How Many BioBricks can I put in my Stove?

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WDSmith485

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Dec 28, 2013
9
New Hampshire
I am new to wood stoves. I use Biobricks.
I have a new Scan Andersen 10 rated at 52,000 BTU. I am not sure what this value really means. Is it a max burn rate?
I assume that it can consume 6.5lbs of wood/hr rated at 8000btu/lb?
Now, if a 2lb bio-brick has roughly 16,000 btus and I put 3 in (48,000 BTU available), they should burn out in roughly one hour fully open?
What about if I put 9 - will it run 3 hours and provide 54,000BTU/hr?
I have not done quantity as I am afraid to overheat the stove.
I have soapstone trim, and the best measurement is on the back edge which I have measured (with IR) to almost 400F (it measures higher than on the front door).
You guidance is most welcome. Thank you.
 
WDSmith485 said:
I am new to wood stoves. I use Biobricks.
I have a new Scan Andersen 10 rated at 52,000 BTU. I am not sure what this value really means. Is it a max burn rate?
I assume that it can consume 6.5lbs of wood/hr rated at 8000btu/lb?
Now, if a 2lb bio-brick has roughly 16,000 btus and I put 3 in (48,000 BTU available), they should burn out in roughly one hour fully open?
What about if I put 9 - will it run 3 hours and provide 54,000BTU/hr?
I have not done quantity as I am afraid to overheat the stove.
I have soapstone trim, and the best measurement is on the back edge which I have measured (with IR) to almost 400F (it measures higher than on the front door).
You guidance is most welcome. Thank you.
Click to expand...
I have and still use Eco Bricks and they tend more to smolder hotly. I have started with two in the firebox, and added wood as needed, but the remnants of the bricks are still there smoldering after about six hours. If you use them, mix it with cord wood. By all means approach it cautiously when experimenting with the use of them, as they do run hot. Your BTUs on the stove rating don't mean beans unless you know it's efficiency rating and the bio bricks as well will simply burn longer as it is a compressed wood product.
 
I agree trial and error is the best.
 
I wouldn't get too caught up in calculations of heat output, burn rate, and the energy in a Biobrick. Instead I'd start with a small fire, observe the temperature of the stove, and build the next fire a little larger. Repeat. After a while you'll have an idea how the stove behaves, how to set the air intake, what the maximum temperature will be etc. All you need for this is a stovetop thermometer, and maybe a flue temperature gauge.

I haven't burned biobricks but I would be surprised if you can build a decent fire with only one. I suspect at least three are needed for a decent fire, because the fire will occur mostly on the parts of the biobrick adjacent to another brick, and three tends to create good conditions for fire. If you were burning firewood I would confidently say that any wood stove should be able to hold a fire with three or four medium sized splits of firewood without danger of overheating. I guess a similar statement could be made about biobricks.
 
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I started with a few, and later in the season when I got more comfortable with them, worked my way up to 15!! Just be sure to pack them together with no gaps, so they burn as one big unit. If you leave gaps you are asking for trouble.
 
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trguitar said:
I started with a few, and later in the season when I got more comfortable with them, worked my way up to 15!! Just be sure to pack them together with no gaps, so they burn as one big unit. If you leave gaps you are asking for trouble.
Click to expand...

The efficiency is given at 75-78%.
I just tried six configured in Two L shapes of 3 together with a space in between to light them. I left the stove full open and yes it didn't burn to high reaching 400F on the rear lip and 300F on the door. After 1hr 40 I have bright amber stacks still running hot. 6 bricks would be 96,000 btu hence 2 Hrs would be approx 48,000 btu/hr. i suspect two rows of 4 tight together would be ok and last longer? The stove is given for an 8hr burn, I have no idea how that can be done unless at a minimum setting and low heat.
 
When all else fails, follow directions.
 
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trguitar said:
I started with a few, and later in the season when I got more comfortable with them, worked my way up to 15!! Just be sure to pack them together with no gaps, so they burn as one big unit. If you leave gaps you are asking for trouble.
Click to expand...
I put 76 lbs in my Blaze King! It's not really recommended, by BK. Don't try this at home!
I got 50 hours before adding any hardwood!
 

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webby3650 said:
I put 76 lbs in my Blaze King! It's not really recommended, by BK. Don't try this at home!
I got 50 hours before adding any hardwood!
Click to expand...
::P
 
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I had 126 lbs in my Blaze King, thirty-six Eco-bricks. I had room for more, but this arrangement was actually too tight. I had to spread them out a little so they got more air, plus they swell some as they burn.

I only did this because I had burned some in the past and knew how they acted in my stove, and the BK is completely controllable. Plus, webby did it :) . I didn't get anywhere near 50 hours, but I was burning them hotter.

CAM00112.jpg
 
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I ran 13 bricks in the Castine. The fire was quite predictable and provided a good long burn. They were densely packed as per directions. I wouldn't hesitate to run several more in the T6 with it's squarish firebox. It's all in the loading.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/biobricks/

index-2.jpeg
 
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I run 7 or 8 and put them in fairly loose and not out of control but watch them for the first 15 minutes until things settle down. If you do not have a probe I would go by how much fire I had rather that a surface temp. I have had the stack at 900 in minutes and the surface barely moved. and have a clean chimney these thinks make high stack temps fast.
 
I usual put 4 bio bricks or two Eco bricks with 3-4 splits just to enhance the burning process since my wood is not quite seasoned
 
I'm pretty interested in this Eco bricks thing, I haven't heard of them. Where do you buy them? Are they fine in any wood stove/insert?
 
I buy them at my local dealer. They are quite bigger than bio bricks. According to the supplier they are all hardwood unlike bio bricks which supposedly are mix of soft and hardwood. They come in an eight pack. They sell $5 a pack or $265 a skid. Which is a ton of bricks. Usually I put 3 or 2 plus some splits. With 4 of them I had my tubes glowing. They burn longer than bio bricks.
 
begreen said:
I ran 13 bricks in the Castine. The fire was quite predictable and provided a good long burn. They were densely packed as per directions. I wouldn't hesitate to run several more in the T6 with it's squarish firebox. It's all in the loading.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/biobricks/

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BG thanks for the WIKI test on the biobricks,, very informative. One question if I may, what was the usual night burn time on that stove?? Cord wood vs. Biobricks/ Thanks in advance.
 
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