turning2green.co.uk money-saving ideas that help the environment too

The Logmaker turns burnable household and garden waste into free fuel to heat your home. It produces compact, newspaper-wrapped ‘logs’ which are ready for immediate use and will burn for between 10 minutes and 1 hour, using waste such as shredded junk mail and newspapers, tea bags, dried garden weeds or sawdust.

To use the Logmaker, you simply wrap newspaper around the outside of the tube, tucking the ends inside at the bottom, then place on a firm surface and push the plunger down inside the tube to make the tucked-in ends form a seal. Remove the plunger and fill the tube with burnable waste items, compressing as you go. When filled, eject the newspaper log by using the plunger to push it down and away from the tube. Now twist the ends together or tuck them in to finish, and your log is ready to burn straight away with no wetting or waiting. For more information on using the logmaker see How It Works.

The Original Green Logmaker is made in the UK from recyclable polypropylene, and there is now a 100% Recycled Plastic Logmaker too. Both models are quite robust but also compact and lightweight – just 37cm tall and 9cm in diameter – and are sold with full, illustrated instructions and a lifetime guarantee.

Compared to the briquette paper log maker, this gadget is simpler and cleaner to use as you don’t have to wet the paper, so there is no mess and no waiting while the ‘logs’ dry out, and it’s easy to produce a few at a time as they are needed. The ‘logs’ are much less dense and burn faster, so they don’t make such good fuel as the paper briquettes, but they are useful for getting the fire going or for mixing in with larger logs.

You can buy both models of the plastic Logmaker through Amazon :

Log Maker - The Original Green One

Log Maker - The 100% Recycled Plastic One

Amazon also sell the eco-mania aluminium dry paper log maker:

eko-mania Aluminium Dry Paper Log Maker

(See also the Briquettte paper log maker )

Posted under energy, money saving ideas, paper log makers

The Briquette Maker compresses waste paper into rectangular paper ‘logs’ measuring about 21cm long x 9cm wide x 6cm deep which will burn as well as wood for up to an hour or more in a fire-grate or wood-burning stove. You can use a mix of junk mail, newspapers, magazines, envelopes and so on, although too much glossy paper makes the logs difficult to burn. The paper needs to be put through a shredder or torn up by hand, then soaked in water overnight or longer until it goes really mushy. The pulp is then packed into the briquette mould and pressed into blocks which are left for a few weeks at least to dry out ready for use.

I had one of these years ago and I wasn’t really sure how to use it.  I tried it out once, decided it was all just too much hassle, and sold it at a car-boot sale. Then a few months later I found the dried out paper logs I had made at the back of the shed – when I put them in the wood stove and saw just how well they burn I realized I had made a mistake selling the thing!

The briquette maker is a very robust piece of kit which can can save you a lot of money by producing free logs that are solid and dense and burn surprisingly well. It does take a while to get the hang of using the press properly, and it’s quite a messy process, so it’s probably best to make the logs in large batches outdoors in summer. Then they can be left under cover to dry out ready for the winter – if they haven’t dried out completely they just won’t burn properly.

The eco paper log maker video at youtube shows how to use the Briquette Maker properly, and Log maker review is quite a good demonstration of how NOT to do it!

The Briquette Makers shown above are both available through Amazon, where you will also find user reviews of both models:

eko-mania Heavy Duty Paper Log Maker - Green

eko-mania Paper Log Maker - Black

See also my posts  Heating your home with horse manure for a different way to use the briquette maker,  and the Logmaker which makes less dense ‘logs’ but without the need to wet the paper.

Posted under energy, money saving ideas, paper log makers