Compressed wood brick option for those in NH/MA

[Dug8498]

Hi all,

Found this company right up the street from me, woodpellets.com, that sells something called "cleanfire wood bricks".

https://www.woodpellets.com/productdetail.aspx?zip=03051&brand=CSFK&qty=3

I have been interested in finding a decent and affordable source of compressed bricks near me in the event that I run out of seasoned wood, which may just happen by end of February this year... I wasn't expecting to be burning so early this year and don't want to start burning wet oak and hickory.

There's a Lawn and garden shop near me that sells packs of these so I picked one up last night and tried them out. They burn cleanly, light pretty easily, and burn for noticeably longer than just wood (I combined these with wood). I wound up buying a pallet as they have free delivery right now. Price for a pallet was $294 (60 packs of 16 bricks, = $17 million BTU's for the pallet). That might be pricey for some, but it's way cheaper than I can find a pallet of anything else around here, not to mention the free delivery.

The only downside to these is they smell a little strange once unwrapped, so they'll be staying in the garage

Wanted to throw this out there in case any of my NH/ MA folks were looking for something like this! I think their free delivery promotion ends tomorrow FYI

 

[trguitar]

I've used them in the past. They used to sell BioBricks. I bought a few pallets and had them delivered when I first started burning 7 or 8 years ago. I had a very good experience with them.

 

[SpaceBus]

I've used them in the past. They used to sell BioBricks. I bought a few pallets and had them delivered when I first started burning 7 or 8 years ago. I had a very good experience with them.

We just got a pallet yesterday. They will probably save us this winter. We ran out of seasoned wood, so we are using bio bricks to keep the moisture content of the load down. We have some sub 30% wood that is working well with the bricks. If I were only buying firewood, I would probably just buy the bricks.

 

[Wickets]

Hi all,

Price for a pallet was $294 (60 packs of 16 bricks, = $17 million BTU's for the pallet). That might be pricey for some, but it's way cheaper than I can find a pallet of anything else around here, not to mention the free delivery.

Curious to know: How many days will 60 packs last you for? thanks, In 2017 i bought a stack of ecobricks(?) from tractor supply and was using like 18 bricks a day

 

[SpaceBus]

Curious to know: How many days will 60 packs last you for? thanks, In 2017 i bought a stack of ecobricks(?) from tractor supply and was using like 18 bricks a day

How many bricks per tractor supply pallet?

 

[Dug8498]

Curious to know: How many days will 60 packs last you for? thanks, In 2017 i bought a stack of ecobricks(?) from tractor supply and was using like 18 bricks a day

Honestly I don’t know as I just started using them. I won’t be burning them on their own so it would be hard to tell. I’ve gone through a pack and a 1/3 over the last 3 days, so I’m sure a pallet will be more than sufficient to use with my wood for the remainder of the winter.

Every other supply place in the area selling pallets of eco/ bio bricks, Niels, etc, was selling them for $500 or more a pallet + delivery. The price on a pallet of these was a lot less which was the only reason I tried them out. The place also has very good customer service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpaceBus]

Honestly I don’t know as I just started using them. I won’t be burning them on their own so it would be hard to tell. I’ve gone through a pack and a 1/3 over the last 3 days, so I’m sure a pallet will be more than sufficient to use with my wood for the remainder of the winter.

Every other supply place in the area selling pallets of eco/ bio bricks, Niels, etc, was selling them for $500 or more a pallet + delivery. The price on a pallet of these was a lot less which was the only reason I tried them out. The place also has very good customer service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm fortunate enough to have a Dually, so I never have to worry about delivery. My pallet of Bio bricks was $330 picked up. About $75-100 more than the cost of a cord of wood here, but it's 100% seasoned and ready to go.

 

[Dug8498]

I'm fortunate enough to have a Dually, so I never have to worry about delivery. My pallet of Bio bricks was $330 picked up. About $75-100 more than the cost of a cord of wood here, but it's 100% seasoned and ready to go.

Ahhh lucky. Yeah I have a Honda Accord so I’d need to take a lot of trips to safely transport that.

When I buy wood it’s usually between $200-$230 a cord, so yeah $70 more expensive for me too. However, the btu load of most pallets of these things is lower than the overall btu load of a cord of oak or other dense hardwood. That being said, the amount of time I spent stacking to season, then moving into the garage, then into the house, etc etc ad Infinitum... is a lot. I do value my time and that price difference seems kind of worth it to me. I guess we’ll see how it goes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpaceBus]

Ahhh lucky. Yeah I have a Honda Accord so I’d need to take a lot of trips to safely transport that.

