SUCCESS Homemade lump second try

[dwfisk]

Here is a link for the first try.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170198

Based on input on that first post:
*selected the smaller chunks for char wood
*only filled the retort about 3/4 full, more loosely packed
*used larger wood for the burn wood, typically +1" diameter
*shortened the exhaust stack from 60 to 34".

Fired it off at 10:00 AM and got a solid 5-1/2 hour burn with wood gasses burning for the last 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/001_zps0b7dcdc0.jpg
Here's a couple shots of the product.
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/005_zps0ea759ca.jpg
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/006_zps5a243881.jpg
I started with about 3/4 of a 30 gallon drum or about 20+ gallons of char wood. Wound up with about 20 gallons of lump with very little loss of shape or dimension of the char wood and very little small shards or waste. I found it is really easy to break it down to cooking size by hand. I weighed a 5 gallon bucket of the final lump at 10 pounds so based on that the total yield was about 40-45 pounds of finished lump.
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/008_zpsd9383ef8.jpg
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/007_zps53f1c325.jpg

So, all that is neat and satisfying, but does it cook? I filled a chimney with the new lump and fired it as usual (for me) with some oiled paper. I was really surprised that there were no pyrotechnics like I get with store bought lump and no smoke after the paper burned off. With normal KBB or even Stubbs I usually had 10-15 minutes of heavy white smoke making the patio/pool deck uninhabitable, not this stuff, a couple minutes and it was clean an off to the races burning clean and hot.
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/001_zps42d09282.jpg
4 minutes after starting the paper in the chimney!
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/003_zps9e99712f.jpg
6 minutes after starting the paper in the chimney!
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/004_zpsfd3ca92c.jpg
Dumped it into the grill 8 minutes after starting the paper in the chimney!
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s661/dwf703/Retort/005_zps75495cec.jpg
And cooked some burgers.

PS: that's my 26.75 OGT with Craycort CI grates and the super chimney from brother superdan.

So, is it worth it ......... hell yea!

But there are a few lessons learned.

The char wood really needs to be fist-sized, maybe 3"diameter X 5" length.

The burn wood needs to be about 1" to 1-1/4" in diameter, little stuff just burns way to fast.

Now that (I think) I know what I'm doing, I'll cut and split wood to size when I'm cutting trees, limbs, etc around the farm. Re-cutting and re-splitting wood just made for extra work. I think if I start with correctly sized char wood and burn wood, I can prepare a load in the retort with about 1/2 hour of labor.

I'll make lump during the winter, doing this on 100*+ days is not a smart thing - there is not enough beer to justify doing this in the summer!

This stuff cooks HOT, like in really hot (especially with CI grates) so I'll need to adjust my cook times!

I have not tried it but I suspect this stuff won't work very well for long cooks (i.e. the snake method in my kettle or a WSM).

Finally, I wanted to thank ButtBurner for the help and encouragement.

[landarc]

Man, that is some great looking charcoal lump. Nice cooking on the wood sir

[Happy Hapgood]

Very cool and very informative with great pics! So. How did the burgers Taste? Could you tell a difference?

[Diesel Dave]

Great going. I'm feeling inspired, might have to try my hand at this

[dwfisk]

Very cool and very informative with great pics! So. How did the burgers Taste? Could you tell a difference?

Thanks. The burgers were actually very good, little cheddar & grilled onions. They picked up a nice smoke/woody taste we had not gotten with store bought charcoal or lump. Only downside, this chit cooks HOT on the CI, I'll need to adjust cook times to get things rare, the burgers were only on for 3 minutes per side and came off more medium but I'll figure that out before I make a ribeye run!

[mrbill]

farking awesome, if I do say so sir!

[oifmarine2003]

Nicely done! That would be a good thing to try,

[superdan]

That lump does look awesome! I need to make some...
Great job! Sweet chimney too ;)

[superlazy]

Looks good!!!! I used to make it but became a pain.

[superdan]

Looks good!!!! I used to make it but became a pain.

I literally laughed out loud reading this post then your username!!
Well played!

[aawa]

THat is awesome you are making your own lump!

[Happy Hapgood]

Thanks. The burgers were actually very good, little cheddar & grilled onions. They picked up a nice smoke/woody taste we had not gotten with store bought charcoal or lump. Only downside, this chit cooks HOT on the CI, I'll need to adjust cook times to get things rare, the burgers were only on for 3 minutes per side and came off more medium but I'll figure that out before I make a ribeye run!

That's why the good Lord made Themapens. :-D

[dwfisk]

THat is awesome you are making your own lump!

Thanks, there are a lot of brothers that have figured this out. I'm just benefiting from their experience.

