Makin Charcoal from cedar

[thunderboy]

Here is a vid i made on how easy it is to make charcoal

Cedar in the Texas Hill country was use to make Cedar coal for your blacksmiths burns very hot.

so now i will see what good it has in fireworking.

[MrB]

To each his own, i guess, but i would do a few things differently.

 

Hotter fire to start with. (To make timing the cooking easier.)

Keeping the fire going at a equal level all the way through the cooking. (Also to make timing the cooking easier.)

Fewer holes in the lid. (With the size holes you got going, i'd say 2-3 holes, close to one and other in the center would be spot on.)

Cutting the cooking short a few minutes. Hence making timing issues important. (To retain a bit of the last volatiles. I've decided that it makes for "hotter" coal. This may or may not be what you'd want, depending on what useage one has planed.)

Cover the holes in the lid while it cools down. (The good stuff is slowly smoldering away when fresh air enters the bucket.)

 

Nice video, thanks for sharing.

B!

Edited February 23, 2013 by MrB

[mikeee]

I cooked about (6) batches of charcoal today using the TLUD method.

Works good with smaller pieces of wood or wood shavings.

A 6x3 sheetmetal reducer and a short section of 3" sheetmetal pipe is all you need besides a paint can.

And you don't need an external fire to cook the wood.

Fill the paint can full of wood chips, spray a little WD-40 or lighter fluid on the wood chips put the chimney on the paint can

and throw a lit piece of newspaper inside the chimney.

When the flames subside remove the chimney and cover the paint can with the solid lid and let it cool.

Takes about 15-20 minutes to cook red cedar wood shavings into charcoal.

Takes about 30-40 minutes to cook pieces of wood.

This is one of the easiest most effecient ways to cook charcoal.

[Bobosan]

It is as Mikeee says. Easiest method I've seen and it doesn't require a continuous external heat source other than the lit piece of paper to get it started. Edited February 24, 2013 by Bobosan

[AlexPyro66]

I cooked about (6) batches of charcoal today using the TLUD method.

Works good with smaller pieces of wood or wood shavings.

A 6x3 sheetmetal reducer and a short section of 3" sheetmetal pipe is all you need besides a paint can.

And you don't need an external fire to cook the wood.

Fill the paint can full of wood chips, spray a little WD-40 or lighter fluid on the wood chips put the chimney on the paint can

and throw a lit piece of newspaper inside the chimney.

When the flames subside remove the chimney and cover the paint can with the solid lid and let it cool.

Takes about 15-20 minutes to cook red cedar wood shavings into charcoal.

Takes about 30-40 minutes to cook pieces of wood.

This is one of the easiest most effecient ways to cook charcoal.

That is an interesting methode can you explain more?

[Arthur]

Before you try new methods of making charcoal, look up the web references to types of wood and the uses of the resultant charcoal. Many woods produce charcoal that is useless for pyro. If the charcoal product is soft and easily broken by hand then it may produce good fireworks, If you get hard black rocks then use them on the forge or BBQ.

[AlexPyro66]

Before you try new methods of making charcoal, look up the web references to types of wood and the uses of the resultant charcoal. Many woods produce charcoal that is useless for pyro. If the charcoal product is soft and easily broken by hand then it may produce good fireworks, If you get hard black rocks then use them on the forge or BBQ.

I use only pine charcoal for bp and stars near my home there is big log and i have a good source of pine

[JFeve81]

Have you had a chance to try this out yet?

[mikeee]

AlexPyro66,

 

There are a number of articles on the internet describing the TLUD method. You can also search Biochar which is the same basic concept.

The basic small cooker uses a 1-gallon steel paint can.

Punch about (12) small 1/4" inch holes evenly spaced in the bottom of the can.

Fabricate a chimney to fit the top of the paint can.

Punch about (12) small 1/4" holes evenly spaced in the base of the chimney base/collar to allow combustion air to burn the volatiles as they cook off.

The taller you make the chimney the better draft you will have.

Don't punch too many holes or you will cook the wood too hot/fast.

You want to cook the wood slow and at as low a temperature as possible.

When the flames die down in the chimney remove the chimney and cap the paint can with a solid lid.

Place the paint can on a dirt or sand surface to reduce the air flow into the bottom holes.

You are trying to smother the fuel to stop the consumption of the charcoal at this point.

If you google images of "TLUD paint can" you can see a number of different designs that have been built.

