Where can i get the proper charcoal for BP

[insutama]

So far i have accuired everything i need to make black powder except the charcoal and i know this may be a stupid question but im just wondering were would be the best place to find this charcoal without making it myself ? maybe a garden store or hydroponic store ? and what kind of charcoal do i ask for.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Your best bet is mail order or if it has to be local, lump BBQ charcoal. Not briquettes like most people use. Pick thru the bag and try to find the least dense pieces and crush it up.

 

But making charcoal is real easy,

especially with the TLUD method.

 

Edit: correct incorrect auto correct (CIAC?)

Edited January 25, 2015 by FlaMtnBkr

[BurritoBandito]

+1 Making your own is the way to go. Different woods have different properties, so try various local types and see what works best for you. Eastern red cedar pet bedding works great, and will almost certainly be available to you.

[Arthur]

The only good retail source of willow charcoal is the charcoal sold for artists doing charcoal sketches. It's good willow charcoal but it costs it's weight in gold!

 

If you cannot buy by mail order in your locality then you HAVE to make some. Willow, Alder, Pawlonia, Balsa and vine make good powder White pine charcoal is useful. The Harder woods like Oak Ash and Elm bake really poor charcoal. Anything sold for BBQ can be discounted unless the pieces crush by hand. Any form of briquette is made with enough cement binder that they are useless.

[Xtreme Pyro]

Keep an eye out for the red cedar pet bedding, it makes some hot charcoal and is ready to be thrown in the mill after cooking. Making your own charcoal is really not that hard, just requires a paint can with a few 1/4" holes in the lid and a fire to put it on

Edited January 25, 2015 by Xtreme Pyro

[Arthur]

When you cook charcoal put ONE hole in the can and start cooking with the hole pointing into the fire -this way the fire burns the nasty smell that will wind up the neighbours, once it's partly cooked turn the can over so that you can see the gasses coming out and burning. The end point is likely to be soon after the flame goes out. Cover the hole with clay or metal and cool the can for 12 hours minimum.

[insutama]

Were i live i cant have fires in my yard so i guess ill have to go into the bush i could probally make somthing like the tlud method i like how the fire is contained in the can in this one so that one im sure i could pull off need to find a good tek on how to make it now

[MWJ]

I have some pine for $4.00 a lb plus shipping. It's pretty good charcoal for bp. Or you can make your own but it's very messy.

I Have -20 mesh and -40 - Air float.

Edited January 25, 2015 by MWJ

[Bobosan]

Insutama,

 

A standard 1 gallon paint can with a lid, a 6" to 4" sheet metal duct reducer and a 2-3 foot long 4" exhaust stack is all the hardware needed. Drill or punch some holes in the can bottom. Drill or punch some holes in the sheet metal reducer. Add pine or cedar shavings to the can, packed lightly. Most time will light without an accelerant if shavings are dry. When the cook is done, place lid onto can (the lid I used has a hole for traditional retort. You don't need this hole for TLUD cooker) and then move can to dirt or sand to seal bottom holes. Should cool down in 30-45 minutes ready for the next batch.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Bobosan

[insutama]

Nice that looks super simple i will just have to find the exhaust stack to buy somewhere could i buy it from any hardware store ?

also did you cut the bottom out of that paint can and attach a screen ? how did you attach screen to can ?

Edited January 26, 2015 by insutama

[stix]

A super duper simpler simple method is a small can atop of a gas burner (no fire in the back yard).

I did this just a couple of hours a go. It works very well for me. Just don't tell anyone about my VAC Order (Violence against charcoal)

[FlaMtnBkr]

I know the guys who experimented and then finally introduced the pyro world to TLUD. All they use is a can with about a dozen holes drilled in the bottom. They then use a second can with most of the bottom removed except for a lip to sit on the bottom can with no side vent holes and this is used as a chimney. Many will probably poo poo the design but it works well except for maybe high wind conditions and what I still use. A piece of ply wood to block the wind is all that is needed when windy.

 

Just fill the bottom can with wood splits roughly the same size, use some newspaper or alcohol to get it lit, and put the second can on the top. You can put a piece of masking tape on the side of the bottom can to show when the heat reaches the bottom. When the flame is mostly out pull the second can off and put a tight fitting lid on to keep air out.

 

I haven't made a more complex chimney with vents yet, but this works great and doesn't produce any ash. It is also how the design was tested and the charcoal made tested for well over six months before it was shown to other club members. From there it went to the internet and into what you see today. You can pick which design you want to make but it can be as simple as two paint cans if you want.

[insutama]

Awsome thanks guys hey stix how long do u cook wood in can on camp stove for ?

