1st bbq with me own made charcoal

[Essexlogman]

After sampling the delights of fine quality locally produced charcoal on our BBQ for the last few decades I decided to have a go at making some charcoal my self and thought how hard can it be!!!! so bought myself one of those cheap metal incinerator dustbins "you know the type" with the chimney in the top and air holes in the base, so I dug a hole kept the earth to one side to restrict the air flow and all that, duly filled said charcoal producing machine with kindling and some of our driest hornbeam firewood logs and lit them and then closed down all the air ways thinking great will have a load of charcoal to use in the morning needless to say "wrong" it was a complete disaster and I ended up with a lot of black wood, anyway after much fettling and a lot of trial and error and to cut a very long story short I was finally succesfull in ending up with enough charcoal for our first BBQ, I ended up using two bags of kiln dried birch logs to get one BBQ's worth of charcoal not my most profitable venture but a dam fine barbeque none the less and a lot of fun and my deep respect to anyone out there who is involved in "the Black Art" of charcoal production

Cheers Essexlogman!!!!!!!

[Woodworks]

Nice one

 

It's a good feeling cooking on your own charcoal.

We did tonight. Yum

[Ian Leach]

I've probably got 3 20kg bags of my own charcoal left, shame I haven't got time to make anymore. British charcoal is the best.

[carpenter1]

I would like to make charcoal but how?

[Woodworks]

Quite a few threads on here for making charcoal.

 

This is mine http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/58378-thinking-having-crack-making-charcoal.html

[Justme]

Am I the only one that never uses charcoal on the BBQ?

 

I just keep a supply of lots of suitable sized bits of good really dry hardwood. Start the fire in plenty of time & the jobs a goodun.

[weewoodfaery]

Well done you!

From what I have heard it can take a bit of mastering to get it right and if you are impatient and open up your charcoal making 'vessel' too soon It can all go up in smoke (or flames:bawling:). Its something I have been meaning to try out. Its an ancient art of a low cost, low tech nature and one which appeals greatly as apparently 95% of the charcoal sold in the UK imported!!

I like the idea of using invasive species such as Rhododendron ponticum for making charcoal. I recently visited Inverewe Gardens which is run National Trust Scotland and discovered they were doing exactly this. Good to be making use of something that needs to be got rid of. Beware though, ponticum is not suitable to cook over unless it has been processed into charcoal as it apparently gives of toxic/carcinogenic thingy m'bobs.

I think we should be processing much more of the ponticum and other invasives in this way instead of cutting and burning on site which is releasing the co2 straight into the atmosphere.

An even better use, or slower release of co2 would be to use the charcoal (or biochar) as a soil enhancer. There's quite a bit to read about all this online. I hope that this will be something that will be more common practice in the future.

Angie

Open Source Technology | International Biochar Initiative -this is a link with some useful links on making yer own

[Essexlogman]

I would like to make charcoal but how?

 

Hello Carpenter1 I am no expert at charcoal making but if you are after having a bit of fun and not taking it to seriously then if you pretty much follow what i did in my original thread above in time you will end up with your own charcoal at not to much initial cost at all, also I just used a clay pot over the chimney to restrict the air and make sure all your firewood is well alight before you start to restrict the airflow "trial and error and all that" but if you want to take things to a commercial level I see a lot of replies and threads that you might find useful, also try the village idiot AKA graham as he has a retort kiln

Good luck and let me know how you got on Cheers Essexlogman!!!!!!!

[Essexlogman]

Well done you!

From what I have heard it can take a bit of mastering to get it right and if you are impatient and open up your charcoal making 'vessel' too soon It can all go up in smoke (or flames:bawling:). Its something I have been meaning to try out. Its an ancient art of a low cost, low tech nature and one which appeals greatly as apparently 95% of the charcoal sold in the UK imported!!

I like the idea of using invasive species such as Rhododendron ponticum for making charcoal. I recently visited Inverewe Gardens which is run National Trust Scotland and discovered they were doing exactly this. Good to be making use of something that needs to be got rid of. Beware though, ponticum is not suitable to cook over unless it has been processed into charcoal as it apparently gives of toxic/carcinogenic thingy m'bobs.

I think we should be processing much more of the ponticum and other invasives in this way instead of cutting and burning on site which is releasing the co2 straight into the atmosphere.

An even better use, or slower release of co2 would be to use the charcoal (or biochar) as a soil enhancer. There's quite a bit to read about all this online. I hope that this will be something that will be more common practice in the future.

Angie

Open Source Technology | International Biochar Initiative -this is a link with some useful links on making yer own

 

Hey thanks for that and pretty much agree with what you say and some great info in your links that I will be delving into more later Cheers Essexlogman!!!!!!

[headgroundsman]

It was very crude but still using charcoal made after dousing a fire that had nearly burned out when burning what I had cut out of my hedge