[TheForge] charcoal retort

[Jerry Frost]

Yes, I've been in on charcoal making using a similar method. We didn't tap
the volatiles for burner fuel though, just kept a fire going. And this is a
"home" sized set up, you'd probably burn the entire output in a day's
forging. Another reason I like propane or coal when I can get to the mine.

I agree, cinder blocks are too expensive to bust up this way, at least for
me they are, even red brick should work fine.

A couple minor points about this set up: You don't have to vent from the top
of the barrel/container, the volatiles will vent just fine from the bottom.
It's also helpful to make the enclosure as close as possible to the
barrel/container. This brings a question to mind; namely vertical versus
horizontal barrel.

A horizontal barrel would give more even heating over a larger area but
would also require a larger enclosure and fire and more plumbing, a couple
elbows and about 3' of pipe. .

A vertical barrel would require a smaller fire, fit into a smaller enclosure
and require less plumbing, one elbow and about 18" of pipe.

My question though is which would work better?

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Freeman"

Nice link.  I was wondering whether anyone had ever tried this on a "home"
scale.

If anyone tries to duplicate this retort, you might want to consider using
fire bricks instead of cement bricks.

Another possibility is to go back to the barrel idea, and use an air-intake
pipe with a throttle on it, as well as a flue pipe on the barrel.  Possibly
you could monitor the temperature in the flue with a thermocouple, and
throttle back the air if the flue starts getting too hot. (What's "too
hot"?)

Bruce
NJ

Mike Sweany <ironsweany@yahoo.com> 05/03/02 11:11AM >>>

try this link for a simple charcoal retort

://64.176.180.203/charcoalretort.htm      add http to the front I couldn't
get htm; turned off.