Super Easy Black Powder from Home Made Charcoal 

If you use a 90 degree bend for the fan it won't get direct heat from the barrel.

Wish I could mate but I'm in England I sooo wanna move off Grid!! Wanted to for 4 or 5 years now! Force of circumstances prevented it so far but still hope one day I can but in my mid 40s now so dunno if it's gonna be possible?? Either small plot or even a off Grid DIY campervan van conversion full off Grid solar etc etc. But having a bit of land be better as able to be self sufficient etc.. so a bit of both would be ideal world! Wish we were allowed to move to America or Australia etc as plenty of space and cheap lane England is extortionate to live anywhere and however you live.. were ALREADY paying over £1.60 per litre for diesel and petrol now! That like over 2usd PER LITRE!! AND GOING UP!! HOUSE Gas and electric doubled in price last month! Over £2000 a year for Gas just to heat house! That's like about 2800usd a year to heat your house! We're screwed mate! Food 4x cost of America and everything else too!! I badly need to go off Grid!! Anyway cheers from London England 👍💪😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🙏

@@DeUser1337 I second this. Haven't even watched the video yet, but seeing this I know you are right. I've used similar methods to slow the smoke in a test chimney I ran to see if I could make a smoke reburner out of a coil of chimney pipe before leaving the house. (Very dangerous. Do not try at home folks, unless you know what you are attempting in full and how to fix it.) A couple dampers and a bit of extra pipe goes a long way. Long story short, it works... sort of. I needed to increase the length of chimney pipe to increase the draw just a bit more than I had it at to make it work almost perfectly. My mistake. This mistake ended up with a big build up in the 90 degree bend to the stack. That was NOT fun to clear out. heh. For those curious: The winding stove pipe acts essentially like a reburner baffle because you have a a damper at one end, and if you want, a damper at the other end. You let the fire side damper be more open than the 2nd wall/roof side damper to allow the smoke in, but not through as easily. This allows your fire to climb that coil of pipe "safely". I put that in quotes because it's arguable. The rest of the chimney after the 2nd damper is your 'normal chimney'. As in no fire ever touches this side, and if ever a fire manages to make it to that side, you can close the dampers entirely on both ends to shut it out. The amount of heat I got from my failed attempt was amazing. I don't have any proper numbers for the results, but I would wager I basically tripled the heat output of my stove, simply by making the stove pipe about 3 times longer essentially. Sure, the coil of stove pipe looks weird sitting there in empty space between the stove and wall/ceiling... but it also provides one more nicety... A lot of room to potentially wrap copper tubing around to heat water. A lot of water. Like, way more water than you ever would be able to with a 'normal' chimney. So you're going to end up with a coil wrapped in a coil. And the rest of the chimney's extra heat can be utilized by some thermoelectric pads to produce just enough current to power a fan or two to keep the heat moving around. P.S. I just realized... you could basically turn your wood stove or whatever is using that stove pipe idea into a water distiller. Just double wrap the copper pipe around it, and put some valves inbetween at certain points for a bleed, a pressure relief, and a couple shut off valves to help dampen the flow or shut off entirely if need be. (Pressure release vales at both ends of each shutoff for safety.) You would essentially just keep your fresh water in the line long enough for it to turn into steam and vapor. Once it's coming out the other end, you just need to capture it and cool it for distilled water. Or you could keep it flowing as just hot water instead.

@@stevenmackay3289 I was talking about the IR heat that the inlet fan gets, with a wend the Light won't travel to the fan it selve an the conductive heat was never the problem in the test. To your test: What kind of winding stove pipe did you use? I know only of the aluminum one, but that can't handle the heat. Important in a system like yours is a creosote free burn. That way the extender chimney system can't clog it selve and the efficiency will not suffer over time. Best for a clean burn seem to be real rocked (mass) heaters. The high temperature part is most important.