You might also check out Dan Creagan's website he has a lot of research available on different types of charcoal.

You can scale this up to a 5-gallon, 15-gallon, 55-gallon cooker if you need the capacity.

Controlling the air flow into the cooker is a plus if you add this to your design.

Not having to use an external fuel/heat source is a big plus.

The heat source is the wood that you are turning into charcoal.

All you need is a little propellant to get the wood started burning. (gas, lighter fluid, WD-40, acetone, etc.)

Wood shavings take about 15-minutes to cook.

Wood kindling takes about 20-30 minutes to cook.

The larger the wood pieces the longer it takes to cook.

If the wood pieces get too large it is hard to keep it cooking/burning.

You want to keep your wood material a consistant size in each batch cooked.

That way they are cooked and completed at the same rate in your batch.

If the fire goes out early in the cooking process, safely add a propellant to get it cooking again.

I have used a WD-40 can with the spray tube attached and shoot the spray thru the chimney air holes.

You can use a small piece of ignited newspaper and throw it down the chimney to lite or re-lite the batch.

[BlastFromThePast]

When making charcoal in a retort, how necessary is it to remove it from the fire "at the right time", or when the gases stop coming out of the container? Does it make a significant difference if it is over-cooked?

[Bobosan]

When making charcoal in a retort, how necessary is it to remove it from the fire "at the right time", or when the gases stop coming out of the container? Does it make a significant difference if it is over-cooked?

 

Some claim that you want to leave some wood volatiles by removing from heat early. When I do Paulownia, the sticks of wood are 1/4 to 1/2 diameter and 6-7" long to fit upright in a 1 gallon paint can. I'll heat it until the vent hole will no longer sustain a flame and justs small wisps of smoke exit the vent. Take it out of heat, cover the vent hole with a quarter and wait for it to cool.

 

If done correctly, the charcoal sticks will retain their original shape and will make a "tinging" like sound when dumping the can.

[MrB]

Some claim that you want to leave some wood volatiles by removing from heat early.

Oh, oh, i know, thats me! Oh.... It wasn't a quiz. Guess i'm not getting a price?

 

Actually, it's my opinion that the perfect batch has a few dark brown bits in it, indicating that it reached just about 400c, and cooked for just the right time. And yeah. I leave the brown coals in there. This brown stuff catches fire a lot easier then the black coal does, but powders just as well. I've been meaning to put a bunch of the brown stuff to the side, and make a BP batch of it, on it's own, and see if it's good, or bad. But my main concern with most "fast" cooking methods are that they all seam to include the source of wood for the coals to be on fire. Regardless of if volatiles trapped in the coals is a viable theory or not, burning the coals produces ash, and ash is useless filler in BP. There is always going to be a little ash, it cant be avoided. But less is better, in my book. But as always, above all is consistency. Reliably repeatable results come from raw materials of the same quality every time. Stupid factors as moister content in the wood, heat of the fire, amount & density of the wood, time cooked... Everything factors in. I'm not good enough to judge a cooking process by eye, so i try to eliminate factors by using measurements.

(Weight, time, that sort of things.) It's never going to be 100% perfect how ever i do, but i try to remove variables as best i can.

B!

[Bobosan]

yeah, I didn't go back to see your posting MrB. Mea Culpa. Sure didn't want to point fingers but you win the prize! No prices, just door #1,2 or 3.

 

I know the brownish stuff you speak of and just mill it in with the black stuff. The other brown stuff is just plain ole unburnt wood and comes out of the mill looking like rounded pebbles. The pic has some unburnt wood showing as tan areas. I mill it anyway and throw the wood pebbles that are left back into the retort.

 

[MrB]

No, actually, wood that gets "cooked" at just below 400c still turns in to a nice powdery dust, and is "coal". It just has a brown color rather then the black were used to. It's also a lot easier to set fire to then the black stuff. Strictly speaking i don't think it's really coal, but it's no longer wood either. And if you toss it in your mill, your not going to be able to sift it out. Well, i've never been.

 

The bits in your picture just aren't done yet. (Which is perfect, that thing about volatiles... ;- )

B!

Edited February 25, 2013 by MrB

[thunderboy]

Have you had a chance to try this out yet?

No not yet been busy tilling garden, pruning tree, spring stuff, gonna try makeing a cracker with regular BP and BP made from my charcoal and see if the booms are the same or not, will video it.

