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Made my first biochar of the year

 
John Suavecito
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Here in the PNWet, it rains A LOT from about Thanksgiving to say, St. Patrick's day.  I stop making biochar during most of that time, because the days are very short (we are more than 45 degrees north), it's cold and it's so wet.  

The days are longer now. We are just about to spring forward.  It has gotten warmer and we had a dry day.  It was great to get back on the horse.

I know in some areas, it rains in the summer, so some people probably make more biochar in the winter.  

Do you have a season in which you make biochar?

John S
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Any time but summer. I don't like working around a fire when it's already hot as blazes outside. If I feel the need to make any during warm months, I always do it at night.

Every day on this side of the grass is a good day. The first on the other side will be even better.

 
Douglas Alpenstock
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These days, my "season" revolves around fire safety and fire bans. Char making is a byproduct of tree pruning, trail making and removal of deadfall to limit wildfire impact.

In winter, with snow on the ground, I drag around a barrel "kiln" and burn where the wood is. It's much easier to haul the char than the wood.

In the other seasons (barring fire bans) I will only burn in zones I consider highly safe. I usually do a few big brush pile burns to clean up junk wood, even though this makes lower quality char with lots of ash. Obviously I'm not doing this in the full heat of summer. I'm waiting for cool rainy days.
 
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Obviously I'm not doing this in the full heat of summer. I'm waiting for cool rainy days.



Right here just north of the Alabama border I am wondering what "the full heat of summer" means where you are.

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Timothy Norton
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My state has a burn ban that goes into effect in about a week. Everything is fine and dandy until it isn't. I've chased a few grass and brush fires when I volunteered with a local fire department and never enjoyed lugging an indian pack around for a romp in the woods. We play it safe for a few months and then I can get my char on!

Indian pack wildland firefighting tool.

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John Suavecito
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We do have serious, giant forest fires, just like the rest of the Western states, because we have long, very dry, hot summers, and lots of trees to burn.  The fires generally happen away from cities, which have their own fire departments.   However, I live in a close-in suburb. I make my biochar in an enclosed TLUD with a chimney on my driveway, with a hose right by it.  Even when the fire department was called on me during the summer, the very first time they saw my set up, they thought, "Why are they calling me for this guy? I have real fires to put out!".
John S
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Check out Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil

 
Timothy Norton
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John Suavecito wrote: I make my biochar in an enclosed TLUD with a chimney on my driveway, with a hose right by it.



That is definitely the way to do it; I am still pretty rudimentary in my biochar making journey and utilize an open burn in my backyard fire pit. Anything to make a better controlled environment reduces those environmental hazard risks.

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Douglas Alpenstock
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Rachel Lindsay wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Obviously I'm not doing this in the full heat of summer. I'm waiting for cool rainy days.



Right here just north of the Alabama border I am wondering what "the full heat of summer" means where you are.


It's not unusual to have a stretch of summer temps reaching 36C, which is about 97F. Because of our elevation, there's also a high UV index and (to me) extra IR in direct sun. And because of our high latitude, we have direct sun for a long, long time on summer days. This combination BBQ's me half to death.
 
John Suavecito
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My sense is that it is still hot in the northern climes, but not super hot for very long.  Here at 45 degrees, we often go over 100 F, but it's not as hot for as long as when I lived in Tennessee.   Likewise, we're not nearly as cold ever, but also not cold for very long compared to say, most of Canada.  

It was nice yesterday having a biochar burn in cool weather.  It's often hot when I'm burning, so I need to go earlier in the day during the summer or later in the day.

John S
PDX OR

Check out Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil

 
Ben Brownell
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Spring and fall. Much of my burning is in pits spread around a sizable acreage without installed water supply, so I have been digging out small catchment pools in conveniently located drainages that each hold say 50-100 gallons for at least a few days after rains, as an easy source to quench burns with. Fuel is mostly a rather flammable brush (buckbrush/ceanothus) that is easy to ignite and maintain hot fast combustion even when damp. Produces great charcoal that I am mostly using for fill material in roads, paths, and terracing, but wanting to try out as aggregate in earthen wall construction this year too.
 
