If you have a wood burner or a combustion stove, you may be interested in a nifty little device that turns old newspapers into paper logs! Showcased (quite aptly) by the Guardian Newspaper, in their Eco Store section, a Newspaper Log Maker is the ideal way to recycle and reuse old newspapers as a source of home heating.
The cost of this environmentally friendly product, comes in at a credit crunch busting £30 and like everything these days, can be conveniently ordered online. The Log Maker is surprisingly easy to use, although does require a little time and effort. Whilst one newspaper should make one log (which equates to sixty minutes burning time) it is recommended you make the logs in batches, using about a dozen newspapers at a time.
You need an old dustbin or really large bucket and an old broom handle. You chuck the newspaper into the dustbin, add water and give it a great big stir! It will take up-to 48 hours for the pulp to be pulpy enough and you may have to check every now and again, sloshing the mixture around. You then simply add the gloopy mixture to the Log Maker and squeeze out the water. Of course, doing this outside or somewhere mess is not an issue is highly recommended! Once squashed the logs need to dry out, so place on top of some layers of dry newspaper (which can be recycled afterwards, but must be changed daily) and give it a light breeze, some sunshine and at least seven days.
Combine your paper logs with wood logs in your burner, to help your wallet and the environment!
Hi
There is a flaw in the agument. I have a large living room, it would take at least 15 newspaper logs to warm it in winter for a day. A wet log weighs about 2kg, a dry one about 1kg. So in winter I would have to evaporate 15 litres of water to get the dry logs. Where does that energy come from? The central heating. Would you want to boil off 15 litres (around three gallons) of water a day? No thanks. Better to use less energy to heat the room. In summer when the sun can dry the logs things are different.
Martin