How to Make Fireworks Grade Charcoal

[5deeg]

it is fully cooked ready for me to eat

[Creeparn]

Oh my god, I just realized why u can make charcoal in Minecraft from only wood!!!!

[jet528559]

hmm, like minecraft (chopping wood)

[lazarus1995]

a cool tip if you want to take the bark of somthing: tie a stick onto your axe so it sticks out from the blade end, and hold the axe in the handle and the stick, with the blade betwen your hands, then scrape the blade towards you on the bark. this comes from a 4th generation lumberjack ;)

[Theawsomepwner]

What happens if you don't put air holes in the paint can?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Theawsomepwner The lid will blow off when the pressure builds up.

[LinardsHunteR]

Great tutorial. I am going to make charcoal too for black powder. Does wood have to be dry or it's not substantially?

[802mx]

so with this charcoal, i can crush it up, and put it in pyro objects i want and will it be a substitute for black powder?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@802mx No. It is an ingredient in black powder, not a substitute.

[webmaster1232]

can u use it for bb-qs

[RadioTrefoil]

What type of wood makes the best charcoal for BP?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@RadioTrefoil Willow works very well.

[RadioTrefoil]

@Nighthawkinlight OK Thankyou very much! I'll be sure to try this out then. Loving your videos all the way from Australia. :)

[themorganator4]

@RadioTrefoil

ime when i used pine charcoal, the black powder was very slow burning, i use willow as it makes fast burning powder

[highzone07]

why sock



[Carpariaminecraft267]

Minecraft! :D



[XGhostRecon]

du you just have to light it and it flyes to the air ?

[XGhostRecon]

how to use it after U done ? ?

[adidam1706]

minecraft , anyone ?

[kraizy1]

hey

Does the crucible require a tight lid on top or can you place a metal lid like the same material as the crucible and just sit it on top?

Cheers

[dylansrockinrigs]

couldnt you use regular charcoal for a BBQ grill

[Marketto8777]

You can check one of my stoves for the charcoal, what you've done is called Updraft, mine are downdraft. My stove, when the flames settles, you have your charcoal. Just dump the content into your bucket and seal it. No smoke at all :)

[plasmafox2]

WOW this gonna help me so mutch in the future

[steveu235]

can we just use charcoal for barbecues or will it not work? also exactly which species of trees would be best we have spruce, pine, balsam and poplar around here as well as hard wood trees

[homeplus]

Since your the Explosives Mentor for alot of these guys and have a website...Whats a good school for Pyro Explosives?

[spooky00pooky]

I wound up doing something very similar when I became interested in explosives a while back. Great tutorial!

[debrexbeta]

i made it with my dad... works correctly :D

[KoenStraten]

'Nice 'n' tight' *lit moves*

[Berowra290997]

The flammable smoke coming out probably also contains Carbon Monoxide, so do yourself a favour and avoid breathing it.

[coilsinamotor]

you think i could use this method for bamboo charcol?

[radioactiveroach]

I can use this for drawing

[linutas]

thank you very much man, made some aweasome charcoal

[dramey03]

nice axe skill in the beginning

[ExothermicVideos]

I'm doing this for the 1st time right now and it's not easy at all.

[magistic345]

I'm only 14 and want to make fireworks in the uk preferably shells, any easy ways to make black powers flash powders and stars with easy home ingredients

[MrCommonlane]

@magistic345 hi dude send me your email address and i will email you how to do it

[pyromodder2]

@magistic345 don't try to use flash powder until you're good at black powder, or you're wasting your own time

[kevin81491]

damp rag = wet sock xD

[dirk0dirk]

is this possible 2 use for shisha >?:P

[lizardownage]

could this be used to make 1/4 inch art charcoal

[Nighthawkinlight]

@lizardownage Yes I think it could be. You would have to find the right wood to make it work right. Something soft but not too soft. Maybe poplar. You may also need to use a little oil to soak into the charcoal to make it stick to the paper.

[SIXP0WDER]

im gona subscribe because ur content is amazeing

[elemenhorster]

could you do it with a pot and a cooker?

[theDanielshelest]

i just bot some

[xMLGxNO0B]

damp rag (AKA socks)

[Roddy905]

I fairly new to all this. Why is it important to keep oxygen from the hot charcoal?

Thanks for the video.

[tayoyoyo]

@Roddy905 fire needs oxygen to burn if you prevent it from getting oxygen it wont burn

[s1a9l9i5]

im new doing this so how exacly do i use this? :D

[dethjam24]

Can this charcoal be used for forging with as a heat source?

