Compressed Earth Block Test

In this video I show you a simple test one can do to ensure there blocks have the appropriate amount of portland cement in them. This simple test will help one ensure their blocks are stable for building. Please give this video a thumbs up if you found this video to be helpful.

[candlelightbeesgardening]

Wonderful. Your testing really helps people to see what they should be doing. Very eye opening because of you being willing to test it and show the results. Thanks.

[KeithOlson]

After all of the research I've done, the amount of bubbles, the unstabilized brick turning into mud, and the uneven compression of the 5% brick all tells me that your _method_ is the main reason for the failure, not just having less than 10% Portland cement. I can't speak to the soil composition, but the results of your test makes it crystal clear that you aren't using *_NEARLY_* enough pressure when forming those bricks. (They _should_ be compressed to 3000-6000PSI so that all of the air and (almost) all of the water is squeezed out, but I suspect you dropped a zero somewhere along the way and didn't notice.)

Cheers!

[Atanjeo]

Cool Video. But Portland is not the only thing with an impact to brick quality. Soil and aggregate properties, Sieves size, soil grading, clay content, granulometric form, mix proportions, pressure, stacking & Curing. Tthere are a lot of different influences to CSEB Quality. With the same amount of concrete (8% optimum) you can get very poor bricks (<1N/mm²) to extremely strong bricks (7-10N/mm²), always depending of the mixture AND Curing.

[nkyibe]

I'm researching on energy efficient affordable building blocks for low income homes. Your video just helped me see firsthand what will happen with 0% Portland. Being in a tropical climate, with all year round rainfall.... it will be a disaster! Thanks a lot for your video!!!

[wellingtonwonsang]

This is a great argument for sealing and painting the ENTIRE exterior of CEBS. I would also recommend to add a fresh coat of paint every 8 to 10 years, depending on your environment. FYI, I would also recommend sealing and painting the interior. Like with any structure, scheduled preventive maintenance will add decades to your home or building.

[erikmilburn]

That was a really fair test you did...ive often used the water plus subsoil or soil in a jar to work out good ratios for agronomy.Ive also worked with some guys in Australia doing rammed earth, and the lowest concentrate of portland they used was 6% up to 10%....and that depended upon the soil type in use, the climate, and the proportions of each...sand, fine gravel, clay.The basic proportions were 30% of each, with that 10% variable, preferably towards the clay or gravel...so an ideal 30% sand, 35% clay, 35% gravel.Ironstone soil tended to be the most readily available ideal proportions, basalt tended to need fine gravel, granite tended to need

[abubakarrtarawallie]

You are a good guy, keep doing this n keep impacting me n millions all over the world especially Africa

[BrokenLifeCycle]

Have you considered doing a compressive strength test comparing between wet vs dry blocks? I know the stabilized blocks won't visibly degrade with water exposure but I'd like to know how much strength does it retain after a wet-dry cycle.

[carljensen]

Excellent video! I am startingto make compressed earth blocks and I am going to test them as you described. I live on a ranch and I plan on building severalthings with compressed earth blocks.

[Lahmekful]

This is a great video. I was thinking of maybe granite stones for the first 1 meter of the wall, followed by compressed rocks for the rest of the structure if that could work?

[dc-wpoc]

May have missed this but do you have a video addressing the challenges with local building authorities?
What are some of the hurdles and roadblocks?
Appreciate you sharing these kinds of information relating to building with this method.
Also appreciate the camera focused more on the topic than the presenter, like at 2:30. Many don't seem to understand this basic aspect of presentation.

[billmoody]

I appreciate your efforts - there are few people showing this type of information - how about some long term information on your energy usage

[Coffieman]

Hay here's a thought... how about you include a load bearing test.

[nkyibe]

Wow!!!! Thank you so much.i just subscribed to your channel

[ormandhunter]

What was your mix design for the 10%, other than portland?

[emilyrissling]

Wow, this IS very informative, thank You so much for ur video

[odiswhitetexas]

Have you ran a test with 15 percent Portland mix performs vs the 10%? Would 15% Portland be more like a concrete paver and impervious to water after it's cured?

[rickychambers]

You’re saying that the black should be 10% Portland is that by weight or volume?

[Jeffrey]

Why not use Quicklime instead of Portland cement? It dries(or cures) faster, with no need to keep spraying it with water.
Better still wouldn't Portland & Quicklime combination work best as a cheaper and faster drying alternative?

[ssebunyasteven]

Thanks for the experiment.
Whats Portland????