Woodstock IS + Fiber Fuel = Awesome!

I do love a real log fire, but sometimes the convenience, consistency, and fuel density of a compressed brick is hard to ignore.

Yesterday morning I did an ash clean out in prep for the storm we are getting, then I loaded up with 36 Fiber Fuel bricks which is 72 lbs of low moisture BTU’s. Once the stove came up to temp and the cat took off, I cut the air input back to about 4 notches (1 small notch below the first big one) and clamped down the flue damper to about 10-15 degrees from fully closed. The cat probe beaked at just under 1000 (vs 1600+ without the flue damper) and the stove room temp peaked at 78 with the upstairs in the low 70’s.

But here is the really cool part. At 9:30 this morning, 23.5 hours later, my stove room is 73 and the upstairs is 69. The cat probe is down to 400, so I need to start thinking about upping the air control or adding more fuel soon. So basically a full day of heat without touching anything. Oh, and it is currently a balmy 8 degrees outside and my stove room is 24x24 with 3 sides of windows with a pitched ceiling and 4 skylights so this wasn’t a super low output shoulder season burn in a well insulated house. It is 24 hours of serious heating duty. Gotta love that!

 

I forgot the picture. As you can see, there is still quite a bit of fuel left. Just need to open up the air and I probably have another hour or more before I have to reload if really want to stretch it.

 

Gotta love it! Long cat stove burns can't be beat

What was the dollar cost on that load? Curious.

 

How much do 36 bricks cost in your market? Just curious.

 

So, I bought the bricks by the pallet load, so they were probably cheaper than individual bags, but if my calculator got the math correct, the 72 bricks cost me $10.50 which is less than it would have cost me to heat the house on an equally cold day with natural gas. Depending on my firewood source (delivered splits) I would estimate the cost for the same amount of heat with logs would be in the $8-10 range so slightly cheaper, but a reload would have been necessary. Ignoring my time and tool costs, my own wood is obviously much cheaper than either purchased source, but the ignored costs are real, and I have a very limited supply of free wood.

BTW, it is now 10:35 and the room temp has dropped to a frigid 72. I guess I should go reload it now.

Edit to correct the math. The pallets was $280, and I think it was 1920 lbs per pallet with either 80 12 packs or 60 16 packs both with 2 lb bricks.

 

This is good news for me. I am building my home with a Woodstock IS stove. I have plenty of cleared trees stacked as logs, but by the time I start bucking & splitting this summer, they won't be ready for next winter. My planned solution for the first season is bricks.

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The bricks are a great solution to 1) wait for your wood supply to season, 2) fill in when your seasoned wood supply for the year runs low, or 3) extended burn times.

I decided to test a pallet last year for curiosity and a bit of reason number 2, but I ended up really liking them more than I expected and bought a second pallet this year.

One thing to consider is they need to be stored 100% out of the elements. If they get wet they will absorb water like a sponge. I keep themp in a barn. A garage will work, but I don’t think an open sided shelter would be good enough.

 

Here is what 36 bricks look like just tossed in for a hot reload. I have put in 40 or more in the past, but I am not interested in taking the time to stack neatly in a hot stove if there is no need to.

 

Great info Matt Fine I might pick some up for next year, because I have no Oak and to be quite Frank the IS is. Having a hard time keeping up when it's eight below zero with a 25 mile an hour wind. Did you tell us the name and supplier of those bricks

 

The two pallets I have bought were both “Lewis Fiber Fuel” and they came from a local chain called Country Max. Lewis has a dealer locator on their website, but if they are not available near you, there’s a good chance another brand will be.

 

Natural gas at this temp would cost me over $20 a day! The house is horribly insulated with the original part built in 1850, and the newer part full of glass. Also, the high yesterday was 17 and it is single digits all night and today. On a more average day I would only go through 24 bricks instead of 36.

Also, if I was burning through 36 a day for a full month, that would be equal to about 4 face cords of splits, which would cost me $65 each or more so $260+ vs the $315 vs $600+ from the gas co. In a worst case winter with three months like that, burnig only bricks would be around $165 more for the season which is tolerable for me. Also, the “seasoned” splits need to be stored and seasoned at least one more full year, so there is that added benefit. I have not made the full switch to bricks yet, but if for some reason I had to, the cost would be a minor concern. Even with 100% bricks, the cost savings over NG will more than pay for the investment in the IS.

 

Firewood burning for heat can be so cheap that buying manufactured fuel seems so very expensive. But if for some reason you could not burn your stove, the next option is usually a much larger jump.

The biobricks usually result in a cost per btu much lower than the next cheapest option with zero capital cost in equipment. It’s a nice backup option or a transition option when working with firewood is getting difficult. Totally reversible, you can go back to firewood when you are able.

 

Interesting. I didn't know if the bricks would hurt the CAT or not.
The weather guessers are guessing -6 to -12 tonight. I have 12 bricks that need to find a home. It may be a good night give some a try.
You said "I cut the air input back to about 4 notches (1 small notch below the first big one". Help me out a little. My AS goes from 0 to 4 with 4 being wide open. With mine I believe you are saying 1 small notch below 1. Is that setting any different than your night settings for split wood?

 

Thanks for sharing that. That’s about what they are by the pallet locally and it’s definitely an option if you don’t have dry wood. And you’re right, it’s still a lot cheaper than oil or propane, and comparable to pellets. I tried a few different brands earlier to see how they do and they burned well with a lot of heat.
Marshel54 just make sure to read the ingredients on any you buy to be sure it’s only compressed wood fiber. Some on the market use a sort of glue to keep them together and I wouldn’t use those in a cat stove. Typically those are the ones at the big box stores around here. Cheap in every sense of the word, just like the pellets they tend to sell.

 

The bricks I have are nothing but compressed saw dust from a trim and molding factory in Canada. Look for “no binders or glue” on the label.

Here is a picture of the IS control. The AS is different as is every chimney install etc. so you will need to find your sweet spot. As for is it the same as with splits, for the most part, yes. The bricks are more consistent load to load, but the outdoor temp and winds will impact where it needs to be set as well.

 

I JUST told my wife last night it would be $10/day to heat the house with bricks. We use the same math!

 

This has inspired me to run a test myself. I loaded six packages of eco blocks from tractor supply into the Ideal Steel - that’s 36 blocks ($20) at 4:30 PM.

It’s 10:15pm now, 1100 degrees cat probe, 450 stovetop, 90 degrees in the stove room, 71 in the living room and 2 degrees outside with quite the breeze blowing.

I’ll provide some updates as the burn proceeds.

 

Wow, that’s cold! It’s currently 50% warmer here...3!

 

Ok, update and pics... yes I finally made it to the 102 degree club. Zero degrees outside, 102 in the stove room.