[halojunkie69]

thats wood gas not smoke cause wood releases it when heated and its flammable unlike smoke

[1brodog]

Do you add anything else to it?

[Arteolike]

I used hickory. 

[uaintwright]

hello im new to you tube but not to any of the things you do on here i was wondering if you produce charcoal with different woods for yourself so you have different burn rates thanks.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@uaintwright Yes, different charcoals do different things in fireworks.

[MCDEVVOMAN]

@Nighthawkinlight so if i take a lump of unburnt coal and scrap it into the black powder mix is it still going to work?

[LILREEPER101]

Hey nice vid but my can doesn't have fire coming out and I've had it burning for an hour :( can anyone. Help?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@LILREEPER101 It isn't getting hot enough.

[busfullofchinks]

@Nighthawkinlight can i just use barbecue charcoal?

[airgundesigner]

@Nighthawkinlight Do you think that I could use balsa wood, for my black powder?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@airgundesigner Yes, balsa makes very good BP.

[siegTV]

Hey there, could you use this charcoal effectively for a smithing forge?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@siegTV Probably not pine charcoal, maybe a hardwood of some kind. I believe most coal fired forges use actual coal dug out of the ground, not charcoal/

[TheMotoXDudes]

can you use birch and get the same effect?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheMotoXDudes I have never used birch charcoal in fireworks. I have not heard good things.

[Atrofia2]

What wood should i use for fireworks black powder?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Atrofia2 Willow is the standard.

[Atrofia2]

@Atrofia2 thanks i will look for it. Can i use oak if i dont find willow. I hope Home Depot have some.

[zXzMinecraftnoobzX]

@Atrofia2 lol



[1smokeboy]

u can make and sell that charcoal

[Nemisis99]

Can't I just make charcoal by heating sugar w/out oxygen? And wouldn't that be 100% pure carbon as thats what sugar breaks down into? And wouldn't that rival any charcoal as even the best coals are only like 90% carbon? Or do the impurities actually help it burn faster? Cause I'd rather just make coal from sugar being as though it results in pure carbon.

[iMrPyroJoe]

can i just buy charcoal for like campfires or grills then crush tht up for bp and tt?

[MullaneyRC]

@iMrPyroJoe Wouldn't be a good idea, they all have many additives that could mess things up

[PyroPortrayal]

Thanks for the tutorial NHL! It was really informative.

I followed it and made some really nice charcoal, except I used balsa sawdust.

Have yet to try it in some BP, but I can imagine that it will be quite hot BP. Have you ever tried balsa charcoal?

[13rbridge]

its not oil burning off its hydrogen in ww2 in holland they used those gases to run their cars then they used the charcoal to heat there house because the germans would take over all the gas oil and coal products

[Nighthawkinlight]

@13rbridge It's a mixture of many things, oils, hydrogen, methane, all of which could be and have been used in vehicles as fuels as you said.

[DialedBMX]

i use a forge as my primary source of heat, the forge uses a leaf blower as an air pump. im usualy done with a full paint can of charcoal in 30 minutes, if anyone does for some reason have one that they made like me, it greatly reduces the time taken to make the charcoal

[Airsoftking85]

nice

[LeGiTxGoD333]

what did u do to it to make it shoot up?where do u light it

[Nighthawkinlight]

@LeGiTxGoD333 It is mixed with several other chemicals and then arranged carefully within a firework device. Watch more of my videos and you will get an idea for how it is used.

[primexcitement]

so this takes about 60 mins correct??? and how long should it take to cool???

[Nighthawkinlight]

@primexcitement How long it takes depends on how hot the fire is and how well the can is positioned. It should take 5-10 minutes to cool.

[LGEclan]

@Nighthawkinlight is this environmentally safe?

[mr132083]

@primexcitement i think half an hour or more the more wood you pu tin the longer it has to cool

[xMrjamjam]

@primexcitement depends on how big the can or barrel and the ammount of wood

but really if your using something that can hold 5 galons loaded full of wood then it could take about half an hour to 1 hour and a half

[toddy2519]

Everything I have ever read about making pyro-grade charcoal said there should never be any flame coming out of the crucible and that there should be a way of controlling the airflow . Yours flamed up at one point...did it not degrade the quality of what was made?

[taylor6123]

@toddy2519 no. The flame coming out is a product of the charcoal making process. The gasses produced from the heating of the wood are flammable. It does not degrade the quality in any way.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@toddy2519 Taylor6123 is correct. The wood itself should not be allowed enough oxygen to catch fire, that would cause a problem. As the wood is heated without the presence of oxygen however, it releases a flammable gas which does no harm to the product as it burns outside the can.

