256 replies to this topic

[EnigmaticBiker]

I may sound very dumb but for pine charcoal do you use the pine cones or the wood from the tree itself? Or does it not matter? Thanks

The wood itself usually, pine cones would produce charcoal but I've not heard of it being used.
Depends what you want it for really.

[Zinginex]

The wood itself usually, pine cones would produce charcoal but I've not heard of it being used.
Depends what you want it for really.

Ok thanks. It would just be for BP mainly fountain BP because i read it creates more sparks when using pine charcoal. Just wondering if i should go out with a big bag and collect as many pine cones as possible

[pyromaniac303]

Ok thanks. It would just be for BP mainly fountain BP because i read it creates more sparks when using pine charcoal. Just wondering if i should go out with a big bag and collect as many pine cones as possible

You definately can use pinecones. I remembered reading James Yawns site where he uses a tile and a spoon to grind up the ingredients for BP.

Link

Not compared the quality to normal BP, but I have used them before. It also attracts less attention than sawing bits off a tree in your neighbours garden!

[Zinginex]

You definately can use pinecones. I remembered reading James Yawns site where he uses a tile and a spoon to grind up the ingredients for BP.

Link

Not compared the quality to normal BP, but I have used them before. It also attracts less attention than sawing bits off a tree in your neighbours garden!

Yeah that's the website i read too. Thanks very much. Better go pine cone hunting then

[seymour]

It also attracts less attention than sawing bits off a tree in your neighbours garden!

Ooh!, that reminds me, my neighbours have some nice Grape vine, and Plumb...

[pyromaniac303]

Ooh!, that reminds me, my neighbours have some nice Grape vine, and Plumb...

Never realised Plum made good charcoal, my grandparents have 2 plum trees.

I'll have to do an experiment to see which is better, the wood from Red/Victoria plums for eating or the purple kind used for cooking. They both seem similar sizes and densities when I picked up the dead branches before, but some of the chemicals involved must be slightly different to produce the sweeter fruit/different colours. Would have thought the red plums which have a higher sugar content would make better charcoal, unless the purple ones produce the same amount of sugar but it stays in the branches instead of being absorbed into the fruit.

[Mumbles]

I've heard plum made one of the best charcoals. I think it was referenced in Ballmilling Optimization and Testing by Ian VonMalitz. A fellow I know tried some and said he was disappointed. It didn't give a very good result. Let us know how it turns out though.

[pyromaniac303]

Won't be until summer if somone reminds me, for one thing I need a shed, and another thing is I don't know which plum tree is purple and which one is red! When the fruit starts to grow im guessing the sugar concentration in the tree is the highest which should give the most volatiles in the wood, and whatever else is needed to make the charcoal highly flammable.

[Zinginex]

Has anyone ever tried making bamboo charcoal? It was just a thought seeing as i have a bamboo plant in my garden. Im guessing it won't be any good for fast burning bp as its not a hardwood? Correct me if i'm wrong.

[Mumbles]

Here's an excerpt from Black Powder: Methods, testing and optimization page 47:

"The use of bamboo (Bambusa sp.) charcoal can be traced back to some of the earliest Chinese developments of Black Powder. Bamboo was one of their preferred charcoals along with willow. O'Neill's4 experiments showed acceptable results for bamboo, burning at a rate slightly faster than hemp. Bamboo charcoal has a high ash content."

[seymour]

Faster than hemp? I thought hemp was the very fastest the Japanese used?

[paul]

I think I have to try it. We have got tons of bamboo every year which is thrown away or used for constructions in our garden.

I will try it these days and let you know about the results.

[Zinginex]

Here's an excerpt from Black Powder: Methods, testing and optimization page 47:

"The use of bamboo (Bambusa sp.) charcoal can be traced back to some of the earliest Chinese developments of Black Powder. Bamboo was one of their preferred charcoals along with willow. O'Neill's4 experiments showed acceptable results for bamboo, burning at a rate slightly faster than hemp. Bamboo charcoal has a high ash content."

Wow excellent! Thanks very much geuss i'll try that soon.

[Mumbles]

von Malitz says that hemp is over rated. He also makes a lot of drug jokes and puns. Hemp does have a good reputation, so perhaps japan has a different type or less ash. von Malitz says that hemp has high ash content containing a large variety of chemicals.

"Tests done by O'Neill4 indicate that hemp gave a Black Powder that performed approximately as well as mesquite but slower than bamboo. So hemp may be overrated. Perhaps a lot more testing needs to be done here to determine whether hemp can actually live up to its reputation as giving a superior charcoal.

Shimizu6 indicates that hemp charcoal has a tendency to absorb moisture and its ash content may tend toward the high side. The ash also has been shown to contain a number of different compounds of silicon, copper, potassium, aluminum, and phosphorus."

[paul]

I found a VERY detailed and comprehensive overview on almost every aspect making charcoal:

http://www.fao.org/d...8e/x5328e00.htm


Maybe it was posted before, if not, here you go!