Cob: Fw: Bamboo

[jkell]

Bamboo fibers are like needles and would be very uncomfortable to work with
in cob straw is it.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sojourner <sojournr at missouri.org>
To: coblist <coblist at deatech.com>
Date: Saturday, July 17, 1999 7:34 PM
Subject: Cob: Bamboo


>H. Wayne said (see, I got the attribution correct first time, typed it
>in by hand and everything, aren'tcha proud of me? <VBG>)
>
>> Hey, have you guys thought about burning bamboo instead?
>> Or is that just an oriental thing?  I know most bamboo
>> types will not grow all that far north, but then there
>> are a few that can tolerate temperatures down to -20 F.
>
>Yup, timber bamboo springs to mind.  If you protect the bed with a thick
>layer of straw, I imagine you could grow bamboo pretty far north.  It's
>a giant grass, its really pretty hard to kill.
>
>I don't know about its burning properties, I imagine the BTUs produced
>would be low for the mass involved.  Again, its a grass, not as dense as
>wood and tends toward hollow stems once its dried.  I imagine (but don't
>know) that it would go up in a quick, hot flash, rather than the long
>term burn you usually want from a wood fire.
>
>For burning, I think coppiced woods are a better, low-impact,
>high-return on investment solution.  Coppiced woods would work best in a
>masonry stove type of heating situation - one where you want to heat up
>a huge mass (in this case of masonry) to have it slowly release heat
>back into the room over a long period of time.
>
>Many woodstoves are actually sheet metal and little more - burning
>coppiced wood in that type of stove would lead to early (earlier than
>usual) warpage of the sheet metal fittings and doors, and may also lead
>to increased creosote deposits in your chimney since you don't get an
>efficient burn out of these types of stoves.
>
>Obviously there are better stoves on the market, but most of them are
>equipped by law now with catalytic converters that, again, from what I
>have understood of their operation, would not function well burning the
>smaller, hotter burning coppiced woods as opposed to slow burning split
>logs.
>
>It may be a solution for quick heat in more southern regions, though,
>where heating requirements are overall less and a quick hot fire may be
>just the ticket to get you over the hump of a sudden temporary drop in
>temperature.
>
>A masonry stove is no good any further south than where I live (S. MO)
>because of the slow startup time and the long release of heat.  Not good
>for rapid temperature changes.
>
>> By the way, I have two kinds of bamboo started in my back
>> yard now.  Bamboo is more than just useful, it grows like
>> a weed . . . It is amazing what you can make with it, do
>> with it, and how fast it grows.  One warning though, many
>> types of bamboo can grow themselves into a weed problem.
>
>And right there you have hit on the crux of the matter.  Timber bamboo
>(and other types as well, but coming from Ohio, that's the bamboo with
>which I am most familiar since that's the one that will grow there) can
>send runners out up to 20' long.
>
>I LOVE bamboo, and will undoubtedly plant some up here eventually, but
>only along my road frontage, and ONLY after I have some animals (sheep,
>maybe goats - if I can contain them) to keep it et back out of the
>pasture.
>
>As with any transplanted plant, bamboo can become a major problem in an
>area where it has no natural predators.  Hence my desire to provide
>some.
>
>Doesn't mean you shouldn't plant it, just means you should be careful
>when you do.  Remember, kudzu was once an import that was at first seen
>as a godsend . . .
>
>I wonder what sort of insulation shredded dried bamboo might make?
>Anybody ever heard of this use for it?  Or possibly used as straw
>sometimes is in cob mixtures.
>
>Holly ;-D