What? aren't you interested in energy independence? You can do lots of projects with it. With an air compressor it can warm at 2500 g celsius, so you can melt any metal.
charcoal has way less smoke and produces less ash while burning hot and having a favorable consistency compared to wood pieces. It also starts easier and is ready to cook on faster
If you're going to grill some chicken, imagine doing it over wood or over a charcoal fire.
I was looking at a biomass/wood pellet machine. Apparently you can just go collect leaves and twigs and shit and it will turn them into stove pellets.
It's only $7 for a 40 lb bag at the store, and the pellet machine is $1300, but the burn rate or pellets (1.7 lbs/hr) would make the machine pay off after 180 days of heating, so it makes sense for off grid if you have solar to power it and plenty of forest debris to throw into the machine.
Done it a few times, never had great success but it's easy to get at least some returns. Uniform wood choice seems to matter a lot but half the point for me is using up odd scraps and prunings so I'm reasonably pleased with the results.
Tried a single barrel method where you light the contents, let it get fully going and then cut off oxygen and a 2 barrel one with an outer barrel contained fuel and a smaller barrel with wood to be pyrolized, can't really say which is better because I never perfected either but I did get 10ft flames in the first one which was fun in suburbia, probably allowed too much airflow from the bottom but the two barrel one is definitely easier to control since only the outside ring of wood can get burning.
It removes basically everything but carbon and some temperature resistant contaminants, at least if you do it well. A lot of the energy in a fire is spent in the reaction that makes the carbon in the wood available to burn in the first place, and in driving off VOCs and the like, so if you do that half of the combustion reaction separately without providing oxygen to actually let combustion take place, you can burn the charcoal produced later and not lose that heat, resulting in higher temperatures.
Not really. They're pretty similar in terms out heat output per mass but charcoal is way less dense than ground coal. Similar max temperatures if you supply forced air, but coal burns for way longer. It burns way less clean though, full of contaminants that leave deposits in the fire and extra nasty smoke.
It's mostly carbon, so you're not introducing so many impurities into the thing you're trying to heat with it. You can also use it to remove oxygen from iron oxide and turn iron into steel.
Limiting impurities and increasing burning temps, you can't really get any hotter without anthracite, petrochemicals and its derivatives. I mean you could do arc furnaces I guess but good luck making one thats big enough to be worth it.
Yes, actually.
It’s really not that hard. I’ve done it a few times. Essentially all you do is cook the wood without letting flames get to it.
There’s videos on YouTube, but you can take like a barrel or thin tubed piece of metal, put your wood inside, cover the top and build a fire around it.
Burn it for like 3-5 hours or so (maybe more or less depending).
Essentially what it does is cooks the wood. All the moisture, chemicals and stuff gets cooked out without actually burning the wood.
I did a science experiment as a kid where i took some clean empty paint cans and poked a nail hole in the lid. Then filled the can with wood pieces. Put it on a hot plate and warmed it up. Once the woodgas started coming out of the hole you could set it on fire and keep it on the hotplate until the flame burned out. At that point you knew it was done because the woodgas was all.gone.
i make backyard biochar in a pit, burning a little pile up then quenching with water. pull the unburnt wood for reburning, scoop the charcoal out. its not very controlled or efficient, but the quench causes fracture/increased surface area, and my input material is free. then i soak it in rainwater, piss, fungus and soil, then amend garden. this is biochar
You guys got me thinking, I've been buying the cheap lump charcoal from home Depot for like 17 bucks. Is there any point in buying the expensive stuff? I never line the Kingsford stuff, so I just stick to the lump
I use a 50g steel drum. Remember to open the bunghole or kaboom. I put it on a few bricks to elevate it and then cover it in a bonfire.
Once the angry smoke stops coming out it's ready. Few hours anyway. A teepee of 6' logs around it helps.
If you stuff the bottom later with green oaks with leaves it makes a cool platter on the bottom. I'll probably make a clock out of this or something. It's a little fragile so maybe cast it in resin or something first.
>platter
Deutsch?
Either way a tip from my mate, never weld or burn a barrel with minuscule amounts of oil in it. It doesn't matter if there's only fumes, fumes go kaboom.
modern tech
"smokeless"
What? aren't you interested in energy independence? You can do lots of projects with it. With an air compressor it can warm at 2500 g celsius, so you can melt any metal.
Say that to tungsten.
Hellfire mix might work (Charcoal + Coal + Coke)
Just get a good mask and look after your lungs
What are the significant advantages to charcoal over just straight woodfire?
It just seems like an extra step expending a considerable amount of energy for little to no gain
Turning something that burns pretty well and leaves a shitload of ash to something that burns hot enough to cast iron and leaves almost no ashes.
Ok but what about for the 99.99% of us who don't cast iron? I just use it for cooking
charcoal has way less smoke and produces less ash while burning hot and having a favorable consistency compared to wood pieces. It also starts easier and is ready to cook on faster
If you're going to grill some chicken, imagine doing it over wood or over a charcoal fire.
>charcoal has way less smoke
That's a negative when cooking over it. Pecan smoked chicken is bueno
Well then I guess you don't need charcoal.
I was looking at a biomass/wood pellet machine. Apparently you can just go collect leaves and twigs and shit and it will turn them into stove pellets.
