Finally found a video confirming my idea of cutting flat discs from logs and then using those in my splitter. From a gasification fellow to boot.
He definitely went absolutely hambone with a 12 way splitting head but he stacks the discs up to make a conga line of wood chunks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoCFl43-n4o
I took a closer look at the hot water heater tank that I got, and it’s just absolutely corroded in the bottom. I think I will make it into the bottom chamber of a charcoal retort.
My idea would be to use the heater tank as the permanent bottom that heats up the main body of the retort, and I would use 55 gallon drums as the replaceable once ruined top chambers where the real charcoal is made. The local scrapyard has tons of really thick sturdy drums with lids that would make good candidates. Just need to pick a good spot to build the retort on. If I could do it right I would cut into the side of the heater tank so it nests the 55 gallon drum and I could seal it up with refractory or clay. Have a chimney for the pyrolysis gasses to self heat once it reaches critical that goes into the bottom chamber. TLUD and Flame Cap is really great but I’d like to find a way that takes less constant attention and a higher chance to use bigger pieces of wood into coal.