Eko-Mania Dry Paper Log Maker

I was delighted to buy this, thinking I would be both ecofriendly and economical! Be warned that unless you are very strong and able, this device is impossible to use!!!! There is no warning about how hard it is to push the paper down the tube with the plunger. I have difficulties with my hands and wrists so this was absolutely useless. However I still think that it would be very difficult to use even if you were able bodied with normal upper body strength.I fiddled about with less paper,looser paper - but nope! No go! So I sent it back...really disappointed!

But in practice it isn't as easy to use as the manufacturers make out. I couldn't plunge the paper down far enough, maybe it needs someone stronger than me. Also, I had to tear it into strips first. So I ended up making the outer shell and stuffing it by hand, using the plunger to tamp it down afterwards. This got me wondering whether my old way, passed down through my family, of just pleating newspaper and knotting it at both ends wasn't preferable to all this gadgetry!

Simple to use, over 2000 logs made to date with waste paper so that has been reused/recycled.

This didn't work as well as I was hoping, all the hard work wasn't worth it, they did't burn that well

First of all, it does work and consequently it gives a relatively easy-to-do use for waste paper. However, there are some things of which you should be aware, so that your expectations do not exceed the actuality:* If I used it as per instructions and compressed with all my strength, I did not have the strength to push the log out of the tube. The solution I found was not to fill it as much -- four double broadsheets gives about the right fill, so that the force required to eject is about the same as the force of compression.* Be very careful when ejecting the log and ensure that no part of your hand can get caught between the tube and the plunger -- my second log left me with a 1cm diameter blood-blister! Subsequently OK -- once bitten, etc.* It says that the logs burn for "up to" 30 mins -- expect about half that unless the fire is damped right down.* The paper logs produce much more ash than wood or eco-logs.* We have decided that the best use for these paper logs is as kindling/firelighters -- one log, on top of a scrunched up sheet of newspaper, is sufficient to light our woodburner.Edit, 22 April 2009: I have found that the best "fill" is paper from the shredder. For some reason it can compress down very tight without jamming.

Perhaps this works with shredded newspaper, but that wasn't what we wanted to get rid of. With ordinary torn up junk mail paper waste it quickly jammed and even getting the the plunger out was difficult let alone ejecting the log. As suggested by another reviewer I tried putting less in but no joy. Grand idea, but not at all "green" making and transporting it!

As in other reviews I have to say that it is not a easy thing to use and that the logs do not burn for as long as the dried wet ones I make ,but it does use up my sawdust and shredded paper in a neat way.Points to remember are don't over fill it ,don't compress it to hard as this makes it harder to push out,start by making small loose logs at first then add more or compress firmer to cope with how difficult it is push out. When pushing out do it slowly and keep your hands on the tube and away from the plunger so as not to trap your fingers very painful !

Encountered similar problems with over compacted log on first two tries. Subsequent attempts, including using rolled paper, produced a range of indifferent logs. However 12 year old grandson mastered this straight away. When filling the tube he simply randomly pushed individual open newspapers sheets in one by one (unfolded, not pre-scrunched)and used plunger to compact each sheet until stipulated level reached. End result was a well filled solid log that came out easily and burnt 30+ minutes.He was well pleased and spent the next 2-3 hours in front of the TV producing several bags of logs.Quicker,less messy than briquette maker (these take weeks to dry)and comparable end product. Entertaining the grandson was a bonus.Recommend