[FlaMtnBkr]

That would be the retort method and cook times vary. Depends on wood, size, how dry it is, how hot the stove is, etc. Typically you cook until the smoke stops coming out of the hole. I usually go a few minutes more and then shut it down and plug the hole and let cool for about 8 hours. If you open it early there can be embers that will turn a lot of it to ash.

[insutama]

Great thanks for the info guys also how do you get ur charcoal to airfloat size coffee grinder? Or is there a Easyer way

[Arthur]

If you are using a suitable wood to make your charcoal, it should crumble easily to a weighable scale. Then just put it in the mill. If your charcoal takes energy to powder then probably it's either under cooked or it's not a good wood to use.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Coffee grinder will get it small but unless you run for a long time it won't all be airfloat and you can only do a few grams at a time. A ball mill is the best way to get it to airfloat.

 

But if you get the eastern red cedar pet bedding (for hamsters, gerbils, mice, etc) it will be very thin and fragile. This state is the easiest to break down into finer sizes. It also makes some of the hottest BP around.

Edited January 26, 2015 by FlaMtnBkr

[Bobosan]

Nice that looks super simple i will just have to find the exhaust stack to buy somewhere could i buy it from any hardware store ?

also did you cut the bottom out of that paint can and attach a screen ? how did you attach screen to can ?

 

The sheet metal ductwork should be available at most hardware stores. The sizes are fairly common. Bottom of paint can is solid with the holes drilled in. I added the screen to keep shavings from coming out the bottom. It just lays in there.

 

As FMB mentioned, a piece of masking tape down the side of can should show the location of the cook as it burns down.

 

Simplest way to pulverize charcoal cooked by regular retort is as stix showed. To get it to airfloat is where a coffee mill or ball mill comes in to play.

[insutama]

If I'm making bp in a ball mill does the charcoal have to be airfloat before I make the bp or can I put all the ingredients in mill together with just crushed charcoal ?

[FlaMtnBkr]

You can use crushed charcoal. I use stuff smaller than around a 1/4" because the bigger pieces can sometimes have a center that isn't finished and is brown and harder. The small pieces are usually cooked thru. I also use nitrate that is granular like table salt and don't pre mill it either. It may take a little longer but there is less hands on work (milling, emptying, bagging, weighing, etc).

 

Edit: the red eastern cedar pet bedding especially can go straight in the mill. I also have a large mill and never used a small rock tumbler mill much. My mill quickly breaks the charcoal up and my media doesn't seem to get too beat up like Bob suggests is possible. I think many agree that milling just charcoal is rough on media because it is so light and moves out off the way easily so there isn't a lot to cushion the lead from each other. So who knows which wears the media quicker.

Edited January 26, 2015 by FlaMtnBkr

[Bobosan]

Depends on the type of charcoal. Some softer woods like Balsa and Paulownia you could just put the crushed charcoal along with nitrate and sulfur in the mill drum and it should break down. This will cause extraordinary wear on your lead media though. It's best to get the charcoal as fine as posssible before milling. A coffee grinder will do this until you get a ball mill.

[Sparx88]

I have a couple paulownias in my back yard that i use for charcoal and it's true that it's easy to break down. I cut the branches down to fit in a quart size retort and split them so they are 3/8" square by 3 1/2 inches long or so and pack them in but not so tight you have to jam them in there. When done and cooled down I break them up by hand into small peices and drop all that into a freezer bag, squeeze all the air out and zip it up. Then use my hands to crush it up further so that most all the sharp edges are gone then put that bag into another freezer bag and again get the air out. I use a rolling pin and crush it to a rough powder being carefull not to put holes in the bag, thats what the second bag is for anyway. Then it's on to the mill with the pn and sulfur.

[Differential]

I made some pine charcoal yesterday! Still have to see how well it works, I know it probably won't be as good as willow. Small batch - I used a 1 gallon, stainless steel pressure cooker. You want the container, whatever it is, to set on a nice bed of hot coals for an hour or 2. The bottom started glowing brick red, and I was able to light the fumes coming out. Steel or iron will work, but aluminum has a low melting point. Make sure you have a small hole in the top, or you will have a bomb instead of a charcoal cooker.

 

Oh, and let it cool completely before opening, or it will auto-ignite.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Differential

[Arthur]

The usual retort is a paint can or (in the UK ) a Lyles Golden Syrup can. Put the sticks inside and throw it in a fire til cooked, then simply put a big headed felt nail into the hole as a stopper. I've cooked charcoal on BBQ charcoal and on a camping gas stove. My pressure cooker has a rubber gasket which would fail on a fire.

[insutama]

Awsome good info thanks guys will pine charcoal make good black powder?