How can I make a cheap Pelletizer

[gray_bale]

Anybody got any good ideas on how can I make a cheap Pelletizer.

For turning wood chippings/straw/sawdust/left over hay etc etc into pellets suitable for a wood burner, on a reasonable scale.

Its just the mechanics I am looking for, as the commercial ones are horrendously dear and supprisingly consume a fantastic amount of electricity.

[guyd]

what about a briquette maker instead? fill a strong tube with rubbish, big fat hydraulic ram and a bit of water, squash it, eject it. 1 moving part (ram, from a tipper lorry?). Its what Im looking at...

[Odsox]

what about a briquette maker instead? fill a strong tube with rubbish, big fat hydraulic ram and a bit of water, squash it, eject it. 1 moving part (ram, from a tipper lorry?). Its what Im looking at...

Does that really work ? Or does it all just spring apart when you release the pressure.

I burn birch briquettes which are fine except they shed quite a lot of bits and pieces and now I have a bushel box full.
In the past I have mixed it with watered down Unibond ... that works but is expensive.
If I could do it with a piece of pipe and a bottle jack it would solve that problem.

[ajstone]

If you soak old newspapers in a bucket (paper mache) then add your bits and pieces mix with a large wisk/paddle put the mix into a mould(scaffold plank two lengths 1" X4" down the sides, place a brick,brick space, another brick etc.) when settled knock out and leave to dry. cheap briquettes.

tony










http://www.solarsavings.co.uk

[gray_bale]

That sound easy, and right up my street.

A bit messy thou, and could take a long time to dry out, especially this year.

I do not have that many newspapers to use, what else could I use.

I have thought about fresh grass, compress it till the juices comes out. But how can I do it on a reasonable scale ??

[ajstone]

The paper is the binder but you could use cardboard instead. If you let them dry to be just damp than place them on a board in the roof space they dry out incredibly quickly. I'm you could add straw or shavings etc to mix, keep the paper/card portion low if its not readily available.

tony










http://www.solarsavings.co.uk

[Ireland-or-bust]

Hi,

I don't have a pellitizer but i do have a briquette maker.

A friend of mine made me up a stainless box about 10mm thick with a follower to fit in it.
I use a 10 ton car ram, its manual powered so no compressor needed.
My idea was to use the bottomless supply of saw dust my joiner neighbour makes, to make briquettes.
I mixed the saw dust with water and wood glue to bind it.
It seems to work but my problem has been getting the bricks out of the mould.
I could use cling film or something like that, but prefer something non-disposable.

Good luck tho
Mark

[gray_bale]

I have just managed to get a large bore and wall thickness stainless tube.

Setup basically the same as yours. But with a hinged bottom, that is pinned shut.

So when all the compressing has finished, I can remove the bottom, and just push it out.

The trouble I am having is the amount of stroke of the ram, and then additional stroke to push it out.

Along the same lines as per previous messages, when one pile has been compressed, put a spacer between that and the next load, and do that for however long the tube is. Then push the whole lot out.

But I am beginning to think along the lines of using an electrically operated hydraulic log splitter, and modify what it cuts/compresses. Using a coffin shaped holder for the sawdust, rubbish etc, but with a hinged long side and hinged top, to get the briquette out.

[PaulDK]

Ive posted this somewhere on this forum already, BUT, i just use old toilet roll tubes, cram them full of soggy paper, holding the tube tight as i do it, so it doesnt spring apart...base it on a draining board too.

Leave them in the sun or by a window to dry out, and hey presto, a ready made small log for the coal fire.
Toilet roll tubes are just the right size, and get friends or family to save theirs too, bring thier old newspapers, and that'll keep you busy on a sunday afternoon.

You know what they say....(crude and rude this is) out of a 'log' come a log...
sorry for that one....

[guyd]

if the tube is slightly conical, then the ejection would be easier.

I got my log splitter yesterday - so have yet not had a chance to rip it aprt and much about with it. It already needs modifying, as it lacks 'spreader wings'

re bog roll tubes. Um - yeah - for a 1 bed flat, that might be OK - we have a 18thC water mill, with 5 bedrooms. That is an awful lot of bog roll tubes. roll on my 10 ton splitter!

[Witsinfr]

I've been experimenting with this.

We've a lot of dry hay, cut and packed in boxes in our barn. So I use one of those hand-operated briquette makers, using a mix of hay and 'used' rabbit bedding (wood shavings et al), compress it after first lining the unit with cardboard and a string for tying.

Seems to work, don't need anything wet as the string holds it together. We've plenty of hay, plenty of cardboard.

Burns OK, could last longer but does seem to leave quite a bit of ash, not a problem as this then goes out onto the pile which the chickens absolutely love picking over...

[gray_bale]

Weve got plenty of hay suitable for burning this year, but not suitable for feed. Just managed to get the last round bales off the field. But the hay does not smell good as its too fusty.

[JayBee]

A pelletiser uses a lot of energy because it usually uses a ram of some sort. Pellets are compressed at high pressure so that the lignin in the wood bonds the pellet together.

For my wood gasifiers I just use a garden wood chipping machine.

You can read a little about my work at http://wood-gas.blogspot.com

[steve64]

I found this on the net!
http://allotments.wetpaint.com/page/Hom ... briquettes

Steve64