Less work? charcoal vs wood

[r_wesseling (Rindert Wesseling (Louisville,CO))]

@skirmisher

if I needed 35,000kgs of charcoal to produce the same KW, then how much wood would that take?

I used exactly 100 pounds of wood. i got 29.49 pounds of engine grade, tar free, charcoal and 3.41 pounds of uncooked wood. This is an old water heater I converted to a TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft). I live in Colorado where we have a very dry climate, so my wood was very dry. And it was a very dry day, 21% humidity. I suspect that if you live in a wetter environment it will be more difficult to get these results.
Rindert

A few questions from a prodigal son

Hope I’m not hijacking Tom’s thread too much, But I started telling about my 50 gallon tlud so maybe I should finish the story. I fired it yesterday. I think it was a success. i got 29.49 pounds of good charcoal and 3.41 pounds of uncooked wood. The afterburner thingy I made out of coffee cans seemed to work very well, except during a few very strong wind gusts. The burn took about 3-1/2 hours. It made very little smoke, but one neighbor did come around because he smelled it. I agree with Koen. …