Sawdust to charcoal?

[Arthur]

I guess that a hand full of mud or clay is cheaper tham 4 hours of argon flow.

[Swede]

I guess that a hand full of mud or clay is cheaper tham 4 hours of argon flow.

 

True, but then you won't have "100.00% noble-gas-cured ultra-pure nuclear-research NASA-grade ACS charcoal" worth $1000 per kilo.

[dagabu]

True, but then you won't have "100.00% noble-gas-cured ultra-pure nuclear-research NASA-grade ACS charcoal" worth $1000 per kilo.

 

I'll take 5#!!

 

D

[Richtee]

True, but then you won't have "100.00% noble-gas-cured ultra-pure nuclear-research NASA-grade ACS charcoal" worth $1000 per kilo.

Hah! Dang... Swede..ya mist yer calling! ;{)

[swervedriver]

I've used one gallon metal paint cans, they'll work for a few batches before rusting through. I've never used a new clean can, I'm to cheap, a little leftover dried paint and all inside, lol, the paints gone after the first batch. I just drill a single hole in the lid to vent, and plug it with a smashed wad of aluminum foil when it's done. Small batches like that cool down in couple of hours. I've left the hole unplugged before and noticed very little ash as it cools so quickly.

[Twotails]

I just fill a large coffee can, put two or three layers of heavy tinfoil over the top, and wrap the last layer allthe way around the container. poke a small hole in the top, throw it in the fire, stack logs around said can(leaving top clear), and let it char. It works wonderful, i got some large picky-uppy things for grabbing it out of the fire. i then(with potholders) put another layer of foil on it, and put a heavy cookie try on top of that. works fine. of corse then after its cool to the touch, it goes into a larger can the i can seal, and stays there till morning.(eather that of i'll pour some CO2 into the container and seal it for awile. got the CO2 from a yardsale), i still wonder what the old guy i got it from used it for.... maby a soda fountain? Edited January 6, 2010 by Twotails

[NightHawkInLight]

Swede, how do you seal the holes when the retort is cooling? Every vessel creates a vacuum when cooling, pickled eggs can be sucked into a beer bottle using a book of matches.

 

D

I cover the holes with a wet rag folded several times. If the charcoal is still hot enough to turn to ash, the can is hot enough to turn the water to gas which fills the can rather than air. I have not noticed any moisture left in the charcoal after cooling, but that doesn't mean there's none present. Nothing an hour in the extremely low humidity of a typical heated household in winter can't fix.

[Bonny]

My retort is a cookie tin (about 12" tall) with a few holes punched in the top. While cooking it sounds like a jet engine. When the batch is done I simply turn it upside down on concrete floor and leave it until the following day. Although none is visible, I'm sure some ash is present, but my charcoal seems to work just fine.

[gordohigh]

I read a post somewhere, I think on this site, about pressing sawdust into little pucks, so that a good amount of charcoal can be made in a small container. It made a lot of sense and I would guess you could do it in a vice with a small piece of 1~1 1/2 in pipe and a little ram and maybe temporarily glue an end plate on one side of the vice. I was going to try it with some balsa sawdust but have not yet done so. I am curious if you ever made the charcoal so please let us know if you did and how it turned out.