Anyone use Biobricks in a gasifier?

[nhjohn]

I'm getting a Tarm Solo 60 but a little concerned about my current wood supply (quality). I'm think about using biobrick as a back up or main source for this year. Any thoughts?

 

[leaddog]

I havent used them but I think that you could mix them in with wetter wood and they would work out well. The ideal moisture content for a gasifier is 15 to 20% and by mixing you should beable to use greener wood.
leaddog

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

They'll run in an Econoburn. I can't see why they wouldn't work in a Tarm, as well.

Joe

 

[chuck172]

Never heard of them before, are they very expensive?

 

[nhjohn]

Not too expensive. They say a ton of Biobrick replaces a cord of seasoned wood. The going rate to a ton is 300. The nice thing is that they take up much less space and are easier to deal with. Also, it is an engineered product so the consistency is very good.

 

[TCaldwell]

the biobrick manufacturer in berlin ct had me ''test'' them in the garn, vs. cordwood. Biobricks started out slowly, as they were stacked tightly, once they caught they burned extreemly hot lasting only about 45 minutes before they were a pile of embers. Cordwood caught a little faster lasted longer but not as hot in general.

 

[nhjohn]

TCaldwell - thank for the info. How long did the cordwood last? More importantly, which do you think put the most BTU's into the tank?

 

[Jersey Bill]

I bought a ton of biobricks last year to use in my KP Pyro. They were dry, but they worked fine. I did mix them with my cordwood. By themselves, they wouldnt last long.

They stacked and handled nicely.

 

[TCaldwell]

I am unable to locate the exact data, however i believe that the tests were run with 3 loads of 50 bioblocks each, totaling 150 blocks and the total time was about 2.5 hrs. keep in mind the garn is draft induced. the flue temps were about 550deg, about 200deg above a cordwood burn.as they burned fast and hot burned alone alot of heat went up the flue. I keep some on hand and mix in with less desirable wood to maintain high temps required for gasification. I suspect if all you were only going to burn were biobricks you might need smaller and more frequent loading than with cordwood, for a batch burning boiler. You would have to experiment with a demand or natural draft boiler, they do burn clean, and are worth the learning curve in my opinion.

 

[eafuelbrick]

Run a Econoburn 150 and run fuel bricks (Bio Bricks tm.) Works just fine. Have a vested interest as a manufacturer of fuel bricks and being a dealer for Econoburn. Have run tests at the factory in Brtocton, NY and have found C02 emmisions as well as smoke test emmisions to be extremely low. Stack temp does run a little higher than split wood but not anything to worry about. The lower moisture content does not seem to be a problem as we still get a good gasification flame. Hope this helps.

 

[EricV]

I looked at them yesterday at a show and they were $349/ton. That's approaching oil I think.

The Town of Plattsburgh had an alternative energy show here yesterday. The funny thing was the same day they announced a ban on outdoor wood boilers in that town in the paper. bad timing I guess, good show though.