[Landotter1]

OK... How will air ruin the new charcoal? speaking of store bought wood... Will that pinion pine be good? It is VERY sappy wood and soft too... What about pine or fir 2X4 wood? What wood for explosive BP like for lift and break.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Landotter1 Any untreated pine will do just fine. Yellow pine, the wood most commonly used for 2x4s works very well for both stars and BP. For the very best BP try willow or balsa.

[Landotter1]

@Nighthawkinlight Thanks for the info... How do you afford enough balsa to make charcoal? Balsa is quite expensive, last I checked. I have no idea about an inexpensive source for willow....

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Landotter1 I don't use balsa. There are plenty of willow and pine trees in michigan so I have no need to buy the wood.

[Landotter1]

@Nighthawkinlight Thanks for replying. I appreciate it. I'm just getting stasrted in collecting all of the information I can, and studying before I get into a dangerous situation and not knowing how to avoid it. I want to be successful too. :-) Again, Please tell me why you cover the vent on the crucible while it cools. You said that air ruins the charcoal. How? Thanks in advance.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Landotter1 Air will ruin the charcoal only while it is still hot. If the charcoal is exposed to air while it is above its combustion temperature it will burn away and turn to ash just like it would in a barbeque. The air needs to be kept away until it is cool.

You should join the forum at amateurpyro(dot)com. That is by far the best place for a beginner to learn and ask questions.

[Anthony82949]

So that means I did it right :)

[Anthony82949]

And also that my newly made charcoal is sparkly is that how it needs to be?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Anthony82949 Yes

[obeyance]

@Nighthawkinlight Would Horse Apple be good for fireworks? Its SUPER sparky lol.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@obeyance It couldn't hurt to try. From what I've heard apple is not a great wood for charcoal. On the other hand, I've also heard that it is the hottest burning wood when used in a boiler. Maybe you'll get a good result.

[obeyance]

@Nighthawkinlight Horse Apple. Its not like an apple tree. Its just called horse apple because it has huge green balls that horses love as treats. The wood is the hardest in north america, it is also a natural bug repellant and does not decompose quickly at all. But its not good for cooking with. It IS the hottest burning wood/coal i think out of any wood. I use it for forging. Just wondering if it would be ok for fireworks. When the charcoal is burning its puts off a fountain of sparks.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@obeyance You could try it for tails on rockets and things like that then, but generally hard woods are not good for black powder.

[Landotter1]

@obeyance That tree is called 2 things... Bodark or Osage orange. The female has the horse apples on it. I liken it to desert iron wood as a close second to hardness. I made a Native American Flute out of some and destroyed my saw blade and router bit. That was an 80 tooth Freud blade.... :-( Great flute though. I wonder if Mesquite would be good as it has a lot of character as you describe with bodark.

[obeyance]

@Landotter1 Its called a slough of different names including Hedge Apple as well. Mesquite is soft wood. Be careful with it, its poisonous. Get stuck with it and it can cause major pain/inflammation.

[Landotter1]

@obeyance Please forgive me for disagreeing but Mesquite is a very hard wood. I know about the thorns, I barbecue/smoke with mesquite and it is just dandy. :-D Yeah, hedge apple is what I knew it as but the semi official names are bodark or osage orange. The indians used to use a sliver in the making of their bows....

[obeyance]

@Landotter1 A mastercrafted Osage Orange bow was worth a horse and a blanket. And i know about misquite cause i live in texas and have cut plenty of them down. But the wood to me seems soft, its easy to cut. Even though sources say it hurts chainsaw blades... I didnt have any problem cutting them down with just a saws-all, it takes like 3 or 4 times as long to cut an equal branch of Osage. So long that it starts to smoke and burn, not fire but maybe if it kept up.

[Landotter1]

@obeyance GREAT! someone who knows about things I talk about... :-D Guess I have chump chainsaw blades then. Mesquite tears mine up... :-(  I mean dried mesquite... I'm from Texas too... I figured the charcoal would be interesting because of how it crackels and sparks in my smoker...

[obeyance]

@Landotter1 Yeah, try a small batch of osage charcoal for fun. Its super sparky too. In my forge, when i turn the blower on its like a 4th of july fountain lol.

[Anthony82949]

When the charcoal has cooled down to air temperature is it best to grind it in a sieve and sieve it down?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Anthony82949 You can grind it any way you see fit. I like to do so with a blender.

[pyro6146]

this was helpful so now i can make black powder but what wood is good to charcoal for black powder

[pyro6146]

this was helpful so now i can make black powder

[bistekconpapas]

Is mesquite charcoal bought in super-markets any good for pyro works?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@bistekconpapas No not really. It's too hard of a wood.

