kiss Posted September 26, 2010 Posted September 26, 2010 I have afew ?'s on the use's of woods for producing charcoal. First let me say that i have UTFSE...in fact i spend more time going through it then i spend here...the wife thinks i have no life...lol. If ya can shed some light for me that would be great.... One of my ?'s...has/does anyone ever use standard run of the mill untreated 2"x4" ..(or what-ever size) from your local lumber yard? In my case i belive pine to be the source so... I have a hugh 100lb chunk of white pine that i brought home about a year ago when i was working for a tree guy. I had alot more then that but i never used it for producing charcoal. Now that i'm aware on how to produce charcoal...(thx Nighthawkinlight...nice video) i know what i'll be doing with the rest of this But thats been making me think of the use of 2x4's. Cedar is pretty easy to come by as well, but i havn't yet dug up any info on this one. Although i'm still going through the "Alternate woods thread", but to me i would think BP having cedar should be somewhere abouts the same as using pine ...no? I would also like to know alittle about Bamboo. I drive past patches of this stuff on a daily basis Any input on this would be great. thx guys
AdmiralDonSnider Posted September 27, 2010 Posted September 27, 2010 Or this: http://www.pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Charcoal_Suitability_Table It is mainly based on the chapter on charcoal in Ian v. Maltitz latest book.
kiss Posted September 27, 2010 Author Posted September 27, 2010 thx for the link's guys. I've checked both of them out. Lots of good info. On one of the recorded tests it was shown that BP made with White pine out performed Benzolift! I'm surprized.....I didn't think that could happen. I had the impression that Benzolift was top notch. In fact to strong to use at times, thus requiring it's use in very small amounts. I'll have to look into this more. Also I take it that it's not common practise to go to your local Home Depot, and use the selection of woods from there right? I havn't seen anybody make mention of this so.... Side note.... I made my very first batch of White pine charcoal last night. I was just able to pull it off before the rain started. I have to say that for something so basic, I'm really impressed with my efforts. This stuff looks fantastic! I followed Nighthawkinlights youtube method... This may sound abit strange but i kinda feel like i just discoverd gold...lol. I can really notice the diffrence just by the feel and looks of the stuff compared to other charcoal I've messed around with. Needless to say i have high hopes for this stuff.
dagabu Posted September 27, 2010 Posted September 27, 2010 (edited) Also I take it that it's not common practise to go to your local Home Depot, and use the selection of woods from there right? I havn't seen anybody make mention of this so.... I don't make my charcoal anymore, there a lot of guys out there making it now and I will gladly pay them to make it now. Yes I did buy the warped 1x6" white pine boards for pennies, cut and split them for charcoal. It made very hot BP, too hot for nozzled rockets. Edited September 27, 2010 by dagabu
Arthur Posted September 27, 2010 Posted September 27, 2010 Basic guide: The bigger a kilo is the better the BP produced.
dagabu Posted September 27, 2010 Posted September 27, 2010 Basic guide: The bigger a kilo is the better the BP produced. HUH?
NightHawkInLight Posted September 27, 2010 Posted September 27, 2010 HUH? I believe he's talking about the density. The more volume per kilo of charcoal, the lower the density, and the hotter the charcoal.
Algenco Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 I believe he's talking about the density. The more volume per kilo of charcoal, the lower the density, and the hotter the charcoal. yep, I was shocked the first time I weighed out 30g of Paulownia,it took so much I thought it would mess things up. a 9oz cup will barely hold 30g
kiss Posted September 28, 2010 Author Posted September 28, 2010 I don't want to get flamed for starting another topic in the forums so i ask here..... Pulverone, meal, granulated. I'm lost with the procedure for each. The only one I think I have down is Green mix. Being all 3 put into a ball mill and ran for 3-6hr (dry/wet...not sure either), would produce what? Meal, pulverone? I've been what I think to be conflicting info on the subject...i'm pretty sure it's do to me though, so clearification is needed on my part. I'm also confused with the term(s) granulated, riced, and corned. Maybe I'm looking like an idoit now because of lack of exper., but I really do read alot on the subject, and I'm at the starting stages of putting all together. I read that riced...(is pushing BP, through a screen). However what size screen is used to produce "Rice"? If i'm using a screen then wouldn't that mean i'm simple just Granulating at whatever size mesh of screening I'm using? And "Corned" being the same as "Grantulated" however to be "Corned" first...(ROFLMAS), your BP must be pressed? How I'm I sounding so far....?