J Gustafson
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:These days, my "season" revolves around fire safety and fire bans. Char making is a byproduct of tree pruning, trail making and removal of deadfall to limit wildfire impact.

In winter, with snow on the ground, I drag around a barrel "kiln" and burn where the wood is. It's much easier to haul the char than the wood.

Douglas, can you show a picture of your "Kiln"?  ...and tell me about your process?




 
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Year-round charing here.  We are small scale, 1/4 acre in town.  Our char making is done in our chofu which heats the water for our outdoor soaking tub.  So anytime we are heating the tub for soaking, the last 10 mins before we get in, the pot of 'hardwood' goes into the chofu and pyrolizes.  Once cooled, that charcoal goes into either the chicken run or the goat pen for inoculation before it goes into the garden.
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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J Gustafson wrote:Douglas, can you show a picture of your "Kiln"?  ...and tell me about your process?



Sure. I posted it here (sitting on another half barrel to raise it off the ground):
https://permies.com/t/213942/Biochar-Burn-Cooking-Potatoes


It's dirt simple, made from a free 55 gal. oil drum. It was an experiment that turned out quite well.
- top cut out, so I can stuff long branches and smaller logs into the burn area
- 3/4" lip around the inside rim to move or rotate the barrel (to catch or block the breeze as needed)
- notch cut in the middle for draft, allowing me to reach in and bash the burning wood and aggressively pack down the coals to reduce oxygen and create less ash
- top 2/3 of the barrel acts as a chimney for good draft and to keep the smoke out of my face
- bottom 1/3 is the char chamber, excluding oxygen as I pack the coals; I get a heaping wheelbarrow (maybe 8 cu. ft.) from each burn

In the seasons where we have "fire restrictions" (no open burning) I  put a fine mesh screen on top (as in the photo). I have to cut the wood short and feed it in the side hole; it's slower and labour intensive but it's better than nothing.

This simple kiln has lasted for years but it's rusting out at the bottom. Now it admits air so I have to be really careful.

Version 2.0 will have a slightly narrower side opening, set a bit higher from the bottom to increase capacity. I may add protruding bolts above the opening so I can hang a crude door. Intead of leaving a rim at the top for moving or rotating it, I'll cut out the top off flush with the rim so I can drop the "lid" down on the char to help smother it.  I'll bolt on a few stout hooks so I can move or rotate it even when hot.

BUT: Before I cut the side notch in 2.0, I want to try the tilted barrel method. It'll be easier to smother the char.
https://permies.com/t/193110/method-making-charcoal-biochar

 
Trace Oswald
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

BUT: Before I cut the side notch in 2.0, I want to try the tilted barrel method. It'll be easier to smother the char.
https://permies.com/t/193110/method-making-charcoal-biochar



Please post once you have tried it.  I think you'll be very surprised at how well it works, and the large amounts of char you can get from a burn.  It's the only method I use at this point.

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Douglas Alpenstock
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Trace Oswald wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

BUT: Before I cut the side notch in 2.0, I want to try the tilted barrel method. It'll be easier to smother the char.
https://permies.com/t/193110/method-making-charcoal-biochar



Please post once you have tried it.  I think you'll be very surprised at how well it works, and the large amounts of char you can get from a burn.  It's the only method I use at this point.


I certainly will! My only concern is the smoke -- I've already eaten a lifetime's worth and these days it really bothers me. That's why I cut my barrel kiln the way I did. We'll see.
 
Trace Oswald
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Trace Oswald wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

BUT: Before I cut the side notch in 2.0, I want to try the tilted barrel method. It'll be easier to smother the char.
https://permies.com/t/193110/method-making-charcoal-biochar



Please post once you have tried it.  I think you'll be very surprised at how well it works, and the large amounts of char you can get from a burn.  It's the only method I use at this point.


I certainly will! My only concern is the smoke -- I've already eaten a lifetime's worth and these days it really bothers me. That's why I cut my barrel kiln the way I did. We'll see.



If you load slowly, you shouldn't have smoke.  If you put a layer in too thick, you will get smoke then.

A build too cool to miss:Mike's GreenhouseA great example:Joseph's Garden
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