[xeeweexRC]

lol his "damp cloth" is a wet sock lololololololol

[Morsam1995]

Hi, whats the best wood to use when i`m going to use it for cored BP rocket engines?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Morsam1995 Pine is going to give you the best tail on the rockets. It will also be the best for stars.

[bigknife38]

@Nighthawkinlight Could you use pre-cut kindling wood?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@bigknife38 Yes

[Nighthawkinlight]

@vetti96 Yes, you should be able to. I would use a wood like hickory or cherry rather than pine, but it should work.

[Anthony82949]

is it easy to grind?

[natemcgraw]

what happens if you leave the enamel on?

[Aqlor]

what would happend if you used paper instead of wood making charcoal?

[themusicboy201011]

the damp rag looked like a sock

[DjTechnoSnipes]

@themusicboy201011 it is a sock?

[Landotter1]

Great video. Thanks for showing us!!! Shame you couldn't use all of that wonderful smoke for cooking. The whole vid, I'm thinking about briskit.... :-D

[HRSoftwareSystems]

I have never made my on firework charcoal before. I am going to have to try this. It would reduce how much I spend on firework supplies

[TECNOLOGODENTAL1]

Muchas gracias por la explicación, me pareció genial, me sirve para realizar mis propios carboncillos para pintar con ellos, nuevamente muchas gracias...

[supercuber1]

Can I put the can in a fire pit or does it have to be in another can like that?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@supercuber1 Any fire will do.

[WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWVVM]

it made me watch the whole advertisement and after that 15 secs it said error occurred, try again later, i wasted 15 secs of my life plus the min it took me to write this damn comment

[Jak1544]

Is willow wood good fore gun powder or do I use some other wood.

[icon0x1]

is it possible to use fresh cut branches off a pine tree? Or is it just better to wait untill it is very dry?

[PyRoLLS]

I made a tribute video for nighthawkinlight and youtube pyros =D

[SweMisterB]

Thinking out loud. Perhaps this has been asked, and answered already, if so, i failed to find it. Eyed through all the comments, but there are so many... Anyway.

Bottom, or top, the hole in the crucible should be as small as it can possibly be, without the lid blowing of from internal pressure, or the thing exploding on one, right? The idea is to let gases out, while not letting oxygen in.

Thank you for your time and effort Nighthawkinlight.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@SweMisterB That's correct. Really though, once the gasses start coming out of the can no O2 will force its way in unless it is windy where you're cooking your charcoal.

[SweMisterB]

@Nighthawkinlight My lack of time spent on Youtube is plain for everyone to see, but i wanted to say thank you, for responding. I'm currently trying to figure out why different "charring temps" are producing different results, with the same sort of wood, and also, what diff fresh / dried wood makes. It's all your fault, for making me think about it..

Cheers.

[blueduderanch]

great video, thanks for uploading. good site aswell!

[TheFyroPyro]

what would happen if the wood was burned in open air, would it stil work, please respond nighthawk

[zwartje66100]

@TheFyroPyro no then the charcoal will turn in to as.

[TheFyroPyro]

@zwartje66100 but i make charcoal like that and i wasnt talking to the general public

[zwartje66100]

@TheFyroPyro and i was just saying it das not work properly, if you do it like that you have to throw your charcoal in to the water when it stars glowing to prevent it from turning in to as and then you just don't now of the wood is fully turned in to charcoal and of all the extra oils are extract-it of the wood.

and btw I'm a professional i'm not the general backyard fireworks builder.

[TheFyroPyro]

@zwartje66100 but when it doesn't turn to ash will it still work

[zwartje66100]

@TheFyroPyro as i was saying you don't now of all the oils are extract-it of the wood.

white the oils still in it it will not work as good as when all oils are out of it.

so white a bit of luck it will wok yes but not quit as well as the charcoal which was made this way whit the security that all the oils are burned before you stop the reaction. (the flame on top of the can will stop burning as soon as all the oils are burned)

[TheChocolajeable]

@Nighthawkinlight This is my last question: How long must the fire burn?

[9DragonMaster]

@TheChocolajeable till its the size of a small flame like a candle, but even smaller. The holes will continue to burn even though its done because the oil on the inside of the lid will continue to burn. I made a few of these thanks to Nighthawk, I'm always running out of charcoal, thats why i saved xmas trees to chop up. I'm about to go try a batch of pure pine needles too.  Oh and just for fun those spikey balls on some amber tree. Things like creamoras dont need highgrade charcoal.

[TheChocolajeable]

@Nighthawkinlight Hey, in much video's i see willow for this, is pine better then willow?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheChocolajeable They both have their own uses. Willow usually burns faster, pine leave much nicer sparks when used in stars.

