Paper Log Briquette Maker

Our Briquette Maker has been in use for over four years and has stood up to long term wear-and-tear very well. We build up a huge stack of 'logs' over summer which cost us virtually NOTHING, which is great news considering how much all fuels now cost. There are quite a few of these on the market now -- most are essentially the same. I've bought a couple of gifts for friends and haven't noticed any great variation in the materials or finish, even when they are packaged as different brands.
The Briquette Maker is extremely simple to use and produces neat oblong 'logs' which burn well once they have fully dried out. We use it to get rid of all our junk mail, newspapers, magazines, paperwork, envelopes and so on.
Normally we soak the rubbish for 24hrs; we don't use bleach (cos we're trying to be properly eco!) but leave the bucket in a warm place. Newspaper and white paper goes mushy very fast; glossy magazine paper and brochures take much longer to break down and benefit from 'dobbing' with a big stick. The best logs have a decent proportion of newspaper or similar in them because the more glossy stuff goes in, the harder it is to get them to burn.
We leave our logs for three months in a greenhouse to dry thoroughly: you also need to make sure that in wet weather they don't absorb moisture from the atmosphere!
Another tip: if your material is full of staples (like magazines often are) or plastic windows or glue/gum, then it's best to leave these bits out before you soak the paper. Any woodburner won't like getting lots of metal/plastic fed to it, so we try to weed them out as we go.
It make take a few attempts to get the hang of the maker, so don't be afraid to get a bit mucky (or buy thick rubber gloves), and learn how to use your feet to keep the frame steady as you extract each log! You also need to be sensible about how you use the apparatus: don't overfill it or squeeze too violently. Firm, consistent pressure is best to force the water out. And you need to use fairly small shreds of paper to get the best briquettes which hold together well; if you use large lumps of paper then the bricks tend to flake apart in chunks.

When you use the brick maker for the first few times, be careful NOT to exert too much force on it. You need to press firmly to get rid of the water -- but don't jump on it or anything like that, which will bend the metal. These log makers are pretty robust; you just need to take a little time over what you're doing. You can't squeeze water out of soaked paper in an instant!

This is a fab piece of kit. It has proved to be robust and has saved us a fortune in wood and heatlogs this winter. Just be aware that paper produces a lot of ash, and even when dry the compressed briquettes can be tricky to get to light. You will probably need to use another form of fuel in your fire alongside the home-made heatlogs to get a successful and satisfying flame / temperature.
8/10