Firewood vs. Bear Bricks

[AchingBack]

Has anyone tried these?
pellets, Bear Mountain Forest Products Bear Bricks

 

[Midniteoyl]

Apparently its less BTU per 'cord' (a ton equals a cord?), but has other advantages.. A cord of mixed wood - no pine - has about 20-21MBTUs.. The Bricks are suppose to be 15.5MBTUs per ton.

Heres another forum with info: Quick Review : Bear Mountain "Bear Bricks". | Hearth.com Forums Home

 

[Midniteoyl]

I'm lost...?

One website claims 16,000 btu per brick @ 972 bricks = 15.5MBTU's..

The reviewer linked claims about the same - 16MBTUs

BUT,

The Bear Brick website claims 8200BTUs per brick which is HALF. They are also suppose to be 972 bricks per pallet, and a pallet is suppose to be a ton. 972 bricks @ 3lbs = 2916 pounds. MORE than a ton. And, 972 x 8200 = 7.97MBTUs.. WAAYY less than a cord of wood..


Am I missing something?

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Beats me. Of course I have 20 acres of trees that I can harvest whenever I want.

 

[CobyRupert]

They're "100% Ponderossa Pine"

Here's a BTU by species table:

Wood Heating - Forestry - forestry.usu.edu

 

[Katahdin]

I use similar products, but the ones I use claim to be produced from hardwood sawdust shavings. They have very little moisture content so they do burn very well and hot. They stack and store very well (indoors only) but the price is usually the main disadvantage to firewood. Presently I buy a ton or two every year and mix them in with the cord wood. I buy two sizes, smaller blocks when starting the fire and larger ones for overnight burns. If you have questionably seasoned cord wood, mixing these in will help it burn. Again, I shy away from only using these because of the price vs cord-wood.

The smaller blocks I use (Envi8s): Wood Blocks by Bio-Diversity | Bio-Diversity

The larger blocks I use: ECO Bricks® Fuel Blocks, Pack of 3 - Tractor Supply Co.

 

[oosik]

I find some of their claims to be downright misleading or just plain wrong. Moisture content vs cord wood, BTU's and comparing products using differing units of measurement - a cord vs a ton??? Looks to me like a Presto Log in a different shape.

 

[StanI]

I bought 2 tons of these for the 2013-14 winter; they have a number of serious issues; they are not tightly packed and so flake apart when stacking and when moving to the house and so on--making a real mess; they are not wrapped so they absorb moisture and so come apart even more now (March) than in November; they "Puff up" right away when burning; you think you have coals to put your hard wood on but it is just fluffy ash; they do not last very long--like burning softwood; I compared them to the Press-to-Logs that I bought and the Press-to-Logs are much tighter, better wrapped and burn longer--and no mess (but cost a bit more). The version of Bear Bricks I bought are like the ones in the photo--pack of six with a paper and a band around them; they do not have a "bear" stamp into them like some pictures I have seen; these appear to be more cheaply made than the "stamped" ones; hope this is helpful