My biochar production tally thread.

14,580

Second pile was much better!

5/14/25

14,730

Felt like the last burn was too green, so wanted to give this one plenty of time to dry.  Got the piles built in late May, which was followed by a very wet summer.  We finally got a dry week followed by a bit of rain for burning.  The piles seemed to burn well and I spread some tonight.  While it was raining every day we managed to get all the storm felled trees bucked and split.  Still need to reduce them to kindling and let them dry out, but things are moving along.  Took this pic before we were finished, probably added another 30% to the pile.  

wow, a lot of work there!  Kudos.

15,090

Got the larger of the two piles spread.  One more to go….

Found a better pic of the woodpile.

9/6/25

15,480

Got both piles spread and started building new ones.  Would love to burn as soon as we get them built, but going to give them a while to dry.

15,900

Got a quick turn around and favorable weather, a long dry spell to assist in drying the wood, followed by good rain for burning.  The first pile we built burned really well, the second didn’t have quite as long to dry and didn’t completely char the core, but still produced over 400 gallons of char.  Still need to spread the better of the two piles.

9/27/25

15,980

Squeezed a little spreading in between other obligations…

16,415


All spread, back to piling!

16,990

Big white pine burn, most of the remaining windfall from Helene.  Topped off one of the two piles with a bunch of bamboo that died after flowering.  Neither pile charred the center very well, the huge piles just exacerbated the wet wood problem.  Still made a ton of char, maybe a new record.  Got the smaller of the two piles spread.  One more to go…

11/4/25

17,710

New burn record and new single pile (720) record!

18,130

Back in January, we charred a bunch of bamboo we used for feed, then got snow/ice that hung around for a while and impeded spreading,  Finally got it spread today.  In the meantime, the bamboo pile has grown to enormous proportions.  Hope to burn again soon.

18,550

After a very long dry spell, and burning ban, we finally got enough rain to burn.  Everyone else was at work, so I did it solo.  Chose the smaller of the two piles, hoping it would be manageable. The burn was quite an undertaking as there was a bunch of bamboo and brush that needed to be added to the fire as it burned. I got around 95% on, but towards the end, had trouble keeping the pile covered and was losing coals, so I decided to quench it with just a bit of brush left.  Spread it today, solo as well.  Very doable with a break around halfway through the pile.  Still have the big pile to go when we get some more rain and I have some help available.

5/11/26

Still the champ.
John S
PDX OR

18,700

Did two burns since the last post, the smaller of the two (pictured) consisted of some starter brush and around 1.5 cords of bone dry yellow pine out of my wood shed.  I decided to char the clear splittable wood in my shed and replace it with knotty wood that won’t char well.  I also placed an eight foot section of old six inch stove pipe on the ground from the edge to the center of the pile.  I used the pipe to light the pile right at the core, where I typically have trouble getting a complete char.  I figured lighting the pile and ducting air to the center would help.  I did indeed get a more complete burn, But, hard to say if it was the pipe or the bone dry pine.  Almost certainly one of our hottest burns ever.  

The second pile contained a large amount of kindling sized cherry and maple, also a first.  On top of that we added a massive amount of bamboo from winter feeding.  Maybe one of our longest burns ever.  Got a really nice complete char and an enormous yield.  Looking forward to the numbers on this one!

5/24/26

18,935

Got the rest of the “little” pile spread.  Based on the total, I have close to 800 gallons worth left in my woodshed.  Supposed to rain a good bit tomorrow, so I am not sure how much I will be able to get done, but hoping to finish sooner vs later.

Gray Henon wrote:18,700

Did two burns since the last post, the smaller of the two (pictured) consisted of some starter brush and around 1.5 cords of bone dry yellow pine out of my wood shed.  I decided to char the clear splittable wood in my shed and replace it with knotty wood that won’t char well.  I also placed an eight foot section of old six inch stove pipe on the ground from the edge to the center of the pile.  I used the pipe to light the pile right at the core, where I typically have trouble getting a complete char.  I figured lighting the pile and ducting air to the center would help.  I did indeed get a more complete burn, But, hard to say if it was the pipe or the bone dry pine.  Almost certainly one of our hottest burns ever.  

The second pile contained a large amount of kindling sized cherry and maple, also a first.  On top of that we added a massive amount of bamboo from winter feeding.  Maybe one of our longest burns ever.  Got a really nice complete char and an enormous yield.  Looking forward to the numbers on this one!

5/24/26

I can feel the heat coming off the photo, I swear...

When I build a pile, I've found that having a hollow core really helps with the quality of the burn. What I like to do is use some of the bigger lengths to make a sort of jenga tower/log cabin framework about 1 m square and as tall as about 1/3 of the intended pile height. When the "walls" are complete I lay long pieces to make a "roof" and then build the pile around and over this. What happens is as the pile burns down from the top and eventually collapses into the middle, there isn't a mass of unburnt pieces at the bottom. This makes for a more complete process.

19,385

My son’s any my schedules lined up enough for him to help me for an hour.  We were able to get 15 loads spread out of the large pile, and still lots to go!

19,685

Other son was able to help me for a while and we got 10 loads spread.  Still more to go!

19,985

All spread! New single pile record!  1050 gallons.  This was absolutely NOT my intent.  The bamboo piled up as I was busy with other things.  Then we were in a drought so I just kept piling material.  The burn and spreading were both exhausting.  I much prefer piles that yield around 300-500 gallons.  They seem to match our time and energy levels pretty well.

