attempt at home made lump

ButtBurner

ButtBurner

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thanks to MAKINITOUTOFWOOD's help, I decided to try my hand at making some charcoal at my cabin

after a few tries at it, I think I have the process figured out. I used the double barrel method. It was actually real easy and I can see myself pumping out a tom\n of this and getting rid of scrap wood in the process.

This was made with apple, that just what I had handy to try it with
 
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there are threads here on the process

basically you take a 55 gal drum and put about 16 1" holes about 6" up from the bottom

cut about a 6" hole in the top of the drum and put a stovepipe adapter and about 6ft of 6" stove pipe on it

take a smaller barrel, 30 gal is best but I could not find one so a 16 gal will work.

Stuff the 16 gal full of wood and put it in the big drum open end facing down

stuff scrap wood between the barrels. Put kindling on the top, light it, put the lid on the 55 gal drum (use welding gloves since you have created a jet engine) and let it burn. Takes about 6 hours. Let it cool overnight and pour it out. You have charcoal.

Here is a pic of it, the top I put on crooked so this was before I straightened it out. Be careful as it gets fuggin hot!! When it was burning at first I could not touch the pipe even with welding gloves on, so I let it burn down some before I straightened out the lid

nice thing about this method is once its lit, thats it you dont add any more wood, just let it burn itself out

this pis was when I first tried it, I cleared out all that brush and debris in the pic when I realized how hot the thing got, but it stayed self contained
 
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I've been wanting to try this for a couple of years. I need to do it, but the trouble is getting the 30 gallon barrel like you said.
 
nucornhusker said:
I've been wanting to try this for a couple of years. I need to do it, but the trouble is getting the 30 gallon barrel like you said.
Click to expand...

a 16 gal works fine

I actually used a old garbage can at first. It worked too, but it was so rusted it had air leaks and the charcoal ended up almost burning up

Then I used a 30 gal garbage can after burning off the coating. It works pretty well. I just dont know how long it will last.
 
ButtBurner said:
Stuff the 16 gal full of wood and put it in the big drum open end facing down
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, I've been wanting to make my own charcoal for a while now. I'll certainly do a little more research on the web as you suggest, but this method sounds simple and cool. Sometimes I'm a little dense so please excuse me for a couple questions:
Does this method have a name - what do I search on?
So you fill the inner drum, leave the top open, invert it with the "open" top sitting on the bottom of the larger 55 gallon drum and fill the space inbetween with the burn wood?
Do you light the burn wood on the top or bottom?
What size wood chunks did you use to make the charcoal?
Thanks again, this is uber neat, at least for me.
 
dwfisk said:
Thanks for this post, I've been wanting to make my own charcoal for a while now. I'll certainly do a little more research on the web as you suggest, but this method sounds simple and cool. Sometimes I'm a little dense so please excuse me for a couple questions:
Does this method have a name - what do I search on?
So you fill the inner drum, leave the top open, invert it with the "open" top sitting on the bottom of the larger 55 gallon drum and fill the space inbetween with the burn wood? Yes
Do you light the burn wood on the top or bottom?after stuffing the sides with wood, fill the space on top with kindiling and light
What size wood chunks did you use to make the charcoal?I have been experimenting with this, they say keep them under 4" I used about 3" thick logs from branches
Thanks again, this is uber neat, at least for me.
Click to expand...

Here is the link, its from another site so I am not sure if I can post it but I will and they can slap my _ if needed

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37313
 
dwfisk said:
Thanks, I am so gonna do this. I currently burning a ag of Cowmoy limp every couple weeks.
Click to expand...

Its really cool and satisifying

I really would not recommend using the garbage can though. I did it since I did not have the 16 gal can at first, and I made sure the coating had burned off and was no where around while it was burning
 
Just a couple tips. You can get the 30 gallon can at the fast lube places usually for free. Fill it 3/4 not full. Use fist size pieces. I put saw dust and a little diesel in the bottom of the big barrel. No need to fill it completely or cover the top with burn wood. Three ft. chimney not six. Since good lump has no flavor of it's own save the cherry, apple, etc for smoke flavor. Good hard oak makes good lump. The burn wood is for heating the wood in the smaller can to release the combustible material. (as gas). The gas is burned off as it comes out the 'bottom' of the barrel. Too much heat caused by too long a chimney, too much burn wood, and too much wood in the little can causes the chunks to break down into smaller pieces. The batch is not done until the barrel can be lifted with no gloves. This slow down period also reduces the amount of moisture in the finished product. Rum is better than beer when making lump.
 
