buying charcoal Melb, Australia!

[PyroJakey]

hey like the title says im after Charcoal preferably from australia, i have one frend that might be able to sell me some, just wondering if anyone else is in my location

 

Thanks!

 

ps: also after tubes/shells, tooling if availble

 

i can't use paypal, Bank deposit/credit card only

Edited June 28, 2013 by PyroJakey

[Anarchy08]

http://auschems.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=175

your not going to win any prizes for best lift but more serviceable then brickettes.

 

your best bet will be obtaining a ventilated washing machine drum/ half a 44 gallon from the scrapers to cook your own charcoal at home. otherwise your not going to go far.

 

http://www.pyrolife.com theres more Aussies on here since Truebluepyro shut down

[PyroJakey]

thanks so much buddy

[Arthur]

Charcoal is one thing that you really can make at home simply. Many tins with lids will work. Willow and other woods that grow by water are good starter woods. Pine when milled makes fine BP and if just crumbled through a 20 mesh screen makes fine tails on effects.

 

If the charcoal is soft and crumbly when cooked it's a good sign, if it needs force to break it it will make useless BP but may be fountain mix.

[Bobosan]

If the charcoal is soft and crumbly when cooked it's a good sign, if it needs force to break it it will make useless BP but may be fountain mix.

 

hmmm....soft and crumbly is overcooked to me. If the sticks come out holding their shape but cooked throughout, it's perfect.

[PyroJakey]

i dont really have any trees near me to chop, they've all been chopped down to put houses everywhere

[schroedinger]

You`re in Oz there should be heaps of tree on you`re way. Just have an eye on them next time when you are going somewhere out of town. Do fish in sweetwatter or go hunting down the bush? If so have a look there, noone will ask where you are going. Or drive over to lake somewhere near you.

 

If you can't find anything get some Balsa seeds and grow them your self.

[Jakenbake]

Do you own a chainsaw? The thin shavings cook into great charcoal fairly quick.

[PyroJakey]

no i don't got a chainsaw, i'll try look for tree lol

 

i can get wood from hardware store lol, and free sawdust -.-

[Jakenbake]

Sweet free sawdust. What are you waiting for? Lol

[PyroJakey]

lol, i dont think its the right charcoal it'd be "mixed wood sawdust"

[Arthur]

"Hard vs Soft charcoal"

In my opinion if charcoal can be crushed by hand it's soft enough for BP, In the UK we have BBQ charcoal which is so hard you need a hammer to break it -it produces very slow fountain powder.

 

 

If your country doesn't find bits of surplus 2 x 4 timber in construction site waste you may even have to buy some. If you are in an area of close houses town then rubbish such as old pallets will be a source of timber for charcoal. If you really don't have space then you should reconsider making fireworks there.

[PyroJakey]

thanks a bunch Arthur i'm really considering making my own charcoal, im gonna go to my hardware store see if they have those outdar BBQ fire things i can site a fire in, then a can full of wood with holes in it

[mike_au]

I wouldn't bother with the Auschems stuff, activated charcoal is better suited to making filters than BP. Almost any home made charcoal should out perform it.

 

 

Black and weeping willows should be fairly common around Victoria, maybe not in the heart of the city but if you check a few parks with lakes or rivers around the suburbs I suspect you will find some before long. The weeping willow is quite distinctive and tends to drop branches in heavy winds which makes it easy to find and collect.

[Bobosan]

Arthur - understand your reference point now and agree, BBQ charcoal has additives and very hard.

 

Is there no natural hardwood BBQ charcoal available?

Edited June 29, 2013 by Bobosan

[PyroJakey]

ill invest in a chainsaw go for a walk in the forest about 30 minutes away hopefully its not a pprotected one -.-

[PyroJakey]

Arthur - understand your reference point now and agree, BBQ charcoal has additives and very hard.

 

Is there no natural hardwood BBQ charcoal available?

 

actual charcoal charcoal? the bbq crap? that works?

