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Making bone char

 
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I built a smokeless firepit, then I fired a container of bones in it.
20231107_195952.jpg
My child summons forth the flames
My child summons forth the flames
20231113_200845.jpg
Bone gas burning.
Bone gas burning.
 
William Bronson
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Here's the resulting char.
20231114_171941.jpg
Breaks easy, washes off my hands easily
Breaks easy, washes off my hands easily
 
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Nice work! What is the vessel that you used for the bones?
 
William Bronson
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It's an enameled cast iron Dutch oven that had started to chip off into the food.
This was the first time I used it for char
 
Timothy Norton
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William Bronson wrote:It's an enameled cast iron Dutch oven that had started to chip off into the food.
This was the first time I used it for char



I was hoping this was the answer, I always hear about a tight seal and it made me nervous to even try. I have a beat up dutch oven very similar that I might try now!

Thank you.
 
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Timothy Norton wrote:

William Bronson wrote:It's an enameled cast iron Dutch oven that had started to chip off into the food.
This was the first time I used it for char



I was hoping this was the answer, I always hear about a tight seal and it made me nervous to even try. I have a beat up dutch oven very similar that I might try now!

Thank you.



Funny - we have a dead blue one, just like that, that I've been wondering about using for something like this, too!
 
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It looks like it worked pretty well.
 
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Nicely, done, William! Nicely done indeed!

I think I'm inspired to dig out all the bone remains from my "bone pit" and burn them up. The carrion beetles etc. stripped them bare long ago. It'll save me from digging a new pit. I refuse to send bio-bits to the landfill, but I have dogs (and potential vet bills) so I have to keep them away from the bones.

Do you think your fire was hotter or longer than a standard biochar burn?
 
Carla Burke
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William, what are you going to use your bone char for?
 
William Bronson
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Douglass, the fire took less time than the trench method, but it was super dry pallet wood with full air flow instead of a flame cap set up, so that makes sense.

I set my grate half way up the inner cylinder of my tlud, and surrounded the Dutch oven with a single layer of 2x4 chunks on the top and sides, and about 3 chuncks deep on top.
I was worried it would not get hot enough to cause pyrolosis in the Dutch oven retort, so I kept watch and fed it a little, but not much.
When it burned down, there were tell tale flames coming from under the lid.
I put a very loose fitting lid on it .
It leaves half inch of horizontal gap between it an the burn chamber.
This allowed the pyrolosis gas  burn without me leaving an open fire.
 
William Bronson
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Carla, I plan on putting in planting holes in lue of bone meal.
I have made bone meal by pressure cooking bones into broth and that is kinda preferred, but it does take gas or electric, and I end up storing bones in the freezer till I have enough.
With pyrolosis, I can use free fuel and I can add anything I want to fill up the retort.
Also, fire is fun!
 
Carla Burke
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William Bronson wrote:Carla, I plan on putting in planting holes in lue of bone meal.
I have made bone meal by pressure cooking bones into broth and that is kinda preferred, but it does take gas or electric, and I end up storing bones in the freezer till I have enough.
With pyrolosis, I can use free fuel and I can add anything I want to fill up the retort.
Also, fire is fun!



Thank you! I knew to use bone meal in the garden, but wasn't sure of it's efficacy, charred, though it Make as much sense as any other bio-char, right? And, likely with the benefit of not drawing scavengers! I might need to try this, myself.
 
John Suavecito
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I was also a little confused about why I should throw away bones from eating meat and then drive to a store to buy bone meal.  I was a little wary of raccoons and other vermin digging up my garden if I just put the bones in the garden.  I decided to throw them into the biochar. Burning them that way makes them unattractive to vermin and incorporates calcium and other minerals, and I don't need to drive to the store to buy bone meal.

John S
PDX OR
 
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