Q&A for How to Make Charcoal

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  • Question
    Does burning charcoal create noxious gas or poisons of any kind?
    Community Answer
    All fires produce gases which can be dangerous to inhale, but charcoal burns more cleanly than wood as it is mostly carbon and produces little smoke.
  • Question
    How do I make charcoal without a drum? Would digging a hole in the ground with the bonfire on top of the wood that's to be turned into charcoal work?
    Community Answer
    Yes, dig a conical pit. Start a good fire in it with bushy material. Then layer your wood into the flame, keeping a good flame going till the pit is full of charcoal. The flame provides the heat, burns the smoke, and stops air getting at the charcoal. At the end, add only smaller wood that chars more quickly, and after the last small wood wait for the flaming to stop then either quench thoroughly with water or cover with clayey soil and let cool.
  • Question
    How much charcoal can be gained by following the steps of the bonfire?
    Community Answer
    This would depend on the size of the drum. Cured wood loses approximately 75% of the weight when turned to charcoal. This is approximate because there is a variable amount of water content in the wood, the density of the wood being used, and how completely the wood has been converted to char.
  • Question
    Could the gas from the charcoal drum be channeled to the fire pit as a source of energy to speed up the process?
    Community Answer
    Theoretically yes; however, the means to collect the gas and funnel it down into the fire would be tedious.
  • Question
    Will a standard 55 / 30 Gallon drum work? The temp ratings are in the 300 degree range. Stainless is much more expensive, but has ratings upward of 600 degrees.
    Community Answer
    The melting temperature of steel is well over 2000 F - making charcoal doesn't get anywhere near that, so you should be fine.
  • Question
    Does the 55 gallon drum have to have a lid?
    Community Answer
    Yes, because you want to contain the heat generated by the fire to "cook" the contained wood.
  • Question
    Is the charcoal produced safe for use to filter water?
    Community Answer
    No, the charcoal should not be used to filter water.
  • Question
    Can I use a gas burner to do this?
    Community Answer
    Yes, however be sure that the gas is not hot enough to melt the drum and ignite the wood inside.
  • Question
    Can mulch be used in place of smaller pieces of charcoal?
    Community Answer
    As long as the wood is dry and is not colored mulch. For best results, use Cowboy brand wood smoking chips because they are dried and cured.
  • Question
    How can I make charcoal not smoke so much?
    Community Answer
    Make sure it's completely dry, but it will still create some smoke.
  • Question
    The feed stock was not "cooked" long enough in the retort. Can I just reheat the retort to finish the char?
    Community Answer
    Yes, the idea is to burn off the water, oils, and other materials in the "green" wood until just charcoal is left behind; this can be done in multiple stages, but every time it cools down you lose a tremendous amount of energy reheating everything.
  • Question
    Is charcoal environment-friendly?
    Community Answer
    Yes. As it is carbon, it simply reduces to its base elements, which go back into the ground.
  • Question
    Should the holes in the second drum be upwards or downwards?
    Community Answer
    The holes should be put into the base (bottom) of the second drum.
  • Question
    Can I use a rocket stove instead of an open fire in the second method?
    Neil Fasteen
    Community Answer
    Provided you can heat the wood past the combustion point (300 C/572 F) inside a sealed container, yes. Note the long cook time would consume a lot of fuel in a rocket stove.
  • Question
    Can I use the charcoal I make for creating eyeliner or eye shadow?
    Community Answer
    You could, but you would want to do it on a smaller scale, like in a cookie tin over a campfire, that way you know it has burned thoroughly.
  • Question
    Why do you have to use cured wood?
    Community Answer
    Unless I'm mistaken, you can use green wood for this if you have the time and fuel to burn. You'll just lose a lot more mass and it'll take a lot longer and consume a lot more fuel to achieve the same results. It takes a long time for moisture to leave wood.
  • Question
    Can I use the carbon found in the car exhaust to create charcoal?
    Community Answer
    In short, no. The carbon in both charcoal and car exhaust was fixed by plants. To have your carbon from exhaust be made into charcoal, it would first have to go through photosynthesis by plants, fixed in the form of wood, then burned under limited oxygen to produce charcoal.
  • Question
    Why can't charcoal produced with this method be used for water filtration?
    Neil Fasteen
    Community Answer
    It can, though typically activated charcoal is used instead. The main difference between the two is that activated charcoal has a much higher porosity and therefore surface area. This means that it will absorb impurities significantly better than raw charcoal. If making an emergency water filter, raw charcoal will work just fine. For non-emergency commercial or consumer use, you want to use activated charcoal/carbon instead.
  • Question
    Is this the type of charcoal I can use on my face?
    Community Answer
    No. The type of charcoal you're looking for is activated, which is done by using calcium chloride to remove impurities from the charcoal, making it essentially pure carbon.
  • Question
    How much charcoal is it compared to fuel wood?
    Community Answer
    You will get about 1/4 as much charcoal by weight as wood that you put in. 100 pounds of wood will yield about 25 pounds of charcoal.
  • Question
    Can I use gum tree wood to make charcoal?
    Community Answer
    All varieties of eucalyptus ("gum trees") are dense hardwoods, especially suited for charcoal production. Red Gum, Ironbark and any species with "box" in the name are particularly good.
  • Question
    What kind of wood should I use?
    Community Answer
    In the written description, it says cherry, oak or hickory is best.
  • Question
    Does bamboo or other wood produce the best charcoal?
    Community Answer
    Other hardwoods will produce better charcoal than bamboo, as they are denser and will last longer.
  • Question
    How much burning wood underneath do I need to make charcoal? How much charcoal will it produce?
    Scott P
    Community Answer
    Different types of wood will burn differently, but generally, the more charcoal you want, the more fuel (in this case, wood) will be needed to create the charcoal. I would start with half as much wood underneath than whatever amount is being made into charcoal. From there, let the fuel burn away and then check for charcoal. Then, check to see how much charcoal was made and how much of the wood was not charred enough. This will give you an idea of what proportion you need between wood for charcoal and burning wood underneath. You can separate the charcoal from any wood that hasn't burned and use the remaining wood for making more charcoal.
  • Question
    Does this work for artists?
    Community Answer
    Yes, in smaller scale and using the proper wood (hard branches of willow and hazel are the best).
  • Question
    Can charcoal be made from undried wood?
    Community Answer
    Charcoal can be made from any thing containing carbon, so if it has carbon then you can use it.
  • Question
    Why is the type of charcoal we make not safe for purifying water?
    Community Answer
    If the charcoal is made from wood that contains no man-made chemicals, if the wood is well charred so that all the tars have been cooked out, and as long as the charcoal has been given a wash with potable water to remove the carbonates (ash), then there is no problem using your charcoal for purifying water. However, there must be a balance between charcoal size and retention time for all the water to interact to be purified.
  • Question
    Will this "barrel inside a barrel" work in making leather charcoal?
    Community Answer
    It will. The goal is to "burn" the wood in the absence of oxygen, which is what the smaller barrel achieves no matter what's inside of it. The burn times may differ from what's listed here due to the increased surface area of the thinner wood, but the concept and the execution are the same.
  • Question
    What is the difference between green coal and charcoal?
    Community Answer
    Green coal is a reference to bituminous coal that has not been heated or "coked". Nothing to do with charcoal.
  • Question
    How can I produce a square coal?
    Community Answer
    Square commercial charcoal in the form of briquettes if made by pulverizing charcoal and other fillers, which is made into a slurry, then formed and dried. To get similar chunks of charcoal that size, you will have to cut and split your wood to size and then make into charcoal. Much of it will split and break, so you'll end up with other pieces in addition to your desired chunks.
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