You gotta respect these folks and their ingenuity! I love the âhandâ air pumps.
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How about something like the below video? Replace the wedge with a tube. Limit the travel. Pellets exit the top of the tube. Movable charcoal troth below tube.
Solar-Fuel, onward !
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Thanks, Jeff. I am still looking for the best way to make engine fuel from crop waste. Currently it is a toss-up between making mini-briquettes and pyrolyzing cassava stems. Iâll give this spring balanced hammer method some thought. If I follow your thinking, I could also just keep hammering my tiny briquette tube by hand until the charcoal comes out the top then knock off pieces as they come out the top.
BTW, I built one of those log splitters. They work, but much I prefer a splitting axe.
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Maybe cone shape or a choke might help compress or just longer. Should break off by itâs self. Nice project, wish I could be there to help ! ! !
I carbonized switch grass and rolled the dust into fireballs inside a cement mixer with the stirrers removes. Your way is easier.
Solar-Fuel, onward !
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300 pounds of pure sun energy 
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Thanks for posting, put a smile on my face and hart!
Pure-Black-Sunlight, onward !
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I donât believe we have seen the way you make charcoal. Is that tank buried in the ground with a fire pit under it. Are the 2x6 tubes, chimneys for the fire under the tank?? TomC
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For more info on Kristijanâs kiln see âNew Charcoal KilnâŚâ under General Discussion topics.
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Someone has defined creativity as combining two existing things in a new way. As I was thinking about this definition I thought about charcoal kilns and retorts. Kilns are direct heating and retorts are indirect heating. So I combined them.
I bolted the bottom of a 30gallon drum to the inside bottom of a 55 gallon drum. Then I cut several 6 inch criss-crossed slices through this double bottom and folded in the âpie slicesâ to accept a 6 inch flue pipe. I then drilled six 2 inch holes through the double bottom halfway between the flue and the perimeter of the 30 gallon drum. I insulated between the barrels and insulated the 30 gallon drum lid. The 30 gallon lid has a hole to allow the flue pipe to pass through snugly. The flue pipe is short enough so that the solid 55 gallon drum lid can be sealed. This hybrid kiln/retort works great!.
The 2 inch holes allow me to use a fan underneath to dry the feed stock and more importantly these holes allow a fire underneath to quickly start pyrolysis. The trick is to leave the 30 gallon lid off until the moisture (steam cloud) is gone and the wood gas starts burning. When the gas coming up out of the feedstock is ignited by the flue fire, I quickly put the 30 gallon donut-shaped lid on. I wear welding gloves for this critical operation. I then scoop ashes on top to seal around the flue pipe and lid.
If the wood is dry, this kiln becomes a self-sustaining retort in 20 minutes and roars with a 4 1/2 foot flame for an hour before starting to die down.
The 2 inch holes start out as passages for upward flowing heat from the starter fire to initiate pyrolysis and then become downdraft gas jets when the 30 gallon lid is put on top.
I use an 8 X 18 inch piece of insulated stove pipe to weight the retort lid. Beside the initial steam cloud from the wood moisture, there is very little smoke from this clean-burning setup. When the flames stop (about 2 hours total from first match) the 55 gallon lid is put on top and dirt is pushed around the base for cooling.
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I like it!
Very innovative, a new concept in charcoal making. 
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Neat idea, Bruce. A skizz would help me get my head around it.
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Before I started making charcoal, I built a solar concentrator from plans (in French) that Lorin Symington supplied, and used it for all sorts of cooking and baking. It was called âHeliosâ and looked like this:
The design has evolved, and here is a report from Lorin on using the solar oven to make charcoal from coconuts, and for the processing of cashews.
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In the GoSol article I didnât see and âreflectorâ such as the one you built. What energy is used to heat the coconut husks to make charcoal? TomC
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At the top of the page, click on the home tab to see the mirrors and the oven. https://gosol.solar/home
The version I made used complicated âspidersâ on the back of each 12" bathroom mirror to push the perimeter forward, while holding the center by gluing it to a 3" X 3" piece of steel. This focuses each mirror down to a small beam or spot, and then all 54 mirrors are pointed at a small area (the oven).
GoSolâs newest design uses larger strips of mirror, and I imagine much less labor and welding is required.
The energy comes from the sun. These require manual tracking to keep the beam focused on the oven. That is why mine is mounted on a re-purposed boat trailer. I have a set of wheels under the hitch so I can push it around in a circle to follow the sun. Each of my six rows of mirrors can be adjusted up and down using six pulleys and some stainless steel cables.
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Great party light, too, Bruce!
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Hi Bruce, It has distinct similarities to the Hookway Retort, but with marked differences. Both are inside a 55 gallon drum. Hookway puts insulation on the outside, while in my âHookwayâ, similar to your yours, I put the insulation on the inside of the 55 gallon drum, as I thought inside would be easier to maintain in inclement weather. In the Hookway, there is a 6" flue going up the middle, but it is fed by a 6" extension out the side at the bottom, rather than being fed from underneath like yours. In the Hookway, the wood gases are forced down a pipe into the lower part of the flue, where they cause the self-sustaining roaring that starts after 60-90 minutes. In yours, the wood gases are forced down without having to go through a pipe, to where they get ignited as they burn upwards in the flue.
I like the Hookway, but I think yours would have been easier to build. Also, yours seems to be easier for the wood gases to flow down to the flue, as they are not confined to a small pipe. Yours also has a bit bigger capacity, because there is no horizontal section of the flue. Then again, yours has smaller capacity because of the smaller drum inside. Hookwayâs has a longer removable chimney on top, which seems to get the fire roaring more than without it. Iâm trying to weigh the pros and cons, to decide if I should copy yours at some point, or if the Hookway I have is enough. Did I miss anything important?
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I use my Hookway style retort mainly for garden waste that is small enough to fit inside a 55 gal drum all the others waste is thrown into a open air cone and then shoveled into sealed drums once flames have stopped .
The Hookway style i use is a standard drum with removable lid with a 6 inch flu through the bottom and straight out the top of the lid i then welded a bar inside towards the top to keep the flu centered to the top lid hole and cut some slots into the bottom 4 inches of the flu to allow gassing off at the bottom , i then wrapped insulation around the outside of the drum and held it in place with some wire while i cut the top and bottom off another drum and cut it in half and placed the 2 halfâs over the insulation and used tie down straps to compress the drum halfâs together as close as possible before then using steel banding to keep in place .
i place the drum over a small fire pit and just burn garden rubbish under it to get it going too the gassing stage, once cooked i just tip it up slight;y and slide some cement sheet underneath to block the air off and stuff some insulation down the flu on top , next day i tip it on its side and shovel out the charcoal into smaller containers ready for crushing .
I have to say that if the wood is dry it takes next to no time for the gassing stage and i then donât touch it at all .
Dave
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I also have 3 threaded rod supports near the top to keep the flue centered.
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Greg,
The only thing I can think of is using a fan to blast the startup fire and shorten startup time. Also leave lid off or loose until moisture is gone and ignitable gas is formed. These apply to both systems.
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