asilentbob Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 The availability of woods always depends on exactly where one lives and what is native or domesticated to the area. So lets drop this so and so wood is easier to find stuff... Unless being MUCH more specific as to the actual species and geographical area it is commonly found in... mmkay?
Mumbles Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 Bamboo is reported to give poor charcoal. I don't know where you heard that it did. Bamboo is still a grass, and lacks a lot of the common wood structures and chemicals that make it hot.
DJPork Posted December 21, 2007 Posted December 21, 2007 Anybody know if rhododendron charcoal works well? I have easy access to a shitload of it in nicely sized chunks. I suppose the only way is to try it out, but I can't cook it up for a bit anyhow. It would be nice if someone else with prior experience would be able to tell us. Cheesre
mormanman Posted January 7, 2008 Posted January 7, 2008 Does anyone know about Spanish Cedar? I need to make that charcoal and then I will test it if anyone doesn't know anything about it.
BPinthemorning Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 I've seen so many mixed reviewes on newspaper charcoal. Before I make a whole pound of BP, I would like to hear the final verdict.
Mumbles Posted January 8, 2008 Author Posted January 8, 2008 You'll probably have to try the cedar yourself. Chances are it will be better at sparks than speed. On newspaper charcoal, there is no final verdict. Some say good, some say shit. You'll have to try a are small batch yourself if you interested in it. I think it depends a lot on cooking process. It sure seems like there is a much bigger variable than just starting material in relation to this specific type of charcoal.
qwezxc12 Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 I've seen so many mixed reviewes on newspaper charcoal. Before I make a whole pound of BP, I would like to hear the final verdict. Well the BP lift for every shell and mine as well as most of my 1lb endburner rockets made before May this year were based on newspaper charcoal cooked in my 1 gal paint can retort. Shit or not might be debatable...but it worked for me.
lja Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 Newspaper charcoal may work ok but you never really know what you're going to get. What kinds of wood were used to make the paper, how many times has it been recycled, is there any other garbage (cloth or glue) in the paper? Repeatability from batch to batch will be tough. I would expect quite a bit of variation.
mormanman Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 I've seen so many mixed reviewes on newspaper charcoal. Before I make a whole pound of BP, I would like to hear the final verdict. I hate newspaper for bp but love it for TT.
hst45 Posted January 8, 2008 Posted January 8, 2008 Newspaper charcoal may work ok but you never really know what you're going to get. I would expect quite a bit of variation.That's my experience exactly. I got on the newsprint bandwagon about a year ago because it saved me a step. I could simple use the cooked newsprint to make a batch of BP and didn't have to mill charcoal first. My problem was consistency. For rockets especially it yielded widely varying results. I still use it for cheap and easy BP meal for breaks, blackmatch etc, with satisfactory results.
superman1451 Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 I have been trying different types of woods for charcoal and they've all been crude. So i thought i would try this and amazingly the bp with newspaper is my fastest yet. But I make about 10 grams a batch so its not a great source.
BPinthemorning Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 My Quest for the perfect charcoal may have ended. I just purchased a paulownia tree, and 50 paulownia seeds. It is often considered the bigbrother of balsa, and normaly out preformes it in BP burn tests. Another plus is it grows 10 FEET a year. Bottom line, no more worying about the price of balsa, and whether I should use newspaper or not. Great day.
BPinthemorning Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 I forgot to say that they have beautiful blossoms, so my mom doesn't care if it is growing in my front yard. Pluss they grow in almost any soil. You don't understand how happy I am!
hst45 Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 BP, what's the climate where you live? I'd love to try some of these here on the farm but I'm not sure what temperature range they will stand. Average delta-T here is +85 to -20 F. If I understand correctly I might be outside the range for survivable winter temperature. If anyone can advise me I'd be obliged.
Mumbles Posted January 9, 2008 Author Posted January 9, 2008 Yep, you're below the growth range. It takes two years to establish from what I have read. The first season establishes itself, and the second is when the full growth potential can be realised. One may be disappointed in the first year, or may not depending on climate. You also of course have to wait for the tree to get large enough for the branches to be ready for cooking. Unless you plan on chopping the tree down to use the main trunk. http://www.worldpaulownia.com/html/zones.html On the plus side, you can still grow hops, and then ship them to me for making beer and drinking it.
BPinthemorning Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 Hops come from paulownia, mumbles? If they do, I'd love to send them to you as I have no use for them. You would have to pay shipping : ). But I live in Georgia, so I have the right climate, and they like it dry, and if you haven't heared of the droubt in Georgia, I don't know where you have been. About not hitting the 10 Feet for two years, they regenerate from thier roots, so I will cut down a few the first few years while I let some hit thier full potential. After I have a few established trees, I will let the cut down ones regenerate and catch up.
Mumbles Posted January 9, 2008 Author Posted January 9, 2008 Hops do not come from paulownia. They come from the hop plant, which is a vine. If only I could kill two birds with one stone like that. Perhaps I was thinking about hops too much with them not hitting their full potential the first year. I know for a fact that it is the case with them.
asilentbob Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 I have wanted to try paulownia for a while... If I ever buy some property out in the "hill country" I plan to grow many of them in addition to other trees... ... I'll even grow hops!I missed the ordering season for hop rhizomes last year... I really wanted to start growing them. I'll have to mark my calender again this year and get on it.
Mumbles Posted January 9, 2008 Author Posted January 9, 2008 Well, it's coming up. I believe due to the shortage, places are accepting pre-orders now.
psyco_1322 Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Anyone ever tryed charcoal that was made from rice hulls?
BPinthemorning Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 I saw something about that online. bottom line is they aren't much faster than pine, and you have to get tons of them to get any weight. It is kinda the same idea as newspaper charcoal. As a little project of my own, I bought a 10 pound bag of deminted US currency. It totals about 10 million dollars, and its about to be charcoal . The bag cost me 5 dollars at a garrage sale, and I couldn't pass it up. I can't wait to add a money charcoal test to the willow alternative section. I'll be sure to get back to you on that.
mormanman Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 I saw something about that online. bottom line is they aren't much faster than pine, and you have to get tons of them to get any weight. It is kinda the same idea as newspaper charcoal. As a little project of my own, I bought a 10 pound bag of deminted US currency. It totals about 10 million dollars, and its about to be charcoal . The bag cost me 5 dollars at a garrage sale, and I couldn't pass it up. I can't wait to add a money charcoal test to the willow alternative section. I'll be sure to get back to you on that. Who wants to bet? I say ten but it sucks. Its got cotton and silk and some other stuff in it. I mean its still worth a try some data is better than no data and what is experimentation without the risk?
BPinthemorning Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 Ya, its probubly gonna suck, but I will have the most expencive BP ever.
TheSidewinder Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 I suspect you're going to get very little charcoal for your 10 pounds of raw material, but hey give it a try. If it doesn't work, you're only out the cost of materials. And in any case, if you use it a standard 75-15-10 mix it *IS* going to burn. If it makes crap BP for pyro use, you can at least light it off for the great smoke cloud it'll produce. Post the results here if you make a batch.
mormanman Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 If its anything like bamboo you can use it for TT.
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