Are sawdust briquettes any good?

One of our favourite products, they are so useful.

Wood or Sawdust Briquettes are made by recycling the sawdust waste from sawmills etc. and compressing them into briquettes.

Link to Tiantai

Are wood/sawdust briquettes safe to use in a stove?

Yes. They are a completely wood-based product, so can be used in wood burners and multi fuel stoves.

What are the advantages & disadvantages of burning wood/sawdust briquettes?

Advantages include;

• Cost
  Briquettes are a relatively inexpensive fuel source and are usually cheaper to buy compared to logs and coal.

• Heat output
  Briquettes burn hotter than logs but not as hot as coal.

• Moisture content
  They usually have a moisture content of less than 10%, which means less risk of chimney problems.

• A recycled, all-natural product.
  Due to briquettes being made from a waste product, you are making use of something that could have been thrown out otherwise.

• Quick to light
  Gets your fire alight quickly and efficiently.

Disadvantages;

• Can overheat stove easily
  We always warn our customers to exercise caution when using briquettes for the first time, as they burn hot. It can be very easy to overheat a stove unit by putting on too many.

• Storage
  Briquettes expand and crumble apart when wet, so they must be stored in a dry environment.

• Can burn quickly
  This is affected by size and density but be aware that some briquettes will burn quicker than others.

• Treated wood, chemicals and other particles.
  Some of the cheaper briquettes can contain sawdust from treated wood and when burnt will release chemicals, the other thing to look is for is things like glue and other unwanted particles. A good briquette should only contain untreated sawdust particles.

What type of wood/sawdust briquette is best?

With briquettes becoming so popular, there are many different variations of briquettes available. Which is best for a customer depends on how they want to use the product. When choosing briquettes the following should be considered;

• Shape & Size
• Type of wood used
• Density
• Packaging
• Chemicals, wood treatments and other particles.

Shape & Size

Briquettes come in all manner of shapes and sizes.

The most common shapes are;

• Circular
• Rectangular
• Tubular

Briquettes can usually be grouped into three sizes:

• Smaller Briquettes
  These are usually round; however, you can get some rectangular shaped small briquettes.

• Medium Briquettes
  These are usually rectangular blocks; however, you can get some round as well.

• Large Briquettes.
  These are more often tubular in shape; however, you can get large rectangular blocks.

The larger the briquette the longer the burn time. However, this is also affected by other factors such as the type of wood and density.

Type of wood used

This is similar to logs; the type of wood will provide different heats and burn times. Softwood sawdust will burn quicker than hardwood. Density will also effect burn time.

Check our types of wood section for wood types to avoid.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Sawdust Briquetting Machine.

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Also, ensure that the sawdust used is untreated and the briquettes only contain sawdust particles.

Density

The density of a briquette is affected by two main factors;

• Size of sawdust particles.
  Smaller sawdust particles make a denser and tighter packed briquette.

• The pressure used in the manufacturing process.
  The higher the pressure used, the denser the briquette will be.

The denser the briquette the longer it will burn. The larger and denser briquettes will behave more like solid logs when lit.

Packaging

If briquettes get wet then they will expand and crumble, which is why it is important to consider the packaging when looking at briquettes. Thin plastic packaging is more likely to tear, and the briquettes inside may have expanded. So, when purchasing check for any rips in the packaging.

If purchasing a bulk bag of briquettes check how they are stored and look for any signs of expansion when purchasing (or on delivery).

Chemicals, wood treatments and other particles.

When purchasing ensure you have a look at the product to ensure you are getting briquettes that are made from untreated wood, and the briquettes only contain sawdust particles.

How do I use briquettes?

Briquettes have a few uses, the most common are;

• First lighting fire
  We advise all of our customers to use the smaller briquettes when first lighting a fire. This is because of the high heat output and high burn aid in getting your fire up to optimum temperature quickly.

• Alongside slower burning logs
  Mixing them alongside slower burning logs such as oak gives a boost in the heat but also can help speed up the slower burning logs combustion.

• Heat boost.
  If you just want a quick heat boost, then chuck a few of the smaller or medium-sized briquettes on.

• Primary fuel source
  They can be used as a primary fuel source, but remember that the larger and denser the briquette, the longer burn time.

