Replies

1. 
   VaTom | Sep 29, 2003 09:07pm | #1

   I just shovel mine into a hot stove.  Works OK.  A little tedious, but beats hauling it out to the woods.

   PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!

2. 
   calvin | Sep 29, 2003 09:29pm | #2

   Be careful of sawdust in the stove.  You stir up a pile of smoldering sawdust and it bursts into flame.  With a smokey flue, the flames'll fly out the door.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

3. 
   IMERC | Sep 29, 2003 09:51pm | #3

   And it is explosive.

   Saw an add for the gizmo that you're thinking of in one of the country / log home mags.

    

   Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....

4. 
   IMERC | Sep 29, 2003 09:55pm | #4

   Googled - burning sawdust.

   Lots and lots and lots of information.....

    

   Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....

5. 
   Piffin | Sep 30, 2003 01:24am | #5

   I definitely don't just shovel it in. Don't even like to burn it because it is explosive. But when I do, I put it into a paper grocery bag and roll it up closed and then stick it in.

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

6. 
   caseyr | Sep 30, 2003 06:21am | #6

   When I was kid, we had house that had a furnace that was fed sawdust from a large hopper.  Somehow worked from an automatic thermostat, but I was too young to remember any details.  Just did a quick Google as I was curious if they were still made.  It appears that they are, but maybe only in fairly large sizes.  You can get a list from Google with "furnace hopper sawdust".  The first three hits were:

   http://www.hernironworks.com/conifer.html

   http://www.burnchips.com/burners.html

   http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Sawdust_as_fuel.html

7. 
   Tyr | Sep 30, 2003 07:50am | #7

   I welded up a woodburner from a counterhigh water heater.  Worked super for the off cuts.  Then the house got full of smoke, I climbed up on the roof, found strips of newspaper the wife had used to start fires all clogged up in the chimney cap.  Amazing the draft and lifting power of an 8" tripled walled pipe.  I would never shovel dust into a burning fire.  The paper bag idea doesn't sound bad.  Now if one could just find those cardboard tubes from carpet rolls and really compress the dust into those!   Thor

1. 
   SamT | Sep 30, 2003 01:28pm | #8

   Try dampening it and packing it into empty TP tubes.

   SamT

   "You will do me the justice to remember that I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his opinion, however different that opinion may be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it."   Thomas Paine

1. 
   alias | Oct 01, 2003 02:43am | #12

   two of the most plentiful things in a shop- saw dust- and- news paper- at the last 1/2 hour of every day on those cold days. i take the saw dust and wrap it as tight as possible in the news paper i figure 3 an hour with wood cut offs it keeps me pretty warm. wrap it just like a cigar. they can get pretty tight. and last surprisingly long.. stay well ...bear"expectations are premeditated resentments"

8. 
   VaTom | Sep 30, 2003 03:47pm | #9

   John posted:

   I run a planer/thicknesser and produce a lot of waste, any advice on whether it's worth trying to burn that as well?

   I certainly hope that there's a rather large difference between planer and tablesaw waste for y'all.  If not, you might try sharpening your knives.  Planer waste is hardly explosive.  And you sure won't get much of it into a tiny container.  I have used paper bags when I had them around but certainly not necessary.

   Something to compact into blocks would be interesting but certainly not worth a lot of trouble on my part.

   PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!

1. 
   UncleDunc | Sep 30, 2003 04:36pm | #10

   Here's an interesting message from Knots. They talk a lot about sawdust disposal over there.

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages/?msg=9545.20

1. 
   john | Sep 30, 2003 09:32pm | #11

   Thanks for all the replies so far. I've followed up the links but it seems that the info available is mostly for larger installations. I produce maybe 4-6 bin fulls of planer waste a week when I'm converting timber, but then I will spend some time makoing up doors etc and carrying out installations

   I reaaly like the idea of a briquette press, but haven't found anything yet. Might even have a go at making something

   One idea I had, when we think of compressing sawdust what we really mean is removing the air. Perhaps it would be possible to use a vacuum pump to remove the air from a sealed (paper, plastic) container holding a quantity of sawdust, then burn the whole thing. Main problem would be to stop sawdust getting into the pump or clogging the pump inlet

   John