Spent an hour cleaning the dust collector, and cyclone box from the shop. Mostly table saw dust and plane shavings. Bagged and stacked. Turned the News on and watched a segment on "Chop-Zilla" and hammer grinder recycling 240,000 lbs. of Christmas trees. My puny five bags are nothing, but I got to thinking, I would rather burn, than toss in the landfill, apparently 70% of our landfill is potentially recyclable organics.
Several years ago a fellow woodworker was heating his shop with the ugliest box stove I have ever seen. Besides the flu the only visiable access to the stove was a door on top and a slide vent on the side. He would take a gallon scoop of his sawdust about every hour or so and dump it in the hopper. It produced amazing heat. I asked him then where he got it and he replied he used to distribute them, but the manufacturer went out of business. As I remember it was 1/4 inch steel, wrapped and welded. He said it culd be stoked over night. He explained it had a blower you could use, but he didn't like it, did not install. Had a pan underneath for ashes, I don't really know how he accessed the burn chamber to light.
OK, now I would like to know if there is any small stove, heater, furnace that burns sawdust????? I have seen the Hern Iron site and like their concept, but have never seen anything like their stove in use. All other sawdust burners are HUGE. My thinking is I can use my dust and some from a few cabinet shops to heat my place, if I had a stove like this. The shavings/dust would be free, I would get the separated walnut, and mahogany that has to go to the landfill. Most everything else goes to bedding for horses, They have to pay by the ton for the privilege to dispose.
With the pellet for the home and the dust for the shop I might be able to get my heating under $400.00
BTW, his shop was a pre-stressed concrete box, no insulation and 18'ceiling, with a 16' X 12' roll up steel door and no insulation there either. Kept the place about 60-65 degrees in the worst of the winter.
Several years ago a fellow woodworker was heating his shop with the ugliest box stove I have ever seen. Besides the flu the only visiable access to the stove was a door on top and a slide vent on the side. He would take a gallon scoop of his sawdust about every hour or so and dump it in the hopper. It produced amazing heat. I asked him then where he got it and he replied he used to distribute them, but the manufacturer went out of business. As I remember it was 1/4 inch steel, wrapped and welded. He said it culd be stoked over night. He explained it had a blower you could use, but he didn't like it, did not install. Had a pan underneath for ashes, I don't really know how he accessed the burn chamber to light.
OK, now I would like to know if there is any small stove, heater, furnace that burns sawdust????? I have seen the Hern Iron site and like their concept, but have never seen anything like their stove in use. All other sawdust burners are HUGE. My thinking is I can use my dust and some from a few cabinet shops to heat my place, if I had a stove like this. The shavings/dust would be free, I would get the separated walnut, and mahogany that has to go to the landfill. Most everything else goes to bedding for horses, They have to pay by the ton for the privilege to dispose.
With the pellet for the home and the dust for the shop I might be able to get my heating under $400.00
BTW, his shop was a pre-stressed concrete box, no insulation and 18'ceiling, with a 16' X 12' roll up steel door and no insulation there either. Kept the place about 60-65 degrees in the worst of the winter.
Also if the chips are used as bedding for horses some woods will be a problem.
