[Stoves] Fire Biscuits/Fire Biscuit Cutter

[Paul S. Anderson]

Dear Lanny and all,

LANNY STRIKES AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

Slick!!!   Simple!!!!!   Congratulations!!!!!!

Two main notes:

1.  This layered mass of fuel could probably also be cut into squares, thereby
eliminating the "waste" of the odd shapes outside of the circles.  But 
there is
a certain value of pressing down on the circular cutter and being able 
to rotate
it, helping to make the cut.  Whatever the way it is cut, Lanny's 
creation of a
sawdust-and-newspaper briquette/buscuit is indeed one of the simplest of ways
we have seen for making fuels from readily available waste materials in at
least many societies.

2.  A stove already exists that can utilize the "fire biscuits."  
Without doubt,
the T-LUD gasifiers can utilize this uniform biomass fuel.  The fuel 
units might
need to be cut in sizes smaller than the full-sized biscuits, but that is no
different than making smaller versions of other "processed" fuels like Richard
Stanley's briquettes or segmenting the dung patties into appropriate sizes for
specific stoves.

      As an example, it is quite likely that the "Hanson fire biscuits" could
also be produced in long (30 cm ~ 12 inch) "fire rods" or "fire sticks" that
could be highly appropriate for use in a Rocket-elbow stove.  (At least 
that is
worth testing to see what thickness/widths will stay together for that type of
stove.

     For the T-LUD cookstoves, the biscuit sizes would be nice if about 
one-inch
cubes (about 2x2x2 up to 3x3x3 cm).  No matter that the cubes are not 
perfect in
shape.  When I made some out of dung, they looked a lot like "tablettes".

So, Lanny, can you please tell us the inside tricks to do the job like 
you have
done it.

A.  What mistakes should we avoid (too much or too little water, etc)?

B.How much sawdust, by thickness or by handfulls or how measured?

C.  How many varieties (particle sizes, hardwood vs softwood, etc) of sawdust
have you tried, and is there any indication that some are better or worse than
others?

D.  What about single sheets of newspaper vs 2 or more sheets between the
sawdust layers?  From experience with Richard Stanley's briquettes I know that
2 or more layers of paper will greatly facilitate the cross-sectional
partition/separation of layers in the briquettes.  So, if the stack is 
3 inches
high and there are double-layers of paper only at the 1 and 3 inch levels, the
biscuits/tablettes could be easily separated into 3 units with each one 
being 1
inch thick.

E.  How dry is the optimum material at the time of cutting?  How much 
drying is
needed afterwards?

F.  And what about use of any pressure to help push the layers together?

G.  And any other observations, please.

As soon as I have you reply, I will start making some.  In part I want to
compare there with Jeff's fireballs, another of the new technologies to make
appropriate fuels from common wastes.

With sincere appreciation for your experimentation and imagination about new
tricks with old stuff.

Paul

-- 
Paul S. Anderson, Ph.D., Geography professor - Emeritus
Telephone:  USA-309-452-7072 (residence and office)
Internet site:  www.ilstu.edu/~psanders
For my gasifier stoves info, go to:
http://bioenergylists.org/contributors#Paul_Anderson


Quoting lannych <lannych at bellsouth.net>:

> Fire Biscuits/Fire Biscuit Cutter
>
> Dear Stove Friends,
>
> Check out my new Fire Biscuit Cutter.
>
> It chops Fire Biscuits out of news paper/junk mail layered with sawdust.
>
> I am pleased with my new invention and I laughed when after chopping down, a
> biscuit popped out of the top.
>
> It is easy to use and there is no grinding, mashing, mixing, loading in, of
> the paper just layer the paper and sawdust, soak it for 2-3 days, dump it on
> plywood, on concrete (to back up impact) an start chopping.
>
> Now I need a biscuit-burning stove!
>
> See the photos at Tom Miles Bioenergy List: Biomass Cooking Stove website
>
> http://bioenergylists.org/en/firebiscuit
>
> Lanny Henson <http://www.bioenergylists.org/>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Stoves mailing list
> Stoves at listserv.repp.org
> http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_listserv.repp.org
>



----------------------------------------------------------------
This message was sent using Illinois State University Webmail.