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Where's There's Smoke There's ...


David48

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For those who have reasonable bandwidth ... a longer YouTube demonstrating the consistency of the charcoal after being burnt and the scientific process for grading the charcoal into approximate equal sizes ... whistling.gif

Actually, as I sit here typing, I'm enjoying the subtle aroma of a wood fire in the distance ... dry.png

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So ... is it all worth her while, the potential danger to her health and possibly that of the planet?

In momentary terms ... YES

post-104736-0-74186700-1354871413_thumb. . post-104736-0-66363600-1354871388_thumb.

Costs in are B 2,500 per truck load (good wood)

Her labour

Her BIL's labour ... not expensive, I'm sure

Replacement tin cover ... again not expensive

Nor are the plastic bags

No delivery charges as it's a wholesale operation and the wood is delivered FOB and the buyer just takes away the finished product.

post-104736-0-29853100-1354871427_thumb.

She gets B6,000 per truck load of finished product.

How many in a truck load ... don't know

Apparently the retail rate at the local market is 17- 18 baht a bag

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Half past p1ssed at almost 9pm. Thanks guys, yeah I try hard but really there is a lot more that we all need to do. So with thanks and a smile, I make biochar and too much smoke that should be wood vinegar, I dont need more blown up my backside. What I need is more hours in a day and the occasional lucky break as do we all.

The charcoal thing in soil is the real deal, from memory they discovered long tracks of land in South America with black loam soil, fit for root crops. It was made by putting in charcoal, again from memory further tests showed you need 4 tons of charcoal per acre to change the soil from clay based to good farming land. Jim

The wife converted two old oil drums to have a chimney at the top and holes in the bottom like a colander. We load them with rice husks and set a fire going on the top, closing the lid when the fire is established. We get minimal smoke and rice husk charcoal as an end product, which is great for breaking up clay soils. This biocharcoal has a massive surface area, which means if you add some urea and water to it you have a very rapid heat producing decomposition going, ideal for adding to the compost heap as a catalyst.

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I have not seen an open pit for charcoal manufacture in our area,the usual way is similar to that described by Dancealot .

A stack of wood is covered by a structure made of wet clay which looks like an eskimo igloo from one to four cub metres in size,usually with a 2 inch galvanised pipe for air entry and same as chimney.they burn for up to a week and emitt very little smoke.

Some of the more senior members may recall the charcoalburning /gas producing cars about in Oz during and after WW2,my dad bought a Dodge Super 6 in 1946 which still had the gas producer mounted on the back.

Another bit of useless information is that good charcoal in our area is 300 baht a bag {stock food bags)and it takes 3 bags to dispose of a body at the local temples "crematorium".

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As some may have read, I am hoping to go into charcoal making on a trial bases next year [ if I have any money that is ] using coconut husks.

Been planting and bucket watering 250 trees, so that in years to come will have fuel for the rubber smokers, but there may be money to be made collecting and char coaling others coconuts.

There is a you tube vid out there somewhere of 2 French guys doing it in Vietnam and I gather they can not keep up with demand.

Machines my cost a bit or can be built from plans and there is no shortage of coconuts around here. They are mostly just left to rot on the ground.

Worth thinking if you are looking into setting up a small farm based business. jim

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  • 4 weeks later...

photo-thumb-147205.jpg?_r=1356863726

Emm, Yum from post #36. It's been a while since having one of those giggle.gif

He's having a bit of an Avatar Identity Crisis ...

We knew him a long time as ... post-104736-0-42457900-1356938676.jpg

The spiced it up a bit to ... post-104736-0-72762800-1356938675.jpg

Then one I don't have a copy of ...

Now this ... post-104736-0-10413500-1356938840.jpg

.

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photo-thumb-147205.jpg?_r=1356863726

Emm, Yum from post #36. It's been a while since having one of those giggle.gif

He's having a bit of an Avatar Identity Crisis ...

We knew him a long time as ... post-104736-0-42457900-1356938676.jpg

The spiced it up a bit to ... post-104736-0-72762800-1356938675.jpg

Then one I don't have a copy of ...

Now this ... post-104736-0-10413500-1356938840.jpg

.

Everyone loves a Pie N Sauce licklips.gif

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  • 1 month later...

Just a bit of a side line, if you want to grow things in your garden get soil from around the charcoal burner, mix it in to your soil and you will get soil that grows anything. Jim

Do they sell it but ?

How about those burnt rice husks they use at all the plant nurseries now, you can get that by the truckload, used to be free, but now the demand is strong and they sell it.

I want to spread it around about a rai we will be using soon for vegies.

oh...I just saw something above....

Edited by diddums
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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

.

Thanks Morakot.

While I was compiling the prawn-harvesting-01 Thread, I came across a few photos taken from the back of the truck of the 2nd Charcoal maker in the area.

post-104736-0-80330200-1369723480_thumb. . post-104736-0-54500600-1369723478_thumb.

This is tough going as they simply rent a bit of land either side of the Easement road which services the various Farms in the area.

post-104736-0-58633100-1369723485_thumb.

Their stock awaiting the buyer.

post-104736-0-90077900-1369723482_thumb.

These guys do it really tough.

Almost every time I've driven buy the smoke was blowing into their very humble dwelling shack.

.

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  • 4 months later...

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