Making charcoal

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   With the Covid lockdown I’m finding a lot of time on my hands.  I have a farmer friend who I’ve been helping cut and split firewood.  He has a LOT of maple wood to go through and there is a lot of scrap that isn’t suitable for firewood.  So, I got the idea to make my own charcoal for my Kamado.
I used this method, https://youtu.be/LyzY9D_rgeg but instead used 55 gal drums.  I bought two drums but instead of cutting the bottom out of the second drum I found this piece of heavy ductwork at buddy’s farm that worked as a perfect chimney/afterburner.

I did a burn in the barrel first to get rid of any chemical liner and also drilled holes in the bottom for ventilation.  The first burn today went fabulous, but it takes a couple days for the fire to die out so I can retrieve the charcoal. 

There’s enough of a scrap pile that I’m thinking of making charcoal to sell.  You can see part of the pile in the background of the picture.

The fire is going here but the afterburner makes it burn so hot and clean.

Afterwards, close the top and seal the ventilation holes with dirt to suffocate the fire.

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Wannabebwana Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook Joined: 29 January 2019 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 163	Post Options Post Reply Quote Wannabebwana Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Making charcoal Posted: 06 June 2020 at 11:28
	With the Covid lockdown I’m finding a lot of time on my hands. I have a farmer friend who I’ve been helping cut and split firewood. He has a LOT of maple wood to go through and there is a lot of scrap that isn’t suitable for firewood. So, I got the idea to make my own charcoal for my Kamado. I used this method, https://youtu.be/LyzY9D_rgeg but instead used 55 gal drums. I bought two drums but instead of cutting the bottom out of the second drum I found this piece of heavy ductwork at buddy’s farm that worked as a perfect chimney/afterburner. I did a burn in the barrel first to get rid of any chemical liner and also drilled holes in the bottom for ventilation. The first burn today went fabulous, but it takes a couple days for the fire to die out so I can retrieve the charcoal. There’s enough of a scrap pile that I’m thinking of making charcoal to sell. You can see part of the pile in the background of the picture. The fire is going here but the afterburner makes it burn so hot and clean. Afterwards, close the top and seal the ventilation holes with dirt to suffocate the fire.

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ddufore Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Scullery Servant Joined: 29 November 2018 Location: Very northern N Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote ddufore Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 June 2020 at 05:54
	I make charcoal myself from wood cut from my land. The method I use is similar to yours. A 55 gal drum yields approximately 25 gals of charcoal.

Wannabebwana Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook Joined: 29 January 2019 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 163	Post Options Post Reply Quote Wannabebwana Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 June 2020 at 12:11
	So got about 22 lbs of good quality charcoal, some of it a bit fine. But, the big chunks of wood didn’t char fully so I probably could have doubled my yield. I’ll redo them in the next burn. I think I’ll put the lighter stuff on bottom and the heavy stuff on top. Since it’s an inverted burn, that will cook the big stuff longer. So, I’ve got the method down. Just have to refine the technique.

ddufore Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Scullery Servant Joined: 29 November 2018 Location: Very northern N Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote ddufore Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 June 2020 at 14:56
	I don’t measure mine by weight. I fill a 5 gal pail and then transfer it to a recycled bag. I always get a few that didn’t cook all the way and they get tossed in the next batch.

Wannabebwana Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook Joined: 29 January 2019 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 163	Post Options Post Reply Quote Wannabebwana Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 June 2020 at 15:16
	I wanted to weigh it to compare to the bags that are sold here (usually 8kg/17lbs). It had significantly more volume than is evident from the extra 5 lbs. So it might be lighter fuel, too. Anyway, I’m enjoying learning about it. Certainly I will end up with far more than I could use in a lifetime so, if I can find a way to sell some of it, it’s easy money.