Energy Corps Montana: Building a Biochar Retort Kiln 

Michael you have demonstrated well enough for me to understand the mechanism, actually I constructed a Silo made of bricks seven years ago but it's just a experimental, the Kaowool blanket is my next order,thank you and God bless

This oh so much more complicated a system than it needs to be. Can't believe that this design is being presented with all of the easier, and just as effective options out there.

Superb presentation. Everything clearly explained with great passion. Thank you. God bless.

I appreciate the efficiency of the rocket stove. It's a good use for softwood leaving hardwood to be charred which makes for better charcoal. Ideally you'd set a small fire at the base of the long stem of the "J" to get a draft started before starting your main burn. Maybe if there was a door in the base of the chimney on top of the cooker barrel that would do the same thing. You could also poke a lit taper in there when you;ve got unburnt gases coming out the top and get a burn going at the top of the char chamber as well. Have you considered burying the "J" in a trench to lower it. Then you could dispense with the bottom barrel and support the cooker with a few cinder blocks.

I like the simple way of sealing a lid to the internal char chamber. Just about the only simple thing in this video

Why not drill holes in the flat bottom of the char chamber which would rest stably on the angle irons instead of the rounded lid which teeters alarmingly.

Saludos desde Cuba. Magnifico video.

Greatttttt video and explanation! Thank you soo much for sharing

Not being able to see inside I don’t know where the opening is in the bricks for the air flow inside the lower barrel. Is there a drawing or build video for this setup? It’s very different from the TLUD style that I know how to make. Thanks!

Rocket stove Retort Kiln… Great Video!

how long do you keep the rocket stove burning, and how do you seal the two stacked barrels?

This guy forgot to say that biochar also corrects the fast drainage issues of sandy soil, too.

Great presentation, excellent detail. Not to be a curmudgeon, but it looks like a lot of time and effort for a very small return. How much biochar would each completed process in this kiln produce? What is the average return per hour? And what would be the optimal amount needed for a garden of 1000 square feet?

The 'flue' needs to be at least 3 times the diameter of the firebox in length to get the stove part of things working. The pressure cooker retort will explode like any other pressure vessel without the vents. I like the way you built a triple stage, very efficient burn

Check the safety requirements for your insulating material. Some require respiratory masks to keep the fine fibres from getting in the lungs and acting like asbestos.

Just a suggestion. I would put a 3/4 inch pipe in the retort and pipe it into the rocket stove. You get more heat and no smoke. Burn the woodgas dont vent it.

Hi from Argentina... The retort chamber (smaller drum) does it only have holes on one side of it? thanks

what is the part that does not last long enough and how can we improve it ?

Do you have a set of plans for this design?

impressed

Great video. I'm just starting to learn about this and this video helped a lot. On a side note I have a bbq cooker and was wondering if I could make charcoal for fuel for it to burn with your system? I'm still confused on what the difference is between biochar and 100% natural charcoal that I use in my bbq cooker. Thanks

Thanks for sharing your work, Michael Daniel! This is a clear explanation, and should be helpful to others as they experiment. I have a question: Why did you choose the rocket stove instead of, say, the Jolly Rogers TLUD with a retort stacked on top?

Hmmm could this be made electric and achieve 1700°F and hold this temp for 30 minutes?

Cool system but there's a debate about not pulverizing biochar because whole pieces hold more water by volume than finely crushed pieces. You don't want captured water to be 100% bioavailable, so keep your biochar pieces large.

Data reports identifying X mass of fuel to produce X mass of charcoal would have been useful. Seems this rocket stove process is targeting production in areas with low fuel availability or with burn restrictions. Ken's comment on a vent recirculation process for a cleaner burn is very interesting.

Thanks for the video. You say higher temps with less fuel. Than what? Is a slab really necessary? Why not just use gravel?

So is this legal in East Helena, or are you showing us what we could do if we were free?

How long did it take to create the batch of char?

I am making a retort to boil maple sap using pistachio shells. I could have used a little more insight into the construction of the base. I couldn't figure out how to replicate the profile of bricks passing through the side of the barrel. Did you only use whole bricks or did you do some cutting? Thanks!