@@DeUser1337 Okay I must have misunderstood something in your comment. Sorry bout that. But yeah, Black stove pipe. The normal kind you see on real wood stoves and not those 'energy efficient' amalgamations they build today while saying they work better. (They don't. I've tried them vs my own method. Mines better.) I'm basically taking a bunch of elbow joints and the adjustable corner pieces and creating a spiral out of the stove pipe. Putting two dampers on either end, and finding the sweet spot. Yeah, Creosote build up was my issue at the last bend. The rest of the unit was just fine for the most part. Creosote was still building up in my small spiral, but that's because I wasn't quite getting a good enough burn by not having the second damper to help complete the baffle. This lead to the creosote build up in the last bend on the outside-side of the wall. That said, it really doesn't help at all that I was burning a fast growing bush we have here called Karagana. (Spelling is wrong, sorry) It grows like a weed, but it's a thick bush with wrist sized sticks in thickness. So it's great for getting a fire started as kindling, etc. Or with bigger pieces, just burning in general. But the creosote it releases is just amazing. Wow is there a lot in that plant. It would probably be a perfect fuel for perfectly efficient wood stoves due to how fast it grows. You can pretty much harvest it all in one year, and see it return to full size in 3 years or less. So you could easily turn this into some sort of crop you rotate and harvest in a manner to allow for there to always be dried karagana read to burn. And no, drying it doesn't really help the creosote build up for that plant. It's just absolutely full of it even when dried. The next time I have a chance to attempt this method, I will be going all in. 3 dampers instead of 1 or even 2. The spiral will probably be a double spiral of one spiral twisted around the outside of the other to create a 'bubble of heat' in that area of space; and of course all the copper and fans I spoke of earlier to make it a perfect unit for a self reliant person.

I produced my very crude black powder with charcoal briquettes too.

I had a fine powder but what saved my life is that while I knew the ingredients I didn't know the ratio, all my info came from a dictionary lol. I made many cannons out of pipe that shot gravel very satisfyingly, thank God the powder burned so slow.

@@newfization lol, my knowledge came from my friend’s older brother. Good thing we didn’t have the internet.

That's a great success story!

Briquettes don’t work. There basically crap. Maybe back in the day it was actually wood but now a days it’s like powdered cardboard lol.

Would be more awesome if they can make gun powder 😉

Agreed!

@@bhekidlamini4386 they're the same, gun powder is just granulated to a specific size.

@@philipm3173 u can do a lot with a ole smoke pole I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end I have put the smack down on a few varmits

Roger that

Yeah , anyways , don't know if this stuff should be posted on this platform where kids and people that ain't so bright can watch and maybe try something new out and get hurt or hurt others by mistake. I know , I know it is an American / Canadian birth right to do such things and wicked cool but people have lost that Love your neighbor and common sense thing , I don't know man . Hopefully no one gets injured or worse !

😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

​@@TheChristonline yeah that stuff is all true but we cannot adapt our freedom to the idiots, we have to try and adapt the idiots to our freedom, or whatever is left of it won't be for very long.

Yes sir 😅

@@TheChristonline It's a good thing none of those people or children you described know how to use Google because the info is there as well. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Be sure to use balance. You overbear she's going to go off the deep end.

Oh you know that family is for certain not democrat

@@muddirt8040 I'd bet my next paycheck the dad isn't a democrat. Can't speak for the rest, but they definitely have a good influence in their lives.

I choose high functional human being over politics any time. There is always respect for knowing how to make anything, and work hard.

Arguing who is lib and repub is a pointless agrument, it only divides, thats literally why its called a 2 party system.

Yes good idea, but it also seems like they placed the fan in the wrong direction. The fan should be facing the outside, but instead it's inside where the heat can hit the plastic directly.

The internal reflectivity of that pipe might also be playing a large part in transfering that radiant heat to the fan, kinda like fiber optics, the laser just bounces down the fiber due to internal reflectivity. Maybe spray the inside of the tube with black high temp BBQ paint and see if that helps.

Ahahahaha Ahahahaha Ahahahaha Ahahahaha

Amen😊

@@12b_engineeris no

They make non sparking ceramics for that purpose. Lead can contaminate. Better still ball mill each material seperately and then mill together without balls. If you want true black powder you have to add a ratio of Urea saturated water to make a ball then you use screen to grate the ball which will form a pile of true black powder. It makes a difference.

@@joeyl.rowland4153 can DEF be used for urea, do you know?

