Making History - Making Charcoal

[PyR0Star]

hahah cool, i'll make a mini one =)

[Takiado]

great for forging metal :D

[alwaysmrknifeguy]

i make charcoal in a steel drum...this vid makes me want to try it this way though...

[CescoPisicoli]

What did ppl want charcoal for??

[Pawliee888]

@CescoPisicoli It emits bigger amount of heat than wood, an its easier to obtain than coal.

[Serostern]

@CescoPisicoli It burns FAR hotter than the wood, and burns much cleaner, less ash, less smoke.

[CescoPisicoli]

@Serostern hmm interesting, im a really smart guy, and i never knew that!

[Serostern]

@CescoPisicoli All the smoke that leaves during the making of the charcoal is the stuff that creates tar and chimney fires, and a lot of moisture.

The dryer the better, and charring is as dry as it gets =)

[EgholmViking]

woow im  sure my family didnt do this lol on my fathers side we fall asleep whenever we get a chanse :P

[Serostern]

When the first is lit you start the second, while watching the first. Rinse and repeat.

[kattwin1]

This is sooooo interesting. :) I'm just a nut for medieval stuff.

[mzmadmike]

You can also build the lay, pile dirt atop, light it and let air feed in from the bottom, then bury the bottom once the fire reaches good heat. It works better with a pile about 4X that size.

[hackamore]

So charcoal is made by heating up, but not, burning wood, with the goal to remove everything except the carbon and hydrogen?

[alecifel]

@hackamore - yes. the process is called pyrolysis. Incidentally you can bottle and compress the gas that is driven off and run a car on it.

[cordonsport5m]

hey, great channel!

how is the hole in the middle of the "pyramid" made? wouldnt the structure collaps around it?

[whitewolfbushcrafter]

@cordonsport5m Theres 2 ways of doing it, the large post they put in the middle and built the structure around could be pulled out and that leaves a hole, or they just put the fire on top and let it burn down through the wood. Hope that helps

WWB