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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- I made this press to try to make fuel briquettes from waste sawdust and shavings I generate when woodturning. I am not an engineer and I developed the machine from ideas I got on TH-cam and the internet. This is basically a horizontal version of The Peterson Press shown on TH-cam
Thanks. I live in Medellin, Colombia, very tropical and very urban so I don't have much access to vegetable waste but the daly newspaper will be a good starter for me. Thanks again.
I like the simplicity of your design. Thank you for sharing. Your friend from the southern US - Joel
Many thanks Sir.. you know in my country we have problem with over waste and lack of energy resource.. this video is very helpful. I'll download it and share it with people here.. thank you..
Thanks to youtube and people like you can make a diffrence in the world by showing others and giving new ideas.
I wish luck, God bless.
Fred.
That is a super idea and something I had not considered despite watching lots of videos about the pop can heater. Sometimes, like now, it takes someone else to make a connection. I will definitely investigate your idea.
Thank you, Brendan
Thank you for sharing. Your video showed me how to make a briquette press. The CD placed in between is a great idea.
You are indeed an engineer sir, *and* a craftsman! Cheers!
I tried a number of mixes and had varying success. With a dry mix the material was hard to get into the pipe and the briquettes didn't hold together. With a very wet mix the pipe was easy to fill but the briquettes were thin and weak. The mix I used here was the best compromise between ease of handling and density of briquette. If I could get heat into the process that would mean I could use very little water but we are talking about really expensive commercial machines. Thanks for your ideas.
I tried to make sum-think like that 2 years ago. But like yours it was to
time consuming making the briquettes.
I also added waste cooking oil to the sawdust before wet paper they burn straight away if put onto hot fire.
if you ever make an automatic version or any one knows where to buy one please let me know.
Well done we need more DIY fuel
I'm thrilled that you were motivated enough to give this a try and disappointed that you ended up mutilating yourself. However, that was just your prototype so try again with a plastic pipe or a steel pipe that won't flex when you drill it. The principles are very simple, the difficult bit is getting enough pressure. The pucks are hard to remove so maybe try using a ram and hammer to beat them out. I try to keep my hands away from the action but it has taken many years to learn this!
You seem to have taken a lot of things into account and come up with a very effective, simple and easy to build machine that requires few resources.
I think you have done great Job and I never knew it could be that simple to make Briquette's.
I'll have to have a go myself just for the heck of it.
Great Vid of a job well done!
I saw some vids on the effective use of fresnel lenses and was impressed - since they can make water boil then they can be used for drying.
All the best to you and yours, Brendan
I'll be watching your garden vids this evening. Thanks for posting
Edward
Great idea - well put together and an excellent use of 'waste' material.
Thank you for that super suggestion. This is one of those situations where I'm thinking "why didn't I think of that?" I didn't, you did. This idea will definitely be incorporated in the next version.
Many thanks and Best Wishes,
Brendan
Thanks for posting, ignore the silly comments from the misinformed.
I am looking at low energy and cost effective presses for Jathropa and I came across your video
very nice
also very good that you don't add a wax to your pucks should be very clean and hot burning too
Splendid tutorial mate ! Love the press innovations. Thanks for sharing.
Frederick Ippolito Thank you. This was the first, and I thought only, video I ever made. I have some changes I want to try but it's so hard to dry the briquettes here it's seems pointless trying new methods. However, other people might benefit which is what this is all about so I'll make the changes eventually.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
I've watched quite a few vids and noticed many folks put the briquettes in a sun room or garden hot house. With your ingenuity, you could make a small structure to dry out your stuff. I live in San Diego, so that's the least of my concerns. I'll be watching for another one of your videos. Thanks again.
A cocking gun and pvc pipe would have worked jest as well
I like your improvements on the Peterson press. Being horizontal keeps the water off your jack, and the tray used to remove the pucks is an improvement I feel.
I would like to see more ideas for a lever operated press, although this would make it bulkier, I feel it would be marginally faster and make the press more suitable for third world countries.
Good Work.
Hi Paddy, the briquettes burn like turf for about 20 - 25 minutes and four or five will give out good heat. They need a fire to start them but once they get going you can dump more in and they'll burn away. If you do this use sawdust or shavings because pure paper leaves loads of ash, these aren't bad at all for ash.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thank you.
I tried turning the press upside down but then realised the jack won't work inverted. The horizontal aspect was an easy fix. I'm working on a lever version and trying to simplify the building and, I agree with you, it will speed the process up but the more simple I try to make it, the more complicated it becomes so I'm back at the drawing board. More to come.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
Great! I'll look at those tonight. Thanks for coming back with this.