@@shanincoffer6455 yes it can. Just heat it (not boil only simmer) until you get crystals beginning to drop out. You must watch carefully it is not easy to see the crystals dropping out. Your solution will then be saturated and you can use it as soon as it is cool enough to do so.

@@joeyl.rowland4153 wait what are we talkin about? You might have to beat around the bush a little bit because apparently the comment you were replying to got deleted

@@Hayden734 Shanin Coffer asked if DEF could be used as a source for urea. I had explained that proper gunpowder is made with carbon, kno3, sulfur and at that point it is wetted with water saturated in urea and then grated across various gauges of screen for proper sizing. Large screen similar to 1/4 builders cloth for coarse gunpowder as would be used in cannons. Smaller finer screens would be used to create a finer grade powder for rifles pistols and shotguns. That is how gunpowder was made traditionally.

I agree!

True

What is it about the willow or grape vine? Seem like very high moisture woods.

The pores in different wood. Pine is excellent. I use old peices of cut off 2x4s. Old pallets. Pine is my second choice but works fine. Pee in a jar and use stale urine. Alcohol will let it dry faster. Rice gluten is the old chinese way. Put the wet mixture on wax paper and place a brick on it. Compacting it makes it better. For sheer easy fun your way is fine. Works in my pistol and rifle.

A little hemp string saltpeter and powdered sugar and you have homemade fuses

how much red gum by weight do you recommend? Edit: Could you add graphite at the very end, after the BP is granulated?

i appreciate you putting this up... i might have to try something similar...

@@vidard9863 works good but keep your wood small..branches and such are perfect

Hott for teacher ! Brahahaha!!! Please disregard :) Class dismissed

Thanks Jeff!

Hey, i feel pretty lucky just to watch!! 👍🏻😁

Those were the days. Now, it would be Karens going crazy and multiple felony charges.

Good point, thanks.

lot of fun, highly recommend, but black iron tends to fracture in my experience, examine it carefully before loading it and i highly recommend any one else who reads this to hide from the cannon when using a similar setup. it will catastrophically fail at some point.

when you aim, make sure it goes straight to the ANTIFA AND THE BLM homeless camp. the rats and cockroaches will scatter like flies.

@@rtchow3000 that's not nice. Why bring politics into this thread?

Lol crazy kid man that's great same stuff I did while growing up.... And we survived

Joe Biden says you are not permitted to own a cannon.

That would be a cool video makin char cloth. In them there woods it would be nice to have in your sack with your flint 👍

You can’t bend the laws of thermodynamics, but you can have a kink it and job done ha ha 👍

i think the best option would be to not have the fan touching the metal tube at all. Even a half inch gap would break the thermal bridge.

@@kevinhardy8930 nope. 3 types of heat transfer. It’s the radiant variety which is causing the issue

👍

I know right !!!!! Their videos always have a topic and then I see 10 other things I want to know about

If you look up at channel called Mr chickadee he shows you how to build them..called a box bellows from Japan very efficient of built good!

Think steam engine piston, but square. The leather valves let air in, but not out. Add a hole in the side for air to "escape," and that has another valve to let air out, but not in. That goes to a tube or pipe to go to the fire. You'll have to make the tubes go to a common pipe, and just direct it from there. The piston inside probably has a bit of soft leather around the edges so as to mate with the walls a bit better, but not so tight you can't move it. The "handles" run both sides of the piston, and that's what guides the piston as well as transmitting the motion from your hand to the piston. Just make sure that the valves, both in and out, are on the end caps. The "out" one will have a pipe, the other will be the intake. It should only take an afternoon. If you can't find leather, use a piece of inner tube, or make a flapper with a hinge and some small wood pieces. No end to the design changes you could come up with.

Cat or no cat.. that line cracked me up😄 😄👍

How to make the other two ingredients?

Yes! I’m very excited to make “proper” muzzle loading powder.

@@Gridlessness You likely know this but.. It's the size of the grains/granules that effects the burn rate - usually. I liked FFF in lighter loads in a .50, but FF worked "okay" too, though it fouled more and seemed more inconsistent. Dunno - it's a different thing from IMR4350 out of the can for sure!

@@bc30cal99 I use fff as well in.my 50!! It does better with it! Deer don't go far when it hits them! The most I've had them go is 10 yards!

