A company called The Green Lucifer Company is joining the mix of wood pellet producers here in new Zealand. They have distribution centres in Auckland and Christchurch. One of their interesting products they are promoting is a wood pellet basket. These baskets allow users of wood burning stoves ( not open fireplaces ) to use a basket to burn wood pellets without any modifications. They aren't suitable for open fire places as the draw is not sufficient. Burning pellets means that you can get away from the messy lumps of wood that need to be split, stored and seasoned in order to be used in a wood burning stove. As pellets are manufactored to a consistent moisture content they are more predictable as to their heat output. Read more from this link: http://www.greenlucifer.co.nz
Submitted by Lucifer on 19 March 2008 17:11:51
Comments
Surely their Lucifer Logs (http://www.greenlucifer.co.nz/luciferlogs.htm) are a better bet.
Do people think that these Lucifer Logs will be a good replacement for our firewood. (We have left getting firewood to the last minute. The last lot was a bit damp so it could have burnt alot better than it did. used lots of newspaper and kindling to get it started.)
These logs being made from sawdust which effectively is a recycled waste product. I like the sound of that.
$300 for 1/2 a tonne should be about the equivalent of 4 m3 of firewood. Would this be about right?
Submitted by Marie on 7 May 2008 17:31:55
The important question with all sorts of "processed" fuels is HOW MUCH they have been processed (ie. embodied energy), WHERE they have been processed and where the material comes from (ie. fossile fuel used on road).
I honour the fact that there is good use of a waste product but the above considerations have to be made in comparison to your local firewood supplier.
The result not using the local firewood anymore would be that the local firewood will be sold to a processing plant (because it has to go somewhere), carted there (causing additional cost and emissions), dried and ground down to a pellet or log (causing energy use and emissions) and then be carted to some warehouse where you can buy it again.... or maybe as long as there is enough sawdust, the local timber will just rott somewhere unused....
I consider this only an option if local (waste) timber is not available.
Submitted by IngoRatsdorf on 27 May 2008 15:41:16