It's only $7 for a 40 lb bag at the store, and the pellet machine is $1300, but the burn rate or pellets (1.7 lbs/hr) would make the machine pay off after 180 days of heating, so it makes sense for off grid if you have solar to power it and plenty of forest debris to throw into the machine.
Is it just removing most of the water?
Done it a few times, never had great success but it's easy to get at least some returns. Uniform wood choice seems to matter a lot but half the point for me is using up odd scraps and prunings so I'm reasonably pleased with the results.
Tried a single barrel method where you light the contents, let it get fully going and then cut off oxygen and a 2 barrel one with an outer barrel contained fuel and a smaller barrel with wood to be pyrolized, can't really say which is better because I never perfected either but I did get 10ft flames in the first one which was fun in suburbia, probably allowed too much airflow from the bottom but the two barrel one is definitely easier to control since only the outside ring of wood can get burning.
It removes basically everything but carbon and some temperature resistant contaminants, at least if you do it well. A lot of the energy in a fire is spent in the reaction that makes the carbon in the wood available to burn in the first place, and in driving off VOCs and the like, so if you do that half of the combustion reaction separately without providing oxygen to actually let combustion take place, you can burn the charcoal produced later and not lose that heat, resulting in higher temperatures.
Cody's lab used to have a good video explaing the physics if it's still up.
Yep, and the temperature can get much much higher then the coal you get from coal mines.
Not really. They're pretty similar in terms out heat output per mass but charcoal is way less dense than ground coal. Similar max temperatures if you supply forced air, but coal burns for way longer. It burns way less clean though, full of contaminants that leave deposits in the fire and extra nasty smoke.
It's pyrolysis, it's a chemical process to reduce the wood into elemental carbon.
What about kiln dried logs?
They will still have cellulose and resins impregnated within. Different types of woods have varying levels of each.
It's mostly carbon, so you're not introducing so many impurities into the thing you're trying to heat with it. You can also use it to remove oxygen from iron oxide and turn iron into steel.
Limiting impurities and increasing burning temps, you can't really get any hotter without anthracite, petrochemicals and its derivatives. I mean you could do arc furnaces I guess but good luck making one thats big enough to be worth it.
Induction furnaces are also an option, also pretty limited in scope compared to just burning stuff but apparently really good at what they do
Is that copper pipe?
Imagine putting your dick in that
It's induction
I have plans to someday build a charcoal retort to make my own charcoal for my forge...
Why not just use the two barrel method?
Yes, actually.
It’s really not that hard. I’ve done it a few times. Essentially all you do is cook the wood without letting flames get to it.
There’s videos on YouTube, but you can take like a barrel or thin tubed piece of metal, put your wood inside, cover the top and build a fire around it.
Burn it for like 3-5 hours or so (maybe more or less depending).
Essentially what it does is cooks the wood. All the moisture, chemicals and stuff gets cooked out without actually burning the wood.
not done it before but I wanted to try something like this method this year
That’s interesting. Looks like he ended up with a big payout
I found this guy as well;
The process seems generally pretty simple.
Make that good stuff the japanese chefs crave
備長炭
>Binchou-tan
forgot the link
that audio seems messed up
full process of the production
https://www.youtube.com/@okamitsu999/videos
primitive technology's charcoal
any idea how you could make a hibachii?
I did a science experiment as a kid where i took some clean empty paint cans and poked a nail hole in the lid. Then filled the can with wood pieces. Put it on a hot plate and warmed it up. Once the woodgas started coming out of the hole you could set it on fire and keep it on the hotplate until the flame burned out. At that point you knew it was done because the woodgas was all.gone.
how good charcoal does this porduce? could you do this with a empty oil barrel? (properly empty of course, no residue oil)
It's basically the retort charcoal method.
i make backyard biochar in a pit, burning a little pile up then quenching with water. pull the unburnt wood for reburning, scoop the charcoal out. its not very controlled or efficient, but the quench causes fracture/increased surface area, and my input material is free. then i soak it in rainwater, piss, fungus and soil, then amend garden. this is biochar
What do you burn? woody garden waste?
yea hedge trimmings brush and whatever other clean junk wood
You guys got me thinking, I've been buying the cheap lump charcoal from home Depot for like 17 bucks. Is there any point in buying the expensive stuff? I never line the Kingsford stuff, so I just stick to the lump
the wattle thread died but this is interesting
Fascine Mattresses
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/11/fascine-mattresses-basketry-gone-wild.html
Yes
how long to dry wood before you charcoal it?
You can use freshly cut wood
I use a 50g steel drum. Remember to open the bunghole or kaboom. I put it on a few bricks to elevate it and then cover it in a bonfire.
Once the angry smoke stops coming out it's ready. Few hours anyway. A teepee of 6' logs around it helps.
If you stuff the bottom later with green oaks with leaves it makes a cool platter on the bottom. I'll probably make a clock out of this or something. It's a little fragile so maybe cast it in resin or something first.
>platter
Deutsch?
Either way a tip from my mate, never weld or burn a barrel with minuscule amounts of oil in it. It doesn't matter if there's only fumes, fumes go kaboom.
No, Burger.
It has some chemical in it originally but I cleaned it B4 using
Good. Stay safe.