is barely seasoned. Most cut to order. Yeah the log has sat for a season, but that does not mean the wood is ready.
When I still had the wood stove I used them , and something similar from TSC mixed them in with some splits that weren't totally seasoned, needed another 6 months , they did a fine job for me .
The envi blocks are good. and yeah they are bone dry. I would get a cord of wood and mix the environment blocks and the cord wood in the stove together. The combined average moisture would probably be acceptable. What stove do you run?
They work. They burn consistently hot. No bark, dirt or bugs in the house and take up less space than cordwood. A ton is equal to a cord and a third of splits. What's not to like?...unless you get free wood.
I burn between 3-4 cords per year. Which pretty much eliminates my use of heating oil. Only using oil for hot water. A load of logs which is between 2-1/2 - 3 cords of wood costs me $270. Yes I have to process it, but I do like doing that. If I were to process two loads of logs per year, I am looking at $540, and that gives me between 5-6 cords of wood. The blocks run me roughly $900-1200 per year. While I love them, I really want to get to a three year plan. I do believe purchasing Envi-8's is far better than purchasing a cord of unseasoned wood. I'd mix in wood that has seasoned one full year with them, but not wood I just CSS. My plan is to get two loads processed this winter, and purchase up to 4 tons of the Envi-8's for this season. Next year I'll augment 2 tons with roughly 2 cords. This all in an effort to get to my three year plan. I burn the Lenox Country Canyon. Lennox sold them and they are now called IronStrike. I love this stove. Easy to get going, long burns, and easy to achieve "flash combustion", Fireside Stove - Professional Stove Experts - A Rhode Island Gas and Wood Stove Retailer - Wood and Gas Stoves - Freestanding and Inserts - Stove and chimney installations and repair.. That is the place I purchased the stove from.
Honestly if you watch their video, it's a fancy word for people that do not know what secondary burn of the gases in the stove is. When I mentioned to this to the seller, he said that flash combustion is different that secondary burn. Let's just say that we agree to disagree.
