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Charcoal Making

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AboMatt.paleoplanet69529	Charcoal Making	Lead	[-]
Posts: 3 (06/26/09 7:29 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None I'm sure everyone has seen this tutorial http://www.twinoaksforge.... where you can actually use some of the gasses given off by the wood to help provide heat to facilitate the charcoal making process. has any body on here built something similar? i'm gonna try a version of it and was wondering how well it worked for everyone else. is the 2" diameter pipe a crucial size? can it be smaller? or does the volume of gas coming out dictate using 2'' ? and the 1/2" holes for the gases to come out and ignite seem a little large to me. he mentions 1/2" holes every 6 inches on each side of a 36" pipe. I dont have access to any scrap pipe , so i have to buy it all new, so i dont want to experiment a lot with it. I'm thinking maybe drilling the holes smaller and then i could go back and drill them out larger later. any advice?
AboMatt.paleoplanet69529	link working?	#1	[-]
Posts: 4 (06/26/09 1:59 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	i just reread my post and tried the link and it didnt work for me, so if anyone else has a problem. its at twinoaksforge.com click on 'blade smithing' at the top. then go to the bottom of that page and to the left is a link 'making charcoal'
Thomas Malabar		#2	[-]
Posts: 103 (06/28/09 4:19 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I haven't used one but I have seen them used and they work pretty slick. The amount of gasses depends on how green your wood is. If it's well seasoned you could get away with the smaller pipe but if it's green, there is going to be a lot of steam as well as resins that will be escaping. If the wood is pitchy ie fir or spruce then you will definately need the 2 inch pipe.
AboMatt.paleoplanet69529		#3	[-]
Posts: 7 (06/29/09 7:51 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	i'm thinking up a single barrel design. I was also thinking maybe instead of one large pipe in the middle, maybe have 2 smaller ones. one off to each side slightly. my barrel has no bottom bung, so i have to cut at least one hole anyway. not sure tho yet. i'm still trying to figure out my options on it. i'll take some pictures when i finally gather all the parts and get started.
magman357		#4	[-]
Posts: 163 (06/30/09 6:29 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	There are lots of designs and options with the retort method. Experiment and find whats works best for you. If you want you can just carefully pile up wood light it on fire, and when its just right douse it out, my favorite method. Seems to me that the amount of wood burned nesscesary to get the gases started being drove off the wood in the retort would add up to quite a lot. But do what is most practical for you, I'm no expert by any means! Thanks
AboMatt.paleoplanet69529		#5	[-]
Posts: 9 (07/01/09 11:31 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	it definitely requires extra effort to make this contraption over just burning wood. But i really like the wood gasification idea and the fact that those gasses contribute to the charcoal making process itself. i'm always burning piles of something anyway, so i'm thinking of making something where i can still dispose of limbs and trash and such but at the same time use that as the heat source to cook the quality wood and make charcoal.
magman357		#6	[-]
Posts: 166 (07/01/09 11:37 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	There's a link to a simple 2 drum retort I ran across awhile back, as soon as I have some time I'll see if I can find the link,
magman357		#7	[-]
Posts: 168 (07/02/09 1:31 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Hello Matt. I found a link for the 2 drum method, it seems like a pretty good setup, hope this might help. www.velvitoil.com/Charlog.htm Thanks Brandon
AboMatt.paleoplanet69529		#8	[-]
Posts: 10 (07/02/09 10:33 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	that's interesting. problem is finding those smaller barrels. i have 2 of them but they dont have tops. but i noticed something with that method and the one at Twin Oaks that has me concerned. the metal supports slumping. Twin Oaks doesnt mention it, but you can clearly see that his frame slumped down during the burn. Seems you couldnt do very many burns before it was completely on the ground and in the way of feeding the fire. I tried emailing at the Twin Oaks site, but i havent gotten any replies. I was thinking of making a frame for the horizontal barrel set up out of small angle iron. I have a few old bed frames in my scrap pile that i was eye balling. i think if i use that material i may have to double it up to get enough strength. still racking my brain on the design right now

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