[dwfisk]

That's why the good Lord made Themapens. :-D

I'm still using my finger, but maybe one of them purple TP's would help, if its fast enough:biggrin1:

[Packmanjim]

I agree, awesome job.

[ButtBurner]

excellent!

One thing

On using fist sized wood for the char wood.

I have found the size of the wood really depends on what you are using. I had well dried apple and I used a lot larger (regular sized firewood pieces) and it worked fine.

Oak and other hardwoods can be different.

Also depends on how dry the wood is that you use.

[dwfisk]

excellent!

One thing

On using fist sized wood for the char wood.

I have found the size of the wood really depends on what you are using. I had well dried apple and I used a lot larger (regular sized firewood pieces) and it worked fine.

Oak and other hardwoods can be different.

Also depends on how dry the wood is that you use.

Thanks, that is good to know. I started with air dried oak that had seasoned for almost 2 years, normal firewood sized splits then cut them down to about 4"-5" length. I didn't think about before, but now that I've seen the final product it is easy to break down into cooking sized pieces by hand.

Another note, just put the cover on the 26.75 OGT after last night's cook. Hardly any ash at all.

[bluetang]

Pretty dang cool!

[dano]

Thanks for the post!

[thunter]

Now that's really hot! :-D

[fingerlickin']

Well done, great reporting as well. :thumb:

[charrederhead]

Nice work and very interesting/informative. Thanks.

[JazzyBadger]

The day I move, I will be starting this up. Thanks for the information! Bookmarked this post.

[dwfisk]

The day I move, I will be starting this up. Thanks for the information! Bookmarked this post.

Thanks. If you are bookmarking for future reference you need to add this one by ButtBurner:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=165388
There are a couple of other links he provided in response to questions that go into the retort build in more detail. I used this as my guide & inspiration.

[captndan]

Yeh man you nailed it.

[GearMan]

Nice build, and great lump!
I made a kiln out of a 55 gallon drum as opposed to going the retort route, only advice to add is try to keep your charcoal wood the same diameter whether it's chunk or stick (Stick loads easier IMHO) and shut it down as soon as the smoke goes from white to gray- that's how you know you're burning your coal and not just your fuel fire- the water vapor is what makes it white. When the white goes away, the water is gone.
Great job, hope this helps!

[ButtBurner]

Nice build, and great lump!
I made a kiln out of a 55 gallon drum as opposed to going the retort route, only advice to add is try to keep your charcoal wood the same diameter whether it's chunk or stick (Stick loads easier IMHO) and shut it down as soon as the smoke goes from white to gray- that's how you know you're burning your coal and not just your fuel fire- the water vapor is what makes it white. When the white goes away, the water is gone.
Great job, hope this helps!

thats the great thing about this method. The fire goes out by itself after all the out gassing of volatile gasses is over

no babysitting it

[zoom1200]

great post and pics thanks

[Oldyote]

Great Post!

Nice work.

[GearMan]

thats the great thing about this method. The fire goes out by itself after all the out gassing of volatile gasses is over

no babysitting it

You're exactly right ButtBurner. I knew that, but somehow forgot... The only reason I built the kiln instead of the retort was because I couldn't find a 30G and wanted it built that weekend.

[dwfisk]

So, this thread ain't dead yet so if anybody is watchin I've now cooked 4 times with this lump (all direct/searing) and this stuff is great. My average time to dump the chimney is less than 8 minutes, it burns great with no smoke or pyrotechnics and there is very little ash at the end of a cook.
One question for you experienced brethren: how would this stuff do for a longer indirect/smoke cook? I'm cooking a stuffed pork loin tomorrow and wondering about using Stubbs or my lump in a snake configuration, anticipating a 4 hour (max) cook.

[Harbormaster]

One question for you experienced brethren: how would this stuff do for a longer indirect/smoke cook?
I bet it would kick a$$.

Since you control temp by limiting airflow, it should work well. I would think you may need to close the intake vents a little more than you are used to.

BTW, I want to build one of these sofa king bad.

[Diesel Dave]

Dave, what did you use for the vent, was that duct material?

[dwfisk]

Dave, what did you use for the vent, was that duct material?

Yes. I used a 6" to 4" reducer and 4" HVAC duct. Some guys use a 8" to 6" reducer and 6" HVAC duct but the 4" is what I found and it seems to work OK. I also drilled 4@1" holes in the sloping part of the reducer to get proper draft.

Edit: oh yea, I started with a 6" "starting collar" you would normally use to come off a large flat sided HVAC duct, cut a 6" hole in the flat drum top and securred the collar with sheed metal screws then the 6" to 4" reducer just slides on the collar and the 4" duct slides on the reducer.

[Diesel Dave]

Thanks, I will use the same method as it seemed to work well for you.
Really appreciate the help.