Cleaning up the yard in preparation for Isaias

[Chris Williams]

I recently used the pole saw and cut several big dead branches out of our oak trees in the front yard. My wife wanted them gone before Isaias got here so they weren't a hazard in the wind, so I had the opportunity to make some charcoal. 

I don't have a retort set up yet, but I was able to use a stainless steel HE washer drum to good effect. The holes in the side do such a good job of letting air in that the windward side was glowing red. I set it on an oak stump to avoid killing any grass, and I got around 2“ of charcoal from the top layer of the stump, too. The kids had fun helping me cut the branches to size, and with the good air flow, I had the whole pile burned down in a few hours. I soaked it with a hose to stop the burning.

 

It isn't an efficient way to make charcoal, but I can't complain about the speed. The "after" pic also included a little spilled anthracite, charcoal, and a few bits of forgotten wood from the driveway that I tossed in, but I had basically filled up the drum without that.  

Long term, I would like to make a retort and get a better return on the wood.  However, I had this setup ready to go and made a quantity of useful fuel without a big time investment. Hopefully someone sees possibility in their resources after seeing this. 

[tjdaggett]

You made your wife happy, your trees more beautiful, and your fuel barrel heavier. Well done. 

[Chris Williams]

Thank you. As both points 1 and 2 contribute to 1, these 3 are in order of importance as well!