captndan said:
Just a couple tips. You can get the 30 gallon can at the fast lube places usually for free.Cannot find 30 gal barrels at oil change places. All they have is 16. I wll keep looking but they all tell me they dont get 30 gal anymore. Fill it 3/4 not full. Use fist size pieces. I put saw dust and a little diesel in the bottom of the big barrel. No need to fill it completely or cover the top with burn wood. Three ft. chimney not six. Since good lump has no flavor of it's own save the cherry, apple, etc for smoke flavor. Neighbor gave me huge pile of old apple, thats why I used itGood hard oak makes good lump. The burn wood is for heating the wood in the smaller can to release the combustible material. (as gas). The gas is burned off as it comes out the 'bottom' of the barrel. Too much heat caused by too long a chimney, too much burn wood, and too much wood in the little can causes the chunks to break down into smaller pieces. The batch is not done until the barrel can be lifted with no gloves. This slow down period also reduces the amount of moisture in the finished product. Rum is better than beer when making lump.
Click to expand...
thanks for the other tips
 
SWEET!!! Never even thought about doing this. I love do it ur selfers. From a homemade UDS, to homemades lump. All I need now is to raise a cow and everything I cook will be made by MY hands.

You can't get any better than that! Good smokin ButtBurner
 
ButtBurner - awesome thread!! I have to try this.

I understand that RO lump is cheap & effective, but if I can do it myself and control the "purity" of the starting wood - why not give it a shot?!? Plus it costs nothing to do - maybe $20 for the drum conversion, and if I don't like it, I make the drum into another UDS.

Couple questions:

1) The smaller (interior) drum, once filled with wood to be "coalized" did you put any holes in it or just invert it into the 55 gallon drum? I've seen some people add a very small vent hole and some not.

2) What wood did you use? Theoretically, if you're ridding the wood of all fillers, leaving only 100% pure carbon, you could use untreated scrap construction materials (gasp - yes, that would be PINE!!).

3) Do you notice a flavor difference and/or burn times with your coal vs RO or other store bought?

4) What's your yield (in pounds) if you pack the smaller drum full?

Thanks!! I have all the materials for the build and burn and intend on doing this real soon!!
 
FromthePitBBQ said:
ButtBurner - awesome thread!! I have to try this.

I understand that RO lump is cheap & effective, but if I can do it myself and control the "purity" of the starting wood - why not give it a shot?!? Plus it costs nothing to do - maybe $20 for the drum conversion, and if I don't like it, I make the drum into another UDS.

Couple questions:

1) The smaller (interior) drum, once filled with wood to be "coalized" did you put any holes in it or just invert it into the 55 gallon drum? I've seen some people add a very small vent hole and some not.I did not put any holes in it. On my first try with an old trash can, it had some holes in it, and this allowed the coal to just keep burning and not get somethered out. When I checked it the next morning, the drum was still a little warm. I dont know what putting a vent hole in the inner drum would do for you. You want all the gasses forced through the bottom opening of the barrel so they can burn as they escape. when the ashes from the fuel wood pile up between the barrels, this helps the coal wood to stop burning and turning to ash

2) What wood did you use? Theoretically, if you're ridding the wood of all fillers, leaving only 100% pure carbon, you could use untreated scrap construction materials (gasp - yes, that would be PINE!!).As I stated I used apple, just because I had a bunch handy. If you read through that thread I linked to, they mention that you can use pine, but it does not burn as hot as hardwood.

3) Do you notice a flavor difference and/or burn times with your coal vs RO or other store bought? I have only used it once in a cook, so i really dont know for sure.

4) What's your yield (in pounds) if you pack the smaller drum full?I did not weigh it so I dont know. They provide info in that thread. I suggest you read through it. I am no expert in this.

Thanks!! I have all the materials for the build and burn and intend on doing this real soon!!
Click to expand...
I like this method since I have a lot of wood I need to clean off my cabin property, and this is one way to do it. I also get hardwood slabs for cheap from an Amish sawmill that is close to my cabin that works real well.
 
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Let's not try to reinvent the wheel here or the lump. A simple retort is just that you cannot improve on it. A wannabe pitmaster who pays $20.00 a pound for a prime piece of meat then searches for the cheapest charcoal or lump should have their hands severely singed. KISS
 
captndan said:
Let's not try to reinvent the wheel here or the lump. A simple retort is just that you cannot improve on it. A wannabe pitmaster who pays $20.00 a pound for a prime piece of meat then searches for the cheapest charcoal or lump should have their hands severely singed. KISS
Click to expand...

I am not trying to improve on anything

just making lump and trying to help others if I can
 
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