When I buy wood it’s usually between $200-$230 a cord, so yeah $70 more expensive for me too. However, the btu load of most pallets of these things is lower than the overall btu load of a cord of oak or other dense hardwood. That being said, the amount of time I spent stacking to season, then moving into the garage, then into the house, etc etc ad Infinitum... is a lot. I do value my time and that price difference seems kind of worth it to me. I guess we’ll see how it goes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do you have access to firewood or do you buy it? We are using our bricks to do the same as you, supplement loads and/or get them started. We got to our house November 2nd, so it was too late to get firewood that had been seasoned for any amount of time. We tried to get by with a few cords of standing dead wood I cut and stacked along with about a cord of seasoned wood that came with the house. The wood I cut just wasn't keeping us warm enough, so bio bricks to the rescue. I've burned two so far and they have made our substandard wood heat like it were seasoned. Startup is a little slow since a lot of water has to get boiled out of the unseasoned wood, but it's working.

 

[SpaceBus]

And yeah, I did the math and this pallet of Bio bricks is really equivalent to a cord of black spruce rather than a cord of hard wood like oak or ash like advertised. It's right at 16 mil BTU per pallet.

 

[Dug8498]

Do you have access to firewood or do you buy it? We are using our bricks to do the same as you, supplement loads and/or get them started. We got to our house November 2nd, so it was too late to get firewood that had been seasoned for any amount of time. We tried to get by with a few cords of standing dead wood I cut and stacked along with about a cord of seasoned wood that came with the house. The wood I cut just wasn't keeping us warm enough, so bio bricks to the rescue. I've burned two so far and they have made our substandard wood heat like it were seasoned. Startup is a little slow since a lot of water has to get boiled out of the unseasoned wood, but it's working.

I occasionally get lucky and find some wood someone is dumping but for the most part I have to buy it. I really don’t mind paying 200 for a cord as I only burn 2-3 cords a year. Our electric heat would be $600-$800 a month, so that’s a lot of savings! I also don’t always have the time to be borrowing my dads truck, cutting, splitting, etc.. I think if I owned a splitter I might feel differently


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dug8498]

And yeah, I did the math and this pallet of Bio bricks is really equivalent to a cord of black spruce rather than a cord of hard wood like oak or ash like advertised. It's right at 16 mil BTU per pallet.

Yup, this one I got is 17.5 million, close to pine. Way better than burning wet wood alone though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpaceBus]

I occasionally get lucky and find some wood someone is dumping but for the most part I have to buy it. I really don’t mind paying 200 for a cord as I only burn 2-3 cords a year. Our electric heat would be $600-$800 a month, so that’s a lot of savings! I also don’t always have the time to be borrowing my dads truck, cutting, splitting, etc.. I think if I owned a splitter I might feel differently


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A hydraulic splitter is absolutely happening for me. Spruce and Fir twist as they grow and the branches go all the way to the center of the tree. Hand splitting this stuff is agony compounded by a low BTU output. I'm medically retired army, so I've got all the time in the world to fill the stove with soft wood. I just almost killed myself hand splitting two cords of standing dead wood, all hemlock, spruce, and fir. The majority of our property are softwood conifers, but there are a few stands of paper birch that will net me a lovely 20.3 mbtu/cord in a few years. At least the soft woods season in one summer!

 

[Kevin Weis]

Tractor Supply packs are three bricks to a pack. Not sure how many packs are on a pallet though. The packs are I think about $3.70 each. Two of them in an average size stove I think would last about 3 - 3 1/2 hours. Not bad I don't think.

 

[Dug8498]

A hydraulic splitter is absolutely happening for me. Spruce and Fir twist as they grow and the branches go all the way to the center of the tree. Hand splitting this stuff is agony compounded by a low BTU output. I'm medically retired army, so I've got all the time in the world to fill the stove with soft wood. I just almost killed myself hand splitting two cords of standing dead wood, all hemlock, spruce, and fir. The majority of our property are softwood conifers, but there are a few stands of paper birch that will net me a lovely 20.3 mbtu/cord in a few years. At least the soft woods season in one summer!

Yeah I’m in the process of hand splitting some knotty pine and it’s rough. Same thing, branches going all the way through

Thank you for your service by the way


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpaceBus]

Yeah I’m in the process of hand splitting some knotty pine and it’s rough. Same thing, branches going all the way through

Thank you for your service by the way


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you!

I'm finding all in the pine family have branches like this. Some rounds split nicely, especially when frozen. I tried splitting a fresh cut red spruce. I gave up after about an hour. Unbeknownst to me I bought the splitting maul made by God himself, the Fiskars Isocore, but it didn't matter.

