Talk:Charcoal
From PyroGuide
This board should only be used to discuss the article; for chit chat, post on the forum! [andrew]
can you use coal that a train runs on, i live near a train track and it always drops coal everywere, the coal is hard like a rock? can i crush this up and grind it up into a fine powder? will this work?
No coal will not work. Just follow the charcoal tutorial here on PyroGuide with your desired wood (such as willow, grapevine or balsa). It's cheap and easy and makes great BP. /Pudi
http://www.rona.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&langId=-1&selectItemId=&parentCategoryId=0&categoryId=12116&catentryList=&productId=64006 Will the charcoal listed on the url above work?/ I.see.fish (im new)
That seems to make by the French, so I doubt it will work. Haha, sorry, I'm just kidding. But, no, that seems to be activated carbon for a filtering agent, and it will most likely make some pretty bad black powder... Make charcoal yourself, by putting wood in a cookie tin, or similar container, and cooking it until the flames stop coming out of the top.
--Frogy 00:19, 30 March 2008 (EST)
I've added "Alder" to the list of woods for making good BP charcoal from. I think there should be some review of the listed/suggested woods as I know from personal experience that Oak is not that good! [andrew]
[edit] Agrarian Airfloat
Two 20l oil drums.Large hole in top of one ,smaller hole in bottom of other. Fill drum 1 with dead (longdead best,not rotten) willow hand sawn to length.Make fire ,place drum on fire,cover with drum 2,leave cap on drum 2 with 5mm hole drilled in it.Build up fire round drum 1. No leaks xcept cap .Cook 2hrs or till smoke stops.Odd kick and shake helps. Beware burns,air gas mixtures. Remove from heat.Cool overnight. Place product into 20l plastic bucket ,pound with fat end hoe handle like african milling millet.Lung danger. Rotate handle as well as pound.Mix too. Two bowls,range of seives starting with rain tank leaf strainer,colander then flour seive. Big mixing bowls. Seive from bowl to bowl carefully as it loses big particles it behaves like a liquid .Use mask.Return chunks to bucket. Regrind. Not too much grinding ,if it resists we dont want it. Yeilds about 300g airfloat.Almost fills 5l container.Bigger particles retained for other purposes.Enough for 2kilos quality b.p..
[edit] Is my charcoal good
I dont know how good qulity my willow charcoal is, what would it look like just burning regularly, and what would it look like when you blow on it.
