eco brick maker

[matowakan]

I have just invested in a eco brick maker,had a go at a few bricks but not turned out so good!! I tore up the paper and left it to soak for 2 days.
Can anyone help with some hints where I could be going wrong?
Thanks

[Wombat]

Try using shredded paper....

Nev

[Big Al]

I have just invested in a eco brick maker,had a go at a few bricks but not turned out so good!! I tore up the paper and left it to soak for 2 days.
Can anyone help with some hints where I could be going wrong?
Thanks

I used to tear the paper into small squares of about 2" then soak in warm water. If the wife was out I'd use the blender thing to pulp it up.
Alternativly i would squish it through my fingers in the warter to break it down a bit. If you leave it too long in the water it goes minging.

HTH.

[matowakan]

Thanks for your replies.
I had to throw away the 3 I made as they fell apart!
I did wonder if i had used the wrong paper?Used old books which were quite thick,maybe newspaper would be better as thinner.
Fiona

[dave45]

I use shredded paper (not just newspaper - all sorts) and soak for at least an hour (sometimes weeks!). If you don't compress the stuff enough they tend to fall apart. To squeeze more water out I took to standing on it and I have just about knackered the brick maker device. the technique worked but now everything is slightly bent and nothing fits together properly. These things are a cheap flimsy construction, and not up to the job IMHO - designed for cheapness and green-guilt profit margins. I wonder what foreign sweatshop they are made in. Give me some decent Victorian over-engineering anyday.

The bricks burn OK though if you let them dry for 6 months or more.

[Sky]

I remember my BIL having one of these in the 80's, I think they only used it a couple of times and couldn't get the bricks to dry out properly.

[Thomzo]

If you have to leave them that long to dry out then why bother with the brick maker? Just add shredded paper to water and soak overnight. If you want it to stick together you probably would be best using a blender. Then let it strain through an old sieve until it's dry enough to handle and squash into whatever shape. Leave to dry naturally.

Health and safety point. Used paper can have nasty toxins in the ink. You probably shouldn't use a blender or sieve that you use for food. You could try freecycling a blender for the job.

Zoe

[Annpan]

This all seems like an awful lot of energy (human and/or electrical) to burn paper. We burn quite a bit, but usually just to get the fire started nice and quick. I dare say there are better ways to use your time and your paper.

[Ellendra]

When I was a kid we just rolled the sheets of paper really tightly to make logs, and tied them with a bit of cotton twine. No water, no drying, and the rolls burned about as long as pine would have.

We even had a special gadget to do the rolling with, but I think we gave that away when we moved.

[Sky]

When I was a kid we just rolled the sheets of paper really tightly to make logs, and tied them with a bit of cotton twine. No water, no drying, and the rolls burned about as long as pine would have.

We even had a special gadget to do the rolling with, but I think we gave that away when we moved.

I remember them too, prob better than having to mash paper and dry it out as well.

We have a wood burner so we use all our newspapers as a base to start our fires.

[Thomzo]

Just installed a new multifuel stove working well at the moment but having to put up with the smell of new stove

Reheated a casserole on the top earlier and just made myself some hot chocolate but have loads of wood chopping to do

Zoe

[Sky]

but have loads of wood chopping to do

Zoe

Just think of the calories you'll burn doing it though