Saturday, November 1, 2008

Newspaper Fire Logs

I blogged a while back regarding making fire logs from newspapers. Click here to read that entry. You can find a tool online to make these for you. I didn't want to spend the money and found that if you layer 3 newspapers together, minus the color portions (comics, ads) and roll as tight as you can, that this log will burn for about an hour. Here is what my finished newspaper logs look like:



It is a bit difficult to roll them tight, then hold them to secure wire on the ends. It is more of a two person job. Once done burning, just pick out the wire and re-use for future fire logs. The downside of burning these is that they create a huge amount of ash! I would recommend burning no more than 2 at a time. I ended up having to clean out my fireplace with just one log burned, but my fireplace is also on the small side.

2 comments:

Suz said...

We have a woodstove and cut our own firewood. I didn't realize how costly firewood could be until Hubby came across a guy selling oak firewood and we looked into the normal prices to see if it was a good deal... it ended up it was so we bought some for the first time ever (we've never had access to oak before and Hubby wanted some for camping trips as much as anything)
Never thought of using newspaper as logs before, although we use it to start our fires.
I could see how it could work for some especially if they don't have access to inexpensive firewood, or only burn it on occasion. My only concern would be the possibility of creasote forming because I can't imagine the newpaper puts off the same kind of heat that gives you a good draft like wood does. I would think it would be ok on occasion and if you're going to be home to monitor it, but would be concerned if someone used it as a primary heat source.
Great tip for those wanting the occasional fire or that have run out of wood for the time being.

DeeDee said...

suz,
Great point regarding heat output. We normally use our fireplace for ambiance, not for heating our home. We typically use the Duraflame type logs and have found that adding in a newspaper log extends the burn time of the fire.
We NEVER burn the fireplace if we aren't home to monitor it.
I had a chimney sweep come out and clean my fireplace, he stated that if you use your fireplace more than 3 times a week (on average), you should have it cleaned and inspected every 2 years. I think that most people forget to have them cleaned and that is where the fire danger is greatest.