Homemade Charcoal

TreeMuggs

Treehouser
Joined
Dec 24, 2016
Messages
198
Location
Southwestern Ontario, Canada
<div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yIqf0r-tTow?ecver=2" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
 
Good lesson, cool thread!

I used to know a guy that was a charcoal making fool, including the more difficult real hard type binchotan charcoal that keeps it's heat longer, before turning to ash. It's the stuff that the yakitori restaurants use. He had a way of making regular charcoal where he used a barrel buried in the ground, but I've forgotten the explanation. I'm wondering though, what would be the results if you had the inner barrel set in upright with a lid on it, and built the fire on top of that? Maybe that was the method I was told once, being done in the ground? Do you think it would work similar to your way of doing it?

There used to be charcoal kilns all about in the hills in these parts, you still run across them. Warmth in residences created by people sitting with their legs put under charcoal brazier tables covered with a heavy blanket. The burner is on the underside and puts out a nice cozy heat that is adjustable with the air intake. Just add to it during the day. We still use one, generally women get to be experts at it, keep it going all of the time, but now buy large bags of special briquettes that are safer to use. Cheap Chinese imports killed the charcoal making trade in this country. Electric heating tables have become far more common as well, a flip of a switch for on and off, but the heat isn't nearly as nice as the charcoal ones. Charcoal sure is useful stuff, an essential commodity in the old days.
 
thats awesome. thanks! lots of wood and energy goes into making a bag of charcoal. How is your project coming along Paul? have you tried on the small scale like this? does the type of wood you use come with different qualities? oak vs hickory vs. soft maple etc.
 
Patrick's is prolly for cooking and I have no idea for Paul's.

I'm wondering if I lay a plate of steel down and place my upside down bucket of wood on top, if I could have a normal bonfire and collect the charcoal the next day or so. It's hard for me to justify a good fire in a barrel. It's just not as fun hanging out with family and friends that way. Anyone know if it would work with out using the second barrel.
On another note, I remember making char cloth as a kid. You cut up an old cotton t-shirt and put it in a coffee can over the fire. It would cook the chemicals out and you were left with a black and brittle cloth that would coal up with a spark. Survival weekends in scouts taught me a good bit.
 
I made a big trash can full for my forge a couple years back, worked better than coal I thought, less smell and seemed hotter Picture 367.jpg
 
What's the advantage of charcoal over wood? Must be plenty seeing as how much of europe was deforested for the stuff.
 
Simul posts.

Google says charcoal is hotter than wood so is useful for metal related forging projects apparently
 
It was for me, I thought it was hotter than coal, I think coke gets even hotter, didn't have that though.
 
Charcoal is made from bamboo as well. It has a number of practical uses, like for purifying air and water. It will help keep vegetables longer when kept with them in the fridge. The porosity acts as an absorbent. When made from green bamboo, the water can get collected and it has uses for health benefits and as a nutrient when growing plants. Some added to bath water will add alkalinity for a more hot spring like effect. I read where the liquid was said to be an aid in growing back hair., but I got tired of going around smelling like smoke before finding out if that that was really true or not. :) They sell the liquid extract in garden supply places and hardware stores. I never heard where it's good to drink it.
 
Anyone know if it would work with out using the second barrel.
I'm not sure, but the big barrel could act as an oven and maintain the heat more homogeneously around the small barrel. In a bonfire, the top of the small barrel wouldn't be as hot, with the flames swaying around and the fresh air coming viciously between them.

The wood eats a lot of energy to be degraded. Even "dry", there is always water in it to put out, and the big molecules are hard to be demolished. So the temp could not be as height as it should.
The gas produced is what burns on the wood, but the energy is freed all along the flames, with a big displacement of air. That's not good to focus on the work. More over, only the outside of a given flame is actually the fire, locally really hot admittedly, but inside the flame it's colder, deprived of oxygen with a lot of unburned gas (obviously, because that's it which burns on the outside when it finds the fresh air). The amount of oxidative and reductive areas is completely unpredictable in an open fire, so is the temp. You can either get some carbon deposits or burn your piece.
An other point, the flames and the smoke are always in the way of the worker. The charcoal burns much more cleaner, you can approach it a little more and you can see clearly what's going on.
Last point for the clean side, are the meat tasty when it's cooked on a burning bbq? hell no, it takes a bitter taste due to all the unburned gas and tar condensing on it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20
Yeah, cooking is the only thing that I use it for. I have this amazing tripod that I have been using for years for cooking outside, so much better than a BBQ. I had been just making a big fire, waiting for it to burn down, and then moving coals over for cooking. But this process takes a long time. So I researched making charcoal and this is what I settled on. With charcoal, I can have good hot coals ready for cooking in about 20 minutes, I love it. As far as methods, there are lots of different ones out there. I watched a lot of Youtube videos to figure out how to get it done. This method made the most sense to me so that's why I tried it. I had to play around with burn times to get the "minimum effective dose" that would produce charcoal without over-burning it. Sugar Maple definitely produces the best quality.

Rich, I like the idea of laying down a plate of steel and having a bonfire around it. It would take a good fire, the big barrel definitely holds the heat in around the small barrel. It's worth a shot. I don't have a good thick steel plate or I might try it myself. You would really have to tend the fire and keep it stacked up around the barrel.

Paul, that sounds like an interesting idea. I thought the environmentalists frowned upon burning wood for the same reason they want me to believe that cow farts are a source of pollution? What would you use the biochar for?
 
Curious in what way you think the tripod is superior to a BBQ? I use a Weber smokey mountain. 18.5". Last weekend I cooked/smoked a ham and a turkey at the same time. If you mean the tripod cooking is superior to a gas grill, well I would concur.
 
I agree. I think, although I'm not sure, that it's a Canadian thing to call a gas grill a BBQ. But yah nothing beats charcoal cooking and smoking IMO.

Thanks again for putting that vid up. I'd love to try this out one day and make some of my own. I just buy kingsford or royal oak.
 
Inspired by vid , thinking I could intermittently recycle some waste here and have my own homemade Charcoal in supply ... If I ever get invited somewhere I can bring them a gift bag of it.
 
Back
Top