[leedrill]

hard wood char does work but is better suited to streamers and fountains for instance in my core burners most people tend to use 60/30/10 i have come to find my char is still pretty hot at that ratio so now i use 70/kno3/15/paulownia char/10 hardwood char /10 sulphur 105 total and get the same sort of power maybe a touch more than the 60/30/10 but a much better tail cause i only mill the hard wood for 5 to 10 mins at the end of milling and it starts out at about 40mesh

[FlaMtnBkr]

You don't want briquette charcoal that are pressed into uniform squares. You want 'lump' charcoal that looks like burnt pieces of wood. Still not the best but ok. Look up the TLUD method of making charcoal. You only need 2 empty paint cans that can be bought at hardware store and are clean in inside. Or go to a auto paint store that paints cars and see if they have empty 5 gallon metal cans that solvent came in and they will probably give you 2. Then get some pine shavings from the pet store for animal bedding. You will be all set and you don't have to have a big camp fire like for the retort method. The flame is contained in the metal cans and is easy and the cans don't get burnt out and last a lot longer with TLUD method. If you don't want to buy the shavings go to hardware store or where they are building a home and ask if you can have cut off 2x4 scrap that is not pressure treated. Get pieces that are 6-8 inches long and split into narrow sticks with a machete. Free and makes good BP though you really need a ball mill.

 

If you can get an electric motor about a 1/2 horse power I can describe how to make one using all scrap from where a house is being built (most likely). It isn't pretty but it works a lot better than i thought it would a couple years ago. Then you just need to find milling media which will probably be the hardest part. But if you can find 30 lbs of used lead wheel weights from tire stores it isn't too hard to make that as well. A 12 pack of beer can work wonders. Put it in a 5 gallon bucket and walk up to a greasy worker and say 'I was wondering if I could trade you for a bunch of scrap lead wheel weights.' Goes much more quick and smooth if you have your own container to dump them in and you aren't wondering around holding a bunch of beer. Might take a pair of wire snips and make sure most are lead. Won't do any good if most are the new stick on kind that are zinc or steel. The lead will be soft and dent easy. Don't need to try and cut them in half. The motor can be bought or taken from an old washing machine or tread mill. If anyone wants me to describe the poor man's ball mill let me know. If so I will try to make a tutorial in the appropriate section.

Edited June 29, 2013 by FlaMtnBkr

[PyroJakey]

i found a couple charcoal bbq things that was meantioned earlier,

 

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_diggers-5kg-bbq-hardwood-charcoal_P3180162.aspx

 

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_onfire-15kg-wood-logs_P3170781.aspx

 

i miht just get scrap wood from the back, an burn them down (off cuts)

[killforfood]

i found a couple charcoal bbq things that was meantioned earlier,

 

http://www.bunnings....l_P3180162.aspx

 

Hey PyroJakey,

The bag of harwood charcoal should work good for making sparks and rocket fuel. I second Arthurs suggestion about using 2x4's.

My fastest lift and burst powder comes from a shed that I tore down. The studs are either hemlock or fir. They make very light, fast, fluffy charcoal. Like Arthur said, check construction sites for scrap lumber. the studs are usually fast growing soft wood. Look for wide growth rings.

KFF

[leedrill]

precisely the first link you listed is similar to what i use for sparks jake but really want to screen the mix mumbles corrected someone in a post . some people soak their larger mesh char for sparks in a kno3 solution but if you do this it will off set the ratio best to if using this kind of mix to make sure the comp gets wet and dried to really get some kno3 into the hard wood char will leave a much better tail /fountain as mentioned get real char not reclaimed stuff

http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/7848-how-to-charcoal-retort-method/page__hl__retort

 

as ive said before algenco method is really good is so easy to control the heat if you have control over the flue and some sand for the burn drums inlet holes and having the holes around the bottom of the retort you get a really controlled cook that dosnt use much fuel at all is not as convenient as the tlud method but i just prefer the retort and with the setup in that link is easy to make a lot at one time

[PyroJakey]

thanks a heap guys, you are all so helpful!

 

i'd be so lost without each an everyone you guys!

[killforfood]

Jakey, There's no such thing as lost but...

 

"You can get mighty turned around for a couple days".

Daniel Boone

 

Making charcoal is fun. It's the grinding and screening that suck. Be sure to use a dust mask.

 

KFF

[PyroJakey]

Jakey, There's no such thing as lost but...

 

"You can get mighty turned around for a couple days".

Daniel Boone

 

Making charcoal is fun. It's the grinding and screening that suck. Be sure to use a dust mask.

 

KFF

 

wise words thank you! it does look fun! i've always loved a "campfire" so having my on little fire to cook wood would be great fun