20,195

Burned another pile of splits made from the well seasoned wood (mostly yellow pine) in my woodshed.  Did it in a steady rain, so it didn’t get quite as hot as the last one.  Used the pipe again and it charred pretty well in the center, but hard to say if it was the pipe, or just the very dry feedstock.  I’ve got a few more loads of shed wood left, then I’ll try the pipe with wetter white pine.  The burn is pretty hard on the thin walled stove pipe, but today a friend offered me a section of old steel flag pole.  It tapers a bit, but I think I can get a pretty good length at around 5” in diameter.  Pics of the fire, the emptied out woodshed, and the woodshed refilled is pine knots unsuitable for biochar production, but fine for woodstove fuel, provided the chimney is kept clean.

6/11/26

20,435

Done!  Might take a break for a week or two and work on some other projects.  90+ temps and high humidity are not very conducive to splitting wood

The scale you are doing is truly impressive! Could you show some pictures of areas with the biochar spread on as well?

May Lotito wrote:The scale you are doing is truly impressive! Could you show some pictures of areas with the biochar spread on as well?

Here are a couple I had handy.  In the first, you can see where the surface of the soil has darkened, but where a creature (dung beetle?) has dug and brought up soil from deeper, it is still very mineral based with lower organic matter.  I figure I have spread around .25” of biochar on the pasture/orchard in the second pic.

Still need to move it to its final resting place, but one project off the list.  Might even be able to trim a little charring material off of it…

20,465

I’ve split and burned 2 piles since the last post.  The new to me section of steel pipe seems to be working very well, both piles were nearly completely charred in the center, even the one that contained a a lot of only moderately dry white pine. I’ve been lighting the pile in the center with the weed burner directed into the pipe.  It definitely produces a bit more smoke than lighting the pile from the outside.  We don’t have a lot of air quality problems in our area, but I would not recommend the method in an area that does.  

Both piles were topped off with several loads of well seasoned red oak out of my woodshed.  A bit more difficult to split, but the yields look really good!  I was planning to spread a bit this morning, but ended up spending a good deal of time troubleshooting my fence charger.  One wheelbarrow load was enough to tell me I didn’t need to be spreading until the sun goes down.  Spread the load over the current sheep bedding area.  They seem to like lying on smooth ground.  I’ll be interested to see if they continue using the area or move on to a different area.  Either way it will be a win.

7/7/26

20,765

Weather and schedules finally cooperated for some spreading this evening, still lots to go.  Got 7” of rain in three days.  Grass is growing!  Put up a ram this morning that I held over from last fall.  Sure is nice to see the results of all the work!

20,915

A coupleish loads left in the first pile…

20,975

One pile done!  Might hold off on the second one until cooler weather.  The sheep seem to enjoy laying on it in the meantime.  Concentrated charging and crushing, I like it!

Gray Henon wrote:I'm starting this thread to keep track of my biochar production.  I burn in a steel barrel cut in half lengthwise then quench, it usually ends up heaped up a bit, so batches are roughly 30 gallons.  Therefore I will be keeping totals in gallons.  My best estimate of production to date is around 400 gallons.  My goal is to spread a meaningful amount biochar over roughly 2.5 acres of food savannah.  Should keep me busy for years to come;)

That’s a really interesting project. Keeping track of your production over time is a great idea, especially with a long term goal like improving a 2.5 acre food savannah. 400 gallons is already a solid amount of biochar, and it’s impressive to see the commitment going into building the soil.

It will be interesting to follow your progress and see how the land responds over the years. Looking forward to seeing your updates and learning from your experience.

21,065

Temps have been in the 80’s but it has been incredibly humid, rain almost every day which is hindering progress.  Dug into the pile the sheep were bedding down on.  In addition to the manure, they also did a fair bit of crushing.  However, they also packed it down a good bit as well.  Between the packing and wet, it was quite heavy and more difficult to load/spread than usual.  Probably try to avoid letting them bed down on a pile in the future.

8/5/26

tried pits yet? not noticed in posts. . .

21,155

Still chipping away at it, solo.  90 gallons is about what I can get done between first light and when the sun hits the pile.  Don’t think I have hit the halfway mark yet.

Ted Perry wrote:tried pits yet? not noticed in posts. . .

Thanks for following along!

My burn spots are very shallow pits, maybe 6-8” deep.  Just enough to hold water when I am quenching.  Deeper pits may be slightly more efficient in terms of production, but would increase labor on burn/spreading days.  I’ve got plenty of material, but only so much labor,

Gray Henon wrote:

Ted Perry wrote:tried pits yet? not noticed in posts. . .

Thanks for following along!

My burn spots are very shallow pits, maybe 6-8” deep.  Just enough to hold water when I am quenching.  Deeper pits may be slightly more efficient in terms of production, but would increase labor on burn/spreading days.  I’ve got plenty of material, but only so much labor,

I am still learning how to use this thing for replies and all- I have been fantasizing about an excavator to dig for dwelling and maybe pay for itself(heh).
Anyway, I wondered if setting up the pile of dirt dug out as a berm on one side for light or wind would alter equation in positive way(?)

Ted Perry wrote:

Gray Henon wrote:

Ted Perry wrote:tried pits yet? not noticed in posts. . .

Thanks for following along!

My burn spots are very shallow pits, maybe 6-8” deep.  Just enough to hold water when I am quenching.  Deeper pits may be slightly more efficient in terms of production, but would increase labor on burn/spreading days.  I’ve got plenty of material, but only so much labor,

I am still learning how to use this thing for replies and all- I have been fantasizing about an excavator to dig for dwelling and maybe pay for itself(heh).
Anyway, I wondered if setting up the pile of dirt dug out as a berm on one side for light or wind would alter equation in positive way(?)

When you have an excavator, everything looks like a hole, lol.  Wind affects the burn some, but not enough to bother fixing.  I’m a permie minimalist so the less equipment, the better, in my book.  If needed, I figure heavy equipment is a rent, not buy, type of thing.

21,275

21,365

21,515.

Finally finished.  Probably the longest spreading job ever.  Lots going on plus heat and rain.