Poindexter Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 So I made my first TLUD, and the fool thing works. I ran a few burns with coin sized BBQ chips left over from my old smoker, pictured, and then ran some twigs and some pine cones. The twigs inferno'd away to ash. The pine cones gave off oily black smoke. It seems to me if i was going to burn twigs in the thing all the time i want fewer holes in the bottom. If i want to burn pine cones all the time I want more holes in the top. Do I have it backwards?
Jakenbake Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I believe if you have a longer exhaust pipe, maybe reduced in size a little it will help out a lot. With the longer stack you won't see the black "soot" as much. And you will also be able to tell when the burn is done on the finer stuff like twigs due to the fire going out in the stack when the cook is done.
Bobosan Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 You could use any size container but the top holes are located on a removable reducer. Bottom holes in the can bottom. Should look something like this.
Jakenbake Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 Here is my TLUD. Although I do like the charcoal I make in my retort a little better. It just takes a little more work and attention is all. 1
Bobosan Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 Here is my TLUD. Although I do like the charcoal I make in my retort a little better. It just takes a little more work and attention is all. +1 agreed
DanielC Posted July 26, 2014 Posted July 26, 2014 The TLUD I use for making charcoal is a one gallon paint can with a 6 inch to 4 inch reducer. The reducer I found in the heating and air duct area in Lowes. The can has only 8 1/4" holes in the bottom and the reducer has (5) 3/4" holes right in the part where it angles to the smaller size. I started out with a 36" stack and it instantly burned to ash anything I put into it. I experimented with the length of the chimney and found two things. If you are using cedar or pine shavings the stack only needed to be about 12 inches long. If i use sticks and pieces it needed to be about 18-20 inches. I can post a pic today if get a chance. I like the retort for bigger pieces of wood, but cedar,alder, or pine shavings will cook down in 3 minutes or less. It almost feels like cheating because it is so fast and simple. Using the bigger pieces it doesn't work quite as well, because it cooks a little uneven. It still works, but there will be a little bit of ash by the time everything is fully cooked. If you get a lot of ash reduce the holes in the bottom and/or shorten the stack. I hope this helps some...
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