Making charcoal

[Paul_H]

If the fan is too powerful it could blow out any flame you try to light. It only takes a minute or two to get good gas from a charcoal gasifier,it should run an engine after a couple minutes. Place a lighted paper on the ground and direct the gas toward it and see if you can see flame although a good gas flame is hard to see in daylight but you should see heat waves,

[Don P]

Got a flare  8)


 

This is the reactor at this point, I just had the can sitting on top to light the flare. I'd say do not copy this design, I'll keep playing with it. It's a pain not to have a top load.


 

I think the problem was damp charcoal. That's sacks of it stacked all around there under the barn shed roof, we've had a solid month of rain and damp. I topped off the reactor today. It hadn't burned much yesterday. The smoke was much cleaner looking so I think the majority of what was in there, the old stuff from yesterday was a good bit drier. It is still a damp smoke coming out the top but I think it was dry enough to light today. I ran the fan for a good bit longer and got the reactor too hot to touch much of it then the flare fired up on natural draft. I think, and that is all, I think, the lesson learned is to store simplefire charcoal in a drum with a lid.

Time to start playing with the old Wheel Horse  ;D

[Mooseherder]

I made a batch of charcoal yesterday from White Birch.  The result was good but will try a couple different things that I think will improve the process.   #1 would be use dry wood.  This stuff was just cut.  #2. Lift barrel, put up higher on bricks, punch bigger openings at bottom of the barrel or remove the bottom completely. 
#3 try putting my inner metal container directly on my fire pit a d eliminate the larger barrel.  



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[doc henderson]

 

 

 

 

 

 

my set up.  30-gallon lube barrel, inside of a combine wheel.  hard wood in the retort, and junk whatever wood on the outside.  when the flames stop out the top, it is done.  let cool then uncover.  no flame inside the retort/barrel since there is no O2.  only holes are 1/8th inch holes in the center cap at the top.  about a dozen.

[Don P]

A friend did something kind of similar, he layed a 55 gallon drum with a lock ring lid on its side, put legs on it, aligned the 2" bung at the bottom and with 2 elbows and some pipe ducted that under the barrel and drilled holes along the pipe to flare the gas and use that to heat the barrel more. A self licking ice cream cone once it gets up to temp. Then he made a block enclosure and built a fire under the barrel. It worked perfectly according to plan, until the flares went out, being on the bottom of things tar ran down into the holes. About then the gears began turning, but the bumb was already lit. With no escape for the gas and steam pressure, well its good barrel lids cant build up more pressure than enough to send a 3' metal frisbee a good ways into the woods  :D.

[Mooseherder]

I boxed it up before 2 days of rain in a chewy box after it was cooled.  There is a piece of royal oak Walmart briquette next to a piece for scale.


 

[doc henderson]

my lids attach with tabs.  I can get about 6 firings before some part of the lid or more likely the can get thin and burned out.  I remove the rubber seal from the edge of the lid, so as you can see, much of the volatile gasses escape out the edges, and not from the tiny holes in the center of the lid.
my stash goes into a 44-gallon brute trash can, with a lid.

[Mooseherder]

I made another charcoal firing with dry Beech over the fire ring instead of the barrel.  It was much more enjoyable. The white birch charcoal from the first batch has a sweet smell and is a great tasting wood.  I've prepared some more and letting it dry before firing.  

Making Charcoal - YouTube