I am low on wood and most of the wood I have left to cut up is not ready to burn. So I bought a skid of enviro-bricks. Glad I did with the cold temps in Ohio this week! My house is toasty warm!
It sure beats going without! I've burned those, at the end of the season. I think they work best with some wood mixed in.
They claim a ton is equal to a cord of firewood, but they don't say what kind of firewood. The very few I tried (whatever brand tractor supply was selling) seemed they were equal to a cord of eastern white pine. Which is fine, it's just nice to know how many you need to buy to make it to such and such a date. And of course whether they are worth it or not when one has alternatives.
Good to know this and also a good way to stretch your dwindling wood supply if you have the bricks already on hand before running completely out.
I am was running low on wood as well, but remembered I had some pine I picked up back in Oct that is pretty dry. Moved that to the woodshed this past weekend. Only handful of some big ole oak spits that I am saving for some chilly nights upcoming. I picked up some eco brick way back and I've tried a few, not sure if it's just me but I wasn't crazy about them for some reason. But they sure are better than nothing when your outta wood.
Are those like the "kindle stick" was bars used for firestarters or are they just compressed sawdust? Clean and easy to use!
I am calling BS on Enviro brick claims. Fromer there web site: Enviro-Bricks are twice the density of cordwood and about the same energy density as coal with burn times significantly longer than cordwood. Enviro-Bricks are a consistent size for easier storage than cordwood. 1 ton of Enviro-Bricks = one cord of wood. 1 ton of Enviro-Bricks = 1 42”x42”x48” skid. Cord of wood = 48”x48”x96” of storage space. Enviro-Bric They are blending two concepts together to mislead. Density and BTU content per ton. Since these are made out hardwood, a pound of hardwood has the same # of BTUs even if it occupies half the space. Coal just has a lot more BTUs than wood. Here I found this little tidbit: If you could get Enviro-Bricks (formerly called Eco-Bricks) at $165/ton plus tax (your pick up) vs. Anthracite at $259/ton plus tax (delivered), would you consider burning Enviro-Bricks? Enviro-Brick stats: Rock hard ~3.5 pound rectangular blocks (bricks) of pure kiln dried mixed hardwoods sawdust compressed under 24,000 lbs. of force. No glues or fillers. 8,000 average BTU's/pound 8% average moisture 6 bricks per sealed plastic bag 96 bags per pallet (576 bricks) = 1 ton (42" wide x 48 " long x 42" tall) 16 million BTU's per ton (pallet) Anthracite stats: 12,250 average BTU's per pound (on an 'AR' [as received] basis which factors in the moisture derived BTU losses) 4% to 6% average moisture 24.5 million BTU's per ton PS: My guess is that if 8,000 BTU's/lb. are available and you will drive off the 8% moisture content when burning, then the actual potential for available BTU's is probably closer to around 7,400 per pound for the Enviro-Bricks.
At least they're being honest about moisture content and BTU content. Many other compressed wood products quote a 0 % moisture content product - which you can't buy - unless they've been stored in a desert someplace. It's tough to compare apples to oranges but one can try to do so logically. Coal and bricks have an advantage storage - wise vs cordwood. a concern in an urban environment.
The thing is a pound of hardwood is a pound of hardwood. A pallet of enviro bricks ways a ton, 2,000#, a cord of hardwood is in the 4,000-4200 # range dry.
No one buys firewood by the pound. You can't make that comparison. You have to find an equitable equivalency between the two purchasing modes. That appears to be a quantity equivalent to 17 million BTU. 17 million BTU for hardwood is a bit on the low end for what one might get for mixed hardwood. Wood pellets are often given values of 16.5 million BTU gross and 14.x million BTU net and even then you have to be careful of the range of values of anything you want to compare them to. It's not like wood pellets are all created equal either. It's far too easy to start fudging numbers with an intentional bias and then you've got a ton of pellets equal to 1.5 cords of wood or 1.5 cords of pellets equal to one cord of wood. What do you believe ?
Even going by a weight basis you have to give the bricks a little extra bump because they have half the water as seasoned firewood. I'm willing to ignore that and say that 2000# of bricks is equal to 2000# of seasoned firewood which according to the firewood chart is way way less than a cord. Sweep's Library - Firewood Heat Value Comparison Charts
Sure I agree with that, the Enviro Bricks are probably slightly better per pound than firewood due to additional moisture content. My point of contention is saying one ton of bricks, (2000#s) = 1 cord of firewood which is 4200#s.
I thought a pallet was 1 ton. I will have to look at my receipt. It’s 96 packs of 6 bricks per pack. It was $194 with a 2 percent discount for paying with cash or check. I could have ordered a truck load of wood, but it’s hard to get seasoned wood delivered too this time of year in my area. These ones are cheaper and burn much better than the ones TSC has. I know several people who only use these enviro-bricks now.
How do load them in your stove? Just stack them in...... I know this is very dependent....BUT.... how long do they burn? How many to get through a night? Just really curious about this. Thanks!
Only some firewood weighs 4200#. My best available firewood weighs under 3000# per cord. Either way, and I agree with your point, 2000# of bricks conrains much less energy than a cord of almost any firewood.
