Im having problems making biochar

'Boogieman' · Apr 7, 2019

Hello everyone, as the title suggests I have been trying to make biochar but I been having some problems.

My first attempt was in a barrel, I filled it with broken sticks about 1/4 high then started a fire and set the barrel in the fire. The fire burned a hole through the metal barrel getting pieces of metal rust inside the biochar so I tosses that.

Then I started a fire and let it burn until it was done smoking and threw sand on it. Although I have biochar it seems wood is still visible inside many chunks of wood as I break it up and I can not separate them so again im not confident in this product either. I let it burn for a while too.

Can someone recommend a fool proof way to make biochar? I hope to mix roughly 10% into my outdoor soil after I inoculate it with a compost tea. Thanks for any help. I need to make roughly 60 gallons soon.

P-NUT · Apr 7, 2019

Let it burn till it's all glowing coals. Then wait another ten minutes and spray it down with water to put out.

Rico Swazi · Apr 7, 2019

perhaps all you need is to tweak your barrel method-

https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-BioChar-and-Terra-Preta/

i've made charcoal in open trenches and by using a 55gal barrel as a retort
its been my experience that when done right, the barrel method provides a much better product thru controlled pyrolysis instead of combustion

Lyfespan · Apr 7, 2019

P-NUT said:
Let it burn till it's all glowing coals. Then wait another ten minutes and spray it down with water to put out.

pee on it

yahooman · Apr 7, 2019

all i know is that it has to be air tight to achieve good results

40degsouth · Apr 8, 2019

Hi Boogieman,
my method is very simple, dig a "V" pit as long as you like. Mine are about three feet wide, three and a half feet deep and four feet long.
Get a fire going in it and as your logs burn down the coal falls into and fills up the pit.
You do have to put it out with water or dig it out and spread it around so it goes out or it has the potential to smoulder for days. You can also replace clods so no one knows you were there.
Let me know how you go!!
Cheers 40

Microbeman · Apr 8, 2019

Boogie; Here you go. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=8479342&postcount=47

St. Phatty · Apr 8, 2019

Lyfespan said:
pee on it

From a distance.

And if you have to pee sitting down ... ?

Lyfespan · Apr 8, 2019

St. Phatty said:
From a distance.

And if you have to pee sitting down ... ?

this will vary, dont wanna burn any hose tips :tiphat:

russian420 · Apr 8, 2019

Water with 10% Pee is best.

This is a Booster with Guano.

PK Booster, if the three is Cherry, Apple or something hard.

Right now i use Palm Three Ash with Guano to Boost PK

I like it alot

Lyfespan · Apr 8, 2019

russian420 said:
Water with 10% Pee is best.

This is a Booster with Guano.

PK Booster, if the three is Cherry, Apple or something hard.

Right now i use Palm Three Ash with Guano to Boost PK

I like it alot

urea in the biochar secret weapon

'Boogieman' · Apr 8, 2019

Piss has salt in it so im skeptical about that. Im going to make a cone klin for making biochar with a open bottom so I can set it on the ground and pour water through it without water build up. I do not understand the barrel concept but for now digging a cone shaped hole is easy enough. I have read clinching with water improves the biochar any truth to that?

Rico Swazi · Apr 8, 2019

barrel concept = low oxygen high heat

the (barrel) process sequesters carbon rather than let it escape into the atmosphere

it works well and would hope you and others don't give up on it completely

Microbeman · Apr 8, 2019

Rico Swazi said:
barrel concept = low oxygen high heat

the (barrel) process sequesters carbon rather than let it escape into the atmosphere

it works well and would hope you and others don't give up on it completely

Yes the processes done with pits or on the ground are polluters. The video I linked is super simple.

