OldMarine Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I'd try a different charcoal before I threw up my hands. A pound of commercial airfloat is pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Airfloatf charcoal is cheap, a TLUD is ja made in 10 minutes from scrap parts. For an easy veraion you only need two cans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Xzanth, if you're in the US, I'm going to cook some more Eastern Red Cedar charcoal this weekend and I'd be happy to mail you a sample to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Yeah I'm in the US. And sure I'll try it. Just PM me. That would be awesome. I'll look into airfloat. But these cookers I'm not understanding. If you could point me in the right direction to start, ID be happy to try one. I love tinkering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) Xzanth, if you're in the US, I'm going to cook some more Eastern Red Cedar charcoal this weekend and I'd be happy to mail you a sample to try.There's a stand up guy! From my limited experience charcoal is equally as critical as proper processing. Measure the ID of your mill barrel and see where your speed falls. From my calculator it looks like this: Target Speeds 4" - 86 - 99 rpm 6" - 70 - 81 rpm 8" - 61 - 70 rpm 9" - 57 - 66 rpm Of course, I expect Lloyd to correct if I've miscalculated...... Sorry, no odd numbers but if you wish I can plug in whatever number you have and give you a range. Or share the Excel calculator.... either way. Edit: TLUD, Google and you'll see. EZPZ way to make great coal. A bale of pet bedding (ERC) and you're in business! Edited April 6, 2016 by otto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 And with what I got, at least I know I can make a few ground fireworks. Ha-ha. Fountains or something. I got a lot of sparks when I screened aluminum powder in with some bp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 There's a stand up guy! From my limited experience charcoal is equally as critical as proper processing. Measure the ID of your mill barrel and see where your speed falls. From my calculator it looks like this: Target Speeds 4" - 86 - 99 rpm 6" - 70 - 81 rpm 8" - 61 - 70 rpm 9" - 57 - 66 rpm Of course, I expect Lloyd to correct if I've miscalculated...... Sorry, no odd numbers but if you wish I can plug in whatever number you have and give you a range. Or share the Excel calculator.... either way. Yeah it's a 4" barrel. My rpms are good here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Sorry I really got to start using the quotes.. And stop replying like this is an instant messenger service. Ha-ha. Thanks my ninjas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Here is my mill I made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Doggone, that's a nice rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Doggone, that's a nice rig! Thanks worked on it all day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 "Whoosh as in burns up instantly."---------No, that wasn't fast powder... that was fairly slow powder. I'd expect faster powder than that from briquette charcoal. Sorry... Your mill is nice (very nice job), but the sound it makes pretty clearly indicates that your jars are severely over-filled. The noise from the jars/media should be louder than the motor and bearing noise, by a LOT. And the noise from the jars/media should be a continuous LOUD clatter, not the "pause/clatter/pause/clatter" we can clearly hear in the video. The fact that the clatter makes less noise than the bearings and motor says volumes about what's going on inside the jars. When properly charged, your mill jars should not be more than a tiny bit over half-full. The noise they're making tends to indicate they're more like 5/8-to-3/4 full. LLoyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Good job on the mill. You just need to get that "hunting" sound to change into a constant rumble I cant really go by loudness cos the media doesnt make much noise to begin with. Using willow charcoal, the 25% charge in my 4.37L jars is 730g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) "Whoosh as in burns up instantly."---------No, that wasn't fast powder... that was fairly slow powder. I'd expect faster powder than that from briquette charcoal. Sorry... Your mill is nice (very nice job), but the sound it makes pretty clearly indicates that your jars are severely over-filled. The noise from the jars/media should be louder than the motor and bearing noise, by a LOT. And the noise from the jars/media should be a continuous LOUD clatter, not the "pause/clatter/pause/clatter" we can clearly hear in the video. The fact that the clatter makes less noise than the bearings and motor says volumes about what's going on inside the jars. When properly charged, your mill jars should not be more than a tiny bit over half-full. The noise they're making tends to indicate they're more like 5/8-to-3/4 full. LLoydI'm guessing your talking about the PVC pipe with the marbles in it. . . it's good. Marbles are lighter hence the catching on the sides . thanks. Edited April 7, 2016 by Xzanth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Whoah! Stop the bus. I don't know if you mean marbles as in you are using glass marbles? If so stop! And don't use any of the stuff you have made. There was a member that had a major accident in the last year where he lost body parts and lots of skin because he was using marbles. If that is the case stop messing with things until we can figure out what's going on. If that was an incorrect term, then carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Marbles are for the kitty litter only lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMat Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 If you have to ball mill for 6 hours, there is something wrong with your set up... I've never had to mill my bp for longer than 4 hours (usually around 3- 3 1/2 hours works fine for me). I use willow or red cedar for my charcoal. They make close to equally good BP. I did some testing and the willow has only a slight edge over red cedar for BP performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Xzanth,YES, What Biker SAID! STOP using glass marbles NOW! If you take a hunk of PVC and explode it, it does scary things. Have you read my article on "The explosion of a Milling Jar"? Marbles make jars explode. PLUS, they're really lousy media in that small a jar. You might never get to 'finished' with media that light in that small a jar. Also... when you take a hunk of anything hollow and round, put end-caps on it, and mount it on a ball mill... it magically becomes "A Milling Jar" (that's actually the correct term for the containers on small mills with interchangeable milling vessels). Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Xzanth, something else came to mind: I can't really tell how those end-caps are held on. It _almost_ looks like you might be securing them with a "through-rod" that runs the length of the jar. If that's the case, it will severely interfere with the cascading action that must occur to get good milling. Just a thought. Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Marbles are for the soft kitty litter. And the PVC is for that use only. I use the rubber jars with lead shot for BP. But the PVC are clean out plugs, no through rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Just use a couple of these, http://www.newmantools.com/petp/nylon_plugs.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Also. That video was just a test. There was only marbles in it. No kitty litter, which is why the stop go stop go sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) Just use a couple of these, http://www.newmantools.com/petp/nylon_plugs.htm Similar to that except I need a alen wrench to open itEdit: I'll post a video to show you what it is then Edited April 7, 2016 by Xzanth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xzanth Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Xzanth,YES, What Biker SAID! STOP using glass marbles NOW! If you take a hunk of PVC and explode it, it does scary things. Have you read my article on "The explosion of a Milling Jar"? Marbles make jars explode. PLUS, they're really lousy media in that small a jar. You might never get to 'finished' with media that light in that small a jar. Also... when you take a hunk of anything hollow and round, put end-caps on it, and mount it on a ball mill... it magically becomes "A Milling Jar" (that's actually the correct term for the containers on small mills with interchangeable milling vessels). LloydMarbles make jars explode because glass can spark. Got it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Similar to that except I need a alen wrench to open itEdit: I'll post a video to show you what it is thenThe nylon ones are completely non metallic. If yours need a allen wrench there`s probably some steel involved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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