Making Charcoal

charcoal making.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-some-Charcoal/

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• charcoal
• fire
• burn
• woot

[darkfang77]

did you have to rotate the barrel to make the burning more even?

[ioherbalalchemy]

@darkfang77

no - rotation is not necessary - and infact not possible due to the retort pipe

[darkfang77]

@ioherbalalchemy

I have just made my first batch of charcoal today using pallet wood.

The end product (charcoal) seems to be super-light.

Why is homemade charcoal lighter then commercially available lumpwood charcoal??? =S I want to make sure I'm doing this correctly.

Thanks!

[ioherbalalchemy]

@darkfang77 I believe it is lighter because of a couple of factors:

1. commercial charcoal in briquette form is made from compressing powders and makes a dense product

2. I think they are able to monitor somehow the gassification either through timnig or heat or some such and stop the conversion earlier than a home maker is able to.

I have discovered, though, that for blacksmithing, home made charcoal is preferrable because it does not spark when air is applied

[ioherbalalchemy]

I have also given up on this method since we live in the city proper I have had the fire department called on me several times, and while they haven't told me to stop, I think it's only a matter of time.

I get about 35 lbs of completely converted charcoal out of each burn. the burn time is never more than 3 hours (sometimes less) and the fuel burned to get gasses going is less than 30lbs. The gases start in less than 45 minutes usually. The drum holds probably 150 lbs or more of raw wood.

[cheaphardwarez]

I have often wanted to make a stove to heat my shop with that made charcoal at the same time and then use the charcoal to burn till its white hot then inject steam to make hydrogen and store the hydrogen gas in a large bag for burning in a burner at a later time.

[ioherbalalchemy]

um, you could heat your shop with this retort method for sure. However I don't think that injecting steam into the hot coals would make much hydrogen... Also storing hydrogen in a bag would not be successful for long since hydrogen molecules pretty much go through most materials. Also to get the charcoal white hot you would need to blow air on it constantly, it burns orange just on it's own.

good luck, though, sounds cool.

[tomandjj]

That guy at the end is Santa. Because the worlds coal has become to expensive he has had to make charcoal to put in naughty children's stockings instead.

[dapickleman33]

why spend money if you can make it for free?

[amatureBBQer]

Your neighbors must love you?

[PyR0Star]

@killerkane19k if you google a few questions about which charcoal is good for fireworks, one of them has a list of the best, medium, and worst types to use in fireworks. Went looking, couldn't find the list, but i'll keep looking it was a very informative website.

[PyR0Star]

now all i need is a 50 gallon drum with lid that didn't contain some radioactive material...... I am beginning to dislike my paintcan crucibles, which I use 3 at one time in my fire pit, or 1 at a time on a lobster propane cooker and some bricks. Everytime I see a 50 gallon drum, all I can think about is whether or not its empty and if I can have it..... Finding a lid shouldn't be too expensive..

[killerkane19k]

I have a stupid question, could I use mahahgony for charcoal? I live in nevada and pinion pine and juniper are what we mostly burn in the fireplace. Could I use mahahgony for charcoal as it is the closest we have to a hardwood out here

[Dercommandingofficer]

Do you have to contain the wood to make charcoal? I saw a knife making video and the guy just made a normal fire in the open ... let it burn and smolder then put it out and used the charcoal in there. Would that be acceptable and pass as charcoal? Thanks!

[obeyance]

@darkfang77 I then put it in a fire and keep the fire/coals around the can until the smoke coming out of the can is not flammable anymore or is not smoking at all. The flammable smoke is Woodgas, and could be used to cook with, run your car or other engine. It was used as a form of petrol in Europe during WWI or WWII or both due to shortage of gasoline. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[obeyance]

@darkfang77 They may even cut them into pieces you can carry if your nice enough to them, or they are nice enough back. Best bet would be to identify a hardwood tree and check for dead branches though. ALSO! Making charcoal does not have to be done on such a large level. What i have done is: Took 2 coffe cans, cut the bottom off of one with a can opener and put it over the top of the other as a lid. It should fit in where the plastic lip goes over.

[obeyance]

@darkfang77 But i dont think you have any trees like that there. If there is a limb trimming company that you know of, here in America we have trimmers that come and cut down limbs that get in the way of power lines or remove fallen trees after storms. If you could talk to your local trimmers maybe they would let you get some of their cuttings. Though, around here i know they put them in a chipper on site, but you might be able to stop by one doing some cutting and ask for some hardwood limbs.