Log Makers

khitajrah · Log Makers

Does anyone use a log maker? I have a relative back in Canada who is struggling to heat her house with the cost of it all, and so I thought I'd send her one of these over - apparently they aren't sold in Canada. Which one would be the best one? Wet or dry? OR, does anyone have a second-hand one that they're not needing?

monkey nuts

We have one we aren't using. Pm me if you are interested.

pete_inthehills

we have one of the wet log makers. You have to soak paper for a bit and then cram it in to a mould and press down with handle thingy.

It takes time to dry them again and they do seem to produce a lot of ash in the fireplace.

I tend to make them during the summer and dry them in the polytunnel and then burn them in the winter.

pete
inthehills

terrier

hi everyone,
i've been thinking of getting one of these paper log makers to stretch the wood out a bit and was wondering if the logs burn very well, so whats the verdict are they worth getting or not.
terrier

IainC

I think (as in, never had one so just thinking about it) that you need to mix other stuff in with the paper to help make them last, so mix in sawdust, bits of stick, etc otherwise I'd imagine they'd burn fairly quickly (when dry) and leave a ton of ash.

Did wonder about getting one myself TBH as we can end up using a fair bit of paper sometimes (if the sticks are a bit wet)... figured if you could mix up a bit of extra sticks, crumble in some bits of fire lighter, etc then you'd have a fairly decent, reliable way of getting the fire started, wet sticks or not.

Fia

I once borrowed one of these for a few days, and offer this heartfelt bit of advice.

Don't think - ah, we'll make as many as possible, lets have a production line

I filled the bath with torn up newspaper and spent what felt like hours over the next few days making the darn things. Then, of course, they were wet. I lived in a flat, no outdoor storage. It was winter. It was like living in a cool sauna for weeks. Despite open windows the humidity was immense. And none of us could bath. (where's a smelly emoticon when you need one?)

It was traumatic and I might have frightened myself off them for good.
Once dry they were fabulous though, particularly for rekindling an almost out fire.

IainC

Yeah, would imagine doing them in small amounts would be better... plus being able to chuck them in a shed/garage to dry instead of inside the house.

ger

I think they sound like a great idea but I imagin that you need to spend a day making a load, I think i might give it a try this summer

myra

we have one, the dry logs are good for lighting the fire, but they took us ages to make them - maybe we are just not very good at it? I made mine outside as the whole process was pretty messy. Wouldn't really recommend the log maker but can be useful sometimes. We make the paper logs in the summer so that we can leave them outside to dry.