pyrodoc Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Hi, I just called up a charcoal supplier. He said that they make charcoal from Vachellia nilotica (gum arabic tree,[5] Babul/Kikar, Egyptian thorn, Sant tree, Al-sant or prickly acacia;[6][7][8] called thorn mimosa or prickly acacia in Australia; lekkerruikpeul or scented thorn in South Africa; karuvela maram in South India) is a species of Vachellia native to Africa, theMiddle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also currently an invasive species of significant concern in Australia. Other, source they use is coconut. Is the charcoal from these sources good enough for fireworks?? Has anyone used the charcoal supplied by chemical suppliers like Rankem etc? Doc
pyrodoc Posted February 22, 2014 Author Posted February 22, 2014 Is coconut shell charcoal good for black powder? I know its not the best one though.
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Where are you located? Charcoal is so easy to make, I don't see the need to use questionable charcoal unless you just want to experiment. All you need is 2 paint cans that have been cleaned out and some wood and you are good to go. Look up the TLUD method and get a known good wood or try everything on your property to see what works best. Edited February 22, 2014 by FlaMtnBkr
pyrodoc Posted February 22, 2014 Author Posted February 22, 2014 Where are you located? Charcoal is so easy to make, I don't see the need to use questionable charcoal unless you just want to experiment. All you need is 2 paint cans that have been cleaned out and some wood and you are good to go. Look up the TLUD method and get a known good wood or try everything on your property to see what works best.Thanks , I will use this method.
mikeee Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 A smaller diameter chimney works better on a TLUD for making charcoal.
pyrodoc Posted February 24, 2014 Author Posted February 24, 2014 A smaller diameter chimney works better on a TLUD for making charcoal.Yup, i noticed that, I read somewhere that small diameter chimney reduces the char rate.
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) A small diameter might work, but what makes you say it works better? As long as the chimney is long so that excess oxygen can't get to the charcoal to turn it to ash, I don't see why one would be better than the other. Has anyone tested them side by side to see which is 'better'? I know the guys in FPAG that first started using the TLUD method and showed it to others in the pyro world, and they use a chimney the same size as the burning chamber. They have made a ton of charcoal and to my knowledge use the same setup today as back when they started. I have made quite a bit of charcoal myself with a similar setup but nowhere close to what they have made testing it. And since before you could find anything on the internet about it. I'm just curious what better means. Edit:made a clarification Edited February 24, 2014 by FlaMtnBkr
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