I am starting to gather materials to make a retort. I was wondering if it mattered what was in the retort prior to its use as a retort. if there was oil or other toxic substance in the barrel and you make biochar in that barrel will the biochar pick up that toxicity.

thanks michael great video and also i wish to know that what could be the per tonne manufacturing cost of biochar for a medium scale machine in united states in terms of cost of feedstocks, transportation costs, operating cots etc.

I get the Distinct Impression that you've taken a Massive Hammer to Crack open a Peanut... This is a Totally "Over-Engineered" answer to a very simple design...

good job, but it looks pretty unstable with the top piece rocking back and forth

How do you determine how long to allow the burn to continue to ensure the conversion is complete within the retort?

how if we change the wood fire starter to charcoal in the rocket stove?

Daniel..is biochar can be used as fuel again with little smoke?

Price 70 Fire bricks not regular Home Depot bricks snd you will look at other Models

"At this point, this char is ready to be added to the soil." In fact, it is far from ideal at this point. You have not created biochar; you have created charcoal. The charcoal now needs to be inoculated with healthy microorganisms before adding it to the soil, or it will actually have a negative affect on the soil for the first several weeks. There are many great ways to turn that charcoal into biochar. Consider a video like this for next steps: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1UiW3-IMfME.html

How much of the kiln do you have to take apart to clean out the wood that was burned for the heat generation?

What is the specific pattern of the bricks? Read the book you referenced but cant find the specific pattern

Wouldn't top part fall off? It seems that for safety reasons there should be some sort of mechanism to lock the top in place so that the top can't be knocked over accidentally.

I would NOT add charcoal to the soil without charging it first.

Seems a bit elaborate, i wonder if you gain much efficiency with the rocket stove heating this concoction.with lesser materials you could make a double barrel retort. this looks easy to load in, but with that fancy lid a double barrel would be easy to load too. with the right air intake holes you can get complete burn of your gasses and it is basically the same as a rocket stove. this is a rocket stove on a rocket stove to heat the barrel instead of stuffing wood in the sides. it would be nice to know howmuch wood is needed in the rocket stof to burn a 30 gallon barrel of wood, i wonder how long it takes before the woodgas ignites I wonder if this doesnt gets to hot thus loosing all your hydrogen bonds which makes biochar good biochar PS you need to make this charcoal you made in to bio char by adding nutrients, charcoal wil suck up your nutrients and mess up ph for a while if applied directly

SO... the top of the heat riser gets to 1500 - 2000 deg F. 17:13 put your hand over it

Carbon like material? Isn't it pretty much pure carbon?

You should never ever add charcoal to soil it becomes biochar until charged

That seems kind of fussy having to pour the cement pad and how tall it is and all. I dont think you want to use it on a windy day. Injury from burns seems more possible having the very hot retort up so high and trying to pull the upper barrel off over it. If you want to see one that looks way easier to use look up "The best charcoal retort kiln in the world?" by James Hookway. It uses a rocket burner, is they size of one barrel not counting the chimney, makes more charcoal (Biochar), and can be set directly on the ground. It directs the wood gas into the rocket chamber just up wind from the flame front so the gas burns more efficiently. Being portable it can be carried to where the raw material is and or closer to where the charcoal it going to be used.

good why to make charcoal

9 years in the future, please disregard advice to add charcoal directly to the soil. Only after charcoal is inoculated with nitrogen-rich "swamp water" or "compost tea" should it be added to the soil. While the design achieves a more efficient burn than simpler designs, with lower materials cost, it has significant ergonomics problems. A single man *can* operate it, but I heard grunting.

the Oxford University Press edition ........

In addition if he had been spending income on Fanni and did not disclose in divorce trial he could be in deep do do. Those records need to be unsealed.

I found spreading on the lawn and running it over with the mower a good way to pulverize it. See here- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bl4cQKKudjM.html

Just one break I will give Nathan is he probably paying for his childrens car insurance while they are in college. And he may have paid their college hence not having much in savings or investment anymore.

OK so your making charcoal whats the big deal?

He needed to go through his spiel a few times with an audience to streamline it and increase clarity He also needs to learn how to pronounce "escape". He needs to refer to the charcoal as charcoal instead of carbon material. And a last particular irritant to me is that what you're producing is charcoal, not biochar. It's what you DO with the charcoal that makes it biochar.

Dude I dont want to seem like Im downing you but this was just painful to watch and listen to

do not retort.