Flaky234 Posted May 15, 2013 Posted May 15, 2013 Hi, What is a TLUD cooker? Is it for charcoal making and how does it perform? Is it easy to make one? I am really interrestet in a how to^^ thanks
Shadowcat1969 Posted May 15, 2013 Posted May 15, 2013 Yes, it works for making charcoal. Just Google the term. There are lots of explanations and some YouTube videos about it.
Flaky234 Posted May 15, 2013 Author Posted May 15, 2013 Ok I have looked it up but i can't find how to build one and how it works.. There is noting that can make heat but the wood I want ot make to charcoal.. Please help me
VikingPyrotechnics Posted May 15, 2013 Posted May 15, 2013 Here is my old cooker. Built very simple. But works fine.If the fire is out, you need to set the bucket on the floor.Then take down the chimney, and closing the top hole so that no more oxygen comes to the coal.That's it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYNRz_HdwLI
Mumbles Posted May 15, 2013 Posted May 15, 2013 TLUD stands for Top Lit UpDraft. That might help you find what you're looking for. Adding in key terms like "gasifier" or "biochar" might also help to narrow things down. When you search for the full term and not the acronym, you get a lot of results.
BlastFromThePast Posted May 15, 2013 Posted May 15, 2013 (edited) @ vikingpyro So as soon as the flame stops burning just cover the open hole and thats it? Edited May 15, 2013 by BlastFromThePast
mikeee Posted May 16, 2013 Posted May 16, 2013 You need to seal the top and the bottom of the TLUD cooker when the wood is done cooking.You need to stop the cooking process at the right time before the charcoal begins to turn to ash.The easiest way to seal the bottom is to set the can in loose dirt or sand when it is done cooking.While the wood is cooking you need good air flow coming thru the holes in the bottom of the bucket.You also need a metal chimney pipe on top to create an air flow thru the wood that is cooking.Many pyro's are using eastern red cedar wood chips to make really good quality charcoal with.I have made several different sized TLUD cookers and each one worked good.The last one I made was a 5-gallon metal bucket and lid, with a 8x6 reducer on top with a 6"x36" chimney on top.You need to punch about (25) 1/4" holes in the bottom of the 5-gallon bucket. You also need to punch about (12) 1/4" holes in the 8x6 reducer that fits on top of the bucket lid.
Bobosan Posted May 16, 2013 Posted May 16, 2013 This one uses a one gallon paint can, 6" to 4" stovepipe reducer and a 4" x 36" stack. Five 3/4" holes in can bottom and 10 3/4" holes in the reducer. TLUD works best with shavings or mulch and small wood pieces. http://youtu.be/CjB2t2rZmOY
BlastFromThePast Posted May 16, 2013 Posted May 16, 2013 (edited) Is there a specific proportion of the # of holes on the bottom to the size of your container that optimizes the airflow? Edited May 16, 2013 by BlastFromThePast
Bobosan Posted May 16, 2013 Posted May 16, 2013 There probably is a ratio that would optimize the airflow. I just randomly chose the number of holes up top based on holes size and spacing which worked out to ten. Cut that number in half for the bottom of can and it seems to work just fine with shavings. The less I pack the can with shavings the more "chuffing" is heard during cook. Airflow is very good in this one (1) gallon configuration.
mikeee Posted May 17, 2013 Posted May 17, 2013 The larger the holes the fewer number you need.The smaller the holes the more you need.Space them evenly on the bottom of the can to provide an even flow of air into the TLUD cooker.The holes punched into the chimney collar should be evenly spaced around the circumference.If your wood chips go out during the cook you need more air flow. (more holes) I like to drill or punch 1/4" to 3/8" diameter holes in the bottom of the can.A 1-gallon paint can needs about 20 holes and 5-gallon bucket needs about 50 holes.If the cooking process is too slow just punch a few more holes to increase the air flow into the cooker.
BlastFromThePast Posted May 17, 2013 Posted May 17, 2013 The less I pack the can with shavings the more "chuffing" is heard during cook. Airflow is very good in this one (1) gallon configuration. Bobosan, if I may ask, what is this "chuffing" you're referring to?
Bobosan Posted May 17, 2013 Posted May 17, 2013 In the short video it sounds like a steam engine running at full throttle. It's the excess air coming up through bottom that gets rich with hydrocarbons, then is lit by flame and extinguishes quickly.
mikeee Posted July 20, 2013 Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) http://www.pyrobin.com/files/TLUD%205-Gallon.JPG 5-Gallon TLUD Cooker Edited July 20, 2013 by mikeee
Bobosan Posted July 21, 2013 Posted July 21, 2013 Looks good, Mikeee. If I can ever locate a clean metal 5 gallon drum, a larger TLUD will get built. I thought about using a small all metal trash can at one time.
mikeee Posted July 21, 2013 Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Bobscan, The old style commercial metal trash cans with the raise bottoms will work good for a TLUD cooker.Like the ones they used in school class rooms, I have found them listed on ebay.All you would need is a flat lid and chimney for the top which would be easy to fabricate.You could try (2) trash cans one stacked on top of the other with a chmney mounted on the bottom of one can.These are the fire safe trash cans which are 6-gallon capacity. Edited July 21, 2013 by mikeee
mikeee Posted July 21, 2013 Posted July 21, 2013 Ollie1016, The 1-gallon paint cans work good, but you need to cook a number of batches to harvest any amount of charcoal.A 5-gallon batch cooks in about the same length of time, and saves a lot of work.Cooking charcoal is a dirty job, it is easier to make a larger batch then it is to mess with 1-gallon batches.If I lived in the country I would use a larger cooker, but I live in the city and the 5-gallon cooks clean and does a good job without smoking to much. I can cook a full bag of eastern red cedar chips in about 3-batches and harvest a good quantity of charcoal in about 3 hours.You can speed the process up if you have a dedicated can to dump the hot charcoal in and seal with a solid lid.You can then reload the TLUD cooker with new wood chips and start the cooking process right away.Normally you have to seal the TLUD cooker to smother the charcoal to stop the cooking process.A 1-gallon paint can with solid lid could work to dump your hot charcoal into and speed the process up.A 5-gallon TLUD full of chips reduces down to a small volume of charcoal which will fit into a 1-gallon can.Make sure your charcoal is completely out or it can re-ignite and burn to ash.
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