[Terrapreta] Making charcoal in a barrel

[Robert Flanagan]

Dear David,


If your going to go ahead and make charcoal in a barrel then I'll give you a
simple method to get you on your way.
First if possible cut and dry the biomass by leaving it in the sun for a few
weeks.
Then you'll need a 55gallon drum, long handled spade and some matches.
Place your barrel on it's side on the ground facing into the wind if
possible and put some biomass inside (1/3 full).
Then light a fire under the biomass at the opening of the barrel and allow
the fire to build until you've got a good fire going with lots of glowing
embers.
Then using the spade push the embers into the barrel and add more biomass
(The goal here is to keep a flame to burn as much off gasses as possible so
only add biomass a bit at a time)
Keep doing this until you have a good quantity of char then using the spade
lift the barrel upright.
Again start adding biomass and once it looks like it's all on fire knock it
back down into the barrel with the spade and add more biomass.
You can keep doing this until your barrel in full of char.
Then put a lid on top and maybe weigh the lid down with a block and leave
for several hours to cool down.

The charcoal produced in this method will have a higher ash content but
should be fine for your home experiments.

Best of luck,
Rob.


On 9/22/07, David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> wrote:
>
> actually, i'd like to respectfully disagree with robert.  and yet agree
> with
> his more fundamental logic that the amazonian natives didn't charcoal
> trees.
> but they didn't just charcoal corn stalks, either.
>
> i recall nearly 40 years ago i learned how to make earthenware pottery
> from
> a man who lived many years with the navajo in the southwestern states.  he
> fired his pottery in a pit with cow pies.  i was amazed they would even
> burn, and even more amazed how hot they could get.  then he should me how
> to
> damp down the glowering pit of redhot cowpies and create a reducing fire
> to
> turn the pottery black.
>
> when i moved into my 190-year-old farmhouse 10 years ago, i could see the
> soil was wasted, wornout and depleted from the ratty lawn and poor
> diversity
> of plant species.  my neighbor, who grew up in my house, saw me starting a
> garden and came over to warn me i wouldn't get anything to grow.  i
> thanked
> him and continued doing what i had learned to do to create fertile
> topsoil.
>
> these days, i have milkweed, valerian, goosefoot, other weeds that reach 5
> to 8 foot tall, with sout, sturdy stems.  and the bamboo and rosebushes!!
> even my pokeweed grows into giant bushes.  and the trees that once barely
> grew are blooming like mad, making multitudes of seeds which fall on
> fertile
> soil and sprout like mad into sapling weed trees.  all this before i found
> out about charcoal.
>
> so my once wasted and weak soil is now busting out with bioversity and
> biomass all through the growing season.  i am still amazed how each spring
> when the snow melts, the flat soil erupts in green growth that soon soars
> up
> to and over my head.  since much of this annual outburst of growth is
> "weeds," i have an abundance of biomass to harvest and stuff in a
> pyrolyer -- or pottery kiln.  long before i get to harvesting cornstalks,
> i
> could have barrels of charcoal ready to spread -- most of it fine
> textured,
> and easily crushed into powder without metal tools or power
> equipment.  and
> absolutely no reason to cut down any trees to make firewood or charcoal.
>
> i seriously, thoroughly doubt the amazon tribes needed to cut down trees
> just to make charcoal.  if nothing else, it was far too much work.
>
> David Yarrow
> "If yer not forest, yer against us."
> Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
> 44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
> dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
> www.championtrees.org
> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
> www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
> www.farmandfood.org
> www.SeaAgri.com
>
> "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
> if one only remembers to turn on the light."
> -Albus Dumbledore
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kevin Chisholm" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 9:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Terra preta postings on arclein blog
>
>
> > Dear Sean
> >
> > Sean K. Barry wrote:
> >> Robert!
> >>
> >> YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR ASSERTION THAT
> AMAZONIAN
> >> PEOPLE MADE ALL OF THE TERRA PRETA FROM CORN STOVER 2500 YEARS AGO!
> >> WOULD YOU PLEASE QUIT STATING THIS AS FACT?
> >
> > What would you suggest as being a more feasible, practical, or likely
> > way for the natives to make char?
> >
> > Is there any reason why the char required for terra preta would not be
> > made in this manner?
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Kevin
> >>
> >> SKB
> >>
> >>     ----- Original Message -----
> >>     *From:* Robert Klein <mailto:arclein at yahoo.com>
> >>     *To:* terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> >>     <mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> >>     *Sent:* Friday, September 21, 2007 4:30 PM
> >>     *Subject:* [Terrapreta] Terra preta postings on arclein blog
> >>
> >>     I thought that I would work through the 250 message
> >>     backlog from this group sitting in my inbox this
> >>     weekend.  A daunting task.  However I am pleased to
> >>     see the extensive sharing of information on forests
> >>     taking place.  I expect that I will be able to quote
> >>     some of this on my Blog.
> >>
> >>     I also sat down and developed a list of my terra preta
> >>     related postings, not all reposted to this group and
> >>     posted that on my blog.  I am including a list here
> >>     for you to peruse.  My advice is to start at the
> >>     beginning to the description of the corn stack method
> >>     of indigenous production and then jump to the end and
> >>     work backward.
> >>
> >>     I see no realistic way to economically produce terra
> >>     preta without resorting to a variation of the original
> >>     production method.  Concern was raised about the
> >>     production of methane which I see as misplaced.  In
> >>     fact, the methane will likely provide the majority of
> >>     the heat in the combustion process, but this needs to
> >>     be properly field tested.
> >>
> >>     Here you go.  While you are at it bookmark my site or
> >>     subscribe as I post daily on a range of related
> >>     subjects. Even better give me stuff to comment on.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/carbonization.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/corn-cultures-bright-furure.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/total-carbon-sequestration-potential.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/tropical-soils_26.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/discussion-with-ron-larsen-on-terra.html
> >>     http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/human-labor.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/those-amazonian-soils.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/pollutants-from-carbonization.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/nutrient-accumulation.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/uniqueness-of-corn-culture.html
> >>     http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/amazon.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/heat-distribution-and-terra-preta-soils.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/getting-job-done-biochar-on-modern-farm.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/tom-miles-comments-on-biochar.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/mel-landers-and-jackie-foo-on-field.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/methane-and-pottery.html
> >>
> >>
> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/09/glopbal-corn-culture.html
> >>
> >>
> >>     enjoy
> >>
> >>     arclein
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> >>     Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get
> >>     listings, and more!
> >>     http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/3658
> >>
> >>     _______________________________________________
> >>     Terrapreta mailing list
> >>     Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org <mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> >
> >>
> >>
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> >>     http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> >>     http://info.bioenergylists.org
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Terrapreta mailing list
> >> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> >>
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> >> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> >> http://info.bioenergylists.org
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Terrapreta mailing list
> > Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> > http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> > http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> > http://info.bioenergylists.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Terrapreta mailing list
> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> http://info.bioenergylists.org
>



-- 
Robert Flanagan
Chairman & President
Hangzhou Sustainable Agricultural Food & Fuel Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Skype "saffechina"
Tel:   86-571-881-850-67
Cell:  86-130-189-959-57
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/terrapreta_bioenergylists.org/attachments/20070922/a9a74e76/attachment.html