New Charcoal Making Business

[Ty Unnos]

Hi All

 

I am putting together a new venture making Charcoal on a local landowners estate.

 

They have got loads of neglected woods / coppice so no shortage of wood.

 

I think I can get a grant off the council for 50% of capital up to 10K. I think I can also buy second hand which is good.

 

What equipment should I be thinking about to get up and running?

 

Kilns.

 

What size is best - shall I start with a 6'? Or go for 8'? What are the ones with an extra ring like? The kilns will have to be moved from site to site so need to be portable. Can anyone recommend a maker?

 

Trailer.

 

I have a Land Rover defender but no trailer. What would be best for moving the kilns / wood and charcoal?

 

Accommodation.

 

I will probably be camping out in the woods while looking after the kilns. What do people use - second hand caravan or tent?

 

What else have I missed. I will probably build a grader / sorter myself. What about other tools? Shovels, forks, saws axes etc.

 

I don't think my grant will cover vehicles but should I consider something else other than my land rover. Do I need a small tractor or a quad?

 

I would be really interested in hearing how other people operate.

 

Cheers

[Petemate390xp]

Hi where are you based?? could meet up .

Pete..

[Ty Unnos]

Hi Pete

 

Meeting up sounds good.

 

We are 6 miles out of Ruthin over towards the Clocaenog...

 

Are you going to Woodfest..... I will drop you a PM.

[Chris Sheppard]

I'm interested to see what suggestions people come up with as I'm looking to burn a bit of charcoal too as one of the woods we're working in at the mo is rammed full of stuff too small to firewood.

 

Having moved a kiln a few weeks ago by hand, I'd say a quad could be a good move as we nearly got flattened a couple of times when the kiln hit bumps or we got to hills, though it was a fair size so a smaller one might be easier to handle

 

I'd have thought a decent sized dropside trailer would be a sensible choice for behind the defender as then you can lead good amounts off site, though if you were to use a quad for extraction and moving the kiln into the position then you may need to look at a smaller traielr to use too, even if just on site.

 

I've heard of a few people using firewood processors to fill the kilns too - rather than cutting by hand and stacking neatly, just bang it all through the processor and save a lot of time.

[Sam Thompson]

Hi All

 

I am putting together a new venture making Charcoal on a local landowners estate.

 

They have got loads of neglected woods / coppice so no shortage of wood.

 

I think I can get a grant off the council for 50% of capital up to 10K. I think I can also buy second hand which is good.

 

What equipment should I be thinking about to get up and running?

 

Kilns.

 

What size is best - shall I start with a 6'? Or go for 8'? What are the ones with an extra ring like? The kilns will have to be moved from site to site so need to be portable. Can anyone recommend a maker?

 

Trailer.

 

I have a Land Rover defender but no trailer. What would be best for moving the kilns / wood and charcoal?

 

Accommodation.

 

I will probably be camping out in the woods while looking after the kilns. What do people use - second hand caravan or tent?

 

What else have I missed. I will probably build a grader / sorter myself. What about other tools? Shovels, forks, saws axes etc.

 

I don't think my grant will cover vehicles but should I consider something else other than my land rover. Do I need a small tractor or a quad?

 

I would be really interested in hearing how other people operate.

 

Cheers

 

 

No experience of burning, but really interested in it. As far as non specific kit goes I can recommend stuff.

 

Trailer - Ifor Williams are bob on, but the "Atlas" tipping trailers advertised on here look pretty good.

 

 

If you do decide on a quad then I would go Honda every time. The small tractors Riko sell look good.

 

The Woodsmith's Store - Green Woodworking Tools - Green Woodworking Accessories Will be good for hand tools (and they sell kilns too), Gransfors Bruks axes are top notch, nothing other than custom made will beat them, and worth the cash if you use it professionally. The old English makes (Elwell, Nash, Gilpin and Whitehouse) are all very good too. Bulldog spades are decent are good money.

 

 

I'd love to come and see the operation when your up and running if you don't mind.

 

 

Sam

[Rob Stringer]

You wont need much kit to get started, the margins aren't huge so best keep it simple to start with. Kilns ive used have been 6-8' diameter and 3-5' high, usually producing around 40-80 3 kg bags per burn. Bigger kilns are more hassle to move, but obviously if its too small the output could be disappointing. Hand tools- big shovel to unload the kiln, little coal shovel to fill the bags, a good respirator/mask is essential (and overalls/old clothes for unloading the kiln). I mostly use material thats a bit small for firewood so it just needs cutting to a length that'll fit in the kiln and when I put bigger stuff in I use a firewood processor with the conveyor dropping material straight into the kiln (filling a kiln with material split by hand would be a lot of work). Riddles are easy enough to make, you'll probably end up with a lot of fines falling through the grid so worth looking into markets for this (horticultural charcoal etc.) as you'll have bulk bags of it piling up otherwise. There are people making charcoal on a bigger scale using expensive retort kilns and mechanised bagging plant but you'll need to be selling a lot of charcoal to justify the cost.

[davetaz]

Get yourself on a very reasonably priced pro charcoal making course with these guys, not too far from you and you get loads help and advice

Woodland Skills Centre ... coppice, greenwood and woodland courses 2011

I went a few years ago, extremely good, looks like some vacancies in near future

[Ty Unnos]

Get yourself on a very reasonably priced pro charcoal making course with these guys, not too far from you and you get loads help and advice

Woodland Skills Centre ... coppice, greenwood and woodland courses 2011

I went a few years ago, extremely good, looks like some vacancies in near future

 

Yes Rod is excellent and knows his stuff. I will try and get onto his next course.

 

I did do a similar course with Ben Law a few years back which was also excellent.

 

The problem is I have not had much chance to practice since!

 

Still I should get my chance soon - If my business venture comes off I will have ten tonnes of wood to convert to charcoal before the end of the summer.

[davetaz]

I'd offer to give you a hand but am off to Madagascar for 30 days in June!

 

May be come and see your set-up later in summer

 

Dave

[Lm20]

Its pretty horrible job especially in the summer i always water it down a bit to keep the dust levels low took me on my own half a day to fill and half a day to empty was an 8' hope that helps