[TheBucksatan]

how many holes are in the bottom of the can?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheBucksatan None. There are only holes in the top.

[TheChocolajeable]

i have 2 questions:1 how long should that paint can stay in the fire??

2 I have two sorts of wood, pine(spruce) and meranti. wich wood should is use?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheChocolajeable The pine is known to make good charcoal. I have not heard of the other wood.

[ad5000donnell]

@nighthawkinlight do u think I could use a mason jar instead of a paint can to make this or would the jar just crack

[Nighthawkinlight]

@ad5000donnell The jar will crack.

[9DragonMaster]

My favorite time of the year, i go around collecting xmas trees for charcoal, kinda outdid myself this year, my backyard looks like an xmas tree lot! HI Nighthawk!

[zakamooza]

how do you turn it in powder

[VLTutorials]

@zakamooza use a coffee grinder. Buy one off ebay, only 10$ or if you can find one at a yard sale. Just dont use your kitchen coffee grounder that you or your parents use

[zakamooza]

@VLTutorials why dont use my coffee grinder ?

[VLTutorials]

@zakamooza well think about it, do you want charcoal getting mixed in with your coffee beans? if you do, then go ahead and use your coffee grinder

[zakamooza]

@VLTutorials i coud wash it right after, btw i dont use cofee grinders

[VLTutorials]

@zakamooza lol, then why are you askin why not to use your own. hhaha. jk. yea u could but to me 8 dollars is worth it to not have to go to the trouble of washing the coffee grinder after every time i made charcoal

[iudfagajg]

can you use bbq charcoal? or is it better to make your own

[AW1338]

@iudfagajg no, bbq charcoal has sand and rocks and unwanted chemicals, so no

[nunvikingsofthesea]

hmm, I saw on this Hyperphonics store website, they sold KNO3 of 800 grams, but I was wondering if this KNO3 would be suitable? because it said it was Total nitrogen 13% and potash 47%, but did not give a specific amount for how pure the KNO3 was? please help! excellent video! Im subscribing! thank you

[Vforceboy]

lol i do fireworks in a faily big city.... im close to getting arested. but my dad is nice enough to get me out if i get caught... nearly cought a few days ago for an M-80. insainly loud.

[AW1338]

@Vforceboy You are stupid for doing that,and ur dad will not be able to pay $15.000 to get u out, thats how much making m-80 will coast u

[Vforceboy]

@AW1338 obviously you dont know my dads job. he has a welthy amount of money, you shouldnt tell me the amount it will coast me. i can easly say that it wasnt an m-80 and it was a firecracker. its not that hard

[AW1338]

@Vforceboy well dipshit it's making an IED and if you don't know what that means then google, it's 15grand soooooo yea ...................... dumbass

[Vforceboy]

@AW1338 dont worry. i know alot more than you know about demolitions. and NO its not making an IED, in fact much more different than an ied. you need some proven facts to help you conclude what you are trying to tell me and the rest of youtube. volger language will not help you in life nor will it help you try to win an arguement.

[georg214]

can u also just use hooka coal like waterpipe coal??

[MrCrazyChemist]

@Nighthawkinlight's It's not the oil from the wood that burns. The reaction produces methane gas. Also if you would turn your bucket upside down the methane gas feeds your fire and it doesn't stink that much anymore.

Just some tips

[Nighthawkinlight]

@MrCrazyChemist It doesn't stink. In fact any smell is not detectable over the fire. If methane is produced it is has a very small ppm.

[MrCrazyChemist]

@Nighthawkinlight Maybe its different from wood type to wood type. If you look up the process on wikipedia which is Pyrolysis you can see how it works. It produces CH4 which is methane gas. I used kindling wood because its already chopped in pieces. So i don't know which wood type it is.

[Snizzorky]

@Nighthawkinlight

The woodgas (check wikipedia for wood gas) does contain methane, but methane itself doesn't have a specific odor.

The "bad"smell often associated with methane is from hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

[specioss]

why do u have to burn off the coating?

[13564871]

how do you grind it

[hoodstarx1]

is northern white birch a good wood?

[hoodstarx1]

how can i bun off the enamel because i dont have a torch like yours and also what will happen if i leave the enamel on there while trying to cook the wood? and is balsa wood good?

[FTWMikeDero]

did you mean hardwood instead of softwood? just wondering because pine is a softwood..

[NickPech]

Thanks, nice vid, I just have one question for you.

What is the BEST way to make it into a powder?

[Rockflier]

@NickPech I always use a coffee grinder lol