Most American homes are built with a footing that extends below the Frost Depth,.whatever that might be for that area to defeat "Frost Heave," And a slab directly on the soil. Most of the cold Scandinavian Countries built homes with a Floor a foot or two above the soil, and the footing barely below ground. This is done because the heat sinks below the floor, and then escapes out below the footing, keeping the frost depth below the footing and defeating "Frost Heave"

the problem in this particular case, is the radiant heat ignores air, as it is effectively a beam of energy. the fact you could see the red hot glowing heat means you will feel it regardless of how much cold air you send past it, which is why it was hotter where they were putting their hand than when they were standing closer to the burner. as far as insulating the floor? it is not needed in many places and in certain structures and locations it is detrimental. buildings and structures MUST be engineered to their location.

I could never quite make top notch blackpowder. Long after I quit, I read that popular was the best wood to use, because it has the least minerals. Those trees grow really fast too.

Going to try to use Hackberry (southern US). Great satisfaction to see that miserable tree turned into something of use. (Would never cook on it however)

I use tulipwood for BP charcoal. It's similar to poplar, grows fast and is pretty useless for anything else, weak wood. Plus I have lots of them growing around here in New England. Works really well.

looks like my charcoal retort is going to be doing something soon too !! was going to do a sword but maybe a cannon might be worth a shot ??

Still alive?🤣

i made my own fireworks for years after first making my own black powder. The possibilities are endless.

Just dont drink the pig water runoff with bleach that is a cancer causing DIOXIN from an earlier episode.

Don’t worry, I have a Berkey water filter and the only way I would do that is if my life depended on it and I would probably die anyway lol!

Good to know, thank you.

@@danieljones317 You are welcome

What about all of the smoke?

​@@Michael-rg7mx What about it?

@@deandennison4687 air pollution

Glad to have you along Shawn!

Hi !!from S.C.,Love your channel and I too, stubbled upon you,too!!!! How Happy I am about !!!!! Have watched all of your videos!!! Love your families relationship, you are two great parents!! Your girls are so pretty and SO INTELLIGENT! LOVE everything that you have done.Your please is Awesome, but I don't think that I could deal with that extreme cold winters that you have !!!Last weeks low temp ,around 20F!!! I know you all will get a chuckle from that 😊❣️❣️❣️😊👍

😎

Hahaha wine or urine? Wtf is wrong with water? Or alcohol if you want to dry it faster.

@@JO-ch3el Alcohol will cause Volotility Problems and will work too good Water will as well but not good enough. Since the KNO3 will dissolve better in a slightly acidic medium; Wine, Urine or Vinegar are best

Making BP isn't hard but please follow one simple rule: if you're going to mill it (which gives way better results), make absolutely sure that the milling media cannot cause sparks. Use lead or brass, maybe ceramic, but I'd be cautious about that even. I used to use .45 hardened lead balls. Never use iron or steel! If you feel the need for a workout, you can use a pestle and mortar. I have tried it - do not recommend! You can, of course, mill the components separately but it isn't really necessary if the above rule is followed. Also, milled airfloat charcoal is extremely messy stuff to handle! Purity of sulphur and pot. nitrate are important-ish but the wood from which the charcoal is made has a huge effect on burn speed. As other commenters have written, willow is possibly the best. The powder in this vid burned slooow. For pyrotechnics use, he would have done better to burn the pine and charcoal the poplar! I'm not sure about how fast a burn you want for muzzleloaders but I reckon residuals from pine resin could cause bore cleaning issues? Once you have your BP, you can add a couple of percent by weight of dextrin (dry-baked cornflour - it turns yellow when cooked) and make a thick slurry with a little water. Pull cotton or hemp thread slowly through this and hang it to dry in a safe place. Now you have blackmatch, old style cannon fuse... it would probably burn at about one inch per second and looks really cool... Sorry about the long post - I used to play with pyrotechnics and it's still in my blood!

length is not really the problem. infrared radiation travels as light and ignores the airflow. the 90 degree turn possibly with a matt surface to catch the heat means the radiant heat is nit hitting the fan.

Forget the fan make the stack ( chimney ) taller that will draw air through rather than trying to push it from under the fire.

Or wrap with sn old towel. Pour water on it ever so often.