Does anyone here make it? What do you make it in? I see 25 gallon galvanized trash cans at the stores but I'm worried the charcoal might absorb the zinc and who knows what else

Get an old 55 gallon steel drum with lid and ring. Burn it out really well first, poke a couple of very small holes in the drum at both ends, load with wood, start fire, fasten lid and wait. You should have charcoal when all is said and done.

Whats the best wood in the north to make charcoal?Birch?

I make it.

I use 15 or 25 gal oil drum inside a 55gal drum. I made a stand for the smaller drum to sit on, and a piece of 3/16th flat steel to cover the top of it. (The small barrel)

I fill the small drum with oak off callings from a pallet shop. They're around 4x4x5 inches. Then just build a really good fire in the 55gal and in about 3 hours you have charcoal in the little one.
You can tell it's about done when the flames stop shooting from the escaping gas.

You can also just take that 55 drum with a lid and set it one blocks and build a fire under it and get the same thing, some punch a hole in the top and when smoke starts coming out they stick a match in it and set the smoke on fire when the fire goes out it’s done

Yep.

Lots of good accurate information here. Here is a couple additional points that are missing.

• Just about any wood works for charcoal, I use the short ugly chunks of firewood that won't stack. Basically anything 2-5inch dia up to about a foot long.
• Any fire around your airtight charcoal barrel will work. To make it more efficient, contain it. I use a 55 gal drum for charcoal, and fire it in half of a 275 gallon fuel tank.
• When the charcoal is "done" it will continue to burn down to nothing if it is not airtight. Seal it off and let it cool 24-48 hours.
• Most any wood will work. I like to use oak, maple, and fruitwoods, "just because". I know a lot of people who use cut off pine 2 by's that seem to work just as well.

Anybody make pine tar?

Where's the pics..?

Pics....





Top pic is little barrel sitting on the stand, second pic is of it inside 55gal barrel.

This way heat is contained around it. Like the fella said above, you can just fill the 55 drum and build a fire around it. Not sure how long that would take.

That's a piece of 3/16th flat steel I lay over the top.

I'm about due for some more, so I'll take some pics when I make some. Probably this week or next at the latest.

So, what does everybody use it for?

Thanks T-rex and Hippie, those visuals help. Looks like something Id like to try.

Thanks everyone

A few years ago a buddy and myself decided to make a bunch of charcoal. We fixed up 6 55 gal steel drums. Put small pipes in them to let off the gas and all. Then we used concrete blocks to set them all up. Two rows one on top of the other. Then we built a 3 sided wall around the whole thing.

Loaded the drums as tightly as we could, put the lids on tight, piled wood all around and under the drums and lit it off.

The first hour or so everything was cool. Then things got hot in a hurry. The gas started coming through our pipes and it started getting loud. And louder and louder and louder. I was pretty sure the whole mess was gonna blow. Neighbors about 1/2 mile away called the FD. Cops showed up and didn't know what to think or do. Neither did we. I tell ya, it sounded like a huge jet was trying to take off or something. Fire had to be at least 40 ft straight up from all six pipes. Looked really cool, but scary as heck.

It did all end well, but it took most all night for that mess to cool down. Another two days before it got cool enough for us to even open up the barrels to see if it worked. It did work very well. Had alot of dust to tend with, but for the most part it made some really good charcoal.

Would I ever do that again? Maybe, but on a much smaller scale.

Lol, I bet you were worried!

There's a lot of smoke when you do this.

Here's a couple pics of the process:

The wood will smoke out of the loose fitting cover at first


The smoke will turn to flames...just starting in this photo


It's too early to open up the drum, but when I do, I hope to remember to take a photo.

I have read that you can do it in one barrel...put a layer about a quarter the way up and get it burning decent,then add layers letting them get started good, once at the top cover until it cools. Any thoughts? I haven't used either method, but thought (if it works) this may be easier??

Has anybody messed with a gasifier to run a engine on smoke