Woodland charcoal making

[paulm]

Have been experimenting recently with making charcoal from smaller left over bits of last year's hazel coppicing.

Most of the cut hazel goes for firewood if oversized, or beanpoles and stakes for the garden, but rather than put the smaller gnarly bits on the dead hedging or wildlife piles, thought I would try something else.

Turned out very well indeed, with a couple of succesful burns and a few sackfulls of decent charcoal from each

Shame I usually use a gas bbq at home though !

 

[Adam W.]

That worked well.

Can you briefly describe your method ?

 

[paulm]

That worked well.

Can you briefly describe your method ?

Oil drum with holes in bottom, stood on low bricks for airflow, fire in bottom, add seasoned small diameter hardwoods until full, allow to burn until level starts dropping, add some more small diameter stuff and wait a while until the white smoke goes dark, this indicates the charcoal itself is starting to burn and you need to stop the process.

Carefully remove the air bricks and seal any gaps where flames or smoke are coming out with sand or soil, carefully slide lid on top and clamp shut, weight on top can help the seal and stop smoke/flames coming out of the top.

Wait a few hours to cool and see how you've done !

If lots of only partially burnt wood then you needed to let it burn longer, add these to the next batch. If a big pile of ash then you left it too long !

That's about it really, instead of holes in the bottom and raising on bricks you can just put holes around the side near the base and just block these with sand/soil when shutting down. I used hazel with a diameter of half inch up to inch and a half but mainly around one inch, and that took just under an hour to cook. If less well seasoned, or larger diameter it could take substantially longer.

There are other variations on the oil drum approach that I haven't tried yet but this one seems to work just fine so far with two successful burns and a nice stack of charcoal filled sacks

Goes without saying, your personal safety, and that of the area you are burning in, are paramount. I used welding gauntlets and long sticks for handling bricks and lid etc, and soaked the ground under and around, before, during and after the burn, with large amounts of water and a fire beater thing on hand if needed. Also had the precise location, in the middle of a woodland, on my phone in case of any emergency assistance required from fire brigade or ambulance service ! With a bit of common sense though it all seemed safe and controlled but worth not being complacent !

 

[bourbon]

That Looks like nice charcoal, Does it sound like glass when you poured it out? How light is it and can you draw with it. I cast pewter in a medieval living history group, and I have used/ tested/ discarded about 12 different types, As I need my fire to burn very hot for about 6 hours at a time

 

[paulm]

That Looks like nice charcoal, Does it sound like glass when you poured it out? How light is it and can you draw with it. I cast pewter in a medieval living history group, and I have used/ tested/ discarded about 12 different types, As I need my fire to burn very hot for about 6 hours at a time

No idea on any of that, didn't notice, sorry !

Sounds like you may need a very dense hardwood based charcoal for those kind of burn times perhaps ? Hornbeam, rhododendron,, oak or alder perhaps ?

 

[bourbon]

I think the last lot I had was mostly Oak, Came from Sheffield, I popped up from the Midlands and visited our Pole lathe turner while I was at it. I got ten 3kg bags, which usually lasts for a season and a half.

 

[Bm101]

This takes me back to my youth when I was knocking about with some bodgers by location. (They lived on the same farm as me and my caravan). I was only a pup, 21 maybe, but they looked after me and I used to go with them to empty the big charcoal burns. Used to have a try on their pole lathes. All part of the love of trees and wood generally that saw me end up on here many years later.
I was only ever hired help on these burns but I remember the process remarkably well and yourdescription made me smell damp woodland and smoke!
Tin mugs, sweet tea and rolling tobacco. God.
For anyone who can't stretch to a 'proper' burn, you can make passable artists charcoal from willow twigs in a biscuit tin on a bonfire/ bbq.
MIght take a few tries to get it spot on but it's a great one for any kids, grandkids etc.