A charcoal problem-not charred through

[sofasurfer]

Making charcoal in a 5 gal bucket. Small sticks come out good but chunks of 2-3 inches are not burned through. I let them cook till the smoke is gone and then I let the fire burn for a few minutes before flipping the bucket over. The chunks are char on the outside and wood in the center. Am I not letting them burn long enough...I was told that you should actually smoother it as soon as the smoke stops coming out. Or am I not useing a hot enough fire? I am useing a camp fire, not an inferno.

[canid]

either/or. as long as the heat source is high enough to begin with (and even a small wood-fire will be) then it's going to be a function of time over temperature minus losses.

you want to be very sure that your heat input into the retort is actually high enough (e.g. you're not loosing too much heat to losses), but you'll want to play with both factors until you find an efficiency you can live with.

It's like I tell 'cookbook commandos' about baking: it doesn't matter which time and temperature the recipe calls for, if the cake's not done when you take it out, one of them was insufficient. In the end, it's actually done when it's actually done.

[intothenew]

Moisture, the latent heat of evaporation, steam....................

Too much water content in the "chunks".

[canid]

Merely things which increase the requirement of time over temperature. Just as ambient conditions effect losses.

[crashdive123]

Yep - sounds like you didn't leave it in long enough (possibly not hot enough) and very possibly for the reasons that intothenew stated.

[intothenew]

I'll exaggerate for effect.

A dense, green, moisture laden wood will warm/heat slower because of the latent heat of evaporation, and to some extent the absence of convection current. The water can't turn to steam and get out, in simple terms.

Punk, or fibrous bark, be it laden with moisture or not can release the water/steam quicker. It's a coarser screen to put it in some kinda simple terms.

Varying density, and varying moisture materials, in the same soup is hard to deal with. But, a slower burn to start to try and dry everything to an equal moisture content could help some.

Consistency in the initial material, and a ramp up in heat, is the trick.

[canid]

Oh, is the OP using a sealed container?

[sofasurfer]

I think INTOTHENEW hit it on the head. I was using older wood that was moist. So my problems are that I need to use uniform sizes, use dry wood and if I do use wet wood I need to cook it slowly till dried out and then let 'er rip.
I am using a sealed container, but the top is not as sealed as it should be probably...an old 5 gallon bucket with the tabs that you bend around the perimeter. If you have a better idea of something to use that is good for repeated use I would like to know what it is.
Thanks for your replies.

[canid]

google charcoal retort.

some designs even use the wood-gasses to feedthe heating.

[Rick]

Are you building the fire under the 5 gallon bucket with the lid closed?

[randyt]

I use a 55 gallon drum sitting on bricks with with a few holes in the bottom. I start a fire in the barrel and get it going good. then I throw a bunch of same sized wood into the barrel. I put a piece of sheetmetal on the top of the barrel to partially plug it of with a little crack left for smoke to smoulder through. The smoke is watched until it changes colour, it takes a few hours. After it changes I push the top all the way on and seal it with sand and push sand around the bottom to seal it up. It sits overnight to cool off. In the morning it's dumped on a tarp and sorted. This method has worked well for me.

[sofasurfer]

O my!! Googleing "charcoal retort" really give me some great info. Thanks.

[Roel]

And now, after almost three years, we will see the results? Tons and tons of charcoale...?