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Questions About Making Biochar
I am reading about biochar.
I think of building a drum biochar oven, it sounds easy.
I have some questions, how dry must the stuff be? How small must I cut it? Can I use twigs with the leaves on it?
I would like to build something with cooking option too.
It seems that the biochar is an easy way to use the twigs I really can easily get hold of (only ask some gardeners and you have heaps).
I investigate this after having asked how much it cost to hire a chipper for a day ($185).
Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia
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Twigs work, leaves and all, if dry. Maximum size depends on the size of the retort and ability to maintain heat. A 55 gallon drum can do 2x4's scrap, or anything you can prune with a loppers, much bigger and it won't char all the way through before you lose heat.
"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus
And what do you think of the drum burners? However, we are not allowed open fires (bonfires) because of the bushfire danger.
Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia
I don't know your climate for how long it would take to dry down trimmings. I find more value in leaves and new wood as compost material, but I have a shredder to speed up composting.
"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus
https://turkeysong.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/simple-efficient-cheap-flexible-trench-biochar-method-video/
If you make the drum a bell, with the outflow at the bottom of the barrel, then you install the chimney pipe to end at least three feet above the barrel (bell) top.
Build a small rack (can be made of bricks or even cinder blocks) to hold the wood upright, fill as tight as you can for maximum char production, there will still be room for airflow with round wood.
If you are using split wood, just make sure there are channels for air flow between the splits.
fire up the rocket stove and the heat will flow all around and through the wood to become char, one full burn is usually enough if you are using split wood or branches and twigs.
The top of the barrel also functions as a cook top when done this way. Make sure the wood doesn't reach all the way to the barrel top or it will stall the rocket.
There are good threads on this site and at pdf rocket stove build directions
Using the pdf, you can build a smaller char builder such as using a cheep 12 quart and up stock pot with steel lid not glass. This is easier and doesn't need as much rocket stove knowledge or outlay of money.
We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet Tuwa tokiya kola
How much can I produce in 55 gal drum? HOw much do I need per m2 anyway?
I do no want to use an open fire pit because I will have the fire service here very soon.
Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia
I have a test plot of 2' by10' that I just spread it on the surface then used a broadfork, that test area was a bust.
The gardens where it was dug in, are very healthy one year after the introduction, and we won't have to ever do it again, which is one of the up sides.
The microorganism counts are now up at least 10 fold from before the introduction and the mycoremediation is really going strong.
We did not have any water retention issues before the introduction of the biochar and still don't have any water issues.
a short term rocket can be built just using bricks with mud used as the mortar, they only take an hour to put together and that is far safer than an open pit fire since the flames are contained.
a 55 gal drum will make enough biochar (in one loading) to properly do a 4x8 bed. I don't currently have biochar everywhere, just in the garden beds. I may never have it everywhere.
We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet Tuwa tokiya kola
We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet Tuwa tokiya kola
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We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet Tuwa tokiya kola
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