warthog Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Cooked up some charcoal yesterday... made two types... first one was one most folks already know and may even use. Balsa wound up with this 5 gal bucket's worth (before crushing) The other type was Pinecone... this is only the petals, explanation for why to follow... Pinecone charcoal makes really beautiful tiger tails & fire dust. I really think it is the best of all charcoals for this purpose. It may seem like a lot of bother to make since all you want is the charcoal made from the petals but it isn't hard to do at all. When I first was told about pinecone charcoal making nice sparks, I got myself a bunch of pinecones and began to strip the petals off of them before cooking and I will tell you now, that really is a lot of work for not enough of a return to be worth the trouble. So I asked if they were sure this stuff worked and if so was there some sort of trick to making it so that I don't wind up with bleeding fingers. After they stopped laughing at me, which took a good long time, thy told me to try cooking the cones whole then separating the petals from the cores. That wound up being so easy that it became clear that not only was it worth doing but when I saw the effect it had on my fire-dust, it was really worth it as well. This next picture should help you imagine how it works...That little thing on the bottom is a core, they come out of the retort pretty easy to handle still unlike the petals which break off of the cores like thin bits of glass. The petals aren't sharp like glass or anything like that but they are easily stripped from the cores with your fingers. The cores will crush if you try to do so or if you squeeze them hard but if you handle them easy they remain quite stable. I chuck them back into the fire where they add to the bed of coals which helps the next batch cook. A few things to keep in mind when cooking pinecones:Leave room in the retort for the cone to expand as they cook. They open up as wide as possible with the heat so they can pop the top of your retort before they become too frail and crumble so I never fill my 6 gal buckets more than 3/4th full.Stay out of the smoke. I am not sure if it is toxic but they really smoke off a lot of aromatic resins and such, most are covered in it and sticky before cooking and it doesn't really wipe off either. It can make you pretty sick breathing it after a while, not like just any thick smoke does but really green and pukey sick. As long as you stay away from them while they cook though, it does sort of smell nice in the area while they convert.Make the hole in your retort a little bigger than normal or make more than one. The resins can and will plug a 1/4" hole [pretty easily and this will also pop the top off only this time when all of the hot aromatics hit the air there is a huge flash of fire that can easily catch you by surprise and burn you badly if you happen to be feeding the fire or something at that moment. (No, I got lucky. It popped while I was sitting back a ways watching the fire burn)You wind up with about a half to a third of a retort by volume after it is cooled and you go to opening it to start stripping petals. I just thought I'd mention this because I was sort of shocked at how much they shrunk, after they swelled, once the were completely cooked.I wasn't able to take any videos last year of the pinecone tiger-tails or fire-dust I made but this year I will. In fact I am hoping to make some comparison videos to show the difference between pinecone, commercial, pine wood and what ever other charcoals I am able to gather that are also supposed to produce the same sort of effect on these compositions. Edited March 26, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potassiumchlorate Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Pinecones burn fiercefully with lots of smoke, so it's no surprise that charcoal made of pinecones gives great sparks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFeve81 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 How is that galvanized bucket holding up after making some charcoal. Any problems, tips, etc on using it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) They're still in great shape. They've been used to make five batches each so far, showing no signs of burn through or any other issues. If you count the time I tried to burn off as much of the galvanization as I was able, they've been through six each. They are perfect for pinecones since around the handles and all around the top allow any pressure build up to come out without ruining the charcoal. This doesn't seem to have any adverse effect, meaning no excess ash made, from those leaks. So I see them as positives actually. I drilled a single 1/4" hole for a vent near each of their handles originally but have enlarged those to 3/8" when the lid pooped off of one of my older retorts after getting gooed up with pine resin. They are really sturdy too, I am thinking of getting a couple more for storage for non chemical items, like the open bags of untreated rice hulls I have around between making them. So if you're looking for a recommendation, you have mine. Edit: I do recommend a pre-use burn of some sort though. While the exterior didn't get much of the zinc burnt off of it, the interiors turned jet black (they were empty remember) plus a thin sheet of "stuff peeled off of the entire inner area. It didn't feel or look metallic but I still was glad I did it since I don't think I wanted wit in my charcoal. I would suggest two different ones though, if you are going into the pinecone charcoal business. The inside of the retort gets a nice, thick coat of burnt resins after making a batch of them. Some comes off easily and a lot of it is really stuck there so I just use those two for pinecones now. The other one I have I make the Balsa and what ever other sorts of wood I want to charcoal since that doesn't happen much if at all with most woods. Edited March 26, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks for the neat bit of info on the pinecone charcoal. I have a forest for a backyard and may have to give it a try. What would you compare the pincone charcoal to ( willow, etc for long hangtime sparks) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 willow stinks for sparks IMO, if that is what you are using now, switching to pinecone will drop your jaw. I used commercial airfloat, advertised as mixed hardwood, prior to changing to pinecone.That worked well enough for me and would be my second choice until I do more of my own research.That means finding more wood to try, I am sure others here have suggestions for what to use too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyro92 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Do you use any of the pinecone charcoal in your fountains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 I haven't had as much of it as I do this year before so I never tried it in one before. I will this year for sure, if it works great then it will become a staple for those as well. This year, after I mentioned using pinecones this way, a member of another forum who has far m ore pine trees than I do, sent me a H-U-G-E box of cones out of the kindness of his heart. They just showed up. I was so happy but it was already late fall and my wood for making charcoal was soaked by the monsoon season's rains. When the wood started to dry out a bit, it was winter so I just left it until now. In the interim I continued to gather old pallets that my local grocer just puts into the dumpster and cut them up for firewood. Once it became time to get to work, I was/am ready to make as much charcoal as I had material to make it with so I will let you know what I wind up with and what all I figure I can do with it. The guy who sent me the box is now gathering them rather than piling them up to burn so I am going to see about another box when I get paid next. I'd like to pick up the postage this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bcorso85 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Thanks for the info on the pine cone charcoal. Another reason for a nice spring nature walk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Bring a REALLY REALLY BIG BAG with you. They cook down to nothing and you only use the petals so you need a bunch of cones to make a worthwhile amount of charcoal. Just warning you, do think you'll go out and fill a grocery bag with them and have what you need. Think more along the lines of a leaf bag or one of those big black plastic bags you make a rain poncho out of in an emergency, that is what you will be needing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebird Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Thanks for the neat bit of info on the pinecone charcoal. I have a forest for a backyard and may have to give it a try. What would you compare the pincone charcoal to ( willow, etc for long hangtime sparks) ?Southern Yellow pine and Loctus are great spark producers also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomike1 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well i read it and i still dont know how to make Charcoal. I have access to about any tree that i need. Can someone explain it? Also i have never heard of a Retort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marks265 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well i read it and i still dont know how to make Charcoal. I have access to about any tree that i need. Can someone explain it? Also i have never heard of a Retort. Take a tin from cookies, cakes, candy, or popcorn 9for examples). Fill it full of a wood of your choice. Drill 6 - 10 holes in the lid about an 1/8". Throw the tin in a fire with lid on and holes up. Pretty flames will start to come out of the small holes from the gases burning off when the wood starts to cook. When the flames stop coming out of the tin safely take it out of the fire and place it on the ground with holes down and let it cool COMPLETELY. Ya just made a small batch of charcoal! It should be black and crumble to dust easily. If there is white ash the charcoal got air in the can and consumed your charcoal. Traces of white ash do happen but not preferred. Opening the can too early will burn your charcoal up! Cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomike1 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) Thanks Mark i will put this in my tec tips till i get where i can use it. O yea green or dry wood? Edited October 22, 2012 by dynomike1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marks265 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 don't matter dry wood is faster though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algenco Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Well i read it and i still dont know how to make Charcoal. I have access to about any tree that i need. Can someone explain it? Also i have never heard of a Retort. I took pictures of my retort and the entire process, give me a day or two and I'll post a tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usapyro Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Dry wood only if making charcoal for black powder. Wet wood causes a more uneven cook and drives off more volatiles you want to stay in the wood. For sparks... I don't think it matters. don't matter dry wood is faster though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algenco Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Dry wood only if making charcoal for black powder. Wet wood causes a more uneven cook and drives off more volatiles you want to stay in the wood. For sparks... I don't think it matters. I've done it both ways green and dry, the only difference is the amount of wood you have to burn to complete the cook I see no difference in the performance of the charcoal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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