Brendan
@SoyNoseNa Hi, the proportion of paper to sawdust is about 50/50 but it's not critical. The main issue is getting the paper well pulped to release the fibres because that's what binds the briquette together when it dries. You can add any type of organic combustible material to the mix e.g. grass, leaves, cotton, cow dung, straw - if it burns when dry it can be used. It is not recommended to use glues and waxes because wax can leave volatile residues in chimneys and glue can be toxic when burnt.
Thanks for posting, most excellent contraption.
I need some cheap fire starters, and you have exactly what I need
The shredded paper is used to make a pulp that then acts as a binder with the sawdust and chips. The paper fibres act like stringy glue and when dry they bond the pucks together. I have looked at other materials but paper is the easiest to get a quick pulp from. In high pressure systems where a wood dust mix is compressed and heat is applied the lignite in the wood cells is released and acts as glue when cool. I cannot produce enough pressure to make heat so the paper pulp is my best option.
Thank you Tanaoi, and a very Happy Christmas to you, and yours, too.
Brendan
Excellent video, thanks for sharing
Thanks Gerard, this is the one and only video I ever intended to make but things kinda got out of hand! LOL
Best Wishes, Brendan.
The sawdust only needs to soak for as long as it takes to get the mix to a sloppy consistency, there's no need for overnight soaking or anything like that. The most important ingredient is the paper because it has to be broken down enough to release the fibres that hold eveything together. I've found that hot water is the quickest way to soften paper along with a good stir. I pour hot water on, leave it overnight, and stir the next day. Then just add sawdust until you get a porridge-like mix.
@spinaway Thanks Jim, for the kind words and the tip. I have been working on a compound lever version for some time but the more I do the more complicated and expensive it has become...which kinda defeats the purpose. I will continue with the project but, last week, I was in a builders yard and spotted something very common that gave me an idea so I'm working on that now and hope to have it up and running in a few days (time permitting) so I'll be posting again soon.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
It's good, it's simple, it's Irish. Can't be much better than that. Thanks.
I would compare them to peat briquettes. They burn hot for about 20 minutes but need a base fire to get started, they are hard to light without help from embers but once they get going the fire is easily maintained.
Thank you, it really is wonderful to get comments like this.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
Nice work Mano! Good of you to share your knowledge too!
Bret, the pieces could be longer and thicker but then compression and water removal becomes more difficult without hydraulics. If you could extract water from a log-like piece then drying becomes the issue because the relative surface area has been reduced. This would not be so critical in hot countries but is an important factor in Ireland.
If the diameter was reduced then a longer log could be made with enough compression and that would make drying easier.
Thank you for your comments
Brendan
Thank you. I used the bottom of a plastic flower pot with a hole in it to separate the briquettes but a CD would be even better as it is stronger.
Fabulous engineering.
I am not an engineer by any means but managed to cobble together some stuff I had lying around changing ideas as I found things under workbenches etc. Thank you.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
your a true gentleman,thank you very much for your video,merry christmas!!!
Looks like a good device - I've got bamboo running rampant in the garden and would like something to deal with the leaves which don't seem to compost well - might see if I can get them through the shredder and then compress them into briquettes - going to burn the stems in bundles once they've dried
@angurisloud Thank you. Paper logs - no problem but from what I've read and heard the paper logs are inclined to burn quickly unless you can get good compression and density. However, they are worth a try because any free fuel is good fuel.
Brendan
Have you considered getting a steel plate, painting it black and focusing a fresnel lens on the metal. Placing the pucks on the metal, not where beam of fresnel, of course. The concentrated heat should heat the stell to dry them faster. If you make a box with a glass top you should be able to increase the temperature. just a thought... You could easily use the stove to dry the pucks using the pucks you have already dried. A steel plate would still emit heat while doing so...
the large amount of water you use make for a wetter finished product, so they are a little messier to get to hold a finished shape with, my suggestion would be to allow them to start drying in the form or to use a drier mix
Useful low-tech innovation, well-done!
I am looking for low-key technology to pass on to some of the Zimabawean refugees around here, which might help in job or business creation. I think your idea could possibly be adapted for their adoption :-) Thanks for making the video and all the best with your health
I am using a 4 inch (10cm) diameter pipe and making the 'pucks' about an inch thick. I don't want to make them any thicker because drying time is already an issue. You could make larger briquettes using a bigger diameter pipe but then compression becomes an issue. If I were you I would investigate using one of those paper briquette makers which will give you a bigger briquette and you could add other ingredients to get a longer burn.
I hope this has been of help.
