How To Make Your Own Charcoal
One of the more useful outdoor skills to possess is knowing how to make your own charcoal, which can be used for anything from cooking to blacksmithing to even making your own homemade black powder. The process to make charcoal is about as easy as can be and while it may not burn as long as commercially purchased charcoal due to the additives used in manufacturing it works very well and the cost is nonexistent or awfully close to it if the wood is obtained for free.
The first step to make your own charcoal is to get a metal can like an old paint can - if larger batches of charcoal are desired you can also use a steel five gallon can. Four or five quarter inch sized holes are placed into the lid of the can if you use a one-gallon can, four or five half-inch sized holes are needed for a five gallon sized can. The holes serve as an avenue for moisture and hydrocarbons to escape the can as they are expelled from the wood inside, leaving a form of nearly pure carbon inside when the cooking process is completed.
The next step to make lump charcoal pack the inside of the can with small pieces of wood as tightly as is possible - hardwoods work best and the pieces should be no longer than 4 to 5 inches in length and no more than an inch in thickness and width. This is very important because one of the most common problems in making your own charcoal is that when the wood pieces too large the cooking process is not thorough enough and the result is wood pieces that partially carbonized and the remainder nothing more than really dry wood.
With the lid tightly in place the can is next placed into the center of a burning campfire, and as the wood pieces inside the can heat gases and moisture escapes through the holes in the can lid and the gases will begin to catch fire. The gases will burn for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before they are gone but don't be in a hurry if you really want some great charcoal - leave the can on the fire for at least 2 1/2 to 4 hours in total and if needed place some added wood around the charcoal can to keep the heat on.
The last step to make your own charcoal is to carefully remove the charcoal can from the fire and place it onto the ground upside down until it cools entirely (about 3 to 4 hours). When the charcoal can is cool to the touch you can open it and you should have perfect charcoal. Here are a few great how to make charcoal youtube videos that are worth watching:
The first step to make your own charcoal is to get a metal can like an old paint can - if larger batches of charcoal are desired you can also use a steel five gallon can. Four or five quarter inch sized holes are placed into the lid of the can if you use a one-gallon can, four or five half-inch sized holes are needed for a five gallon sized can. The holes serve as an avenue for moisture and hydrocarbons to escape the can as they are expelled from the wood inside, leaving a form of nearly pure carbon inside when the cooking process is completed.
The next step to make lump charcoal pack the inside of the can with small pieces of wood as tightly as is possible - hardwoods work best and the pieces should be no longer than 4 to 5 inches in length and no more than an inch in thickness and width. This is very important because one of the most common problems in making your own charcoal is that when the wood pieces too large the cooking process is not thorough enough and the result is wood pieces that partially carbonized and the remainder nothing more than really dry wood.
With the lid tightly in place the can is next placed into the center of a burning campfire, and as the wood pieces inside the can heat gases and moisture escapes through the holes in the can lid and the gases will begin to catch fire. The gases will burn for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before they are gone but don't be in a hurry if you really want some great charcoal - leave the can on the fire for at least 2 1/2 to 4 hours in total and if needed place some added wood around the charcoal can to keep the heat on.
The last step to make your own charcoal is to carefully remove the charcoal can from the fire and place it onto the ground upside down until it cools entirely (about 3 to 4 hours). When the charcoal can is cool to the touch you can open it and you should have perfect charcoal. Here are a few great how to make charcoal youtube videos that are worth watching:
