Bear Bricks are very similar to the "bio bricks" that have been sold on the east coast for some time; Made by Bear Mountain Forest Products in Hood River Oregon, they are a small 2 pound brick that comes in a "flat" of 12 bricks. At a total of weight of 24 pounds - same size as a "case of coke" - it's a perfect size and weight for movement.
Because the bricks are square in shape - they can be stored in a very compact space. I was able to put 2 pallets, nearly 2 tons, in an 8 foot length along the side of my garage (4+ feet high and 2 feet deep).
I did a test burn earlier in the year in my jotul stove and decided to pick up two pallets of bricks @ 972 bricks per pallet. I live in a development and have room for a cord or 2 outside my home - the ability to additionally have the equivalent of 2 cords of wood along 8 foot of garage wall is a god send. My wife's desire to strangle me in my sleep is greatly reduced!
I had previously tried the canadian made energy logs that were previously reviewed here - very hard to control and I had a scary run away fire with them. The Bear Bricks, on the other hand, were easy to control the burn. You pack the bricks in tight and have less of the fuel load involved in the combustion compared to energy logs (aka presto logs). With the small, rectangular Bear Bricks, you can also get more fuel in the stove. This yielded an extremely long burn time with a moderate stove temperature of 500 degrees. I have the jotul c450, which is a relatively small insert, and I expect to get easy overnight burns with Bear Bricks.
There is a bit of a learning curve to overcome to get this fuel working well in your stove. Two things come into play. The density of the product and it's low moisture content is a double edged sword. It is very very efficient when the stove is up to temperature, but getting the fire started and up to temperature with solely Bear Bricks is difficult for the novice. It is easier to start with a softwood like Fir and get a base fire going - rake these coals to the front and then load the bricks in the back with space at the sides to allow heat to radiate to the sides of the stove.
Starting the fire solely with Bear Bricks is more difficult, but once you master a good technique things go quite smoothly. I would recommend breaking two bricks in half and using the method shown on the eco-bricks website (teepee) for starting. Bear Mountain provided an instruction sheet at the store - using a small square of bricks with kindling at the base of it - but I tried it by that method and it worked very poorly compared to the teepee method.
I had to provide more primary air to the fire to get it established. I saw where another jotul owner was trying to dampen down his stove and would have his eco-bricks smolder. I thought about this and attribute it to the small moisture content in the bricks. You have less steam and less volume of air going up the flue (decreased draft). I found I had to provide much more air to the bricks to get them going and had to provide more air when the fire was established. It seems scary at first to "open her up" more than you are used to - but the stove temperatures are moderate and easy to control.
I also found it's best to reload the stove while the temp is still relatively high - say 350+ degrees. If you use a standard technique of letting the stove burn down to coals, it is difficult to re-establish a fire with a large fuel load. With the stove hot and a sufficient amount of coals -you can load the stove up and get that dense cube of fuel efficiently cooking again with ease.
Advantages :
- Longer burn times with higher average temps for easy overnight burns.
- Cleaner burning - better for the environment and reduced maintenance costs with less time cleaning the flue and glass.
- Easier to control fire - greatly reducing chances of over-firing the stove.
- Great form factor and packaging - like grabbing a case of coke from the garage. My wife loves them.
- They take up much less space than other compressed wood products (presto-logs, etc.).
- Quality and consistency of the fuel - moisture content is very low compared to cord wood. Purchased cord wood could need 6-12 months more of drying out to be truly seasoned (e.g. Oak takes a long time to season).
- Can be stored in the garage without fear of insect infestation. The wood comes pest free and is too dry to be a food supply for wood destroying pests.
Disadvantages :
- Availability - Coastal Farm supply was carrying them locally and just quit for some reason. I don't think users are being properly being educated on their use and Coastal may have received negative feedback on the product. Mount Scott Fuel in Portland is carrying them.
- Learning curve - burn differently from cord wood - usually require more air to get proper draft (less moisture = less steam = less draft).
Last year I would have said cost is a disadvantage but the price of dried hardwood is up 50-100 dollars per cord this year. The Bear Bricks were $250 per pallet (just shy of a ton). For me, it seemed a no brainer, I could get the equivalent of 2 cords of wood (2 pallets) that fits in a tighter space in my nice dry garage.
For my stove, there are changes in stove operation -
1. more air supply to start fire and keep fire established.
2. Reload stove sooner while stove is still hot.
3. Starting requires new technique. See bio-bricks website for teepee technique - www.biopellet.net
Bottom line - two big thumbs up. I'll post to the wiki and also post an update when we get into the burning season.
Thanks,
jeff
Because the bricks are square in shape - they can be stored in a very compact space. I was able to put 2 pallets, nearly 2 tons, in an 8 foot length along the side of my garage (4+ feet high and 2 feet deep).
I did a test burn earlier in the year in my jotul stove and decided to pick up two pallets of bricks @ 972 bricks per pallet. I live in a development and have room for a cord or 2 outside my home - the ability to additionally have the equivalent of 2 cords of wood along 8 foot of garage wall is a god send. My wife's desire to strangle me in my sleep is greatly reduced!
I had previously tried the canadian made energy logs that were previously reviewed here - very hard to control and I had a scary run away fire with them. The Bear Bricks, on the other hand, were easy to control the burn. You pack the bricks in tight and have less of the fuel load involved in the combustion compared to energy logs (aka presto logs). With the small, rectangular Bear Bricks, you can also get more fuel in the stove. This yielded an extremely long burn time with a moderate stove temperature of 500 degrees. I have the jotul c450, which is a relatively small insert, and I expect to get easy overnight burns with Bear Bricks.
There is a bit of a learning curve to overcome to get this fuel working well in your stove. Two things come into play. The density of the product and it's low moisture content is a double edged sword. It is very very efficient when the stove is up to temperature, but getting the fire started and up to temperature with solely Bear Bricks is difficult for the novice. It is easier to start with a softwood like Fir and get a base fire going - rake these coals to the front and then load the bricks in the back with space at the sides to allow heat to radiate to the sides of the stove.
Starting the fire solely with Bear Bricks is more difficult, but once you master a good technique things go quite smoothly. I would recommend breaking two bricks in half and using the method shown on the eco-bricks website (teepee) for starting. Bear Mountain provided an instruction sheet at the store - using a small square of bricks with kindling at the base of it - but I tried it by that method and it worked very poorly compared to the teepee method.
I had to provide more primary air to the fire to get it established. I saw where another jotul owner was trying to dampen down his stove and would have his eco-bricks smolder. I thought about this and attribute it to the small moisture content in the bricks. You have less steam and less volume of air going up the flue (decreased draft). I found I had to provide much more air to the bricks to get them going and had to provide more air when the fire was established. It seems scary at first to "open her up" more than you are used to - but the stove temperatures are moderate and easy to control.
I also found it's best to reload the stove while the temp is still relatively high - say 350+ degrees. If you use a standard technique of letting the stove burn down to coals, it is difficult to re-establish a fire with a large fuel load. With the stove hot and a sufficient amount of coals -you can load the stove up and get that dense cube of fuel efficiently cooking again with ease.
Advantages :
- Longer burn times with higher average temps for easy overnight burns.
- Cleaner burning - better for the environment and reduced maintenance costs with less time cleaning the flue and glass.
- Easier to control fire - greatly reducing chances of over-firing the stove.
- Great form factor and packaging - like grabbing a case of coke from the garage. My wife loves them.
- They take up much less space than other compressed wood products (presto-logs, etc.).
- Quality and consistency of the fuel - moisture content is very low compared to cord wood. Purchased cord wood could need 6-12 months more of drying out to be truly seasoned (e.g. Oak takes a long time to season).
- Can be stored in the garage without fear of insect infestation. The wood comes pest free and is too dry to be a food supply for wood destroying pests.
Disadvantages :
- Availability - Coastal Farm supply was carrying them locally and just quit for some reason. I don't think users are being properly being educated on their use and Coastal may have received negative feedback on the product. Mount Scott Fuel in Portland is carrying them.
- Learning curve - burn differently from cord wood - usually require more air to get proper draft (less moisture = less steam = less draft).
Last year I would have said cost is a disadvantage but the price of dried hardwood is up 50-100 dollars per cord this year. The Bear Bricks were $250 per pallet (just shy of a ton). For me, it seemed a no brainer, I could get the equivalent of 2 cords of wood (2 pallets) that fits in a tighter space in my nice dry garage.
For my stove, there are changes in stove operation -
1. more air supply to start fire and keep fire established.
2. Reload stove sooner while stove is still hot.
3. Starting requires new technique. See bio-bricks website for teepee technique - www.biopellet.net
Bottom line - two big thumbs up. I'll post to the wiki and also post an update when we get into the burning season.
Thanks,
jeff