That's actually a very good idea. I'll get around to trying that in a future press. I've so much going on I can't find time for half the stuff.
Super "Aggie engineering" as we would call it here in south Texas. I think I will give it a go and maybe I can plan on an easier way to get the hearth going rather than using a brick of porous ceramic doused with bar-b-que/lighter fluid.
It's folks like you who think of ways to get more results with less effort for those everyday tasks, refining the idea's design and "engineering", obtain a patent to protect the idea, and possibly making a couple of bucks!
Thanks for sharing your idea,
John Flanagan
+Jack Flanagan Thanks John. This is a crude 'proof of concept' and, if you look around TH-cam for briquette presses you will find much more efficient types. There is a guy in Croatia called 'Mladin 365' who makes loads of different presses that are much better than mine )If I put a link in here this message will go to your Spam box).
I imagined the last thing you guys in South Texas would need to do was light a fire. Doesn't the Sun shine hot 24 hours a day there?
Best Wishes, Brendan.
+baconsoda 'Mladen 365' - just checked the spelling.
Thank you for your kind words. Comments like this are very encouraging.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
Thank you. I did think of using wax but was advised against it because it can leave a residue in the chimney which becomes a fire hazard. I was going to use candle wax but I'm sure the commercial products with wax in them possibly use something different and would have concentrations tightly regulated. I didn't investigate this area any further because the fire hazard element put me off.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
Hi Kikuk,
I am using newspaper and sawdust but you can use dry leaves, grass, straw, cardboard, seed husks etc. Search for 'biomass fuel briquettes' on TH-cam to see what people use.
I tear newspaper into strips and soak it in water for 3 or 4 days and then stir it until it is a soupy pulp. Then I add the sawdust and shavings and stir until it is well mixed.
If you had a grinder or shredder to reduce the ingredients to small pieces it would be more convenient but I just tear by hand.
Brilliant, great video, am going to make one myself and see how I get on.
I am you 771 "Like" and *thank you* ... I will be doing something soon in Bicester, Near Oxford in OXFORDSHIRE, UK ... it was a great help on my little learning Journey ... take care ; - )
Thank you Roger, this was supposed to be the one and only video I was going to make but, as you can see, things changed! I made it to try to help people suffering from fuel poverty who were being charged a lot of money for press plans. I am not an engineer and was actually very ill when I made this but, thankfully, I am in good shape again now. Are you going to record your ideas? I would love to see what you do please.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Very intuitive. You should post a video of how well they burn.
Will do - can't wait to get started but unfortunately away from home until February
Nice ! You never waste energy and you recycle, hehe. -Sami
Exactly. Anything that will burn can be used. The only issue is getting the material to bind but there is usually plenty of paper everywhere.
Thank you for your comment.
Those are very kind words.
Thank You Fred,
Best Wishes,
Brendan
Hi Euroserf,
Thank you for that. I've a few other ideas to develop so as soon as I get my act together I'll post videos. There's a lot of partially built ideas messing up my workshop.
Best wishes,
Brendan
It's fascinating how some things catch on!
Thanks Frankie,
And a Happy New Year to you too.
Brendan
This is a great ideal,and with a gas powered log splitter modified and with many cylinders already loaded up ready to press ,you could make and turn out, many, many briquettes very quickly.
I never thought of using a log splitter because I've been trying to design presses that could be made from scrap and rubbish so that people in countries where there is fuel poverty could make their own press. I might do what you suggest for my own use.
Thank you, Brendan.
@Plozen Thank you. I'll go look for those videos because I'm working on a version that uses multiple tubes so I could save some time if other people have done it already.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
LOL Sami, I wish that was true because I seem to go through a lot of heating oil but I try to reduce my fuel consumption so that I don't use more than I need to. Still room for improvement.
Brendan
@nannerin That's a very good idea. I had thought of building a dehydrator but your lens idea added would make an efficient unit. Thank you, that's very useful help.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Good job. It works for what you need.
Thanks Neil, I was very ill when I made this video and it was just me trying to find something to do that might help people in fuel poverty because I discovered that some charities charge very poor people a lot of money for plans for presses that takes years to pay back. Ireland isn't the best place to ry to dry the briquettes so this experiment didn't go far but I did get some super replies about it from al over the world so it wasn't a waste of time.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Hi Brenden, If you built a small "hot house" or "green house" that might help speed up the drying, plus you can use a small solar powered fan to help move the air around. A small setup for just doing that does not need to be very big and can help it along a lot, even in your climate. Might be worth having a look at to see how you go.
Regards, Neil...
Hi Neil, I have had a look at some of those drying boxes on here and they are very easy to set up. You have me rethinking this project now. Thank you.