Algenco Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 I don't want to get flamed for starting another topic in the forums so i ask here.....Pulverone, meal, granulated. I'm lost with the procedure for each. The only one I think I have down is Green mix. Being all 3 put into a ball mill and ran for 3-6hr (dry/wet...not sure either), would produce what? Meal, pulverone?I've been what I think to be conflicting info on the subject...i'm pretty sure it's do to me though, so clearification is needed on my part.I'm also confused with the term(s) granulated, riced, and corned. Maybe I'm looking like an idoit now because of lack of exper., but I really do read alot on the subject, and I'm at the starting stages of putting all together.I read that riced...(is pushing BP, through a screen). However what size screen is used to produce "Rice"? If i'm using a screen then wouldn't that mean i'm simple just Granulating at whatever size mesh of screening I'm using? And "Corned" being the same as "Grantulated" however to be "Corned" first...(ROFLMAS), your BP must be pressed?How I'm I sounding so far....? Ok, I'll probably get blasted, but here's my take. Green mix- the ingredients are simply mixed together Meal- Milled MealD- fines from corning Polverone/riced- same thing, milled powder with a binder that is wetted, pressed by hand into balls and worked through a 4-8 mesh screen ( I use rice starch and a grater) Corning- Powder press with high pressure and the resulting puck allowed to dry and broken up.IMO corning is a waste of time unless your using the powder in a firearm where volume loading needs to be consistent
dagabu Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 I don't want to get flamed for starting another topic in the forums so i ask here..... Pulverone, meal, granulated. I'm lost with the procedure for each. The only one I think I have down is Green mix. Being all 3 put into a ball mill and ran for 3-6hr (dry/wet...not sure either), would produce what? Meal, pulverone? I've been what I think to be conflicting info on the subject...i'm pretty sure it's do to me though, so clearification is needed on my part. I'm also confused with the term(s) granulated, riced, and corned. Maybe I'm looking like an idoit now because of lack of exper., but I really do read alot on the subject, and I'm at the starting stages of putting all together. I read that riced...(is pushing BP, through a screen). However what size screen is used to produce "Rice"? If i'm using a screen then wouldn't that mean i'm simple just Granulating at whatever size mesh of screening I'm using? And "Corned" being the same as "Grantulated" however to be "Corned" first...(ROFLMAS), your BP must be pressed? How I'm I sounding so far....? Kiss, I am going to shut you down here and start another thread with your question. OK? This thread is about wood...
Arthur Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 Woods for charcoal.Yes good charcoal for BP has a very low density and the charcoal is as big or bigger than the nitrate volume. A kilo of willow charcoal occupies a large carrier bag, a kilo of hardwood charcoal occupies about a tenth of the volume, and never makes fast BP. HOWEVER this may not be the only distinction, Some slower mixes are better for fountains, some charcoals make better comet tails. There are lots of traditional woods for certain purposes. Most commercial BP is NOT "as fast as possible" but moderated to be a consistently achievable standard, so fast and slow batches may be blended to make a highly consistent product, accuracy of performance being more important than ultimate speed.
AdmiralDonSnider Posted September 29, 2010 Posted September 29, 2010 (edited) Basic guide: The bigger a kilo is the better the BP produced. I perfectly got your point, just a few things to think about: - the hardwood-softwood rule to me seems worth questioning: many good BP charcoals are hardwoods"For blackpowder, plum and paulownia are superior, with oak, willow, maple, and apple giving excellent results." (Lancaster p.103) - the volume rule, while being a good basic guide, does have its exceptions: less voluminous charcoals often make as good or better powders, e.g. willow compared to black alder (30% less volume) - less volume often is an advantage (corning, loading density etc.) - "better" also here seems to refer to "faster" solely; Arthur has lined other very desirable characteristics out Edited September 29, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider
FREAKYDUTCHMEN Posted September 29, 2010 Posted September 29, 2010 After milling you'll lose the high volume of the lightweight charcoals, it's mostly air what makes the high volume. It's all about the actual carbon content, if charcoal has more ashes, you'll need to adjust the composition to a higher charcoal content. Dagabu, I rather read serious questions in the wrong topic than 3 senseless posts in one topic.
AdmiralDonSnider Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 After milling you'll lose the high volume of the lightweight charcoals, it's mostly air what makes the high volume. It's all about the actual carbon content, if charcoal has more ashes, you'll need to adjust the composition to a higher charcoal content. That´s right. But as the same effect of milling applies to all milled charcoals, bulkier charcoals will come out bulkier again.
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