Shadowcat1969 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 When he has it Algenco has some awesome Paulownia charcoal that he sells. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 You can cook your own very high quality charcoal using eastern red cedar chips.This is the stuff they sell in the farm store for animal bedding.Make really good quality black powder.A TLUD cooker is easy to make.Takes about 15 minutes to cook a batch of charcoal thats ready to go into the ball mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giod Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Sooo. Still looking to buy Charcoal, as I don't have a desire to "cook" wood at this point. Does anyone have a link to someone other than skylighter or Hobby Chemical supply? HCS has some "White PIne" I'm going to try out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Like Shadowcat mentioned, pm member Algenco for some Paulownia. He may have some ready to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Giod, You might check with Al Collins he cooks up Paulownia on a regular basis. (Good Stuff)Algenco@gmail.com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodad Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I have been thinking about different kinds of wood to make charcoal. I looked up Paulownia tree to see just what it is, and what all it is used for. It originates from China, it is used to make sound boards in string instruments. The leaves are heart shaped. I was thinking about what trees I know of are very fast growing. Then it hit me.... Catalpa.... It has a heart shaped leave too. Then I found this; The catalpa tree is a member of the Bignonia family (Bignoniaceae). This family contains more than 700 species scattered around the globe, primarily in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The family is represented by trees, shrubs and vines in North America. The trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), cross vine (Bignonia capreolata), and two catalpa trees (Catalpa sp.) are the most recognized natives of this family in the Southeastern United States. The exotic Asiatic Paulownia tree is a member of this family and has been widely planted, now reproducing on its own. The catalpa genus (Catalpa) has 12 species spread across North America, the Caribbean basin, Eastern Asia and Japan.There are two common native catalpa trees in the United States. Catalpa speciosa is the larger and more northern growing of the two. Common names for this catalpa are Northern catalpa, Western catalpa, and catawba-tree. Catalpa bignonioides is the Southern catalpa. Other common names for this species is common catalpa, Eastern catalpa, Indian cigar, Indian bean, catawba, smoking bean, caterpillar tree, cigar tree, and fish bait tree. The name “catalpa” is the native American name for the tree. I think this might make some fast charcoal... Having searched here I only found Catalpa mentioned once so I thought I would share what I have found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Let us know if you give it a shot. There are so many different varieties out there, getting confirmation on the good ones always helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiwanluthiers Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 The thing about paulownia wood is that it's very light, maybe not as light as balsa but they are almost as light, and the resulting charcoal is also very light and can be easily crushed with your fingers. One pound takes up over 1 gallon of volume. Problem with shipping them is the USPS doesn't seem to allow air shipping of charcoal, and also shipping this to dubai will most likely be prohibitive because even one pound will take up quite a bit of volume. You might be better off buying airfloat willow charcoal as they work very well for bp and don't take up nearly as much volume as paulownia. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroticNurse Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 What are you using the powder for? If you're using it for propulsion fuel, I dont think there's any doubt that balsa, willow or the softer woods work the best for it.If it is for star comps, at least here in South Australia, you can get Mallee charcoal, which works fantastic from some wholesalers. The caveat is that it takes a hell of a long time to grind in your average ball mill, so you might want to take a sledgehammer and beat the hessian bag that it comes in to break down the large chunks first, or better yet, do as I did, and drive over it with my car. On using sugar charcoal... don't, whoever says its good has the wrong idea. Quick question though. Sulfur in the black powder makes it burn faster and better, why do you want to make your BP without it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giod Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 So I'm clear.. I should be using hardwood commercial airfloat for stars, and the good stuff for BP only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowcat1969 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Essentially true. I actually "the good stuff" primarily for lift. I use commercial airfloat for BP for break (mcrh) and such most times, as well as stars, comets, etc. especially when I want better sparks, the commercial will be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giod Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Essentially true. I actually "the good stuff" primarily for lift. I use commercial airfloat for BP for break (mcrh) and such most times, as well as stars, comets, etc. especially when I want better sparks, the commercial will be better. Good to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetrahyd Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I've decided to not waste money on a bag of willow charcoal and was wondering if using pieces of a cut down oak tree would have the same effect ? Also how would I go about turning it "black" without having to make a big fire outside ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Oak is sometimes kind of questionable. It will probably make okay BP. It wont be nearly as hot as some of the touted charcoals like willow, balsa, paulownia, etc. I've been told that it also takes longer to mill up to peak performance. There are plenty of ways too cook charcoal. If you look for things like "bio-char" or "Top Lit UpDraft" (commonly called TLUD), you might find some ideas that don't produce nearly as much smoke and fire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SideGlance Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 ive tried black willow and pine i don't notice a difference... i just use pine 2x4's and split them 4-6 times then cook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 But how do I make the best black powder? Charcoal?It is a matter of opinion . More so, one should ask if it is speed, power, or velocity they are after. Many charcoals offer various strengths in these areas. If it is all out speed , then the top three I hear of are Balsa, Paulownia, and plum. Pyrotechnica #17 offers a wonderful research on the types of charcoals and their characteristics. It is a must have if your serious about detailed research , even charcoals and their use in spark creation (not just Bp) . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Willow and plum is the fastest charcoal I've ever seen and I've tried a few. For sparks I use charcoal made from pine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaverCork Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Did or has anyone actually used Catalpa? If not, I have Catalpa charcoal that I made a while back. I have not had a chance to use it, but I will report as soon as I finish another project for my micro blasting group. I will also make a batch of black willow powder for comparison. Thanks, I finally found a place for my first post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Willow and Alder! It makes super fast BP, you can burn it on you hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Has anyone ever tried charcoal made from rice hulls to make bp? Just wondering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I have read about it , if I recall it was a poor performer .Your better off with about any wood than that. I say keep it simple . If you want a "universal " charcoal go with pine ( good for both spark and speed. )I have played with really hot/reactive charcoals and find they rarley have a place in most pyro, with the exception of burst. I like the consistency of willow for performance bp( lift and burst) , Some charcoals like balsa and paulownia are light and voluminous in nature , making for less bp in the shell, and others like plum and willow are more dense allowing more powder per weight / volume . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparx88 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) For me, paulownia wins. It does all the heavy work. Got a couple big ones groing out back. Yellow pine from our woods for spark effects and long rocket tails. And recently started using eastern red cedar for general purpose bp for polverone, glitter comps and lift. Even cotton balls makes surprisingly fast bp. Edited December 8, 2015 by Sparx88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Back to BP and charcoal. The ideal charcoal comes from a select group of trees and hopefully some of them will be native to where you live. Good propellant charcoal includes willow, alder, Pawlonia, balsa, and a few others, but wherever you live you will have to buy two or three of those and there may be one of them near you. Chose a local wood that's good for BP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirotecnia Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 In my opinion is willow charcoal. Try to make it from thin branches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 You can go for "hottest powder", and seldom be able to replicate it exactly. Or, you can go for "good, consistent powder" that's strong enough for everything you do, but is conservatively made from conservatively chosen ingredients. In the long run, your pyro endeavors will benefit more from the latter than the former. Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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