NIELs in CT?

[chazcarr]

Just went and got some "Special Logs" from a new place that started up making energy bricks near me. To my surprise, I did not end up with bricks, but Energy Logs! Big heavy suckers too! The owner told me it was an Idaho machine. Can it really be?



And these are the broken in production factory cast offs I got. Around 14 to 13 inches long and about 4 inches thick.



Can't wait to try them out (still pretty warm here) and give a review. I will update this thread when I do.

Probably soon, can't wait to play around with new toys.

 

[gregbesia]

Pretty cool. Do they offer factory tours? How much do they cost?

 

[prezes13]

Hey chazcarr where did you get the niels? I know there is a place in enfield selling them but I don't feel like driving 45 minutes one way to get them.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

I that factory in the waterbuy area? I think I met one of the owners at work last year.

 

[BillLion]

Very interested too -let us know!

 

[prezes13]

I think that hot bricks are made in Waterbury.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

I sold a car to a guy that was in the Bio mass fuel business, can't remeber the name of the company

 

[chazcarr]

I answered this craigslist ad: (broken link removed to http://newhaven.craigslist.org/for/4674456499.html)

Talked to the guy named Steven. This is in Waterbury and it is the Hot Bricks factory.

These are sold as (broken link removed).


Steven is a cool dude, they are working hard down there, but I was amazed to be there and he showed me the whole place and talked about how things work.

I watched them make all their products, the wood chips seem of really good quality. He QCs all the product and won't sell what he doesn't think came out right. I got some bricks this year too so I will be trying them out as well.

 

[JTRock]

Wow that's cool. Excited about your upcoming review. What's the pricing? How many for the $135

 

[chazcarr]

120 factory seconds for the money. They sell regularly 3 for $9 or over $400 a ton.

 

[JTRock]

Wow $400 They better be the 2nd coming for that price

 

[prezes13]

Yeah I cannot see people paying $400 for a ton. I have seen NIELs for just a tad over $300 and I thought it was a lot.

 

[JTRock]

The taxes are high in Waterbury though lol!

 

[chazcarr]

This guy sells them for $359 per pallet. It would cost $75 for delivery thought.

(broken link removed to http://www.pelletsdirect.com/Envi%20Block%20&%20Logs.htm)

 

[prezes13]

This guy sells them for $359 per pallet. It would cost $75 for delivery thought.

(broken link removed to http://www.pelletsdirect.com/Envi%20Block%20&%20Logs.htm)

He is expensive. Try BT enterprises. Eco Bricks were $265 last year.

 

[chazcarr]

Hello Everyone,

For those interested I wanted to give my review of these logs.

They are great in my stove. Here is what I have done:
1) Get a good ash bed going using hot bricks and pine splits that I have.
2) Add one and a half of these suckers at around 10pm.
3) By about 10:30 I can usually close the stove down and let it cruise all night. Stove temp around 500-600.
4) 7am next day and still large orange glowing chunks in the stove and a stove temp around 200.
5) Place a few pieces of kindling in there and they immediately take off.
6) Put some envi-blocks or hot bricks in there and leave for work. My wife will check on it from there.

So really I am very pleased. This is the first time I have gotten consistent overnight burns with easy refresh in the mornings.
These things live up to the hype and I hope I can get some cast-offs again next year.

 

[weatherguy]

120 factory seconds for the money. They sell regularly 3 for $9 or over $400 a ton.

$1.25 per log, that's a good deal. That's 28 cents cheaper than I can get them.

 

[Snap]

Are there dealers in CT? That deliver?
Direct sale seems to be pickup only, atleast for now.

 

[chazcarr]

Are there dealers in CT? That deliver?
Direct sale seems to be pickup only, atleast for now.

According to their website you can try calling any of the places listed (broken link removed). Seems someone should since they are made in Waterbury.

 

[Snap]

120 factory seconds for the money. They sell regularly 3 for $9 or over $400 a ton.

3 for $6 in Bristol. Still pricy. Figuring 7.8# each that's over $500/ton in the 3 packs.

I tried one tonight atop a couple of Eco blocks.
Lite the pile with a few pieces of Super Starter.
Eco blocks took off but it took quite a while for the log to catch and it only showed flame for a short time then reverted to a progressive spread of red glow throughout, similar to how charcoal acts.
Perhaps the bed of coals needs to be developed before adding the log but the anticipated romance of a flame was lacking.
Will try again, hopefully for a better technique tomorrow night.

Home Fire Prest Logs seem of similar size but appear to be of softwood. Video seen shows a flaming fire.

 

[weatherguy]

3 for $6 in Bristol. Still pricy. Figuring 7.8# each that's over $500/ton in the 3 packs.

I tried one tonight atop a couple of Eco blocks.
Lite the pile with a few pieces of Super Starter.
Eco blocks took off but it took quite a while for the log to catch and it only showed flame for a short time then reverted to a progressive spread of red glow throughout, similar to how charcoal acts.
Perhaps the bed of coals needs to be developed before adding the log but the anticipated romance of a flame was lacking.
Will try again, hopefully for a better technique tomorrow night.

Home Fire Prest Logs seem of similar size but appear to be of softwood. Video seen shows a flaming fire.

They work best when put on a load of coals, they are pretty compressed. I always mixed in some wood with them, seemed to work better.

 

[Snap]

Chaz,
So what's the verdict on the logs compared to the Envis?

 

[chazcarr]

Chaz,
So what's the verdict on the logs compared to the Envis?

These things are great. A thousand times better than Pressto Logs for sure.
They burn hot and long. In my stove about 8 hours of above 200 degree heat. A lot of that time above 500.
Best way to use them is one at a time with some other wood in there to keep it balanced so it doesn't roll onto the glass.

The Envi blocks are great too, and a bit cheaper so I will probably use those still going forward, these logs are overnighters only for me.

 

[Snap]

A slight topic deviation, I've noticed that some of the block/brick products appear less consistent than others with numerous delaminations or splits within the product. I would tend to consider the seconds but they are not sold as such. I won't mention the retail store name but I noticed a whole pallet of large blocks on the floor all with serious cracks and splits, some with several within any one block.

The (retail) log product, on the otherhand, appears very consistent, smooth surfaced and well formed with no cosmetic issues.

I was curious if that could be either a function of the materials used or the manufacturing process. The logs appear very dense so perhaps they use more pressure in manufacture or perhaps finer raw materials than bricks. The materials are probably changing with availability so that's hard to pin down as a cause.

 

[chazcarr]

yes, the logs are made under a lot more pressure. I dropped one the other day and it cracked the floor it hit but did not crack itself.
These things are solid!