Are there any Charcoal makers in Suffolk Norfolk or Essex area

[twistedhicap]

Hi seams to be a dying art everywhere I’m hoping someone knows of a maker of lump wood charcoal somewhere close enough to me near Stowmarket in Suffolk ! 
 

I love to use it but it’s getting harder to find UK sourced and supplied any pointers gratefully received! 
 

D 

[Stere]

Try theese  ones?

 

Suffolk Archives - Coppice Products

COPPICE-PRODUCTS.CO.UK

 

[Will C]

@the village idiot is suffolkshire.

[Peasgood]

Make your own, it isn't difficult and only need an old oil barrel or two.

Once you have made some and worked out how long it took you will soon figure out why it's hard to find any for sale. Shouldn't stop you from making your own though, loads of videos on Youtube to show you how.

[Puffingbilly413]

https://ncfed.org.uk/public/products/charcoal/suppliers/

[Puffingbilly413]

1 hour ago, Peasgood said:

Make your own, it isn't difficult and only need an old oil barrel or two.

Once you have made some and worked out how long it took you will soon figure out why it's hard to find any for sale. Shouldn't stop you from making your own though, loads of videos on Youtube to show you how.

Not bad advice if you only want a bit to see you through a few summer BBQs. I used to make it in a billy in the wood stove for my own use .  Didn't take that long.

 

I've recently bought a Dartmoor Dragon retort - there's a thread on them on here. Takes about 4-5 hrs to covert an oil drum's worth of mixed hardwood. Less if you use smaller feedstock. I get about 22-23kg per burn.

 

Depends where you're selling and to who but it seems to go for the equivalent of £2.80 a kilo. No way you can compete with supermarkets on price but definitely can on quality, locality and sustainability.  Even FSC fair trade stuff from abroad is covered in accelerant to make it burn and has dubious 'food' miles.

 

But decent local hardwood lumpwood stuff gives great heat and will do so for ages compared to cheaper stuff so you do get value for money.

 

I make it on off days when there's no arb work booked in - I can log firewood or do whatever in the background whilst keeping an eye on the retort

[Peasgood]

22 hours ago, Puffingbilly413 said:

Not bad advice if you only want a bit to see you through a few summer BBQs. I used to make it in a billy in the wood stove for my own use .  Didn't take that long.

 

I've recently bought a Dartmoor Dragon retort - there's a thread on them on here. Takes about 4-5 hrs to covert an oil drum's worth of mixed hardwood. Less if you use smaller feedstock. I get about 22-23kg per burn.

 

Depends where you're selling and to who but it seems to go for the equivalent of £2.80 a kilo. No way you can compete with supermarkets on price but definitely can on quality, locality and sustainability.  Even FSC fair trade stuff from abroad is covered in accelerant to make it burn and has dubious 'food' miles.

 

But decent local hardwood lumpwood stuff gives great heat and will do so for ages compared to cheaper stuff so you do get value for money.

 

I make it on off days when there's no arb work booked in - I can log firewood or do whatever in the background whilst keeping an eye on the retort

Factoring in the cost of a Dragon makes it difficult for me to see when the payback would be. You'd need some pretty serious customers, it surprises me but there are folk out there very prepared to pay the premium for local good charcoal. 

My trade has always been fruit and veg farming and prices there are dictated by the supermarkets wherever you sell. People in general are reluctant to pay top dollar for good local produce when they can get a lesser product from the supermarkets for bugger all, same must apply to charcoal.

Best of luck with it though, they are a good looking setup for the smaller scale producer.

[Stere]

Didn't the village idiot stop charcoal as no money in it versus firewood....

 

 

Call it Biochar though & it seems the skys the limit for pricing "black gold" etc? 😏

[Puffingbilly413]

1 hour ago, Stere said:

Didn't the village idiot stop charcoal as no money in it versus firewood....

 

 

Call it Biochar though & it seems the skys the limit for pricing "black gold" etc? 😏

Biochar on the face of it seems quite lucrative especially as it's really just the fines from grading your charcoal anyway.

 

I haven't tried selling any but online prices are certainly strong.  Bit like wood chip - we give it away but a coffee bag sized bag of it for smoking meat if it's oak or fruit wood can easily be a tenner. And firewood £100 odd a cube but small smoking chunks are ten times that.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Puffingbilly413

[Puffingbilly413]

1 hour ago, Peasgood said:

My trade has always been fruit and veg farming and prices there are dictated by the supermarkets wherever you sell

Yep true enough. But there's always a market somewhere. Why buy from an independent wine seller when I can get cheap drinkable plonk from the supermarket? But many do.

 

Farmshops our way have some eye watering prices but really good quality stuff and they are doing well most of them. That would be where to get charcoal into - it's just a question of what kind of take they want v our margins

 

I think if you can find people who are interested in a sustainable, low carbon impact, local product then you will have demand. But you're not going to make a career out of it, no way. Just one of many things to offer and something to keep an old twat busy when he reaches (semi) retirement.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Puffingbilly413