|
Post by chronictom on Sept 12, 2008 19:10:01 GMT -8
Okay, I came across a couple of things, things that most of you probably already know... lol
but they were useful in setting it in my mind...
********************* Sawdust/Clay: In this formulation, fine sawdust was obtained by running coarse sawdust (from a construction site) through a #8 (2.36-mm) screen. Clay was added to the water and mixed by hand to form thick mud. Sawdust was then added, and the resulting material was pressed into rectangular molds. Excellent insulative ceramics can be made using sawdust or other fine organic materials such as ground coconut husks or horse manure. The problem with this method is obtaining large volumes of suitable material for a commercial operation. Crop residues can be very difficult to break down into particles small enough to use in brick making. This method would be a good approach in locations where there are sawmills or woodworking shops that produce large amounts of waste sawdust ***************************************
Also, on the matter of clay, I found one site that suggested the use of kitty litter as a source, and said "the cheapest kitty litter you can get" is usually bentonite clay. It went on to say that it didn't work all that well when they tried it.
The cheapest kitty litter you can get is not usually bentonite clay, it is zeolite or diatomite.
The cheapest 'CLUMPING' litter you can get, will usually be bentonite.
I also saw some references to people talking about not using it because of the paitience needed to grind or crush it into a powder.... Don't crush it, soak it for a couple of days in water and keep stirring it.
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 19, 2008 9:34:52 GMT -8
okay, any idea if having baking soda mixed in the clay (kitty litter) would be a bad thing or not?
|
|
|
Post by canyon on Sept 19, 2008 9:52:08 GMT -8
Okay, I came across a couple of things, things that most of you probably already know... lol but they were useful in setting it in my mind... ********************* Sawdust/Clay: In this formulation, fine sawdust was obtained by running coarse sawdust (from a construction site) through a #8 (2.36-mm) screen. Clay was added to the water and mixed by hand to form thick mud. Sawdust was then added, and the resulting material was pressed into rectangular molds. Excellent insulative ceramics can be made using sawdust or other fine organic materials such as ground coconut husks or horse manure. *************************************** To add to this from my experience, it helps greatly to give the sawdust or other organic material an overnight soak in water (weight a piece of plywood or something to keep it below liquid) so that it doesn't soak the water right out of the clay slip too fast.
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 19, 2008 12:06:53 GMT -8
a lot like wetting down the surface in prep for mud plaster... makes sense...
any idea about the baking soda issue?
|
|
|
Post by canyon on Sept 22, 2008 22:23:25 GMT -8
Sorry, no clue on the baking soda issue.
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 23, 2008 10:38:55 GMT -8
Well, depending on the length of time it takes to soak the litter into usefulness, I may know more by friday when I'm back... I have a couple bags of it and will toss it in a bucket to soak tomorrow morning when we get out to the house. If it dissolves?/breaksdown whatever quick enough I may get to play with some and see what happens...
or maybe I'll stumble upon some good clay on the property and bypass all this...
|
|
|
Post by Donkey on Sept 23, 2008 15:29:08 GMT -8
Yeah, better to find the clay on your place than have to mess with kitty litter. Is clay rich soil hard to find where you are?
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 23, 2008 15:39:16 GMT -8
well, I'm not sure how to answer that one yet... the area in general, no, we are in what is called the Claybelt (i'll attach a description at the end). I know that three miles away, there is easy access to gray/blue clay, what that means I have no clue, we are a bit higher and in the middle of a forest. For all I know, I may have to dig 20 feet to find it or I may slip on some when I'm wandering around... lol
***************** The Clay Belt is a vast tract of fertile soil in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, between the area of Cochrane, Ontario, and Abitibi County, Quebec covering around 29,000,000 acres (120,000 km2) in total. It is generally subdivided into the Great Clay Belt to the north running eastward from Kapuskasing, and the Lesser Clay Belt to its south, running from Englehart down to the Wabi River to the northern tip of Lake Temiskaming. The Clay Belt is the result of the draining of the glacial Lake Ojibway around 8,000 B.C., who's lakebed sediment forms the modern landform. *************************
|
|
|
Post by Donkey on Sept 26, 2008 6:49:00 GMT -8
Haw!! I'm sure you've got plenty.. Dude, forget the kitty litter!
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 26, 2008 11:33:13 GMT -8
The kitty litter is so forgotten it isn't funny...
We got out there, and the path that the electrical compnay required to be cleared had been done. I just got a guy to come in with a skider with a blade and knocked all the tagalders down that have grown up in the last 6 years, and I almost literally did slip on some... I'll put a link to some pics later.
We have enough clay, literally sitting on surface on that part now that I could open a firebrick factory... and it's already a pretty good sand content, a little high in some spots, but mostly it is literally going to be toss some sawdust down and mash it in and form it.
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 27, 2008 5:31:20 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by Donkey on Sept 28, 2008 8:41:58 GMT -8
You may have too much clay for cob.. Good cob is actually quite a bit more aggregate (sand) than clay. I've seen mixes as low as (around) 10 percent clay work great. It depends on the properties of the clay you have. Try various soils from around yer place. Make an adobe frame. Use wood and make it so you can pop out a few bricks at a time. Mix yer soil with water till it has the consistency of a good bread dough. Fill up the frames, (don't forget to wet the form first or they may not come out easily) pop out the bricks, label them well and leave 'em out in the sun to dry. If they crack there is too much clay, if they are crumbly, too much sand (aggregate(s), shale, shist, crumbles, and even silt). You may find a spot on yer place where it comes right out of the ground as "ready mix".
|
|
|
Post by Donkey on Sept 28, 2008 8:50:17 GMT -8
Oh.. I forgot to mention: All of the above tests should be done without straw FIRST. When you do add straw (fiber - rice hulls, hair, cattail fluff, whichever) the properties will change again. So, do the tests again, progressively adding till you get the mix down. I usually start by adding what is obviously too little and work up to what is obviously too much. Mark 'em all well and see what's what. I do this same deal with the sand too. The clay content here is just too high and I almost ALWAYS (in my entire geological region) need to add sand.
|
|
|
Post by chronictom on Sept 28, 2008 15:55:18 GMT -8
sounds like a plan... as for how the mixture was... all I can say is as a one inch ball it dried hard as rock and didn't crack at all, which I realize isn't a good test, but I made the ball while walking around and figured I might as well bake it and see what happened... lol
|
|
|
Post by Donkey on Sept 29, 2008 12:53:56 GMT -8
Not a good test, perhaps.. Though it is encouraging. You may have ready mix for a standard cob mix, from the ground direct.
|
|