Primitive Technology: Reusable charcoal mound

Digging ordinary clay-loam soil for the mound Placing wood at center of mound Stacking wood in conical shape, small to large Wood is mainly Eucalyptus picked up from the ground It's important to tightly stack the mound for a good yield Pile stacked over a few days as wood came to hand Water from the creek Making mud with ordinary soil Making a layer of mud as wide as the hand The top of the mound is left open 8 air holes are made around the base of the mound. The mound took 6 hours to cover. Making fire with fire sticks. I use fire sticks because they're easier to make and maintain than a fire bow set (fewer components). The tinder is crushed candle nut leaves The fire is lit on the open top of the mound The fire then burns down into the opening The fire burns down the wood heap in the opposite direction to the updraft Wood is converted to charcoal as the fire moves from top to bottom Volatile gases (CO and H2) burn as a flame above the mound When you see fire in an air entry it's time to block it up When all air entries are blocked, the top is blocked also. This took 5 hours Opening the mound along a door shaped line Unburnt brands, put aside for next time Usable charcoal Charcoal is cooked through and glossy in appearence I only want charcoal over 2.5 cm in diameter for my furnaces. Smaller pieces can be used for pit fires. The mound is small and cramped Charcoal yield Unburnt wood stored for next firing Storing charcoal out of the weather Fallen gum tree branch up in the mountain The breaking area This method saves effort Stacking horizontally this time Criss-crossing layers Each layer perpendicular to the last Stacking is difficult through small entrance Final layers through open top Sealing entrance Hole opened in the base Lighting mound Blow pipe Making another basket Fire burning a little fast Blocked up to prevent over cooking. This took 3 hours. Lots of un burnt wood due to difficulty stacking the mound Quality and yield lower than first run due to loose stacking But it's still usable Charcoal mound

Channel: Primitive Technology

Views: 17,707,034

Keywords:

Id: SjK2XlNE39Q

Length: 10min 5sec (605 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 17 2017