Very inventive! Good work!! Please show us the furnace/stove you use to burn these briquettes and how you use the heat they produce to heat your home and or green house. Thanks for posting!
Best wishes and highest regards.
Roy Lewis Atlanta, Georgia USA
@ecraftsmen Thank you. I've just build another press but I can't try it out because there's so much snow and it's very cold (as you know). I'll post a video later in the week.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thank you for your kind comments. I haven't tried any other sizes yet because I was concentrating on the pressure aspect but I will investigate that area. Your suggestion is very interesting, it seems like the same principle as the sawdust stove - an area I hadn't thought of applying to this project, so, lots more R&D to do, LOL.
Thanks again
@rlewis1946 Thank you Roy. I haven't got my stove up and going yet but hope to soon. I'll be sure to do a video when it's done. I will use the briquettes to heat my workshop. Minus 20C was a bit of a shock for us delicate Irish folks this Winter.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
@yellowmetalcyborg Thank you. I'm sure paper would be fine but it will probably take a little longer to break down than newspaper. If you add a splash of bleach to the water it will help break the paper fibres down faster. Also, I have found that warm water seems to work more quickly than cold.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thank you very much. I have just got this message but it says '5 months ago' on your comment. I don't understand TH-cam at times and this sort of thing annoys me because I reply to every comment, usually the same day I get it so I apologise for the delay.
Brendan this is a brilliant idea. I've always thought about doing something similar but always assumed the wood wouldn't bind well. Never thought of using paper though!
Matt
Thanks Matt, I was very ill when I made this, my one and only ever TH-cam video... you see how that went! I saw an overseas aid charging poor people a lot of money for plans for a press so I decided to make one out of junk to see could it be done. I'm not an engineer or anything but that little press has got a lot of views and I've got email from all over the world telling me how it is being used to help poor people make some money or just fuel to cook. That is very satisfying. I intend to return to this and do a press using a lever but I haven't got to it yet. My briquette press hero is Mladen 365 from Croatia, he has some brilliant presses. Here's his channel th-cam.com/users/mladenkorotaj
Brendan.
Ya I can only imagine the satisfaction!
To help with drying you need to make a rack that channels air through it.
Moving air helps drying much better than heat. A small solar powered fan and a cabinet with rack type shelves and enclosed on 2 sides should do the trick. Basically make a wind tunnel
Thank you, I'm about to make open-air, covered, racks behind my workshop where there is always wind blowing fron the West. Another project, that hasn't happened yet, is a drink can solar heater that works as a kiln and allows warm air to pass through the briquettes and exit at the top. Hopefully, I'll be able to get these done among all the other projects.
@JagdtygerII I apologise. This was my first ever TH-cam video with a simple digital camera. I didn't imagine I would ever make another video but I did and later got a better camera with good sound.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
@liammcanton Thank you. I'm going to do a 'burn' video in the next couple of days because I've just got my stove installed in the workshop. Just a minor problem... I've forgotten where I carefully stored the briquettes but a search of 4 sheds should turn them up.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
this is the kind of golden info im talking about im going to make a playlist haha
This was the very first video I ever made and the only one... you can see how that went... LOL. I was actually very ill here (it was when I had to stop work) but I was pissed off at a charity who charged poor people in Africa a load of money for plans for a press so I was trying to make something that people could make with scrap. It's very crude but marginally effective. I've had lots of good emails about this from people working with the very people I was targeting.
I like the idea of recycling any waste. Do you burn the pucks in a wood-burning stove, If so how do they compare to solid timber?
@gserrano701 Thank you. Paper can be eliminated if you can get enough pressure to produce heat and release the lignite from the cells in the wood. The lignite then acts as a bond which the I use paper for. The high pressure method is used commercially to make fuel pellets and processed logs/blocks. I would love to make a machine to do that but I don't have the skill and it would cost a fortune. So, its 'red neck' engineering for me.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Nice video, thank you.
Thanks Matt, this was the first, and to be only, video I made. Things changed, LOL.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Well done! now I have an idea of what I need to do
Well done!
I appreciate you’re existence good sir!
Thank you Michael.
Thank you very much. Simplicity is my aim and I've planned a lever version but I am restrained by health issues so progress on the actual build is slow, a lot slower than I would wish but... I'm getting there. More to come.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
@ohmybentley LOL, Thank you for this very detailed response. I never imagined this video would get so many views, let alone become family entertainment! I noticed something when I watched it again to see the bits you referred to - I have lost about 70lbs since then, I was very ill and couldn't walk for 3 years so things have certainly improved for me health wise.
