Briquette Making - Stop Block and Push Block

The mold mentioned in a previous entry uses a standard PVC pipe with an inside diameter of 2 inches. This mold casing is the chamber where the compression of the briquette material takes place. But by itself, the PVC pipe has two open ends. The Stop Block and Push Block plug these two open ends.

Stop Block

The Stop Block plugs the rear of the mold. It remains stationary inside the PVC pipe through out the compression process as the Push Block pushes the briquette material. The Stop Block, in turn, presses against the C-Clamp Pad.

Shown below is a magnified view of the front of the Stop Block. This is the face of the Stop Block where the briquette material pushes against.

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Briquette Making - Mold

The mold is another item in the Briquette Making Machine Components that needs to be fabricated. But it's easy enough to make with a hacksaw and a power drill. The mold is made of a standard 2-inch PVC pipe. You don't need the entire length of a pipe so it's very cost effective if you can find a scrap length, maybe from nearby construction sites. That way you can even source it for free.

The mold is the component that will form and shape the briquettes. In the briquette making process, you will be able to finish more briquettes if you have several of these molds.

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Briquette Making - Clamp and Stand

These two items from the list of the briquette making components essentially form the "machine" that will allow the briquetting compression to happen. The rest of the components are merely accessories that will facilitate the briquette-making process.

Although the clamp is easily available in most hardware stores, the clamp stand needs to be fabricated (more on this later) and customized for the clamp. Shown below is the clamp mounted on the stand.

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Briquette Making - Pail and Tray

Since you will be mixing various biomass ingredients for briquette making, big plastic pails or vats are suitable containers for this purpose. The wide mouth of these containers will make it easier for you to mix the ingredients and transform them into a slurry.

Plastic Pail

For the actual making of the briquettes though, you may want to use a smaller pail with a handle. Using a smaller pail will allow you to move it around for getting the briquette ingredients. It will also be convenient enough to raise it on the sink counter. The briquette ingredients are easier to reach and get from inside a small pail (shown yellow, below) when filling up the mold.

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