Charcoal retort kiln

This week I decided to build a retort. I've been wanting to do this for a couple years, so already had a vague idea of the concept in my mind. Its a work in progress. Next will be a more efficient burner. For a scrap build, it works not bad.

*update

Not having weighed the yield I would estimate no less than 40 lbs. It depends how densely the material is packed, though I did discover stacking in a criss cross pattern rather than stacked yielded better results if less total yield. (less yield criss crossed, but much less fuel and time). Maybe 12-14 hours of burning, auto ignition possible around the 8 hour mark.

Of course species, dryness and size play a very large role.

[zulucharlie]

Nice design - love the weight/safety valve, love the fluid trap at the bottom of the retort return line, love the use of the "when the off-gas stays lit, it's time to recycle the retort gas" rule of thumb. Very practical and smart. Thanks for posting.

[davidt]

Most practical design I've seen so far. Nice..

[BMod]

Aside from the ends possibly being colder then the middle and the possibility of inconsistent charcoal I really like it.

[dommarini]

Excellent design. one of the most intuitive iv seen in some time. Id high recommend mineral wool insulation. it will give main benefits, faster to reach temperature and less energy required to stay at said temp. just the basic white fluffy stuff wrapped around. seen it done, works well.
subscribed.

[TripleTRanchAndSawmill]

Like this design better than mine because you can redirect water vapor and collect tar! Nice video

[danswrkshop]

I have an outdoor boiler with a huge firebox, so I just shove a metal pail inside full of wood. The escaping gases and tars burn and help heat the water.

[jamesgordon]

Good design! Catch the creosote that drips out of the wood gas tube to treat fence posts.

[chrisohdear]

I think thats the best charcoal retort on YouTube by a long mile.

[beaverbluff]

incredible, intellectually fantastic design! i look forward to trying something similar in the near future

[jodyjnlv]

I like this design thank you for sharing

[sunilbasnayake]

Excellent job. Very simple. Congratulations. Keep it up.

[predragjovic]

Good day, great video and thank you for sharing this great idea. I have the barrel placed vertically, but I have problem with the gasses leaking on the lid, but my ring for the lid has no screws, it is just a regular ring, so I place mud in the lid cannel. So, do you just screw the ring on the lid, or do you add maybe clay or mud in the lid cannel to seal it more tight? Thank you kindly for your time and answer, and I am sending you very best regards.

[jonashammar]

Brilliant construction. great explenation.

[meredithromo]

I admire this design. Similar to Justin Jenning's 'Charcoal Charlie' on Youtube. It's easy to load and easier to unload and does an excellent job. The only improvements I would look into are running the outgassing pipe right into the firebox so it doesn't get gummed up with creosote. (It's the condensation that forms from the temp change from the retort to the outside air exposed pipe that becomes creosote.). What you have now works fine, just check the plumbing for obstructions between firings. Your burn time can be reduced if you insulate the retort, which brings me to some questions. How long does it take complete a batch? How often do you have to stoke the firebox with wood? Do you have to keep stoking the firebox after the retort is fully outgassing?

I checked with another old timer on Youtube...his burner extended the length of the 55 gallon drum with 1/4" holes every 6" on both sides of his burner. He was using 2" pipe like you. Thank you for sharing your project. O.J. Romo, Oregon

[alexcarr]

That is a great idea. I will certainly borrow some of the ideas. The front and the back of the retort chamber should have some insulation installed to help hold the heat allowing for hotter temperatures. Also I would do some work on the wood gas system. This part should be kept inside the 200 gallon tank. The steam pipe should go straight up through this tank to be covered when the steaming is done. The gas pipe should also be in the burn tank and vented under the retort tank as a burner. I do believe the hotter the gases the better the burn adding to higher temperatures. I expect some of the gases are condensing in the exterior piping.

[wyatts.]

I'm curious how many burns this set up lasted? I can see the larger barrel lasting quite a while but the 45 gallon drum I would think would burn out after 20 burns or so.

[russellsmith]

For your vent holes, for starters calculate the surface area of the diameter for your exhaust stack, using round numbers it's approx 28-30 square inches and make sure you have the same on the inlet, on your pipe behind, 2" was overkill but if it was scrap that's cool, personally I would always leave it capped and venting into your combustion chamber, if it's steam then it will go up the chimney if it's wood gas it will contribute to the retort as soon as it's ready, as long as you have enough fuel to start the process it will be a fire and forget tool.
I agree with the other suggestions of wrapping it with rock wool, unless you were planning on capturing the waste heat for heating a shop or shed.

[johnohearn]

Very cool setup! How’d that 55gal drum hold up over time?

[smithrr]

I really like this design. I had a different design and it was so inefficient. This one is so much better and its light weight.

[johnswartz]

You can get burlap sacks or pallets and large sacks with handles that they sit on a pallet