Sawdust “Bricks” For Woodstoves

Sawdust “Bricks” For Woodstoves ENERGY Wood Gas Mervin Borntrager of Hillpoint Wis sells sawdust “bricks” for use as a fuel source in woodstoves He started his business known as Borntrager’s True Heat after buying a large-scale wood brick maker from a neighbor Wood bricks offer a lot of appeal as an indoor heat source They are easy to stack and take up less room than traditional wood logs Borntrager’s bricks are shrink-wrapped in bundles of sixteen for extra storage convenience Though stoves and heating needs differ most users can expect each bundle to burn for 10 to 12 hrs And as each bundle weighs just 32 lbs they are an ideal heating option for the elderly and disabled Clean-up is another positive as the bricks produce about 60 percent less ash than regular wood There’s also far less smoke produced as they burn While the bricks can be used in both wood and coal stoves they tend to work best in wood stoves True Heat bricks reach about 8600 Btu per pound This means that a ton of bricks provide the heating equivalent of 140 gals of heating oil or 185 gals of propane They can also be used in outdoor grills for an easy charcoal alternative Part of Borntrager’s motivation for taking on the business was to provide work for his mother who lives on the property Since purchasing the machinery he’s made multiple upgrades to further automate the process The bricks themselves are produced in a 60 by 60 facility They are made from kiln-dried sawdust that is compacted into bricks through 135 tons of pressure This helps the sawdust adhere into bricks without glue or other adhesives Extreme care is taken to keep the sawdust dry before compaction as any moisture can ruin the final bricks Borntrager sources his sawdust from local woodworking shops and receives it by the semi-load each containing approximately 22 tons of sawdust Unloading the sawdust takes 4 hrs with a forklift His machine can produce one brick every 6 5 seconds forming a pallet of bricks the equivalent of one cord of wood in a little over 2 hrs Looking forward Borntrager plans to add many improvements to the base machine He wants an upgrade that allows the sawdust to reach it automatically sensors in the sawdust hoppers to track the amount and moisture level and an automatic stacker for the bricks as they come off the assembly line However finding ways to speed up the brick-making process itself would add the highest value as it’s the most significant limiting factor for how many orders Borntrager can take on While most customers load their woodstoves with the bricks by the bundle Borntrager recommends new users start out using just a few at a time so they can monitor how their stove reacts Contact him directly for pricing and purchase information Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mervin Borntrager E3675 State Highway 154 Hillpoint Wis 53937 ph 608-495-9079

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