New technology for 2012

The first charcoal kiln "Old Smokey"

Finished charcoal fresh from the kiln

In 2011 I made seven batches of natural wood charcoal with "Old Smokey". This contraption produced great charcoal for me while I had it in operation.  The advantages were that it could produce a large amount of charcoal per firing. The kiln did best with long small diameter pieces of wood which helped save work when gathering and loading. The disadvantages was its efficiency. I averaged about 150 lbs of marketable charcoal out of 1000 lbs of wood.  When firing this kiln you had to dedicate at least 12 hours to the operation. The last and greatest disadvantage was the amount of thick nasty smoke it produced during the firing.

For the 2012 season I am developing some new technology (for me) in my production. I will be using a smaller retort kiln that once loaded and fired will be mostly hands off. The new kiln will produce 30 to 40 lbs of charcoal in 3 hrs from 130 to 150 lbs of wood  Best of all the new kiln will be mostly smoke free!

I will post pictures as I construct and begin test firing the new retort kiln.