16 replies to this topic

[overflow]

Bleah... pulverizing with a meat grinder and then sieving for appropiate sizes the charcoal must be one of the most messy and ugly things involved with pyro!

I will sneeze black for a week (and this is my fault for not using a respirator) and cleaning the tools is another royal PITA... at least i now have enough airfloat charcoal for 2-300gr of bp, and more than enough 20-60mesh & 60-100mesh to fill a LOT of fountains.

For the future i see two choices: buy\make a ball mill or buy pre-milled charcoal!


Just a rant&rave, i usually enjoy getting dirty

[Arthur Brown]

It's messy BUT having the stock of all the mesh sizes of a few sorts of charcoal is a wonderful resource when you want to make BP, meal, rockets, candles, stars, etc etc It really beate having to say "what can I make with......" as most people's lists dont help much.

Sort out the mask and keep the dust down as you work. I mill will get you small sizes 100 - 600 mesh but only from broken lumpwood! so you will always need to break the lumps into something that you can mill. (unless you have a really huge mill!!)

[alex000]

I buy alder chippings, charcoal them, then mill them, it only becomes a little messy after the milling when I have to take out the media out and funnel into a container.

Edited by alex000, 06 December 2007 - 08:00 PM.

[Bonny]

I usually try to do a large batch of charcoal, then I only have to make a mess once in awhile. When using the meat grinder, I wrap a plastic bag over the end of the grinder and the container I'm grinding into. It contains the mess very well at the grinding stage.

[overflow]

For me the most messy part is the sieving! Every time i hit the sieve black powder floats everywhere!

[pyromaniac303]

For me the most messy part is the sieving! Every time i hit the sieve black powder floats everywhere!

One way to get around this when using large mesh size sieves (on inert powders only as it creates friction), is to scrape a small section of the sieve with something non sparking, the vibration should be enough to easily pass the material through the sieve without having to wave it around/shake and get it everywhere.

Obviously for screens smaller than around 60 mesh this doesnt work too well as the surface is not as uneven, but great for powder coming out of the meat grinder.

[Bonny]

For me the most messy part is the sieving! Every time i hit the sieve black powder floats everywhere!

I invested in a shaker sifter machine a few months back, worth every penny. With charcoal, it is still somewhat messy, but nowhere near as bad as when I was sifting by hand. I can stack the sieves I made , put a cover over top and turn it on for a few minutes, yielding -20,-40,-60 and -100 mesh sizes all in one shot.

[ecko]

I coffee grind me charcoal. I usually try to do it in bulk, just cause I also hate it.

[icarus]

theres another posting where i suggested using a good old fashioned hand wound micer with someone elses sock over the end to grind lumpwood charcoal (my teen age son seems to have lost some socks) before ball milling uk hardware shops sell a very fine metallic mesh plate meant as a heat spreader for gas cookers that makes a cheap seive / screen PLEASE USE A MASK black snotters is a sign of what has gone down into your lungs ive got a couple of twin filter chemical respirator masks with valves and filter cartridges spare if anyone needs one they were on offer at car paint spray suppliers at £3.00 pm me if you need one

[overflow]

One way to get around this when using large mesh size sieves (on inert powders only as it creates friction), is to scrape a small section of the sieve with something non sparking, the vibration should be enough to easily pass the material through the sieve without having to wave it around/shake and get it everywhere.

Good idea, i'll be sure to try it

I invested in a shaker sifter machine a few months back, worth every penny. With charcoal, it is still somewhat messy, but nowhere near as bad as when I was sifting by hand. I can stack the sieves I made , put a cover over top and turn it on for a few minutes, yielding -20,-40,-60 and -100 mesh sizes all in one shot.

I think a shaker sifter machine isn't very cheap, what prices are we talking?

theres another posting where i suggested using a good old fashioned hand wound micer with someone elses sock over the end to grind lumpwood charcoal (my teen age son seems to have lost some socks) before ball milling uk hardware shops sell a very fine metallic mesh plate meant as a heat spreader for gas cookers that makes a cheap seive / screen PLEASE USE A MASK black snotters is a sign of what has gone down into your lungs ive got a couple of twin filter chemical respirator masks with valves and filter cartridges spare if anyone needs one they were on offer at car paint spray suppliers at £3.00 pm me if you need one

I'm not sure what a hand wound micer is...

[icarus]

they were originally made for mincing meat the winding handle has a course 3 or 4 turn thread below a cup the meat or charcoal is sheared and forced down the thread at the end is a rotating circular end plate with holes in and a stationary end plate in front of it the meat is forced through the holes and sheared against the holes in other plate . if you are lucky you get end plates with different hole sizes for fine or coarse mincing good mincers clamp to a table edge they are still made aldi or netto had a batch of them recently but they can be found at junk/ car boot sales cheaply.I use mine to mince rosehips as well for winemaking as well as charcoal busting

[Bonny]

Good idea, i'll be sure to try it
I think a shaker sifter machine isn't very cheap, what prices are we talking?
I'm not sure what a hand wound micer is...

The shaker I bought was around $70 CDN including shipping on Ebay. An expensive investment but still worth its weight in gold IMO. Great for metal powders too. You can turn it on and go do some other stuff while it does the work for you.

[overflow]

they were originally made for mincing meat the winding handle has a course 3 or 4 turn thread below a cup the meat or charcoal is sheared and forced down the thread at the end is a rotating circular end plate with holes in and a stationary end plate in front of it the meat is forced through the holes and sheared against the holes in other plate . if you are lucky you get end plates with different hole sizes for fine or coarse mincing good mincers clamp to a table edge they are still made aldi or netto had a batch of them recently but they can be found at junk/ car boot sales cheaply.I use mine to mince rosehips as well for winemaking as well as charcoal busting

Ahh... meat mincer = meat grinder! That's what i'm already using.

The shaker I bought was around $70 CDN including shipping on Ebay. An expensive investment but still worth its weight in gold IMO. Great for metal powders too. You can turn it on and go do some other stuff while it does the work for you.

Pricy but not as much as i thought (200-300ish$), might think about buying it after christmas.

[Bonny]

Pricy but not as much as i thought (200-300ish$), might think about buying it after christmas.
[/quote]

I think a brand new one might cost a few hundred,but used ones seem to be available here and there on e-bay.

[Pepsi]

I invested in a shaker sifter machine a few months back, worth every penny. With charcoal, it is still somewhat messy, but nowhere near as bad as when I was sifting by hand. I can stack the sieves I made , put a cover over top and turn it on for a few minutes, yielding -20,-40,-60 and -100 mesh sizes all in one shot.

Hi,
What is this actually used for?? would you have a picture??
Many thanks
Pepsi