40degsouth · Apr 9, 2019

Hi Microbeman,
I'm very interested to learn your thoughts as to why the charcoal pits are polluters. Is it because of the particle emissions and CO2, or because it does something to the finished product itself????
For those of you interested in a further research topic and going a bit further down the rabbit hole check out gasification it's really very interesting and basically zero emissions as the volitiles are burnt off when charcoal is formed.
Hope this helps someone,
Cheers 40

'Boogieman' · Apr 9, 2019

40degsouth said:
Hi Microbeman,
I'm very interested to learn your thoughts as to why the charcoal pits are polluters. Is it because of the particle emissions and CO2, or because it does something to the finished product itself????
For those of you interested in a further research topic and going a bit further down the rabbit hole check out gasification it's really very interesting and basically zero emissions as the volitiles are burnt off when charcoal is formed.
Hope this helps someone,
Cheers 40

From what I understand burning wood releases carbon into the atmosphere. The barrel method uses the least amount of oxygen which burns less carbon than other methods. Unfortunate I have no choice but to use the trench method right now as the only barrel I have is destroyed. I have also read using water to quench the smoldering charcoal creates more pores in the soon to be biochar which is better for soil microbes.

People start fires all the time everywhere in the world, if somebody was going to get into the biochar business and produce tons they should use environmental friendly practices but for a backyard burn I don't think the cone klin methed will hurt and done right you can still choke out most of the oxygen.

Microbeman · Apr 9, 2019

'Boogieman' said:
From what I understand burning wood releases carbon into the atmosphere. The barrel method uses the least amount of oxygen which burns less carbon than other methods. Unfortunate I have no choice but to use the trench method right now as the only barrel I have is destroyed. I have also read using water to quench the smoldering charcoal creates more pores in the soon to be biochar which is better for soil microbes.

People start fires all the time everywhere in the world, if somebody was going to get into the biochar business and produce tons they should use environmental friendly practices but for a backyard burn I don't think the cone klin methed will hurt and done right you can still choke out most of the oxygen.

It might cost a grand total of 25 bucks to source the barrels needed as itemized in the video. How much do you spend on other stuff for growing?

The water thing sounds like bullshit to me. You can still use water with the barrel system. Did you note that we had superior results with shavings?

Microbeman · Apr 9, 2019

40degsouth said:
Hi Microbeman,
I'm very interested to learn your thoughts as to why the charcoal pits are polluters. Is it because of the particle emissions and CO2, or because it does something to the finished product itself????
For those of you interested in a further research topic and going a bit further down the rabbit hole check out gasification it's really very interesting and basically zero emissions as the volitiles are burnt off when charcoal is formed.
Hope this helps someone,
Cheers 40

The atmosphere of course.

Player2 · Apr 9, 2019

I just lost a big reply, so here i go again in exactly the same manner while expecting a different outcome...

Start with a v trench, as stated earlier, or a "flame capped kiln" of some sort. That is fancy talk for sloped sided thing to burn stuff in. Check out skillcult on youtube. Don't overthink it. Try to burn dry stuff. Manage it so it produces no or almost no smoke. Quench with lots of water.

After you think technology can make that better, do just as I did and start getting 55 gallon drums. Make lots of tlud variations. Enjoy how touchy they are to loading, dryness and materials. Cook toxic paint off each new variation. Enjoy getting stoned and drunk playing with powertools and then making super fires with howling cyclonic drafts that have mesmerizing spinning cones of superheated afterburn coming out of glowing metal.

Then get real stupid, err smart, and power it up. Jolly roger the thing with blowers! Yes, it is better and more forgiving of loading. It is also faster. It burns out the drums even faster.

After all the science, go back to flame top kilns and stop making trash. Seriously, all those people you see online are making limited use devices. Friends don't let friends smoke paint or galvanized metal fumes. I guess you could say most of the stuff was trash already, but I really am ashamed of the stuff I did just to come back to flame top kilns.

Biochar is awesome under animals. Kill 2 birds and get stoned. I used it on a not weed farm to turn a reaking pig shit mud wallow fresh. Almost beyond belief.

So make it an easy way, quench completely, nutrient load then age a bit for microbial colonization.

Player2 · Apr 9, 2019

And as far as pollution is concerned, charcoal is one of the only ways to fix carbon that normal people can do. If you are clearing the growth anyways, might as well make some of it char in as efficient a manner possible.

I always thought it trippy that composting is actually a co2 producer. Charcoal fixes it in a useful form.

We as humans need to be fixing gigatons of co2, but that is for a different thread.

Im having problems making biochar

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