[Stoves] [Biochar] Easiest Biochar at Home.

[Ronal Larson]

List and Dan;  adding cc to stoves list.  (With apologies for not being on cook stoves - but there could be cook stoves with this possibility.

1.   I feel a need to add a few comments, because this is an important message for many on both the biochar and stoves list.

	And because I may be the only one on these lists who has been in Dan’s home and talked to multiple times.  I probably saw this stove, but my visit to his home was in the summer.  Quite sure he is miles from the nearest natural gas distribution line, but on the electric grid.   A wood stove makes huge economic sense here.  Making char is probably quite rare near him - and shouldn’t be.


2.   Dan is a very skilled engineer.  Designed and built (I think almost totally single-handed) his own very remote energy efficient home.  The large collection of November char results from this being a large multi-story home - in a relatively cold part of the world..  Mention of a chimney means the exhaust gases are at a relatively low temperature.  Dan has an extensive garden - probably with record breaking yields.  


3.   I vaguely recall talking with Dan about making char in a quite different way - smaller wood inside a semi-closed box (and I’ve never seen a good name for that "pyrolysis can”, but I’ve viewed dozens of short videos making char that way).  The produced char from those semi-closed (pyrolysis gases able to only exit the bottom) cans never saw input oxygen.   But those cans can’t hold anywhere the amount of wood seen in Dan’s stove. Nor of the wood size normally used in these type of large heating stoves. (18 inch length by 3-5 inch is typical. (Maybe Dan is starting with eight to ten pieces that are each a sixth to an eighth of a 40-50 cm length of a pine log with diameter 15 to 25 cm diameter [a guess].
	So my first question to Dan is to compare his present method against the “small pyrolysis can”.  My guess is he is spending much less time now with much more char. Per stove firing


4.   When I did something quite similar to Dan. I plucked embers out with a pair of tongs and placed them in a large cast iron pot with a lid.  No need for dousing with water.  I kept the fire going - but think now I should not have.  Dan’s photo with embers looked like excellent char - and easier than using tongs..But I can’t see using water to stop the pyrolysis as being optimum.
	Question 2_. Dan - have you tried the closed container method of snuffing, and if not as good, why not?


5.  Few more inserts below

 

> On Nov 28, 2022, at 10:15 AM, dan weinshenker <danweinshenker at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Heating house with a wood stove. 

	
> 
> Use wood mostly all the same size. Wait for flames to die down.

	[RWL:   Could you now set a clock timer and alarm?  Are you maybe in the 2 or 3 hour range per firing?
> 
>  Move embers around in stove first, to get most of ash to drop through grate into stove ash pan  Remove embers to outdoors with an ash shovel and food service pan.  While loading pan, ash and dust are drawn up chimney, and don’t come into house.  Quench in a water filled metal bucket.  Much ash flys up and away with the steam of quenching.  Remove char with a fine mesh strainer.  Daily 3-5 gallons of char from just morning burns.  Minimal ash left in stove for disposal.  Minimal ash in char.   
> Trash compactor bags shown are just from November.  
	
	[RWL:   I think there is nothing wrong with including all the ash.  Do you later mix it in?
> 
> Later, use a sink food disposal, with a water trickle, to grind Biochar chunks.  A 3/4 HP disposal is not powerful enough;  the overheat breaker wants to trip. 

	[RWL:   Do disposals come at the 1 HP level?    Or if you start with only smaller pieces would you be OK?
> 
> Imagine a stove where the stove grate could be pulled, allowing embers to directly drop into a pan for snuffing or quenching. 

	[RWL:   I hope you could try that out.  (I wouldn’t ask many - but not hard task for Dan.)  A pullable grate seems like a good idea.  But I wouldn’t try to separate the ashes unless you need to know their weight accurately.  
> 
> Credit due to Kevin McLean for idea of raking out coals from 3 stone cooking fires. 

	[RWL:  Meaning you have not seen your approach with stoves of your type?   (big)
	Kevin’s users place high value on saving time - which may be true for Dan also - if you include the time needed to make or buy biochar in other ways.
		Note Dan has a grate that might be supplying pre-heated combustion air from below  - as in TLUds.
> 
> No details on conversion percentages or qualities of final char.  Not letting perfection stop the good.

	[RWL:   I think fairly hard to tell temperatures of the char,  but maybe you can get a thermocouple in?   
		Getting the input weight and char weights should not be too hard if you are able to find a suitable can with lid.  Knowing char volumes and weights could be helpful to someone.   If you are near 25% conversion efficiency - that would be an important number for all of us.
> 
>  Adding char to compost (horse manure and sawmill sawdust) and garden beds yearly. 

	RWL:  Any data on yield improvements or anything unusual with different species (of both wood and plant)?

	 To repeat for those not aware of biochar’s value.  Dan is almost certainly heating his home with negative costs.  The issue is how much he values his time - as he is handling about twice as much wood as the minimum - but is producing something with high value - both to himself and to society (which would justified in subsidizing perhaps).  Note Dan is placing emphasis on minimum ash..

	Thanks again.  

Ron
> 
> 
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
> View/Reply Online (#34376): https://Biochar.groups.io/g/main/message/34376
> Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/95314977/3503653
> Group Owner: main+owner at Biochar.groups.io
> Unsubscribe: https://Biochar.groups.io/g/main/leave/11762351/3503653/695668260/xyzzy [rongretlarson at comcast.net]
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> 
> 
> <IMG_7859.jpg><IMG_7860.jpg><IMG_7861.jpg><IMG_7863.jpg><IMG_7864.jpg><IMG_7865.jpg>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20221128/d66a0905/attachment.html>