Anyway, thanks for the comment. Best Wishes, Brendan
@fjordking Thank you, I don't add wax because it causes a residue in the chimney that can become a fire hazard.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
@DebiB62 I add sawdust to my compost after I let it sit for a couple of years to start decomposing. I have just recently seen a composting toilet on here and, while very interesting and a commendable use of human waste, I don't think I'm quite ready for it yet and I know for sure that my wife will never be! However, should anyone ever ask me for sawdust for their composting toilet I will give them as much as they need.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Yep, I am eventually heading in that direction but I have a couple of other ideas I want to try first. Initially I wanted to mechanise this to produce briquettes fast but I have had a lot of emails from countries where the materials for mechanisation are not available or just too expensive so I'm concentrating on making the device as simple and effective as possible. Power will come later.
Thank you for your interest,
Best Wishes,
Brendan
I haven't burned any pucks yet because I want to get them as dry as I can in order to assess the viability of making them. If they go straight up the chimney of the stove I need to address the mixture. I imagine I will make these in Spring and Summer so by the time I use them in Winter they will be very dry. At the moment I am drying the pucks in my greenhouse but it still takes a lot of time. In Africa and India they dry in 3 days, I'm afraid Ireland isn't just as hot.
I will post results.
Thank you very much.
I am working on a lever powered version and hope to be close to finished soon. I'll post a video then.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
@PukkPukk I haven't burned any yet but I have just bought a stove for my workshop so when I get it going I'll burn some and let you know how long they lasted.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thank you. I've been working on more efficient models and water capture is an important feature because, apart from wasting water, it also contains starch that is part of the glue for later. I hope to have a couple of ideas on video during Winter because Summer is garden time so not much inside work gets done.
Thank you. I am still working on a lever powered version of the press but health issues and gardening have slowed things up a bit. More to come.
Best Wishes,
Brendan
@busterpiggle Yes, drying is an issue here. However, in Africa they also make small blocks to aid drying but they dry in one day there. I am going a different direction with the press. I'll send you a message with the link to the type of machine I am going to copy.
I am still working on a lever operated version to keep cost down but it's hard to find an efficient method for one person to operate. Maybe I'll go with what I have now that would work for two people and try to develop that.
More to come.
Brendan
Hi Garth, no, I haven't weighed them because I just waited until they felt light to lift and assumed they were dry. I don't have any to weigh now because I burned all my briquettes in Winter. If I make more I'll weigh them to see how much difference there is when dry.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
@mrbluenun Thank you. I have just finished another press and will upload a video soon. It's a bit cold for playing outside so, hopefully, later this week I'll get at it.
Best Wishes,
Brendan.
The little central tube helps release water but, more importantly, it increases the surface area of the briquette so speeding up drying and the hhole also makes it a better burning briquette. This is not my ideas, there are lots of people who have done the experiments to discover this knowledge, I just copied them.
@danddps If you look at my recent videos you'll find a briquette burn. I can't put a link in this box. The briquettes are made with paper and wood shavings. Any leaves in the mix just got blown in.
This is good, but have you tried to make them with dry saw dust ? You might need some pine in the mix or a resinous wood and more pressure, maybe a ten ton bottle jack. Good use of materials. I have been wanting to use paper, saw dust and wood shavings all together in a mix and a tuft of dryer lint to help get it started. I also want to use up left over oils and greases and waxes. There must be several ways and I want a press mould to use that will create holes in the side and a hole through the middle. I am afraid plastic will not be strong enough, and a center pole would have to have a slight taper to it to get a whole log off of it.
Thank you Wade. I didn't make it clear but there was sawdust mixed with the shavings. As you said, we need a lot of pressure and holes to allow air through for burning the briquettes. Unfortunately, as we demand more from our press the price increases as well so we have to compromise somewhere. Have you found Mladen 365 yet? He is from Croatia and is my briquette hero, here's his channel. th-cam.com/users/mladenkorotajvideos
Best Wishes, Brendan.
nice video,
I didn't try putting more mix in the tube because the parts were cut to suit 3 small briquettes but I did try to make one large briquette. It worked fine but would have taken a long time to dry. I didn't try to catch water as this was a first attempt and I was only interested in the pressing process. I have worked on catching water in my latest press which I will do a video on soon.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
@ohmybentley Thanks for those kind words. Chickens! I want chickens but not right now because I need to be sure I am able to devote the time they need. My wife actually suggested getting chickens during dinner a few minutes ago so she must think I'm well enough to manage. They could be here sooner than I thought. There will definitely be a video on that development.
Best Wishes, Brendan
I'm very impressed ( no pun intended)
Great work