[Nessalco]

I've been making a bunch of different types of charcoal using the TLUD method, and I like it a lot - you have to work at it to overcook the charcoal. The pic is of a run using ERC chips sold as dog/horse bedding. I've since made charcoal from oak, poplar, sumac, and maple.

 

Kevin

 

[Bobosan]

Just tried out the TLUD method yesterday and can say it's very fast and efficient charcoal making procedure. A 1 gallon can stuffed with pine shavings took a little over 6 minutes from start to finish. A three can rotation keeps ya busy filling, cooking, cooling and emptying. The shavings ignite easily without accelerant. It also works with chunked fresh wood. Burns extremely hot and very clean so could be used in congested urban areas without smoking the neighbors out. TLUD could probably be used with any size container as long as piping components are sized in proportion. The first demo I witnessed used a 5 gallon can.

 

Video is a complete 1 gallon can cook of pine shavings from start to finish.

 

http://youtu.be/acf39PtHh28

[goldwingnut54]

I just discovered this video, Mr. Bob-O and if you think this produces good-great charcoal, I'ma gonna do this right away.

 

By the way, I sent you a PM earlier today.

[Bobosan]

I believe this TLUD method to be very effective at turning shavings/mulch/small tinder into usable charcoal with out cooking off all the volatiles. I've TLUD'd big chunks and sticks of paulownia but when they are done, they crumbled when taken out of the retort. Those large pieces took longer to cook and the heat generated cooking the large pieces was much greater than with shavings.

[BlastFromThePast]

I'm not going to lie, I don't understand how TLUD creates usable charcoal. I honestly haven't done enough reading about it to fully understand and appreciate this method of cooking, which seems much "cleaner" and thorough but after watching Bobosan's video, it baffles me more. The idea of cooking the wood in the absence of oxygen, at least from the video appears as though the TLUD just doesn't work that way. I'm not asking anyone to explain it to me, I'll do the research on my own, but all of the holes, both at the base of the chimney as well as what looked like the bottom of the can just doesn't make sense. I really need to do some research because I'm moving to a more heavily populated area than where I am now and this seems like something that could work to me. If only I could wrap my head around it

[mikeee]

BlastFromThePast,

 

The TLUD cooking method limits the amount of oxygen and the temperature that the wood is cooked at.

If you leave it cook too long it will turn to ash.

You need to shut off the oxygen to the charcoal when it is done cooking off the volatiles.

You will get a higher percentage of charcoal from a retort cooker but you are using twice as much fuel to make it.

The TLUD method burns/cooks at a lower temperature but still yields a very good percentage of charcoal.

Eastern Red Cedar chips make a very hot fast black powder.

White Pine chips also make a good quality charcoal for Pyro use.

Wood splints and smaller chunks of wood cook well in a TLUD, make sure the pieces are the same size.

Once you have cooked a couple batches you will know when to seal off the cooker.

You will have a high quality charcoal with no ash to deal with.

[boblangdon]

I'm not going to lie, I don't understand how TLUD creates usable charcoal. I honestly haven't done enough reading about it to fully understand and appreciate this method of cooking, which seems much "cleaner" and thorough but after watching Bobosan's video, it baffles me more. The idea of cooking the wood in the absence of oxygen, at least from the video appears as though the TLUD just doesn't work that way. I'm not asking anyone to explain it to me, I'll do the research on my own, but all of the holes, both at the base of the chimney as well as what looked like the bottom of the can just doesn't make sense. I really need to do some research because I'm moving to a more heavily populated area than where I am now and this seems like something that could work to me. If only I could wrap my head around it

 

The key is that the oxygen is feeding the "fire" from the bottom, so you get incomplete combustion.

[pyrojig]

I know this is a old post , but a search on the internet showed many designs and even scaled up ones using a 55gal drum , cooking branches ., I wonder if this could be a doable design . I have many branches from dead trees ( cedar) and would like to scale up to a larger TLUD. Any words of advise or experience with larger systems and their quirks?

[mobile1]

Good idea!

[lloyd]

Jig,

I made a 30-gallon one from a discarded "tall boy" water well pressure tank. I made a controllable bottom intake, a domed intake 'screen' in the bottom to uniformly distribute that incoming air, and a damper on the stack that was equipped with a secondary air intake in order to burn all the exhaust products in the stack, rather than belching them out as smoke.

 

It works a treat!

 

Lloyd