How do I store briquettes?

If briquettes get wet and expand and crumble. You will not get the same heat from expanded briquettes and tend to produce smoke when burnt. If your briquettes have gotten wet and expanded, we do not advise burning them.

Even if the briquettes have good quality packaging it can still be susceptible to damage.

Briquettes should be stored in a dry area such as;

For more Biomass Briquette Machineinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

• Watertight shed
• Dustbin with Lid
• Watertight storage boxes

Have you burned them?
First year doing them?
Whats the binder?
How long?
How wide?

Thread is overflowing with info...

I have burned some. They are about 10&#; long and 5&#; round. I have only burned one that was about 3&#; x5&#; on a piece of steel outside. It burned for 3+hours or should I say smoldered. It burnt completely to nothing but ash. I am using shredded junk mail and old tax paper work that I no Long need to keep soaked in water and blended into mush mixed about 50/50 with soaked saw dust. Yes it is my first year. I built a track/rail style chainsaw mill and thought it would be a good way to use as much of the trees I can. You need heat as a binder. If you heat the saw dust enough it should bind together without adding anything. Thats how they make the wood pellets for pellet stoves. They heat it and then press it through an extrudor. The heat is what binds it together.

Interesting, could you make them only an inch or so high to be used as a fire starter?

Absolutely. If I where to use them as a fire starter I would have to add some wax or something. These seem to just smolder for a long time. I can light them with a lighter and the flame goes out but then they will smolder till they are completely gone.

i guess it comes down to is it worth the time and effort. looks like your machine works good though.

We have a lot of down time up here due to weather and what not. so drink some beer and press some logs just for something to do...the whole setup was free except the time it took me to modify the machine... Looks pretty cool. I bet the hole in the center helps them burn. I looked in to doing something similar either using my shop press or log splitter. I love making something out of what most people consider waste but I don&#;t have a great supply of raw materials to make them.

I burned some of the commercially available bricks. They cost about like cordwood. They are pressed kind dried hardwood sawdust with no binders. IIRC somewhere it said they used ten tons of pressure to form them. The place that makes them sells hardwood moldings and trim. From their FAQ:

BIO BLOCKS are made of 100% recycled, kiln-dried hardwood sawdust compacted together under high pressure to form a wood briquette. Wood contains lignin, a natural binder under pressure, which means that no additives or chemicals are necessary. Yea the GREN Bio blocks that i burn wish I had a hole in the middle to help in the burning. After ignite they seem to just smolder, albeit no smoke, instead of burn with flame unless there is a bunch in there. This may be dumb question, but I know nothing about this process. Are you only milling seasoned wood? If you use chips from green wood, does it take longer to season compressed than in log form? Just wondering if that's maybe why it just smolders. Interesting. My wife works with guy who has a insert. He makes compressed newspaper logs that look just like yours. He sent one home for me to try. Its still sitting here. I had forgot about it until now! Seemed like a good way to plug my Cat? Maybe not. Guessing you will need dry seasoned dust etc. to get the best burn. Kinda of hard to get unless you season your new logs Best of luck.

This may be dumb question, but I know nothing about this process. Are you only milling seasoned wood? If you use chips from green wood, does it take longer to season compressed than in log form? Just wondering if that's maybe why it just smolders.

Not dumb at all. That&#;s how we learn. I am milling very dry beetle kill spruce. I am just trying stuff I have around. Not sure about any of it. I watched a couple videos had way to much saw dust and said what the heck I will give it a try. I will continue to try different mixes and such. I wish!
I've taken a day off since August and that was because I was dealing with a kidney stone and there was just no way I could work. Hell could barely even move.

We have a lot of down time up here due to weather and what not. so drink some beer and press some logs just for something to do...the whole setup was free except the time it took me to modify the machine...

Last Winter here saw plenty of flood events and what came into sharp focus was the damage that forestry debris does to towns when flood water sweeps through. I wonder if there will be a new law soon saying must harvest whole-tree and deal with the tops/slash, and other waste. Mobile grinder and either shoot the waste back onto the hill, or use it for briquettes. I am only cutting the beetle kill from are five acres and making lumber so the sawdust is a bi product I am trying to utilize..along with all my junk mail...