 

[georgepds]

Yup, this one I got is 17.5 million, close to pine. Way better than burning wet wood alone though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's how I see their best use. Mix them with ordinary splits and lower the average moisture content of the load

 

[Wickets]

How many bricks per tractor supply pallet?

I'm not sure ...I bought packs that were 6 bricks per pack

 

[edyit]

the bricks from TS come in packs of 6 smaller bricks or 3 bigger bricks

(broken link removed)

(broken link removed)

 

[jetsam]

A hydraulic splitter is absolutely happening for me. Spruce and Fir twist as they grow and the branches go all the way to the center of the tree. Hand splitting this stuff is agony compounded by a low BTU output. I'm medically retired army, so I've got all the time in the world to fill the stove with soft wood. I just almost killed myself hand splitting two cords of standing dead wood, all hemlock, spruce, and fir. The majority of our property are softwood conifers, but there are a few stands of paper birch that will net me a lovely 20.3 mbtu/cord in a few years. At least the soft woods season in one summer!

Next year will be better for you if you get next year's wood split and stacked and covered now. Like you said, one year is normally plenty for pine/fir/spruce.

See if you can get some hardwood in too. In a couple years, one big hardwood split in a load of softwood will give you lovely coals to keep the stove going until the next load.

Hardwood isn't always 2-3 years; I found a leaning dead oak this year that I'll probably be burning next year, as it was pretty dry already.

I find I mostly use my splitter for the really tough stuff that I used to use wedges for. It's easier on my back to split the easy stuff with a maul.

 

[SpaceBus]

Next year will be better for you if you get next year's wood split and stacked and covered now. Like you said, one year is normally plenty for pine/fir/spruce.

See if you can get some hardwood in too. In a couple years, one big hardwood split in a load of softwood will give you lovely coals to keep the stove going until the next load.

Hardwood isn't always 2-3 years; I found a leaning dead oak this year that I'll probably be burning next year, as it was pretty dry already.

I find I mostly use my splitter for the really tough stuff that I used to use wedges for. It's easier on my back to split the easy stuff with a maul.

Some friends gave us half a cord of unseasoned birch and spruce for free that I'm stacking today. Seems to all be standing dead stuff so should be ready by next winter. Another friend gave us half a cord of brich that had been cut split and stacked for five years in a blueberry field. It wasn't covered, so I'm thawing it inside a little at a time. This has helped us immensely. I'm going to try and get some more if he can spare any more. Next winter won't suck like this one!

 

[jetsam]

Some friends gave us half a cord of unseasoned birch and spruce for free that I'm stacking today. Seems to all be standing dead stuff so should be ready by next winter. Another friend gave us half a cord of brich that had been cut split and stacked for five years in a blueberry field. It wasn't covered, so I'm thawing it inside a little at a time. This has helped us immensely. I'm going to try and get some more if he can spare any more. Next winter won't suck like this one!

When burning wet wood, see if you can stack a couple days' worth near the stove (but far enough away that it can't fall and touch the stove). A day by the stove can really reduce surface moisture and help it catch more easily. Even a few hours helps.

My best tip is keep the stove hot. If you are reloading hot, marginal wood isn't a big pain to start up. On low coals, you can be there an hour reloading.

Be sure you are inspecting and sweeping your flue! Do it every week to start, then back off as experience teaches you how often it needs to be done. This is really important with wet wood.

 

[TWilk117]

@SpaceBus Im glad you’re home and seemingly feeling better.
Thank you for your service.

 

[SpaceBus]

@SpaceBus Im glad you’re home and seemingly feeling better.
Thank you for your service.

I'm back to a safe condition, but I have to take it very easy. My immune system, which is poor under the best of conditions, still hasn't recovered, so I can't really leave the house.

 

[SpaceBus]

When burning wet wood, see if you can stack a couple days' worth near the stove (but far enough away that it can't fall and touch the stove). A day by the stove can really reduce surface moisture and help it catch more easily. Even a few hours helps.

My best tip is keep the stove hot. If you are reloading hot, marginal wood isn't a big pain to start up. On low coals, you can be there an hour reloading.

Be sure you are inspecting and sweeping your flue! Do it every week to start, then back off as experience teaches you how often it needs to be done. This is really important with wet wood.

Yes, we discovered this the hard way. I was stuck in the hospital when we ran out of seasoned wood. My wife had to get the stove started by herself and we have only had the stove a month now. I told her to get duraflame logs and that got the stove hot enough to burn the standing dead wood that I processed when we got here.