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  1. #21
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Quote Originally Posted by Gert Odendaal View Post
    Nooby, I have just braai some boere wors and sixty patties for a hamburger sale..the charcoal is extremely hot and burn very well...remember this is pine and not yet Black wattel that will for sure burn hotter...
    Thanks for the feedback Gert! Hope you enjoyed it.

  2. #22
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Quote Originally Posted by Friedland View Post
    Hi Gert,
    The "cooler" you are talking about. If you are talking about an old kole koeler like you get on the farm, that black stuff in there is not charcoal. Its a porous volcanic rock. Unless we are not thinking of the same cooler.
    Friedland , charcoal is an excellent substitute...

  3. #23
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Come to think of it...you can even use coke..the burning medium made by burning coal in an enclosed/sealed drum ...it is a process I will commence with next week...or as fast as I can get hold of an old 100 lt geyser...to convert into a coal to coke burner...coke is a substance where all the impurities are burned of in an enclosed container where the nasty gases escape through a pipe in the enclosed container leading to the fire pit and burn off while assisting in burning the coal in the drum...it is lighter than coal and burn hotter than coal...

  4. #24
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Regarding the different types of wood use for the best quality charcoal..I have a bunch of Witstinkhout branches cut in my back yard...all around the 50 mm diameter thickness...These wood are dried in the sun and I will measure the difference in weight between a load of pine and the Witstinkhout charcoal.

    I need to look at the yield as well to see how much more charcoal weight wise and yield wise I get at the same burning time for example an hour and a half ....when burning the pine I noticed that when burning the off cuts pine it really needs to cut the oxygen at one hour..otherwise a smaller yield is eminent.

  5. #25

    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Hi Gert, you know you and I seem to think a lot alike!? I make charcoal and biochar at home, used the pit method (cheapest method but longest time involved tending the fire), then a TLUD type burner (brilliant concept if you can find a use for the burning offgasses) and for the last couple of months a dedicated kiln where the offgasses are redirected through burners to fuel the process after a while. My fuel to initial wood volume is about 30% for dry wood, wet and damp wood require a bit more and produce a lot more smoke before burning a clear flame. Please PM me your email adress and I'll send you a few photos of the kiln and setup. It's the best charcoal I've ever used. It's a bit more involved than drum burning but there is zero ash in the final product.

  6. #26
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Quote Originally Posted by Chops View Post
    Hi Gert, you know you and I seem to think a lot alike!? I make charcoal and biochar at home, used the pit method (cheapest method but longest time involved tending the fire), then a TLUD type burner (brilliant concept if you can find a use for the burning offgasses) and for the last couple of months a dedicated kiln where the offgasses are redirected through burners to fuel the process after a while. My fuel to initial wood volume is about 30% for dry wood, wet and damp wood require a bit more and produce a lot more smoke before burning a clear flame. Please PM me your email adress and I'll send you a few photos of the kiln and setup. It's the best charcoal I've ever used. It's a bit more involved than drum burning but there is zero ash in the final product.
    Chops
    Thank you kindly for this reply, it really is much appreciated. I have sacked the last burn today..I only let the pine off cuts burn for one hour and then capped the drum...it yielded at least 75% of charcoal from this burn...it seems the drier the wood in off- cut form the shorter the burn before capping to stop oxygen flow..
    Here is my e-mail..please send me all the info and your perspective on the different methods so I can improve my method...I still need to burn coal to coke..I will build a geyser burner for that..

    The charcoal burner that uses it`s tar residue /wood gas to burn hotter when redirecting the gasses to the burning chamber is still a project to do within the next few weeks..

    I will keep you up to date..

    godendaal@hotmail.com
    0842062257

  7. #27

    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    My server is down, pictures waiting in outbox.

  8. #28
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Thank you kindly Cops. I did another charcoal burn today, one hour before capping the drum to cut oxygen flow...yesterday I bagged another 50 kg( read not weight)dog food bag and filled the bag to the top....

    I will commence with my first forging exercise next week and Monday..I will forge a cable Damascus fork as the first item of the Cable Damascus cutlery set....

    Look at the quantity after a one hour burn...


  9. #29
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    Apr 2014
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    KZN, Outer West
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Hi Gert, I don't know if you've seen this already, but here's a link to a bunch of charcoal making resources specifically for bladesmithing.

    http://www.katanabuilders.com/katanablog/charcoal/

    I'm going to be building a charcoal kiln for exactly the same thing soon, and the articles above really helped me understand what's needed. I'll put photos of my setup on here when it's done.

  10. #30
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    Default Re: Charcoal making : the process

    Quote Originally Posted by JSuttie View Post
    Hi Gert, I don't know if you've seen this already, but here's a link to a bunch of charcoal making resources specifically for bladesmithing.

    http://www.katanabuilders.com/katanablog/charcoal/

    I'm going to be building a charcoal kiln for exactly the same thing soon, and the articles above really helped me understand what's needed. I'll put photos of my setup on here when it's done.

    Hallo JSuttie

    Thank you for the reply, it is always nice if members give their ideas as well.
    I have been experimenting with the charcoal burning process. This link is to the best design you will be able to find. This design ensure a extremely high pure charcoal. On the end of the process you use the gases from the wood you are making charcoal with to burn the wood you are making charcoal with.

    http://islandblacksmith.ca/2012/03/c...-retort-v-2-0/

    I can guarantee you that this is the best charcoal retort designed ....

    Regards

    Gert

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